Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that like most Disney movies, this one has some scary moments, including a nighttime jungle scene reminiscent of the woods at night in Snow White. Most of the peril is comic, but it still might be too much for kids under 5. The comically creepy villain attempts to poison the main character.
Families can talk about the main character's transformation, physical and mental. How do you think his animal transformation helps him become a better person? Why do you think a character like Kuzco thinks all people are selfish while a character like Pacha finds good in everyone? How do these very different characters learn to trust each other?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Nell Minow
Fast, fun, and funny, THE EMPEROR'S NEW GROOVE is a sheer delight. It deserves to be taken out of the rarified category of "animation" and called what it is: a cartoon. It has more in common with classic Warner Brothers cartoons like Bugs Bunny and Road Runner than with Disney animation classics.
This is not one of those movies where we see the sun glistening off every leaf on every tree. It has no perky heroine with big hair sitting down in the first half hour to look up into the sky and sing about her dreams. No adorable animal sidekicks to be immortalized on backpacks, lunchboxes, and beanie babies. No soulful romantic duet to be reprised over the credits and nominated for an Oscar. In fact, no love interest at all.
What's left is nonstop action and comedy. Most important, we get a kind of freewheeling, even improvisational tone that is downright revolutionary for a big holiday theatrical release from Disney, and a very welcome relief after 102 Dalmatians that came out just before it. The movie even spoofs itself, along with other movies from The Fly to The Wizard of Oz. This almost casual feel may have something to do with the origin of the movie, which was originally intended to be a much more serious and ambitious story set in the time of the Incas. Then they junked the original script, kept the backgrounds, and created an entirely new story to go on top of it.
Now it's the story of a spoiled emperor named Kuzco, hilariously voiced by David Spade with his trademark snarky self-absorption. Kuzco dismisses his advisor Yzma (voiced somewhere between a purr and a growl by Eartha Kitt and looking like an Erte fashion design drawn with a skritchy pen). She decides to poison him. Her dim but muscular sidekick Kronk (voiced by Patrick Warburton, Seinfeld's Puddy) accidentally gives Kuzco the wrong potion, and instead of being killed, he is turned into a llama. Kuzco needs to get help from a peasant named Pacha (John Goodman) to get his body and his kingdom back. Their adventures almost approach Indiana Jones scale as they go over a rushing waterfall (with sharp rocks at the bottom), get covered with scorpions, cornered by jaguars, and chased by Yzma and Kronk. The animation is fine, but the voice performances are brilliant, especially Spade, who is sensational.
Families who enjoy this movie will also enjoy The Thief and the Cobbler, an undiscovered animation gem. The TV spin-off The Emperor's New School is just OK.
Rate It!
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ViolenceCharacters in peril, but it's mostly comic. Scary nighttime jungle scene and some chases. The villain tries to poison the main character. |
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Social BehaviorSpoiled and selfish main character undergoes a major transformation. |
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