View source for The Emperor's New Groove

{{Short description|2000 animated Disney film by Mark Dindal}}
{{About|the film|other uses}}
{{Use American English|date=April 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Infobox film
| image          = Grooveposter.jpg
| alt            = Small letters read "it's all about" while the background consists of "ME" in giant text. Kuzco stands in front of the word "ME" with his arms out. To his left is the title of the film and its release date.
| caption        = Theatrical release poster by [[John Alvin]]
| director       = [[Mark Dindal]]
| producer       = [[Randy Fullmer]]<!-- Please do not add executive producers to the infobox -->
| screenplay     = [[David Reynolds (screenwriter)|David Reynolds]]
| story          = {{Plainlist|
* [[Chris Williams (director)|Chris Williams]]
* Mark Dindal
}}
| based_on       = {{based on|Original story|[[Roger Allers]]<br>[[Matthew Jacobs]]}}
| starring       = {{Plainlist|
* [[David Spade]]
* [[John Goodman]]
* [[Eartha Kitt]]
* [[Patrick Warburton]]
* [[Wendie Malick]]
}}
| music          = [[John Debney]]
| editing        = Pamela Ziegenhagen-Shefland
| production_companies = [[Walt Disney Feature Animation]]
| distributor    = [[Buena Vista Pictures Distribution]]{{efn|name=Disney|Credited under the name Buena Vista Pictures. Distributed by [[Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures|Buena Vista Pictures Distribution]] through the [[Walt Disney Pictures]] banner.}}
| released       = {{Film date|2000|12|10|[[El Capitan Theatre]]|2000|12|15|United States}}
| runtime        = 78 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $100&nbsp;million
| gross          = $169.7 million<ref>{{Cite Box Office Mojo |id=0120917 |access-date=February 4, 2023 |archive-date=January 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210127195554/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0120917/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
}}
'''''The Emperor's New Groove''''' is a 2000 American animated [[comedy film]] produced by [[Walt Disney Feature Animation]]. It was directed by [[Mark Dindal]] and written by [[David Reynolds (screenwriter)|David Reynolds]], based on a story conceived by Dindal and [[Chris Williams (director)|Chris Williams]]. The film stars [[David Spade]], [[John Goodman]], [[Eartha Kitt]], [[Patrick Warburton]], and [[Wendie Malick]]. Inspired by ancient Peruvian culture and set in an [[Incan]] empire, ''The Emperor's New Groove'' follows [[Emperor Kuzco]] (voiced by Spade), who is accidentally transformed into a [[llama]] by his treacherous ex-advisor, [[Yzma]] (Kitt), and her dimwitted henchman [[List of The Emperor's New Groove characters#Kronk|Kronk]] (Warburton). For the emperor to change back into a [[human]], he entrusts a village leader, [[Pacha (character)|Pacha]] (Goodman), to escort him back to the palace before Yzma can track them down and finish him off.

Development of ''The Emperor's New Groove'' began in 1994 when the film was conceived as a [[Musical film|musical]] [[Epic film|epic]] titled ''Kingdom of the Sun''. Following his directorial debut with ''[[The Lion King]]'' (1994), [[Roger Allers]] recruited English musician [[Sting (musician)|Sting]] to compose several songs for the film. Because of the underwhelming box-office performances of ''[[Pocahontas (1995 film)|Pocahontas]]'' (1995) and ''[[The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996 film)|The Hunchback of Notre Dame]]'' (1996), Dindal was brought in as co-director to make the film more comedic.<ref name="KingdomoftheSun">{{cite news|last=Hill|first=Jim|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040902115852/http://www.laughingplace.com/News-PID115140-115141.asp|url=https://www.laughingplace.com/News-PID115140-115142.asp|title=The Long Story Behind the Emperor's New Groove|website=The Laughing Place|date=May 25, 2001|archive-date=September 2, 2004|access-date=February 8, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Because of poor test screenings, creative differences with Dindal, and production falling behind schedule, Allers departed, and the film became a lighthearted comedy in the vein of a [[Chuck Jones]] cartoon instead of a dramatic musical. A documentary, ''[[The Sweatbox]]'' (2002), details the production troubles that ''The Emperor's New Groove'' endured during its six years of development.

''The Emperor's New Groove'' premiered at the [[El Capitan Theatre]] in [[Los Angeles]] on December 10, 2000, and was released in theaters on December 15, 2000. It received generally positive reviews from critics, but underperformed at the box office compared to Disney films released in the 1990s, grossing $169.5&nbsp;million on a $100-million budget.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2014/01/13/top-5-underrated-disney-cartoons/|title=Top 5 Underrated Disney Cartoons|last=Mendelson|first=Scott|date=January 13, 2014|website=[[Forbes]]|language=en|access-date=January 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190129010031/https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2014/01/13/top-5-underrated-disney-cartoons/|archive-date=January 29, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Leigh |first=Danny |date=2001-02-14 |title=Llama drama |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2001/feb/14/artsfeatures |access-date=2024-01-07 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2001-06-21 |title=Disney boss quits after Pearl Harbor flop |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/jun/21/filmnews |access-date=2024-01-07 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> However, the film found larger success when it was released for home media, and became the best-selling home video release of 2001. In the years since its release, ''The Emperor's New Groove'' has garnered a [[cult following]] among fans. It was nominated for an [[Academy Award for Best Original Song]] for the song "[[My Funny Friend and Me]]", performed by Sting; that award went to "[[Things Have Changed]]" by [[Bob Dylan]] from ''[[Wonder Boys (film)|Wonder Boys]]''. A [[direct-to-video]] spin-off sequel, ''[[Kronk's New Groove]]'', was released on December 13, 2005, and an animated television series, ''[[The Emperor's New School]]'', aired on the [[Disney Channel]] from 2006 to 2008.

==Plot==
<!-- Per [[WP:FILMPLOT]], plot summaries should be between 400 to 700 words. Current wordcount is 617. Please check the word count before making any additions. -->
In [[South America]], [[Inca Empire|Incan emperor]] Kuzco has been spoiled his entire life, and has become incredibly conceited. On the day before his 18th birthday, Kuzco announces his plan to demolish a nearby village and have a lavish summer home constructed in its place, despite the objections of its leader Pacha. Kuzco also discovers his elderly advisor and [[alchemist]] Yzma is usurping his duties and summarily fires her. Yzma and her bumbling sidekick Kronk plot to poison Kuzco's [[wine]] and take over the empire before the news of Yzma's termination becomes public. However, Kronk takes the wrong chemical [[vial]] from Yzma's [[laboratory]], accidentally turning Kuzco into a [[llama]] instead of killing him. Yzma orders Kronk to knock Kuzco out, take him outside the city, and kill him. An attack of conscience and a series of mishaps causes Kronk to drop the sack containing the unconscious Kuzco; the sack lands on the back of Pacha's cart, and Pacha leaves the city before Kronk can catch up to him.<ref name="Belchevski 2015">{{cite web |last=Belchevski |first=Blagoja |date=October 26, 2015 |title=Se lo stanno chiedendo tutti in sala! |trans-title=Everyone in the cinema is wondering! |url=https://imperoland.it/se-lo-stanno-chiedendo-tutti-in-sala/ |access-date=November 6, 2025 |website=Imperoland |language=it}}</ref><ref name="Falcone 2020">{{cite web |last=Falcone |first=Claudia |date=December 15, 2020 |title=Le follie dell'Imperatore – Le curiosità per i 20 anni del film |trans-title=The Emperor's New Groove – Trivia for the film's 20th anniversary |url=https://nerdando.com/2020/12/15/le-follie-dellimperatore-le-curiosita-per-i-20-anni-del-film/ |access-date=November 6, 2025 |website=Nerdando |language=it}}</ref><ref name="Amato 2021">{{cite web |last=Amato |first=Agnese |date=June 21, 2021 |title=Come il doppiaggio italiano ha reso indimenticabile Le follie dell'imperatore |trans-title=How Italian dubbing made The Emperor's New Groove unforgettable |url=https://www.storiedipaperi.com/2021/06/21/come-il-doppiaggio-italiano-ha-reso-indimenticabile-le-follie-dellimperatore/ |access-date=November 6, 2025 |website=Storie di Paperi |language=it}}</ref>

Kuzco awakens in Pacha's backyard, having [[Amnesia|lost some of his memory]]. Believing Pacha transformed and kidnapped him, Kuzco orders Pacha to take him home. Pacha refuses to help unless Kuzco changes his mind and builds his summer home elsewhere. Kuzco arrogantly rejects Pacha's demand and ventures into the [[jungle]] alone, despite Pacha's warnings. Kuzco is pursued by [[jaguars]], but Pacha saves him. Kuzco begrudgingly agrees to relocate the construction site of his summer home if Pacha takes him home. On the way to the palace, Kuzco tries to renege on his promise; he and Pacha fight on a collapsing bridge, before being forced to work together to escape some [[crocodiles]] and a crumbling cliff face. Meanwhile, Yzma discovers Kronk lost Kuzco and the duo set out to find him. At a roadside [[diner]], Pacha and Kuzco arrive at the same time as Yzma and Kronk, but neither party initially notices the other. However, Kronk nearly recognizes Pacha, who overhears Yzma's plans to murder Kuzco. He sneaks Kuzco out of the diner, but Kuzco does not believe Pacha's warnings. Kuzco and Pacha fight again and part ways. Kuzco almost approaches Yzma and Kronk, but overhears them discussing their plans to kill him; they also remark that Kuzco's subjects were not grieved by his apparent death. His self-delusions shattered by Yzma's true colors, Kuzco flees into the jungle to apologize to Pacha, but cannot find him.<ref name="Belchevski 2015"/><ref name="Falcone 2020"/><ref name="Amato 2021"/>

The next morning, Kuzco glumly resigns himself to living like a llama, but finds Pacha, and the duo reconcile. Meanwhile, Kronk remembers where he saw Pacha before and tells Yzma. Kuzco and Pacha return to Pacha's village, only to discover that Yzma and Kronk are in Pacha's house, posing as distant relatives. Pacha's family distracts Yzma to give Pacha and Kuzco a head start; however, Yzma and Kronk still manage to confront the duo in Yzma's lab. Against Yzma's orders of dispatching the duo, Kronk has another attack of conscience and Yzma repeatedly insults him and he tries to kill her instead. Yzma drops Kronk through a [[trapdoor]]. As Pacha and Kuzco flee from Yzma and her guards, Kuzco tries several different potions, without success. After figuring out which vial is the "human" potion, Kuzco, Pacha and Yzma fight over it; Yzma is turned into a cat by one of the other potions, and Pacha nearly falls off the side of the palace; this forces Kuzco to rescue Pacha, allowing Yzma to take the vial. With some teamwork and inadvertent assistance from Kronk, the duo defeat Yzma and recover the vial. After becoming human again, Kuzco makes amends with the people he hurt and builds a much smaller summer home on the uninhabited hill next to Pacha's. Meanwhile, Kronk goes on to become the leader of a [[scout troop]], with Yzma, still as a cat, being a reluctant member of it.<ref name="Belchevski 2015"/><ref name="Falcone 2020"/><ref name="Amato 2021"/>

==Voice cast==
{{Main|List of The Emperor's New Groove characters|l1=List of ''The Emperor's New Groove'' characters}}
{{multiple image
| direction   = horizontal
| align       = right
| total_width = 300
| image1      = David_Spade2_(cropped).jpg
| image2      = John_Goodman_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg
| footer      = From left to right: [[David Spade]] (pictured in 2008) and [[John Goodman]] (2016), respectively the voices of Emperor Kuzco and Pacha
}}
To accommodate the new direction taken by ''The Emperor's New Groove'', the choice of voice actors fell on actors associated with comic theatre.<ref name="Amato 2021"/> The part of Kuzco was given to [[David Spade]], who was introduced by ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'', a long-running television variety show of comedy sketches and parodies.<ref name="Amato 2021"/> The role of Yzma went to [[Eartha Kitt]], a part that earned her an [[Annie Award]].<ref name="Amato 2021"/> Called "the most exciting woman in the world" by director [[Orson Welles]], she was a singer, dancer, comedian, and actress best known for her distinctive singing style and self-deprecating qualities.<ref name="Amato 2021"/> [[John Goodman]], also known for his comedic roles, including the role of [[Dan Conner]] if the sitcom ''[[Roseanne]]'' and Walter from ''[[The Big Lebowski]]'', was chosen to play the gentle farmer Pacha.<ref name="Amato 2021"/> After this first collaboration with Disney, Goodman took on numerous other voice acting roles for the Burbank company, including [[Sulley (Monsters, Inc.)|Sulley]] from ''[[Monsters, Inc.]]''<ref name="Amato 2021"/> Finally, the role of Kronk went to [[Patrick Warburton]], another sitcom actor ([[David Puddy]] in ''[[Seinfeld]]'') and voice of police officer [[Joe Swanson]] from ''[[Family Guy]]''.<ref name="Amato 2021"/>

For the dubbing of international versions of ''The Emperor's New Groove'', voice actors associated with humor and cabaret were similarly chosen.<ref name="Amato 2021"/> For example, Kuzco and Kronk in the Italian version of the film are played respectively by [[Luca Bizzarri]] and [[Paolo Kessisoglu]], who in 2000 took over the hosting of ''[[Le Iene]]'' after being launched by ''MTV Trip'', a video reportage with interviews and comedy sketches filmed while driving around Italy in a hearse.<ref name="Amato 2021"/> The voice of Yzma was that of [[Anna Marchesini]], considered one of the queens of Italian cabaret, who reached the peak of her success alongside [[Tullio Solenghi]] and [[Massimo Lopez]] in the successful group Il Trio.<ref name="Amato 2021"/> Pacha was dubbed by [[Adalberto Maria Merli]], a performer with a long career behind him.<ref name="Amato 2021"/> Unlike the rest of the cast, Merli was known for more dramatic roles, such as dubbing [[Jack Nicholson]] in ''[[One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (film)|One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest]]''; with his calm voice, as with Goodman, he was a suitable voice actor for Pacha, being able to balance out the exuberance of his supporting cast.<ref name="Amato 2021"/>

* David Spade as Emperor Kuzco, the entitled, pampered, and arrogant 18-year-old emperor of the Inca Empire who has no patience for the needs of others and has a lack of compassion
* John Goodman as Pacha, a brave, kind, and humble village leader
* Eartha Kitt as Yzma, Kuzco's evil, elderly advisor who seeks to usurp him
* Patrick Warburton as Kronk, Yzma's hapless but unintelligent muscular sidekick
* [[Wendie Malick]] as Chicha, Pacha's supportive, pregnant wife
* Kellyann Kelso and [[Eli Russell Linnetz]] as Chaca and Tipo respectively, Pacha and Chicha's two young, mischievous children
* [[Bob Bergen]] as Bucky the Squirrel—Kronk's companion who hates Yzma and has an unpleasant encounter with Kuzco—and as a fly stuck in a web
* [[Tom Jones (singer)|Tom Jones]] as the Theme Song Guy, Kuzco's personal theme song conductor
* [[Patti Deutsch]] as Mata, a waitress at Mudka's Meat Hut
* [[John Fiedler]] as Rudy, a well-meaning old man who is first thrown out a window by Kuzco's guards, then later befriends him
* [[Joe Whyte]] as the Royal Recordkeeper (also known as Official)
* [[Jack Angel]], Danny Mann, [[Rodger Bumpass]], [[Paul Eiding]], and [[Patrick Pinney]] as male villagers and additional voices
* [[Sherry Lynn]], [[Jennifer Darling]], and Mickie McGowan as female villagers and additional voices
* [[Jess Harnell]] as the Guard who throws Rudy out the window and additional voices
* [[Rodger Bumpass]] as one of the Guards who got turned into a cow
* [[Robert Clotworthy]] as the Guard pointing Pacha's way and additional voices
* [[Steve Susskind]] as an Irate Chef, a former chef at Mudka's Meat Hut who quits due to Kuzco and Kronk
* [[Miriam Flynn]] as the Piñata Lady
* [[Kath Soucie]] as Birthday Singers
* [[Andre Stojka]] and [[Stephen Anderson (artist)|Stephen Anderson]] as Topo and Ipi, two of Pacha's villagers

==Production==
===''Kingdom of the Sun''===
{{Quote box|width =30em|quote="''Kingdom of the Sun'' was such a heart-breaking experience for me. I put four years of my heart and energy into that one ... I was creating an 'epic' picture mixing elements of adventure, comedy, romance and mysticism. The head of Disney Features at the time was afraid that we were doing, in his opinion, too many films in the same vein. He was also uncomfortable with the spiritual and cultural (Inca) aspects of it. Hence, he decided to make it a simple slapstick comedy ... Would it have worked out if we had had more time? I would hope so, but one can never know these things."|source=—Roger Allers, reflecting on the troubled history of ''Kingdom of the Sun''<ref>{{cite interview | url=http://www.fumettologica.it/2014/12/intervista-roger-allers-re-leone/2/ | title=Intervista a Roger Allers, il regista de Il Re Leone | first=Andrea | last=Fiamma | website=[[Fumettologica]] | date=12 December 2014 | access-date=8 February 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150201005055/http://www.fumettologica.it/2014/12/intervista-roger-allers-re-leone/2/ | archive-date=February 1, 2015 | url-status=live }}</ref>}}
Following the theatrical release of ''[[The Lion King]]'' (1994), [[Roger Allers]] was called into [[Thomas Schumacher]]'s office to discuss his next project. Inside his office, Schumacher explained that Disney Feature Animation was interested in exploring ancient cultures for prospective film projects. He held three pictures representative of the Inca, [[Aztec Empire|Aztec]], and [[Maya civilization|Mayan cultures]]. Allers chose the Inca culture as he became intrigued with the visual possibilities of the [[Inca mythology|Inca creation myth]]. Allers would base his story on [[Anthony Hope]]'s adventure novel ''[[The Prisoner of Zenda]]''.<ref name="VultureOral">{{cite news |last=Ebiri |first=Bilge |url=https://www.vulture.com/article/an-oral-history-of-disney-the-emperors-new-groove.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210127132449/https://www.vulture.com/article/an-oral-history-of-disney-the-emperors-new-groove.html |title='We'll Never Make That Kind of Movie Again' An oral history of The Emperor's New Groove, a raucous Disney animated film that almost never happened. |url-status=live |work=[[Vulture (website)|Vulture]] |date=January 27, 2021 |archive-date=January 27, 2021 |access-date=January 27, 2021}}</ref>

Alongside co-writer [[Matthew Jacobs]], Allers formulated the idea for ''Kingdom of the Sun'',<ref name="dreamworks">{{cite book |last=Laporte |first=Nicole |title=The Men Who Would Be King: An Almost Epic Tale of Moguls, Movies, and a Company Called DreamWorks |year=2011 |publisher=Mariner Books |pages=208–9 |isbn=978-0-547-52027-8 }}</ref> in which development on the project began in 1994.<ref name="FindingtheGroove">{{cite news | url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2000-12-13/lifestyle/0012120542_1_major-animated-feature-love-story-plot | last=Kuklenski | first=Valerie | title=Finding the Groove | agency=[[Los Angeles Daily News]] | newspaper=[[The Sun Sentinel]] | date=December 13, 2000 | access-date=September 1, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202233225/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2000-12-13/lifestyle/0012120542_1_major-animated-feature-love-story-plot | archive-date=December 2, 2013 | url-status=dead }}</ref> Upon [[Pitch (filmmaking)|pitching]] the project to then-Disney CEO and chairman [[Michael Eisner]], Allers recalled Eisner saying "It has all of the elements of a classic Disney film,"<ref name="Sweatbox">{{cite video|people= Styler, Trudie |title=[[The Sweatbox]] |medium=Documentary film|publisher=Xingu Films|location=[[Burbank, California]]|date=2002}}</ref> and because of his directorial success on ''The Lion King'' that same year, Eisner allowed Allers to have free rein with both the casting and the storyline.<ref name="Llama drama">{{cite news | title=Llama drama | last=Leigh | first=Danny | url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2001/feb/14/artsfeatures | work=[[The Guardian]] | date=February 14, 2001 | access-date=February 8, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160915203455/https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2001/feb/14/artsfeatures | archive-date=September 15, 2016 | url-status=live }}</ref> In January 1995, ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' reported that Allers was working on "an Inca-themed original story".<ref>{{cite news | url=https://variety.com/1995/scene/markets-festivals/the-men-behind-the-king-99125330/ | title=The Men Behind The 'King' | work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] | date=January 8, 1995 | access-date=February 8, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208083325/http://variety.com/1995/scene/markets-festivals/the-men-behind-the-king-99125330/ | archive-date=February 8, 2015 | url-status=live }}</ref> In 1996, the production crew traveled to [[Machu Picchu]] in Peru, to study Inca artifacts and architecture, and the landscape this empire was created in.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2000/12/15/royal-pain-but-the-agonizing-pays-off/ | title=Royal Pain But The Agonizing Pays Off | last=Moore | first=Roger | newspaper=[[Orlando Sentinel]] | date=December 15, 2000 | access-date=February 8, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208083233/http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2000-12-15/entertainment/0012150016_1_sting-empires-emperor | archive-date=February 8, 2015 | url-status=live}}</ref><ref>[[#DVD2|''Supplemental Features: The Research Trip'']]</ref>

''Kingdom of the Sun'' was to have been a tale of a greedy, selfish emperor (voiced by [[David Spade]]) who finds a [[peasant]] (voiced by [[Owen Wilson]]) who looks just like him; the emperor swaps places with the peasant to escape his boring life and have fun, much as in author [[Mark Twain]]'s [[archetype|archetypal]] novel ''[[The Prince and the Pauper]]''. However, the villainous witch Yzma (voiced by [[Eartha Kitt]]) has plans to summon [[Supay]] (the evil god of death), and destroy the [[sun]] so that she may become young and beautiful forever (the sun gives her wrinkles, so she surmises that living in a world of darkness would prevent her from aging). Discovering the switch between the prince and the peasant, Yzma turns the real emperor into a llama and threatens to reveal the pauper's identity unless he obeys her. During his time as the emperor and doing Yzma's orders, the pauper falls in love with the emperor's soon-to-be fiancée Nina who thinks he is the emperor who has changed his ways. Meanwhile, the emperor-llama learns humility in his new form and even comes to love a female llama-herder named Mata (voiced by [[Laura Prepon]]).<ref>{{cite web | url=http://inspectorcleuzo.blogspot.com/2014/05/from-90s-emperors-new-groove-almost.html | title=From the 90's – The Emperor's New Groove Almost Made it Character | first=Sandro | last=Cleuzo | website=Inspector Cleuzo |via=[[Blogspot]] | date=May 1, 2014 | access-date=February 14, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150215053559/http://inspectorcleuzo.blogspot.com/2014/05/from-90s-emperors-new-groove-almost.html | archive-date=February 15, 2015 | url-status=dead}}</ref> Together, the girl and the llama set out to undo the witch's plans. The book ''Reel Views 2'' says the film would have been a "romantic comedy musical in the 'traditional' Disney style".<ref name="James Berardinelli and Roger Ebert 55">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y1LmH8ld1yoC&q=%22kingdom+of+the+sun%22+disney&pg=PT68 | title=Reel Views 2 | access-date=January 8, 2013 | author=James Berardinelli and Roger Ebert | year=2005 | page=55| publisher=Justin, Charles & Co. | isbn=978-1-932-11240-5 }}</ref>

After both ''[[Pocahontas (1995 film)|Pocahontas]]'' and ''[[The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996 film)|The Hunchback of Notre Dame]]'' performed below expectations at the box office, studio executives felt that the project was growing too ambitious and serious for audiences following test screenings, and needed more comedy.<ref name="KingdomoftheSun"/> In early 1997, producer [[Randy Fullmer]] contacted and offered [[Mark Dindal]], who had just wrapped up work on [[Warner Bros.]]' ''[[Cats Don't Dance]]'', to be co-director on ''Kingdom of the Sun''.<ref name="Dindal interview">{{cite interview |interviewer=Joe Strike |subject=Mark Dindal |title=Mark Dindal's Place in the Sun |url=http://www.awn.com/mag/issue5.08/5.08pages/strikedindal.php3 |access-date=February 8, 2015 |date=November 18, 2000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208082024/http://www.awn.com/mag/issue5.08/5.08pages/strikedindal.php3 |archive-date=February 8, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> Meanwhile, Allers personally called [[Sting (musician)|Sting]], in the wake of [[Elton John]]'s success with ''The Lion King''{{'s}} [[The Lion King (1994 soundtrack)|soundtrack]], to compose several songs for the film.<ref name="Sweatbox"/> He agreed, but on the condition that his filmmaker wife [[Trudie Styler]] could "document the process of the production".<ref>{{cite news | url=https://variety.com/2002/film/reviews/the-sweatbox-1200545932/ | title=Review: 'The Sweatbox' | last=Harvey | first=David | work=Variety | access-date=February 8, 2015 | date=September 27, 2002 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208083600/http://variety.com/2002/film/reviews/the-sweatbox-1200545932/ | archive-date=February 8, 2015 | url-status=live}}</ref> This film, which was eventually entitled ''[[The Sweatbox]]'', was made by Xingu Films (their production company). Along with collaborator [[David Hartley (musician)|David Hartley]], Sting composed eight songs inextricably linked with the original plot and characters.<ref name="FindingtheGroove"/>

In the summer of 1997, it was announced that Allers and Dindal would serve as the film's directors and Randy Fullmer as producer. Spade and Kitt had been confirmed to voice the emperor Manco and the villainess, while [[Carla Gugino]] was in talks for the role of Nina.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://variety.com/1997/film/news/disney-s-spade-sting-along-1116676286/ | title=Disney's Spade Sting-along | work=Variety | date=July 24, 1997 | access-date=February 8, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208083444/http://variety.com/1997/film/news/disney-s-spade-sting-along-1116676286/ | archive-date=February 8, 2015 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Strauss |title=Disney draws out blockbusters into next century|newspaper=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]  |access-date=February 8, 2015 |date=June 27, 1997 |first=Bob |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4383470.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150329170039/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4383470.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 29, 2015}}</ref> [[Harvey Fierstein]] was also cast as Huaca, a 10,000-year-old rock who kept a sharp eye on the emperors who ruled before Manco.<ref name="Sweatbox"/> In the summer of 1998, it became apparent that ''Kingdom of the Sun'' was not far along enough in production to be released in the summer of 2000 as planned. At this time, one of the Disney executives reportedly walked into Fullmer's office and, placing his thumb and index finger a quarter-inch apart, angrily stated "Your film is this close to being shut down."<ref name="KingdomoftheSun" /> Fullmer approached Allers and informed him of the need to finish the film on time for its summer 2000 release as crucial promotional deals with [[McDonald's]], [[Coca-Cola]], and other companies were already established and depended upon meeting that release date.<ref name="KingdomoftheSun" /> From screenings, Allers' vision of the film was recognized as having far too many elements. Schumacher and [[Peter Schneider (film executive)|Peter Schneider]] spoke to Allers and Dindal to try to work out a pared-down film, but the two had different ideas for which direction to take the film. Schumacher and Schneider broke the staff into two small teams under Allers and Dindal and effectively had them run a "bake-off" to decide which version to go. While Allers altered some of the details of the original pitch, Dindal proposed a complete tonal shift into a comedy that Schumacher and Schneider responded favorably to. Allers allowed Dindal's version of the film to go forward and opted to step down from co-director.<ref name="VultureOral" /> With this change in direction, on September 23, 1998,<ref name="FindingtheGroove" /><ref>{{cite news| last=Moore | first=Roger | title='The Emperor's New Groove' developed from earlier project | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208083101/http://lubbockonline.com/stories/122200/aro_122200006.shtml | url=http://lubbockonline.com/stories/122200/aro_122200006.shtml | work=Knight-Ridder | publisher=[[Lubbock Avalanche-Journal]] | url-status=dead | archive-date=February 8, 2015 | date=December 22, 2000 | access-date=February 8, 2015}}</ref> the project became dormant with production costs amounting to $25–30 million<ref name="FindingtheGroove" /><ref name="Llama drama" /> and twenty-five percent of the film animated.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-feb-26-ca-11769-story.html | title=Production on Animated Films Gets Drawn Out | last=Natale | first=Richard | newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] | date=February 26, 1999 | access-date=February 8, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190326201048/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-feb-26-ca-11769-story.html | archive-date=March 26, 2019 | url-status=live }}</ref>

===Production overhaul and changes===
Upset that Allers left the project, Eisner gave Fullmer two weeks to salvage the project or production would be completely shut down.<ref name="KingdomoftheSun"/> In December 1998, Fullmer and Dindal halted production for six months to retool the project, renaming it from ''Kingdom of the Sun'' to ''Kingdom in the Sun'',<ref name="Dindal interview"/> thus making it the first Disney animated feature to have an extensive overhaul since ''[[Pinocchio (1940 film)|Pinocchio]]''.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/animatedmoviegui0000beck |url-access=registration |quote=kingdom of the sun jerry beck. | title=The Animated Movie Guide |publisher=Chicago Review Press | page=[https://archive.org/details/animatedmoviegui0000beck/page/72 72]| last=Beck | first=Jerry | year=2005| access-date=September 3, 2013}}</ref> Meanwhile, following [[Eric Goldberg (film director)|Eric Goldberg]]'s pitch for the ''[[Rhapsody in Blue]]'' segment for ''[[Fantasia 2000]]'', the animators were reassigned to work on the segment.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.awn.com/animationworld/rhapsody-blue-fantasia-2000s-jewel-crown | title=Rhapsody in Blue: Fantasia 2000's Jewel in the Crown | last=Solomon | first=Charles | publisher=Animation World Network | date=December 1, 1999 | access-date=February 8, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208081754/http://www.awn.com/animationworld/rhapsody-blue-fantasia-2000s-jewel-crown | archive-date=February 8, 2015 | url-status=live }}</ref>

Story work on the revised film started when they knew what to retain from the original version, namely David Spade as Manco and Eartha Kitt as Yzma, with the remaining elements to be written around those characters.<ref name="VultureOral"/> [[Chris Williams (director)|Chris Williams]], who was a storyboard artist during ''Kingdom of the Sun'',<ref>{{cite book |last=Canemaker |first=John |date=October 21, 1999 |title=Paper Dreams: The Art And Artists Of Disney Storyboards |publisher=[[Hachette Books|Hyperion]] |pages=1–3 |isbn=978-0786863075}}</ref> came up with the idea of making Pacha an older character as opposed to the teenager that he was in the original version, as to be the opposite of Manco.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.cinemareview.com/production.asp?prodid=1198 | title=The Emperor's New Groove – Origins of the Project | website=Cinema Review | access-date=February 8, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208082408/http://www.cinemareview.com/production.asp?prodid=1198 | archive-date=February 8, 2015 | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="VultureOral"/> Following up on the new idea, former late-night comedy writer [[David Reynolds (screenwriter)|David Reynolds]] stated, "I pitched a simple comedy that's basically a buddy road picture with two guys being chased in the style of a [[Chuck Jones]] 'toon, but faster paced. Disney said, 'Give it a shot.{{' "}}<ref>{{Cite news |last=Perlman |title=South Sider pens 'New Groove'|newspaper=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |access-date=February 8, 2015 |date=December 25, 2000 |first=Cindy |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4563995.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150329170036/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4563995.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 29, 2015}}</ref> One of the new additions to the revised story was the scene-stealing character of Yzma's sidekick Kronk.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Proctor |title=Groovin' to the emperor's beat |newspaper=[[New Straits Times]]  |access-date=February 8, 2015 |date=December 31, 2002 |first=Melanie|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-82718665.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150329170043/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-82718665.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 29, 2015}}</ref> Kronk was inspired by actor [[Rick Rossovich]], according to Williams, and as they wrote for him, Reynolds immediately thought of casting [[Patrick Warburton]] for the role based on his character Puddy from ''[[Seinfeld]]''.<ref name="VultureOral"/> Meanwhile, the name Manco was changed to Kuzco following Fullmer's discovery of the Japanese slang term ''manko'', which translates to [[cunt]].<ref name="Llama drama"/> Due to in part to the production shutdown, Sting began to develop schedule conflicts with his songwriting duties interfering with his work on [[Brand New Day (Sting album)|the next album]] he was planning to record in Italy. Sting admitted, "I write the music, and then they're supposed to animate it, but there are constantly changes being made. It's constantly in [[Turnaround (filmmaking)|turnaround]]", but added, "I'm enjoying it."<ref name="Sweatbox"/><ref>{{cite news|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208092129/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/STING+JUGGLES+DISNEY+CHORES+WITH+ALBUM,+ACTING+GIGS.-a083847598|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/STING+JUGGLES+DISNEY+CHORES+WITH+ALBUM,+ACTING+GIGS.-a083847598|title=Sting juggles Disney chores with album, acting gigs|last2=Beck|first2=Marilyn|last1=Smith|first1=Stacy Jenel|via=[[TheFreeLibrary]]|work=[[Los Angeles Daily News]]|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 8, 2015|date=November 2, 1998|access-date=February 8, 2015}}</ref> Because of the shutdown, the animated film ''[[Dinosaur (2000 film)|Dinosaur]]'' assumed the summer 2000 release date originally scheduled for ''Kingdom''.<ref name="Llama drama"/>

[[Andreas Deja]] declined to return to the film after observing his more serious version of Yzma was incompatible with the new comedic tone of the film, and moved to [[Orlando, Florida]] to work on ''[[Lilo & Stitch]]''. Animator [[Dale Baer]] would replace Deja as the supervising animator for Yzma.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://jimhillmedia.com/editor_in_chief1/b/jim_hill/archive/2005/05/20/608.aspx | title=A work-in-progress version of Why For finally finished! | last=Hill | first=Jim | publisher=Jim Hill Media | date=May 19, 2005 | access-date=February 8, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208081525/http://jimhillmedia.com/editor_in_chief1/b/jim_hill/archive/2005/05/20/608.aspx | archive-date=February 8, 2015 | url-status=live }}</ref> Fullmer would inform Sting by telephone that his songs, related to specific scenes and characters that were now gone, had to be dropped.<ref name="Sweatbox"/><ref>{{Cite news |last=Vincent|title=Wacky "Emperor's New Groove" Is Departure from Typical Disney Fare| newspaper=[[Virginian Pilot]] |access-date=February 14, 2015 |date=December 18, 2000 |first=Mal |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-68267155.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150329175336/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-68267155.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 29, 2015 |quote=But someone had to call Sting and tell him that all his songs would be thrown out. 'As the producer, it fell to me,' Fullmer said. 'It wasn't easy. He had taken a full year off to work on the movie's score. He didn't want to compose while he was touring.'}}</ref> Bitter about the removal of his songs, the pop musician commented "At first, I was angry and perturbed. Then I wanted some vengeance." Disney eventually agreed to allow three of the six deleted songs as bonus tracks on the [[The Emperor's New Groove (soundtrack)|soundtrack album]], such as Yzma's villain song "Snuff Out the Light", the love song "One Day She'll Love Me" and the dance number "Walk the Llama, Llama".<ref>{{cite news | title=Singer stung by Disney cartoon | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1696&dat=20001214&id=R_0cAAAAIBAJ&pg=6672,1768624 | last=Breznican | first=Anthony | agency=Associated Press | date=December 14, 2000 | access-date=February 8, 2015 | via=[[Google News Archive]] | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171212211255/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1696&dat=20001214&id=R_0cAAAAIBAJ&sjid=GpgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6672,1768624 | archive-date=December 12, 2017 | url-status=live }}</ref> The plot elements, such as the romance between the llama herder Pacha and Manco's betrothed Nina, the sun-capturing villain scheme, similarities to ''The Prince and the Pauper'' story, and Inca mythology were dropped.<ref name="KingdomoftheSun"/> The character of Huaca was also dropped, although he would make a [[cameo appearance]] as the candle holder during the dinner scene in the finished film.<ref name="dvdcommentary">[[#DVD1|''Audio commentary'']]</ref> Kuzco—who was a supporting character in the original story—became the protagonist.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mooney|title= How Disney got its 'Groove' back Film reworked, revamped repeatedly| newspaper=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]  |access-date=February 8, 2015 |date=December 17, 2000 |first=Joshua |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4563995.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150329170036/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4563995.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 29, 2015}}</ref>

In the summer of 1999, cast members Owen Wilson, Harvey Fierstein, and Trudie Styler were dropped from the film.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.awn.com/animationworld/why-does-it-take-ten-years | title=Why Does It Take Ten Years!?! | last=Backes | first=Evan | publisher=[[Animation World Network]] | date=April 1, 2001 | access-date=February 8, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208081647/http://www.awn.com/animationworld/why-does-it-take-ten-years | archive-date=February 8, 2015 | url-status=live }}</ref> Kitt and Spade remained in the cast, Dindal commented, "[a]nd then [[John Goodman]] and [[Patrick Warburton]] came aboard."<ref>{{cite news | title=Into the Groove | url=http://fj.webedia.us/groove | last=Feld | first=Bruce | work=[[Film Journal International]] | date=December 1, 2000 | access-date=February 8, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200103182511/http://fj.webedia.us/groove | archive-date=January 3, 2020 | url-status=live }}</ref> After Sting's songs for ''Kingdom of the Sun'' were dropped from the new storyline, Sting remained on the project, although he was told by the studio that "[a]ll we want is a beginning and an end song."<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/nydn-features/sting-new-ethics-star-pushed-disney-emperor-find-greener-groove-article-1.895260 | title=STING'S 'NEW' ETHICS Star pushed Disney's 'Emperor' to find a greener 'Groove' | last=Miller | first=Nancy | newspaper=[[New York Daily News]] | date=December 12, 2000 | access-date=February 8, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208083617/http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/nydn-features/sting-new-ethics-star-pushed-disney-emperor-find-greener-groove-article-1.895260 | archive-date=February 8, 2015 | url-status=live }}</ref> The song, "Perfect World", was approached "to open the movie with a big, fun number that established the power of Kuzco and showed how he controlled the world", according to then-Feature Animation president [[Thomas Schumacher]].<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.philstar.com:8080/entertainment/92349/disney-films-are-young-and-young-heart-funfare-ricardo-f-lo | title=Disney films are for young and the young-at-heart | last=Lo | first=Richard | newspaper=[[The Philippine Star]] | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208082625/http://www.philstar.com:8080/entertainment/92349/disney-films-are-young-and-young-heart-funfare-ricardo-f-lo | date=January 3, 2001 |archive-date=February 8, 2015 | df=mdy-all }}</ref> The filmmakers had asked Sting to perform the song for the film, although Sting declined by telling them that he was too old to sing it and that they should find someone younger and hipper. They instead went with [[Tom Jones (singer)|Tom Jones]], who is eleven years older than Sting.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.deseretnews.com/top/2530/12/The-Emperors-New-Groove-2000-50-things-you-might-not-know-about-your-favorite-Disney-films.html|title=50 things you might not know about your favorite Disney films, 1998–2013 edition|last=Hicken|first=Jackie|newspaper=[[Deseret News]]|date=June 24, 2014|access-date=February 8, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180719054251/https://www.deseretnews.com/top/2530/12/The-Emperors-New-Groove-2000-50-things-you-might-not-know-about-your-favorite-Disney-films.html|archive-date=July 19, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In February 2000, the new film was announced as ''The Emperor's New Groove'' with its new story centering on a spoiled Inca Emperor—voiced by Spade—who through various twists and falls ends up learning the true meaning of friendship and happiness from a poor peasant voiced by Goodman. The release date was shifted to December 2000.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.empireonline.com/News/story.asp?nid=14893 | title=Hot News: Disney's Dynamic Slate | work=[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]] | date=February 1, 2000 | access-date=February 8, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208082854/http://www.empireonline.com/News/story.asp?nid=14893 | archive-date=February 8, 2015 | url-status=dead}}</ref> Despite the phrasing of the title, the film is not related to [[Hans Christian Andersen]]'s classic Danish fairy tale "[[The Emperor's New Clothes]]", although both stories involve an emperor being tricked.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-2000-12-15-0012150014-story.html | title=A Toon Just For Fun | last=Boyar | first=Jay | date=December 1, 2000 | newspaper=[[Orlando Sentinel]] | access-date=February 8, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200103182133/https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-2000-12-15-0012150014-story.html | archive-date=January 3, 2020 | url-status=live }}</ref> According to Mark V. Moorhead of the ''[[Houston Press]]'', the film's plot bears some resemblance to that of ''[[The Golden Ass]]'' by [[Apuleius]], wherein a man is turned into a donkey.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.houstonpress.com/film/jonesing-for-a-new-groove-6562706 | title=Jonesing for a New Groove | last=Moorhead | first=Mark V. | date=December 14, 2000 | newspaper=[[Houston Press]] | access-date=November 16, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171116185825/http://www.houstonpress.com/film/jonesing-for-a-new-groove-6562706 | archive-date=November 16, 2017 | url-status=live }}</ref>

Eisner worried that the new story was too close in tone to ''[[Hercules (1997 film)|Hercules]]'', which had performed decently yet below expectations at the American box office. Dindal and Fullmer assured him that ''The Emperor's New Groove'', as the film was now called, would have a much smaller cast, making it easier to attract audiences. Towards the end of production, the film's ending originally had Kuzco building his Kuzcotopia amusement park on another hill by destroying a rainforest near Pacha's home and inviting the former and his family to visit.<ref name="Falcone 2020"/> Horrified at the ending as an [[environmentalist]],<ref name="Falcone 2020"/> Sting commented: "I wrote them a letter and said, 'You do this, I'm resigning because this is exactly the opposite of what I stand for. I've spent 20 years trying to defend the rights of indigenous people and you're just marching over them to build a theme park. I will not be party to this.{{' "}}<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/sting-29-1392551 | title=Sting Forces Disney to Check Its '...Groove' | date=December 12, 2000 | work=[[NME|New Musical Express]] | access-date=February 8, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200103233849/https://www.nme.com/news/music/sting-29-1392551 | archive-date=January 3, 2020 | url-status=live }}</ref> As a result, the ending was rewritten,<ref name="Falcone 2020"/> and saw Kuzco taking the decision to construct a shack similar to Pacha's to spend his vacation among the villagers.<ref>[[#DVD2|''Supplemental Features – Deleted and Unused Scenes, Including 'Destruction of Pacha's Village,' 'Pacha's Family' and 'Original Kuscotopia Ending''']]</ref>

===Design and animation===
During the production of ''Kingdom of the Sun'', Deja was the initial supervising animator of Yzma and incorporated [[Supermodel|supermodel poses]] published in magazines to capture Yzma's sultry, seductive persona.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://andreasdeja.blogspot.com/2011/09/early-yzma.html | title=Early Yzma | last=Deja | first=Andreas | date=September 25, 2011 | website=Deja View |via=Blogspot | access-date=February 14, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150215061158/http://andreasdeja.blogspot.com/2011/09/early-yzma.html | archive-date=February 15, 2015 | url-status=live}}</ref> [[Nik Ranieri]] was originally slated as the supervising animator for Yzma's rocky sidekick, Huaca. During the research trip to Peru in 1996, Ranieri acknowledged that he "was researching for a character that looked like a rock so I was stuck drawing rocks for the whole trip. Then when we got back they piled it into this story about ancient Incas."<ref name="Ranieri">{{Cite news |last=Mellor |title=Video: Get That Funky Groove; Classy Animation and Amazing Computer Technology Come Up Trumps in Two Action-Packed Films |work=[[Daily Mirror|The Mirror]] |via=The Free Library |access-date=February 14, 2015 |date=November 9, 2001 |first=Jessica |url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Video%3a+Get+that+funky+groove%3b+Classy+animation+and+amazing+computer...-a079889743 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150215044104/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Video%3a+Get+that+funky+groove%3b+Classy+animation+and+amazing+computer...-a079889743 |archive-date=February 15, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> Mark Pudleiner was to be the supervising animator of Kuzco's proposed maiden, Nina.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://markpudleiner.blogspot.com/2014/11/kingdom-of-sun-rough-nina-sketches-and.html | title=KINGDOM of the SUN – Rough 'Nina' sketches and Animation Test | last=Pudleiner | first=Mark |via=Blogspot | date=November 25, 2014 | access-date=February 15, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150215065834/http://markpudleiner.blogspot.com/2014/11/kingdom-of-sun-rough-nina-sketches-and.html | archive-date=February 15, 2015 | url-status=live }}</ref> In early 1997, [[David Pruiksma]] came on board to animate the llama, Snowball.<ref name="Pruiksma">{{cite web | url=http://www.pruiksma.com/Bio.html | title=DAVID PRUIKSMA – A Biography | date=August 2007 | access-date=February 15, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150306083321/http://www.pruiksma.com/Bio.html | archive-date=March 6, 2015 | url-status=live }}</ref> According to Pruiksma, Snowball was "a silly, vain and egotistical character, rather the dumb blond of the llama set. I really enjoyed developing the character and doing some early test animation on her as well. Before I left the film (and it was ultimately shelved), I created model sheets for not only Snowball, but for the rest of the herd of seven other llamas and for Kuzco as a Llama."<ref>{{cite interview | url=http://animatedviews.com/2009/oliver-co-animator-dave-pruiksma/ | title=Once Upon A Time In New York City: Oliver & Company Animator Dave Pruiksma! | interviewer=Jérémie Noyer | website=Animated Views | date=January 30, 2009 | access-date=February 14, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150215054649/http://animatedviews.com/2009/oliver-co-animator-dave-pruiksma/ | archive-date=February 15, 2015 | url-status=live }}</ref> When the film was placed on production shutdown, Pruiksma transferred to work on ''[[Atlantis: The Lost Empire]]'' being developed concurrently and ultimately the llama characters were dropped from the storyline.<ref name="Pruiksma"/>

Following the production overhaul and the studio's attempts for more cost-efficient animated features, Dindal urged for "a simpler approach that emphasized the characters rather than overwhelming special effects or cinematic techniques".<ref name="animators"/> Because of the subsequent departure of Deja, animator [[Dale Baer|Dale L. Baer]] inherited the character of Yzma. Using Kitt's gestures during recording sessions, Baer commented "She has a natural voice for animation and really got into the role. She would gesture wildly and it was fun just to watch her. She would come into each session almost serious and very professional and suddenly she would go wild and break up laughing."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Amry|title=New groove to an old legend| newspaper=[[New Straits Times]]  |access-date=February 13, 2015 |date=March 18, 2001 |first=Shareem |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-82582318.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150329175252/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-82582318.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 29, 2015}}</ref> Ranieri was later asked to serve as the supervising animator of Kuzco (as a human and a llama), though he would admit being reluctant at first until he discovered that Kuzco "had a side to him, there was a lot of comedy potential and as a character he went through an arc".<ref name="Ranieri"/> Pudleiner was also reassigned to work as an animator of the human version of Kuzco.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://articles.glendalenewspress.com/2000-12-20/news/export42362_1_kuzco-animators-mark-dindal | title=Keeping Disney's 'Emperor' in the groove | last=Tolford | first=Katherine | newspaper=[[Glendale News-Press]] | location=[[Glendale, California]] | date=December 20, 2000 | access-date=February 14, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150215045654/http://articles.glendalenewspress.com/2000-12-20/news/export42362_1_kuzco-animators-mark-dindal | archive-date=February 15, 2015 | url-status=dead}}</ref> In addition to drawing inspiration from Spade during recording sessions, the Kuzco animation team studied llamas at the zoo, visited a llama farm, watched nature documentaries, and even observed the animals up close when they came for a visit to the studio.<ref name="animators"/> For the rewritten version of Pacha, animator [[Bruce W. Smith]] observed that "Pacha is probably the most human of all the characters," and further added that he "has more human mannerisms and realistic traits, which serve as a contrast to the cartoony llama he hangs out with. He is the earthy guy who brings everything back into focus. Being a big fellow about six-foot-five and weighing about 250 pounds we had to work hard to give him a sense of weight and believability in his movement."<ref name="animators">{{cite web | url=http://www.cinemareview.com/production.asp?prodid=1199 | title=The Emperor's New Groove – Animating The Characters | website=Cinema Review | access-date=February 14, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208114355/http://www.cinemareview.com/production.asp?prodid=1199 | archive-date=February 8, 2015 | url-status=dead}}</ref>

Actual animation began in May 1999, involving 400 artists, 300 technicians, and production personnel.<ref name="Ranieri"/> Outside of the Walt Disney Feature Animation studio building in [[Burbank, California|Burbank]], California, animators located at [[Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida]] and [[Animation studios owned by The Walt Disney Company#Disney Animation France|Walt Disney Feature Animation Paris]] assisted in the production of ''The Emperor's New Groove''.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Emperor's New Groove (2000)|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b809ef7ea|publisher=British Film Institute|access-date=February 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170301010420/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b809ef7ea|archive-date=March 1, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> During the last eighteen months of production, a 120-crew of [[Cleanup (animation)|clean-up]] artists would take the character animators' drawings and place a new piece of paper over the existing drawing to draw a cleaner, more refined image. "We're basically the final designers", said clean-up supervisor Vera Pacheco, whose crew worked on more than 200,000 drawings for the film.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://articles.glendalenewspress.com/2000-12-20/news/export42359_1_crew-character-clean-up | title=Clean-up crew keeps the character's essence | last=Tolford | first=Katherine | newspaper=Glendale News-Press | location=Glendale, California | date=December 20, 2000 | access-date=February 14, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150215043925/http://articles.glendalenewspress.com/2000-12-20/news/export42359_1_crew-character-clean-up | archive-date=February 15, 2015 | url-status=dead }}</ref> The motion reference material for the film was extensive, and included live-action footage of the actors, including Gustavo Rodríguez (born in 1981 in [[Caracas]], [[Venezuela]]), Delia Reátegui (born 1963), Alonso Cano (born 1989) and Gabriela Villalobos (born 1988) as Kuzco, Chicha and Chicha's slim children Tipo and Chaca, respectively, performing the scenes.

=== Iconography ===
''The Emperor's New Groove'' incorporates various visual and cultural elements inspired by the Andean region, particularly the Inca Empire, though its representation is heavily filtered through a Western comedic lens. The film’s setting—a mountainous landscape with shifting terrains—resembles the highlands of Peru and draws visual parallels to well-known archaeological sites such as Machu Picchu.<ref>[57; [https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/274/ UNESCO 2012]]</ref> While the location in the film is fictional, architectural motifs, agricultural terraces, and stepped structures resemble Andean features. Costume and textile designs in the film further reflect Andean aesthetics. Characters are depicted wearing ponchos, tunics, and headdresses that mirror traditional Andean garments. These garments feature geometric patterns and earth-toned colors—such as reds, yellows, and greens—that are historically significant in Andean textile traditions. Yzma, however, is costumed in black and purple, diverging from traditional Andean palettes to signify her role as the antagonist.<ref>[Emperor’s New Groove 2001; [https://characterdesignreferences.com/art-of-animation-8/art-of-the-emperors-new-groove Character Design References 2020]; 57]</ref>

Animals play a significant role in the film's iconography. Llamas, native to the Andes and essential to transportation and agriculture, are central to the plot—most notably in the transformation of Emperor Kuzco into a llama. This metamorphosis loosely echoes Andean spiritual motifs of transformation, though it is recontextualized for comedic effect rather than to convey religious or cosmological meaning.<ref>[https://blog.dma.org/2017/03/28/the-emperors-new-groove-llama-iconography-and-the-inca-empire/ Dallas Museum of Art Blog 2017]; 57</ref> Other animals with Andean symbolic associations, such as jaguars and condors, appear in background elements and wilderness scenes.<ref>[https://characterdesignreferences.com/art-of-animation-8/art-of-the-emperors-new-groove Character Design References 2020]</ref> Despite these visual nods to Andean culture, scholars argue that the film lacks depth in its cultural representation. The omission of Andean religious elements—particularly the absence of deities and cosmological beliefs central to the Incan worldview—limits the authenticity of the narrative.<ref>[https://characterdesignreferences.com/art-of-animation-8/art-of-the-emperors-new-groove Animation Art Conservation 2020]; 57</ref> Originally conceived as ''Kingdom of the Sun'', the film was intended to explore Incan mythology more explicitly, but the project was restructured into a slapstick comedy following creative challenges and unfavorable test screenings.<ref>[https://www.vulture.com/article/an-oral-history-of-disney-the-emperors-new-groove.html Vulture 2020]</ref>

The film has sparked ongoing discussion around cultural representation versus appropriation. While it visually references Andean culture, it simplifies or omits core aspects such as governance, spiritual practices, and astronomical knowledge. Critics note that this reflects broader trends in Western media that prioritize entertainment value over cultural accuracy when depicting non-Western civilizations.{{cn|date=May 2025}} Nevertheless, ''The Emperor’s New Groove'' remains notable for its use of recognizable Andean imagery. Through stylized depictions of architecture, textiles, and symbolic animals, the film offers a visual homage to Andean culture, though one that prompts critical discourse regarding the balance between cultural inspiration and narrative integrity.<ref>57; [https://blog.dma.org/2017/03/28/the-emperors-new-groove-llama-iconography-and-the-inca-empire/ Dallas Museum of Art Blog 2017]</ref>

===Music===
{{Main|The Emperor's New Groove (soundtrack)}}

== Themes and humor ==
=== Groove and "The Emperor's New Clothes ===
''The Emperor's New Groove'' emphasized Kuzco's famous groove, which changed by the end of the film as Kuzco underwent a significant character change,<ref name="Belchevski 2015"/> from being superficial and selfish to learning that one can feel empathy for others.<ref name="Amato 2021"/> According to Italian reviewers, ''The Emperor's New Groove'' referenced [[Hans Christian Andersen]]'s Danish fairy tale "[[The Emperor's New Clothes]]".<ref name="Belchevski 2015"/><ref name="Amato 2021"/> As the fairy tale emperor, Kuzco is equally vain, in love with himself, and incapable of admitting he is wrong; by the end of the film, instead of new clothes, Kuzco found a new groove.<ref name="Amato 2021"/> Translated into Italian, ''[[Groove (music)|groove]]'' is close to the English word, meaning "a cyclically repeating musical rhythmic series", usually found in swing [[jazz]] songs.<ref name="Amato 2021"/> In this case, the etymology derives from the [[grooves]] and grooves on [[vinyl record]]s, which in English are called ''grooves''.<ref name="Amato 2021"/> The second translation of ''groove'' is "daily routine"—an extension of the sense of cyclical musical repetition—or even "a lifestyle dedicated to fun and pleasure".<ref name="Amato 2021"/> ''The Emperor's New Groove'' refers to and is used in this latter sense.<ref name="Amato 2021"/>

The double meaning of ''groove'' was at the origin of the misunderstanding of the old man who interrupted the emperor's [[rhythm]] during the "Song of the Man" at the beginning of the film; as the old man thought that he interrupted the rhythm of Kuzco's daily routine, he had in fact interrupted the song because the emperor bumped into him while moonwalking.<ref name="Amato 2021"/> In the original version, the rhythm referred to in this sequence was indicated with ''groove''.<ref name="Amato 2021"/>  The title change in the Italian adaptation to ''The Emperor's Madness'' (''Le follie dell'imperatore'') is considered the first of its several significant change.<ref name="Amato 2021"/> The Italian title thus lost the pun on Andersen's fairy tale, and there was no reference to the emperor introducing changes into his life.<ref name="Amato 2021"/> The Italian adaptation, which lost some humor but added other humor through its adaptation, instead emphasized the film's extravagance and exuberance as if to distance itself from the solemnity of the classic films of the previous decade that were part of the Disney Renaissance.<ref name="Amato 2021"/> Nonetheless, it was observed that a reference to musical rhythm was still present in the Italian title as madness is a musical theme of Portuguese origin, derived from the folk dances of peasants and shepherds, and was present in the works of various composers including [[Johann Sebastian Bach]] and [[George Frideric Handel]].<ref name="Amato 2021"/>

=== Kuzco and Pacha ===
The "Song of the Man" (the only song in the film, excluding the closing credits) acted as an introduction to highlight Kuzco's mania for prominence.<ref name="Amato 2021"/> While the original version was played by [[Tom Jones (singer)|Tom Jones]], one of the most popular names on the international music scene, the Italian adaptation was voiced by Ernesto Brancucci.<ref name="Amato 2021"/> Although he never became a pop star, Brancucci was a mainstay of Italian Disney dubbing, having worked for the company since 1986, officially taking on the role of musical director in 1993 until his death in 2021.<ref name="Amato 2021"/> In the Italian version, the chorus of the "Song of the Man" was not repeated in the same way as in the original and put even more emphasis on Kuzco's arrogance as in the second chorus the lyrics changes from "ruler of the world" to "magnificent lord of the universe".<ref name="Amato 2021"/> Due to [[Metre (music)|meter]] and rhythm, some lines had to be translated non-literally; however, the lyrics of the original version and the translation remained consistent for the most part, owing in part to both the short duration of the song and Brancucci's experience as a lyricist.<ref name="Amato 2021"/> In the original version, the chorus was "What's his name? Kuzco! That's his name: Kuzco! He's the king of the world, Kuzco! Is he hip or what? Kuzco! Don't you know he's the king of the world?", which was rendered in Italian as "Who are we talking about? Kuzco! Yes, it's him: Kuzco! He's magnificent, Kuzco! He's the master of the universe, Kuzco!"<ref name="Amato 2021"/> The Italian version of the song put even more emphasis on Kuzco's arrogance as in the second chorus the lyrics changes from "ruler of the world" to "magnificent lord [or master] of the universe".<ref name="Amato 2021"/>

When Kuzco and Pacha found themselves stuck in a ravine above a river full of alligators; the only solution was to try to climb up the walls by pushing each other back to back.<ref name="Amato 2021"/> In the English version, Pacha asked "Ready?" and Kuzco simply replied, "Okay, got it".<ref name="Amato 2021"/> In the Italian dubbing, Kuzco was much less cooperative and more facetious as Pacha still asked him "Are you there?" but he sarcastically answered "No, I'm at the bar".<ref name="Belchevski 2015"/><ref name="Falcone 2020"/><ref name="Amato 2021"/> While at the restaurant, Kuzco's flashy and poorly executed disguise was lost in the old waitress's line, "Bless you for coming out in public!" (translated in Italian, which lost some of this humor, as "for being shown in public"), playing on the unconventionality of this strange relationship between a llama and a man.<ref name="Belchevski 2015"/> Also lost in the Italian version was Kronk's sarcastic remark to Yzma's statement, "I practically raised him!", which shifted from overt sarcasm ("Yeah, you think he would've turned out better") to subtle irony ("How strange, he doesn't look anything like you").<ref name="Belchevski 2015"/> In the final showdown, Kuzco and Pacha fell into a drain whose vent is one of the nostrils of the mask that adorns the facade of the royal palace, located hundreds of feet above the ground.<ref name="Amato 2021"/> As the two tried to cling to the edge of the drain, Yzma ordered the guards to fetch them.<ref name="Amato 2021"/> The captain urged the troops on with a cry of "Come on, men! Nobody lives forever! Charge!", a phrase worthy of a proud and charismatic leader.<ref name="Amato 2021"/> This was replaced in Italian by a dignified resignation, "Come on, guys! It couldn't get any worse than this!", as in the midst of the brawl the troop had been transformed into a caravanserai composed of a retired cow, a giant ape, an ostrich, an octopus, and a wild boar, led by an unidentified reptile.<ref name="Amato 2021"/>

=== Yzma and Kronk ===
In her first appearance, Yzma was receiving Kuzco's subjects on his behalf, among them a poor peasant who had nothing to eat, to whom Yzma refused help by shouting, "You really should have thought of that before you became a peasant!"<ref name="Amato 2021"/> The Italian version, "You should have thought about that before you became a beggar [''pezzente'']!", included a Italian-specific pun because ''pezzente'', which sounds similar to ''peasant'', does not refer to a farmer but has a negative meaning of someone being "uncouth, ignorant, simpleton" but not "miserable beggar" as Yzma addressed the peasant.<ref name="Amato 2021"/> While the English original was more logical (a more faithful translation of the phrase would have been "You should have thought about it, before becoming a rude ignoramus!"), the Italian adaptation highlighted Yzma's contemptuous sarcasm and [[classism]], and a more literal translation would have lost that out.<ref name="Amato 2021"/> The hilarity of the joke in Italian was in its paradoxical nature because the audience had to imagine someone who, without much thought, took a job and suddenly became not only a beggar but a poor one, whose only fault according Yzma would have been of not having thought about it enough; additionally, unlike what Yzma said, the man did not decide to be a beggar as he actually had a job as a farmer.<ref name="Amato 2021"/> As Yzma tried to justify herself for sitting on the throne, Kuzco was shocked by her web of wrinkles, exclaiming in his head "Whoa!"<ref name="Amato 2021"/> In the Italian dubbing, the astonished tone was the same as Kuzco exclaimed in his head "To the soul" (''All'anima''), with no clear direct correspondence between the two expressions in the dictionary.<ref name="Amato 2021"/>

When Yzma planned to get rid of Kuzco by [[poison]]ing him with a black potion whose power can be felt just by looking at it, she exclaimed "Feel the power!" as Kronk answered "I can feel it!"<ref name="Amato 2021"/> The Italian adaptation highlighted the fact that the potion was not only visible but black like a [[coffee]] (more specifically a strong coffee, ''caffè forte''), with Yzma stating "Touch it, Kronk: don't you feel the black power?" and Kronk answering "Wow, it's strong black!"<ref name="Amato 2021"/> The original line when Kuzco arrived at Yzma's for dinner and demanded to be served immediately was "I am a hungry king of the world".<ref name="Amato 2021"/> While "king of the world" is an idiomatic expression to define a positive state of mind, like its Italian equivalent ''re del mondo'', the phrase as a whole had no comedic intent.<ref name="Amato 2021"/> The Italian dubbing instead included the pun "I am a broad-minded king but I am so hungry I can't see it".<ref name="Amato 2021"/> In the original version, Kronk justified his knowledge of squirrel language by stating that he was a member of the [[Junior Woodchucks]], a reference to the TV series ''[[Happy Days]]'' where [[Joanie Cunningham]], the Cunninghams' younger sister, was a Junior Chipmunk.<ref name="Amato 2021"/> In the Italian adaptation, Kronk instead said that it was due to him being a member of the [[Junior Woodchucks]], a fictional [[scouting]] organization appearing in [[Disney comics]], which are especially popular in Europe, particularly in Italy, more so than in the United States.<ref name="Amato 2021"/> During the film, Yzma was repeatedly described as a scary and ugly old woman who inspired fear beyond reason.<ref name="Amato 2021"/> In the Italian version, she was described as resembling "Dracula's ugly grandmother".<ref name="Amato 2021"/> The starting line was "scary beyond all reason", which could be literally translated as "horrifying beyond all reasonable measure, more than anything else in the world".<ref name="Amato 2021"/> The gag played on the mechanism of repetition as people who had never seen Yzma still described her the same way despite not knowing each other.<ref name="Amato 2021"/>

After narrowly missing Kuzco at the inn, Kronk woke up with a start, realizing that the farmer they encountered that day was the same one he had seen disappearing through the crowd, carrying the sack containing Kuzco.<ref name="Amato 2021"/> Knowing that tracking him might lead him to Kuzco, he ran to talk to Yzma, who rose from the bed, revealing herself without her wig, with cucumbers over her eyes and cream on her face, prompting Kronk to erupt in a frightened cry and recoiled.<ref name="Amato 2021"/> In the original version, Yzma commented annoyed at being woken up with "This had better be good!"<ref name="Amato 2021"/> In the Italian version, Yzma was highlighted as ruthless, vain, and intolerant as her line had nothing to do with Kronk's irruption; the problem was not the abrupt awakening but rather Kronk's frightened reaction, which Yzma interpreted as an affront as she said, through gritted teeth, "Look, I killed for much less!"<ref name="Belchevski 2015"/><ref name="Falcone 2020"/><ref name="Amato 2021"/> This was a historical reference from ''[[Dark Command]]'' (1940) where the same phrase was only present in the Italian adaptation.<ref name="Belchevski 2015"/> To slow down Yzma and Kronk, Pacha's family temporarily locked the two in a closet.<ref name="Amato 2021"/> As Yzma ordered Kronk to break down the door, he refused because, in his own words, "This is hand-carved mahogany!"<ref name="Amato 2021"/> Yzma pointly dismissed him, "I don't care, you fool!"<ref name="Amato 2021"/> In the original, the humor was Kronk's artistic sensibility, which made him reluctant to destroy a piece of craftsmanship despite the fact that a moment earlier he had not had any issue when there was talk of burning down the house.<ref name="Amato 2021"/> In the Italian version, Kronk was more practical and instead complained that breaking down the door seemed difficult, "The door is made of solid wood!"<ref name="Amato 2021"/> Again highlighting Yzma's more biting sarcasm, she retorted to Kronk, "Just like your head!"<ref name="Amato 2021"/> Yzma and Kronk fell into a ravine while chasing Kuzco and Pacha.<ref name="Amato 2021"/> Despite this, they reached the palace before Kuzco and Pacha.<ref name="Amato 2021"/> As Kuzco expressed shock wondering how they did make it before them and how it was impossible for them to do so, highlighting a [[plot hole]], Yzma asked Kronk how they did it, with Kronk stating, "Well, you got me. By all accounts, it doesn't make sense", as he showed a map highlighting how their path ended in the crevasse.<ref name="Amato 2021"/> In the Italian version, the humor was further highlighted by the fact that Kronk directly addressed the audience by stating, "Good question. Everyone in the hall is wondering that!"<ref name="Belchevski 2015"/><ref name="Falcone 2020"/><ref name="Amato 2021"/>

==Release==
After the release date had shifted to December 15, 2000, similarities were noted between the film and [[DreamWorks Animation]]'s ''[[The Road to El Dorado]]''.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Road to El Dorado Preview |url=http://www.ew.com/article/2000/02/11/road-el-dorado |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |date=February 11, 2000 |access-date=February 8, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208092139/http://www.ew.com/article/2000/02/11/road-el-dorado |archive-date=February 8, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Jeffrey Katzenberg]] had been at Disney while production began on ''Kingdom of the Sun'', but then left and started DreamWorks in 1994. There was some speculation that ''The Road to El Dorado'' was based on what Katzenberg had seen while at Disney.<ref name="polygon 2020"/> Marc Lument, a visual development artist for ''El Dorado'', stated, "It really was a race, and Katzenberg wanted ours out before theirs", and also added, "We didn't know exactly what they were doing, but we had the impression it was going to be very similar. Whoever came out second would face the impression that they copied the other."<ref name="dreamworks"/> 

Fullmer and Dindal denied the similarities, with the latter commenting, "This version [''The Emperor's New Groove''] was well in the works when that movie came out." Dindal further added, "Early on, when our movie got to be very comic, all of us felt that you can't be making this farce about a specific group of people unless we are going to poke fun at ourselves. This didn't seem to be a proper choice about Incas or any group of people. It was more of a fable."<ref name="MovetoGroove">{{cite news | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-dec-13-ca-64717-story.html | title=Disney Moves to 'New Groove' | last=Welkos | first=Robert | newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] | date=December 13, 2000 | access-date=February 8, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150119065807/http://articles.latimes.com/2000/dec/13/entertainment/ca-64717 | archive-date=January 19, 2015 | url-status=live }}</ref>

The marketing campaign for ''The Emperor's New Groove'' was relatively restrained as Disney opted to heavily promote the release of ''[[102 Dalmatians]]'', which was released during [[Thanksgiving (United States)|Thanksgiving]].<ref name="MovetoGroove"/><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB976751561781373735 | title=Disney Hopes to Get Its 'Groove' Back in Suffering Family Films | last=Orwall | first=Bruce | newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]] | date=December 14, 2000 | access-date=February 14, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150705095316/http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB976751561781373735 | archive-date=July 5, 2015 | url-status=live }}</ref> Nevertheless, the film was accompanied by six launcher toys of Kuzco, Kuzco as a llama, Pacha, Yzma, Yzma as a cat, and Kronk,<ref name="McDonald's">{{cite journal | first=Helaine | last=Silverman | url=http://www.sagepub.com/mcdonaldizationstudy5/articles/Disneyization_Articles%20PDFs/Silverman.pdf | title=Groovin' to ancient Peru: A critical analysis of Disney's The Emperor's New Groove | journal=[[Journal of Social Archaeology]] |year=2002 | doi=10.1177/146960530200200302 | pages=298–322 | s2cid=162285105 | via=[[SAGE Publishing]] | access-date=February 8, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208082124/http://www.sagepub.com/mcdonaldizationstudy5/articles/Disneyization_Articles%20PDFs/Silverman.pdf | archive-date=February 8, 2015 | url-status=live }}</ref> accompanied by [[Happy Meal]]s at [[McDonald's]] in North America. McDonald's also released toys for the film in Europe and Asia.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/e-D70CupaAg |title=LBTVc McDonalds Emperor's New Groove |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201218075719/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-D70CupaAg&gl=US&hl=en |archive-date=December 18, 2020 |via=Ghost Archive |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite video|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-D70CupaAg|title=LBTVc McDonalds Emperor's New Groove|via=YouTube|access-date=July 4, 2015}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The film premiered at the [[El Capitan Theatre]] on December 10, 2000, with Sting in attendance.<ref>{{cite news |last=Portman |first=Jamie |title=Sting Had Six Songs Junked But Singer Just Kept Writing More |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/113316135/sting-had-six-songs-junked-jamie-portm/ |access-date=November 19, 2022 |work=Calgary Herald |date=December 11, 2000 |page=50 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Miller |first=Doreen |title=Selected Miscellaneous Shows |url=https://www.sting.com/tour/date/2067 |website=Sting.com |access-date=November 19, 2022 |language=en |date=December 10, 2000 |archive-date=May 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220527124317/https://www.sting.com/tour/date/2067 |url-status=live }}</ref>
===Home media===
The film was released on [[VHS]] and [[DVD]] on May 1, 2001, and September 30, 2003, as well as a "2-Disc Collector's Edition" that included bonus features such as Sting's music video of "My Funny Friend and Me", a [[Rascal Flatts]] music video of "Walk the Llama, Llama" from the soundtrack, audio commentary with the filmmakers, a multi-skill-level [[Set-top box|set-top]] game with the voice cast, and deleted scenes among other features.<ref>{{cite press release | title=Walt Disney Pictures' The Emperor's New Groove; Disney DVD and 'Ultimate Groove' 2-Disc DVD Set; Wild Animated Fun In The Spirit of Disney's ALADDIN Available To Own May 1. | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208091918/https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Walt+Disney+Pictures%27+THE+EMPEROR%27S+NEW+GROOVE%3B+Disney+DVD+and...-a070703096 | url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Walt+Disney+Pictures%27+THE+EMPEROR%27S+NEW+GROOVE%3b+Disney+DVD+and...-a070703096 | location=[[Burbank, California]] | archive-date=February 8, 2015 | date=February 21, 2001 | access-date=February 8, 2015 | via=TheFreeLibrary.com | work=[[Business Wire]] | url-status=dead }}</ref> This [[THX]]-certified DVD release also contained a [[DTS (company)|DTS]] 5.1 audio track and DVD-ROM.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dvdizzy.com/emperor.html|title=The Emperor's New Groove DVD Review|date=August 11, 2014|website=DVDizzy.com|access-date=March 10, 2022|archive-date=November 29, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221129020520/https://dvdizzy.com/emperor.html|url-status=live}}</ref> 

Unlike its theatrical box office performance, the film performed better on home video, becoming the top-selling home video release of 2001.<ref>{{cite magazine |date=January 12, 2002 |title=The Year in Video 2001: The Year in Charts |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9Q8EAAAAMBAJ&q=emperor%27s+new+groove+home+video+sales&pg=PA68 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |volume=114 |issue=2 |page=67 |via=Google Books |access-date=June 22, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140722194746/http://books.google.com/books?id=9Q8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA68&lpg=PA68&dq=emperor%27s+new+groove+home+video+sales&source=bl&ots=q-3vq4bS-5&sig=kZqeefs_RSvn2Jw1jkbngAnS9Bc&hl=en&sa=X&ei=BW2nU8nqDZKfyAStt4GoCA&ved=0CB8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=emperor's%20new%20groove%20home%20video%20sales&f=false |archive-date=July 22, 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> In September 2001, it was reported that six million VHS units were sold amounting to $89 million in revenue. On DVD, it was also reported it had sold twice as many sales. The overall revenue averaged toward $125 million according to Adams Media Research.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://variety.com/2001/digital/news/disney-ramps-up-vid-preem-sequel-slate-1117852843/ | title=Disney ramps up vid-preem sequel slate | last=Hettrick | first=Steve | work=Variety | date=September 18, 2001 | access-date=February 8, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141226154147/http://variety.com/2001/digital/news/disney-ramps-up-vid-preem-sequel-slate-1117852843/ | archive-date=December 26, 2014 | url-status=live }}</ref> It was re-released on VHS on February 26, 2003.{{citation needed|reason=Please provide a source as to the fact that it was re-released on VHS.|date=December 2021}} Disney re-released a single-disc special edition called "The New Groove Edition" on October 19, 2005. Disney then digitally remastered and released ''The Emperor's New Groove'' on [[Blu-ray]] on June 12, 2013, bundled in a two-movie collection combo pack with its sequel ''[[Kronk's New Groove]]''.<ref>{{cite web|first=John|last=Latchem|url=https://www.homemediamagazine.com/product-news/next-wave-disney-animated-blu-rays-coming-out-june-11-30023|title=Next Wave of Disney Animated Blu-rays Coming Out June 11|work=[[Home Media Magazine]]|date=March 28, 2013|access-date=February 8, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130914174103/http://homemediamagazine.com/product-news/next-wave-disney-animated-blu-rays-coming-out-june-11-30023|archive-date=September 14, 2013}}</ref> On its first weekend, it sold 14,000 Blu-ray units grossing $282,000.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.the-numbers.com/news/8416 | title=Blu-ray Sales: New Releases More Powerful in High Definition | last=Strowbridge | first=C. S. | website=The Numbers | date=July 29, 2013 | access-date=February 8, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208083348/http://www.the-numbers.com/news/8416 | archive-date=February 8, 2015 | url-status=live }}</ref> A [[4K Ultra HD Blu-ray]] will be released on December 9, 2025, to coincide with the film's 25th anniversary, following a run at the [[El Capitan Theatre]] from  November 21-23, 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nash |first=Anthony |date=October 28, 2025 |title=Classic Disney Movie Getting 4K Release for 25th Anniversary |url=https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/2051708-classic-disney-movie-getting-4k-release-for-25th-anniversary |access-date=October 28, 2025 |website=Comingsoon.net}}</ref>

==Reception==
===Box office===
Despite making back its budget, ''The Emperor's New Groove'' was considered a box office disappointment, grossing considerably less than any of Disney's animated films from the 1990s.<ref>{{cite news |last=Strauss |first=Bob |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/UNBRIDLED+ENTHUSIASM+CAN+DREAMWORKS%27+JEFFREY+KATZENBERG+REINVENT+THE...-a086402195 |title=Unbridled Enthusiasm: Can DreamWorks' Jeffrey Katzenberg Reinvent The CG-Animated Film? |work=Los Angeles Daily News |via=The Free Library |date=May 26, 2002 |access-date=February 22, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180224113146/https://www.thefreelibrary.com/UNBRIDLED+ENTHUSIASM+CAN+DREAMWORKS%27+JEFFREY+KATZENBERG+REINVENT+THE...-a086402195 |archive-date=February 24, 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Hernandez |first=Greg |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/DISNEY+JUGGLES+AFTER+FAILURE+%27TREASURE+PLANET%27+SINKS+SCHUMACHER.-a096189053 |title=Disney Juggles After Failure 'Treasure Planet' Sinks Schumacher |work=Los Angeles Daily News |via=The Free Library |date=January 4, 2003 |access-date=February 22, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180224113148/https://www.thefreelibrary.com/DISNEY+JUGGLES+AFTER+FAILURE+%27TREASURE+PLANET%27+SINKS+SCHUMACHER.-a096189053| archive-date=February 24, 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="polygon 2020">{{cite web |last=Radulovic |first=Petrana |date=June 24, 2020 |title=Torn apart in production, The Emperor's New Groove came out at exactly the wrong time |url=https://www.polygon.com/2020/6/24/21301603/the-emperors-new-groove-streaming-disney-david-spade-john-goodman-eartha-kitt |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210720205053/https://www.polygon.com/2020/6/24/21301603/the-emperors-new-groove-streaming-disney-david-spade-john-goodman-eartha-kitt |archive-date=July 20, 2021 |access-date=June 24, 2020 |work=[[Polygon (website)|Polygon]] |quote=The reviews for The Emperor’s New Groove were solid}}</ref> The film grossed roughly $10 million on its opening weekend, opening in fourth place behind ''[[What Women Want]]'', ''[[Dude, Where's My Car?]]'', and ''[[How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000 film)|How the Grinch Stole Christmas]]''.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-dec-18-ca-1437-story.html | title=Fans Give Mel Gibson Just What He Wants | last=Natale | first=Richard | newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] | date=December 18, 2000 | access-date=February 8, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208083626/http://articles.latimes.com/2000/dec/18/entertainment/ca-1437 | archive-date=February 8, 2015 | url-status=live }}</ref> It also competed with Disney's own ''[[102 Dalmatians]]'', which had been released just three weeks prior.<ref name="polygon 2020"/> The film ultimately made $89.3 million in  the United States and an additional $80 million worldwide for a total of $169.6 million<ref name="mojo">{{cite web | title=The Emperor's New Groove | website=[[Box Office Mojo]] | url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=emperorsnewgroove.htm | access-date=January 5, 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726080656/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=emperorsnewgroove.htm | archive-date=July 26, 2019 | url-status=live }}</ref>— the lowest box office earnings for an animated Disney feature since the 1980s.<ref name="polygon 2020"/> In January 2021, the movie was re-released in theaters and earned an additional $334,000.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Emperor's New Groove (2021 Re-release) |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3194585857/ |website=[[Box Office Mojo]] |access-date=January 18, 2021 |archive-date=June 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210611074320/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3194585857/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Because of its [[Pre-Columbian era|pre-Columbian]] setting and Latin American flavor, Disney spent $250,000 in its marketing campaign towards the Latino market releasing dual English- and Spanish-language theatrical prints in 16 multiplexes across heavily populated Latino areas in Los Angeles, California in contrast to releasing dubbed or subtitled theatrical prints of their previous animated features in foreign markets.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-dec-16-mn-754-story.html | title=Disney Seeks New 'Groove' With Dual-Language Release | last2=Romney | first2=Lee | last1=Eller | first1=Claudia | newspaper=Los Angeles Times | date=December 16, 2000 | access-date=February 8, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208081518/http://articles.latimes.com/2000/dec/16/news/mn-754 | archive-date=February 8, 2015 | url-status=live }}</ref> By January 2001, 19 days into its theatrical general release, the Spanish-dubbed prints were pulled from multiplexes as Hispanic Americans opted to watch the English-language prints with its grossing averaging $571,000 in comparison to $96,000 for the former.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-jan-09-fi-10087-story.html | title=In Disney Experiment, Spanish Speakers Prefer English 'Groove' | last2=Romney | first2=Lee | last1=Eller | first1=Claudia | newspaper=Los Angeles Times | date=January 9, 2001 | access-date=February 8, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208083518/http://articles.latimes.com/2001/jan/09/business/fi-10087 | archive-date=February 8, 2015 | url-status=live }}</ref>

===Critical response===
The film received generally positive reviews from critics.<ref name="polygon 2020" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Leigh |first=Danny |date=February 14, 2001 |title=Llama drama |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2001/feb/14/artsfeatures |access-date=February 28, 2025 |work=[[The Guardian]] |quote=The reviews, unexpectedly, were good}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Backes |first=Evan |date=April 1, 2001 |title=Why Does It Take Ten Years!?! |url=https://www.awn.com/animationworld/why-does-it-take-ten-years |access-date=February 28, 2025 |work=[[Animation World Network]] |quote=The Emperor's New Groove is released into theatres with a generally positive showing}}</ref> On [[review aggregator]] [[Rotten Tomatoes]], ''The Emperor's New Groove'' holds {{a or an|{{RT data|score}}}} approval rating based on {{RT data|count}} reviews and an average of {{RT data|average}}. The site's critical consensus reads: "''The Emperor's New Groove'' isn't the most ambitious animated film, but its brisk pace, fresh characters, and big laughs make for a great time for the whole family."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/emperors_new_groove|title=The Emperor's New Groove (2000)|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|publisher=[[Fandango Media|Fandango]]|access-date={{RT data|access date}}|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227210946/https://rottentomatoes.com/m/emperors_new_groove|archive-date=December 27, 2019|url-status=live}}{{RT data|edit}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film has a score of 70 out of 100 based on 28 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-emperors-new-groove | title=The Emperor's New Groove Reviews | website=Metacritic | access-date=February 14, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019042749/http://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-emperors-new-groove | archive-date=October 19, 2014 | url-status=live }}</ref> Audiences polled by [[CinemaScore]] gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.<ref>{{cite web |date=November 24, 2022 |author1=Lucas Manfredi |title='Strange World' CinemaScore Might Be the Lowest Ever For a Walt Disney Animation Studio Film |url=https://www.thewrap.com/strange-world-cinemascore-disney-animation-film/ |access-date=January 16, 2023 |archive-date=November 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221125002321/https://www.thewrap.com/strange-world-cinemascore-disney-animation-film/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Writing for ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'', Robert Koehler commented the film "may not match the groovy business of many of the studio's other kidpix, but it will be remembered as the film that established a new attitude in the halls of Disney's animation unit".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2000/film/reviews/the-emperor-s-new-groove-1200465891/ |title=Review: 'The Emperor's New Groove' |last=Koehler |first=Robert |work=Variety |access-date=February 8, 2015 |date=December 10, 2000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208082058/http://variety.com/2000/film/reviews/the-emperor-s-new-groove-1200465891/ |archive-date=February 8, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Roger Ebert]], writing his review for ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'', awarded the film 3 (out of 4) stars distinguishing the film as "a goofy slapstick cartoon, with the attention span of [[Donald Duck]] that is separate from what's known as animated features". Ebert would later add that "it doesn't have the technical polish of a film like ''[[Tarzan (1999 film)|Tarzan]]'', but is a reminder that the classic cartoon look is a beloved style of its own."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-emperors-new-groove-2000 | title=The Emperor's New Groove (2000) Movie Review | last=Ebert | first=Roger | author-link=Roger Ebert | work=Chicago Sun-Times | via=[[RogerEbert.com]] | date=December 15, 2000 | access-date=February 8, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208082910/http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-emperors-new-groove-2000 | archive-date=February 8, 2015 | url-status=live }}</ref> Emma Cochrane of ''[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]]'' gave the film a three out of five stars, writing, "An attractive, generally enjoyable concoction, but never really hits its comedic or emotional targets full on. Fun but quickly forgettable."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/emperor-new-groove-2-review/ |last=Cochrane |first=Emma |title=The Emperor's New Groove Review |magazine=Empire |url-status=live |access-date=June 30, 2021 |archive-date=July 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709181512/https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/emperor-new-groove-2-review/ }}</ref> [[Lisa Schwarzbaum]] of ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' graded the film a B+, describing it as a "hip, funny, mostly nonmusical, decidedly non-epic family picture, which turns out to be less of a hero's journey than a meeting of sitcom minds".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.ew.com/article/2000/12/22/emperors-new-groove | last=Schwarzbaum | first=Lisa | author-link=Lisa Schwarzbaum | title=The Emperor's New Groove review | magazine=Entertainment Weekly | date=December 22, 2000 | access-date=February 8, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208124812/http://www.ew.com/article/2000/12/22/emperors-new-groove | archive-date=February 8, 2015 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

In contrast to the positive reviews, Marc Savlov of ''[[The Austin Chronicle]]'' gave the film 2 stars out of 5, noting that the film "suffers from a persistent case of narrative backsliding that only serves to make older members of the audience long for the days of the dwarves, beauties, and poisoned apples of Disney-yore, and younger ones squirm in their seats". Savlov also unfavorably compared the film's animation to that of ''[[Tarzan (1999 film)|Tarzan]]''{{'}}s, writing it "is also a minor letdown, with none of the ecstatic visual tour de force."<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.austinchronicle.com/events/film/2000-12-15/141749/ | last=Sovlov | first=Marc | title=The Emperor's New Groove review | newspaper=[[The Austin Chronicle]] | date=December 15, 2000 | access-date=February 8, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208092059/http://www.austinchronicle.com/calendar/film/2000-12-15/141749/ | archive-date=February 8, 2015 | url-status=live }}</ref> Bob Strauss, in his review for the ''[[Los Angeles Daily News]]'', acknowledged that the film is "funny, frantic and colorful enough to keep the small fry diverted for its short but strained 78 minutes", though except for "some nice voice work, a few impressive scale gags, and interesting, Inca-inspired design elements, there is very little here for the rest of the family to latch onto". Strauss blamed the film's story overhaul during production as the main problem.<ref>{{cite web | title=With Groove, Disney's in a Rut | url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/WITH+'GROOVE%2c'+DISNEY'S+IN+A+RUT.-a083411452 | last=Strauss | first=Bob | work=Los Angeles Daily News | date=December 15, 2000 | access-date=February 8, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208114551/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/WITH+%27GROOVE%2c%27+DISNEY%27S+IN+A+RUT.-a083411452 | archive-date=February 8, 2015 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Accolades===
In 2018, ''The Emperor's New Groove'' was named the 16th-best Disney animated film by ''[[IGN]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2018/06/29/the-25-best-disney-animated-movies|title=The 25 Best Disney Animated Movies|website=[[IGN]]|date=June 29, 2018|access-date=June 29, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180629171251/http://www.ign.com/articles/2018/06/29/the-25-best-disney-animated-movies|archive-date=June 29, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> and the 27th by [[Rotten Tomatoes]] in November 2022.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/all-disney-animated-theatrical-movies-ranked-by-tomatometer/|title=All 72 Disney Animated Theatrical Movies Ranked by Tomatometer|access-date=November 21, 2022|archive-date=November 21, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221121105235/https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/all-disney-animated-theatrical-movies-ranked-by-tomatometer/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2022, it did not appear in lists of the best Disney movies, between 35 chosen by ''[[Harper's Bazaar]]''<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/film-tv/g32215761/best-disney-movies/|title=35 of the Best Disney Movies of All Time|date=July 21, 2022|access-date=November 21, 2022 |magazine=[[Harper's Bazaar]]}}</ref> and 50 selected by ''[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.timeout.com/film/the-best-disney-movies-of-all-time|title=The 50 best Disney movies for family night|date=June 15, 2022|access-date=November 21, 2022|magazine=[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out]]}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|- style="background:#ccc; text-align:center;"
! colspan="5" style="background: LightSteelBlue;" | List of awards and nominations
|- style="background:#ccc; text-align:center;"
! Award
! Category
! Nominee(s)
! Result
! {{Ref heading}}
|-
| [[73rd Academy Awards|Academy Awards]]
| [[Academy Award for Best Original Song|Best Original Song]]
| "[[My Funny Friend and Me]]" <br> Music by [[Sting (musician)|Sting]] and [[David Hartley (musician)|David Hartley]]; <br> Lyrics by Sting
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2001 |title=The 73rd Academy Awards (2001) Nominees and Winners |publisher=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] |date=October 5, 2014 |access-date=July 4, 2022 |archive-date=July 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200709193708/https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2001 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="10"| [[29th Annie Awards|Annie Awards]]
| colspan="2"| [[Annie Award for Best Animated Feature|Best Animated Feature]]
| {{nom}}
| rowspan="10" align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://annieawards.org/legacy/29th-annie-awards |title=29th Annual Annie Awards |publisher=[[Annie Awards]] |access-date=June 6, 2021 |archive-date=October 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191026062616/https://annieawards.org/legacy/29th-annie-awards |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| [[Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in a Feature Production|Outstanding Individual Achievement for Character Animation]]
| [[Dale Baer]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement for Directing in a Feature Production|Outstanding Individual Achievement for Directing in an Animated Feature Production]]
| [[Mark Dindal]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement for Music in a Feature Production|Outstanding Individual Achievement for Music Score in an Animated Feature Production]]
| [[John Debney]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement for Music in a Feature Production|Outstanding Individual Achievement for a Song in an Animated Production]]
| Sting and David Hartley
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement for Production Design in an Animated Feature Production|Outstanding Individual Achievement for Production Design in an Animated Feature <br> Production]]
| Colin Stimpson
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement for Storyboarding in a Feature Production|Outstanding Individual Achievement for Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production]]
| [[Stephen Anderson (artist)|Stephen J. Anderson]] and [[Don Hall (filmmaker)|Don Hall]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement for Voice Acting in a Feature Production|Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting by a Male Performer in an <br> Animated Feature Production]]
| [[Patrick Warburton]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement for Voice Acting in a Feature Production|Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting by a Female Performer in an <br> Animated Feature Production]]
| [[Eartha Kitt]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement for Writing in a Feature Production|Outstanding Individual Achievement for Writing in an Animated Feature Production]]
| Screenplay by [[David Reynolds (screenwriter)|David Reynolds]]; <br> Story by [[Chris Williams (director)|Chris Williams]] and Mark Dindal
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Casting Society of America#Artios Awards|Artios Awards]]
| Animated Voice-Over Feature Casting
| Ruth Lambert
| {{won}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.castingsociety.com/awards/artios/2001 |title=2001 Artios Awards |publisher=[[Casting Society of America]] |access-date=July 10, 2019 |archive-date=August 1, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150801114443/http://www.castingsociety.com/awards/artios/2001 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| [[Black Reel Awards of 2001|Black Reel Awards]]
| [[Black Reel Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]]
| Eartha Kitt
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.blackreelawards.com/past-nominees-winners-by-category |title=Black Reel Awards – Past Nominees & Winners by Category |publisher=[[Black Reel Awards]] |access-date=December 18, 2021 |archive-date=May 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220517103808/https://www.blackreelawards.com/past-nominees-winners-by-category |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| [[7th Blockbuster Entertainment Awards|Blockbuster Entertainment Awards]]
| colspan="2"| Favorite Family Film
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |date=April 12, 2001 |first=Lance |last=Fiasco |title='NSync Takes Home Three Blockbuster Entertainment Awards |url=https://idobi.com/news/nsync-takes-home-three-blockbuster-entertainment-awards/ |publisher=idobi Network |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160911194939/https://idobi.com/news/nsync-takes-home-three-blockbuster-entertainment-awards/ |archive-date=September 11, 2016 |access-date=November 4, 2016}}</ref>
|-
| colspan="3"| Bogey Awards
| {{nom}}
| align="center"|
|-
| rowspan="2"| [[6th Critics' Choice Awards|Critics' Choice Movie Awards]]
| colspan="2"| [[Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Animated Feature|Best Animated Feature]]
| {{nom}}
| rowspan="2" align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bfca.org/ccawards/2000.php |title=The BFCA Critics' Choice Awards :: 2000 |publisher=[[Critics Choice Association]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081212034409/http://www.bfca.org/ccawards/2000.php |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 12, 2008}}</ref>
|-
| [[Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Song|Best Song]]
| rowspan="2"| "My Funny Friend and Me" <br> Music by Sting and David Hartley; <br> Lyrics by Sting
| {{won}}
|-
| [[58th Golden Globe Awards|Golden Globe Awards]]
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song|Best Original Song]]
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/film/emperors-new-groove |title=The Emperor's New Groove |publisher=[[Golden Globe Awards]] |access-date=July 5, 2021 |archive-date=August 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210801050437/https://www.goldenglobes.com/film/emperors-new-groove |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="2"| [[Motion Picture Sound Editors#Golden Reel Awards|Golden Reel Awards]]
| [[Golden Reel Award for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Sound Effects, Foley, Dialogue and ADR for Animated Feature Film|Best Sound Editing – Animated Feature]]
| Tim Chau, Thomas Whiting, Albert Gasser, <br> Nils C. Jensen, David Kern, and Donald Sylvester
| {{nom}}
| rowspan="2" align="center"|
|-
| [[Golden Reel Award for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Feature Underscore|Best Sound Editing – Music – Animated Feature]]
| Paul Silver
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Golden Trailer Awards#2001|Golden Trailer Awards]]
| colspan="2"| Best Animation/Family
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.goldentrailer.com/gta2-nominees/ |title=Golden Trailer Awards (2001) |publisher=[[Golden Trailer Awards]] |access-date=April 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107022059/http://www.goldentrailer.com/gta2-nominees/ |archive-date=November 7, 2017}}</ref>
|-
| [[44th Annual Grammy Awards|Grammy Awards]]
| [[Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media|Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media]]
| "My Funny Friend and Me" – Sting and David Hartley
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.grammy.com/awards/44th-annual-grammy-awards |title=44th Annual GRAMMY Awards |publisher=[[Grammy Awards]] |access-date=December 18, 2021 |archive-date=April 14, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170414081107/https://www.grammy.com/awards/44th-annual-grammy-awards |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="2"| Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards
| colspan="2"| Best Family Film
| {{nom}}
| rowspan="2" align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lvfcs.org/sierra-award-winners.html |title=2000 Sierra Award Winners |publisher=Las Vegas Film Critics Society |date=December 13, 2021 |access-date=January 31, 2022 |archive-date=December 25, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131225035112/http://www.lvfcs.org/sierra-award-winners.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| Best Original Song
| "My Funny Friend and Me" – Sting and David Hartley
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[2001 Kids' Choice Awards|Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards]]
| Favorite Voice From an Animated Movie
| [[David Spade]]
| {{nom}}
| align="center"|
|-
| rowspan="2"| Online Film & Television Association Awards
| Best Animated Picture
| [[Randy Fullmer]]
| {{nom}}
| rowspan="2" align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oftaawards.com/film-awards/5th-annual-film-awards-2000/ |title=5th Annual Film Awards (2000) |publisher=Online Film & Television Association |access-date=May 15, 2021 |archive-date=May 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210509075427/http://www.oftaawards.com/film-awards/5th-annual-film-awards-2000/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| Best Original Song
| "My Funny Friend and Me" <br> Music by Sting and David Hartley; <br> Lyrics by Sting
| {{nom}}
|-
| rowspan="3"| Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards
| colspan="2"| Best Animated Film
| {{nom}}
| rowspan="3" align="center"|
|-
| colspan="2"| Best Family Film
| {{nom}}
|-
| Best Original Song
| "My Funny Friend and Me" <br> Music by Sting and David Hartley; <br> Lyrics by Sting
| {{nom}}
|-
| rowspan="2"| [[5th Golden Satellite Awards|Satellite Awards]]
| colspan="2"| [[Satellite Award for Best Animated or Mixed Media Feature|Best Animated or Mixed Media Feature]]
| {{nom}}
| rowspan="2" align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pressacademy.com/satawards/awards2001.shtml |title=International Press Academy website – 2001 5th Annual SATELLITE Awards |publisher=[[International Press Academy]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080201175700/http://www.pressacademy.com/satawards/awards2001.shtml |archive-date=February 1, 2008}}</ref>
|-
| [[Satellite Award for Best Original Song|Best Original Song]]
| "My Funny Friend and Me" <br> Music by Sting and David Hartley; <br> Lyrics by Sting
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[22nd Young Artist Awards|Young Artist Awards]]
| colspan="2"| Best Family Feature Film – Animated
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.youngartistawards.org/noms22A.htm |title=22nd Annual Young Artist Awards |access-date=March 31, 2011 |publisher=[[Young Artist Award]]s |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140928181449/http://www.youngartistawards.org/noms22A.htm |archive-date=September 28, 2014}}</ref>
|}

==''The Sweatbox''==
{{main|The Sweatbox}}
''The Sweatbox'' is a documentary that chronicled the tumultuous collaboration of [[Sting (musician)|Sting]] and [[David Hartley (musician)|David Hartley]] with the Disney studios to compose six songs for ''Kingdom of the Sun'' (the film's working title).<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/film-to-capture-stings-disney-fiasco-20001214 | title=Film to Capture Sting's Disney Fiasco | last=Uhelszki | first=Jaan | work=[[Rolling Stone (magazine)|Rolling Stone]] | date=December 14, 2000 | access-date=February 14, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150220081919/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/film-to-capture-stings-disney-fiasco-20001214 | archive-date=February 20, 2015 | url-status=live }}</ref> The documentary featured interviews from directors [[Roger Allers]] and [[Mark Dindal]], producer [[Randy Fullmer]], Sting (whose wife [[Trudie Styler]] created the documentary), Disney story artists, and the voice cast being dismayed by the new direction. Disney was not believed to be opposed to Styler's documentary, with Disney animation executive Thomas Schumacher, who had seen footage, commenting "I think it's going to be great!"<ref>{{cite news | title=Sting makes up with Disney after animated musical bust-up | url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2000/dec/15/news1 | newspaper=The Guardian | date=December 15, 2000 | access-date=February 14, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170710093906/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2000/dec/15/news1 | archive-date=July 10, 2017 | url-status=live }}</ref>

The film premiered at the [[2002 Toronto International Film Festival]] but has gone virtually unseen by the public ever since. Disney owns the rights but has never officially released it.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://gawker.com/5896027/stings-suppressed-disney-documentary-leaked-online |title=Sting's Suppressed Disney Documentary Leaked Online |first=Rich |last=Juzwiak |website=[[Gawker]] |date=March 23, 2012 |access-date=February 14, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150215054754/http://gawker.com/5896027/stings-suppressed-disney-documentary-leaked-online |archive-date=February 15, 2015 }}</ref> In March 2012, a workprint of the documentary was leaked online and was uploaded onto YouTube by a United Kingdom cartoonist before it was ultimately pulled.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.cartoonbrew.com/disney/the-sweatbox-the-documentary-disney-doesnt-want-you-to-see-59467.html | title="The Sweatbox", the Documentary That Disney Doesn't Want You to See | last=Amidi | first=Amid |author-link=Amid Amidi | publisher=[[Cartoon Brew]] | date=March 22, 2012 | access-date=February 8, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208092032/http://www.cartoonbrew.com/disney/the-sweatbox-the-documentary-disney-doesnt-want-you-to-see-59467.html | archive-date=February 8, 2015 | url-status=live }}</ref> As of April 2015, some scenes from the documentary could be seen from the home media release, including the behind-the-scenes and the making of "My Funny Friend and Me".

==Legacy==
''The Emperor's New Groove'' was not as well received as Disney's other animated features at the time, which were more focused on Broadway-style musicals like ''Beauty and the Beast'' or heroic characters with comedy situations like ''Hercules'', and arrived just before films like ''[[Shrek]]'' and ''[[Ice Age (2002 film)|Ice Age]]'' that would launch a wave of animated comedy films.<ref name="polygon 2020"/> Reception towards the film has improved over time, with ''[[Polygon (website)|Polygon]]''{{'}}s Petrana Radulovic theorizing that the film's irreverent style of comedy had simply been released at the wrong time by debuting too soon after the tonal shift away from the musical animated films that had defined the 1990s, and too early for the humor that would become trademarks of films such as ''Shrek'' and ''Ice Age''.<ref name="polygon 2020" />

''The Emperor's New Groove'' and ''[[The Road to El Dorado]]'' have since gained appreciation as standalone works from that period as well-written comedies in part due to the arrival of Internet culture and has since become something of a cult favorite among Disney fans at the time. For ''The Emperor's New Groove'', the film has comedic timing and slapstick comedy that has been compared to classic ''[[Looney Tunes]]''. As a result, numerous [[Internet meme]]s based on screenshots from the film have emerged, such as Pacha's "just right" gesture as an [[image macro]] representing perfection,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Stalberg |first1=Allison |title=The Emperor's New Meme: 10 Famous Movies That Created The Most Popular Memes |url=https://screenrant.com/the-emperors-new-groove-famous-movies-memes/ |website=[[Screen Rant]] |access-date=November 2, 2024 |date=September 24, 2020}}</ref> or a meme during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] featuring Kronk documenting "Apocalypse Bingo".<ref name="polygon 2020" /><ref>{{Cite web|title='Apocalypse Bingo' Memes Are A Checklist Of All The Horrible Things Happening In 2020|url=https://cheezburger.com/11316485/apocalypse-bingo-memes-are-a-checklist-of-all-the-horrible-things-happening-in-2020|access-date=July 28, 2020|website=Cheezburger|archive-date=July 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728152009/https://cheezburger.com/11316485/apocalypse-bingo-memes-are-a-checklist-of-all-the-horrible-things-happening-in-2020|url-status=live}}</ref> 

In November 2025, many crew members including the film's director [[Mark Dindal]], writer [[David Reynolds (screenwriter)|David Reynolds]], story supervisor [[Stephen Anderson (artist)|Stephen Anderson]] as well as cast member [[Bob Bergen]] the voice of Bucky the Squirrel, reunited to celebrate the film's 25 year anniversary by participating in a 2-hour [[Live streaming|livestream]] on YouTube on ''The Tammy Tuckey Show''. The event had been organised ahead of time.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Tuckey|first=Tammy|title='The Emperor's New Groove' 25th Anniversary Cast & Crew Reunion - The Tammy Tuckey Show|date=November 7, 2025 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtybzdH9TbE|language=en|access-date=November 7, 2025|website=YouTube |publisher=Tammy Tuckey |format=video|archive-date=November 5, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250000000000*/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtybzdH9TbE|url-status=live}}</ref>

During the years, ''The Emperor's New Groove'' attracted a [[cult following]] in several countries, particularly Italy.<ref name="Belchevski 2015"/><ref name="Falcone 2020"/><ref name="Amato 2021"/> As is common in [[Italian cinema]], the title was changed to the English equivalent ''The Emperor's Madness'' (''Le follie dell'imperatore'').<ref name="Belchevski 2015"/> The Italian version is considered to be an adaptation (dating back to the 1920s and 1930s with the birth of [[sound cinema]]) rather than an accurate translation, which in the 21st-century is still a relatively new concept.<ref name="Belchevski 2015"/> While it also included accurate translations of the dialogues, this caused the loss of some humor; however, new humor was found in the adaptation, whose dubbing was specifically tailored to Italians and the [[culture of Italy]],<ref name="Belchevski 2015"/><ref name="Falcone 2020"/><ref name="Amato 2021"/> so much so that one could speak of an unprecedented case, a revolution, and a film in its own right that went beyond the Italian dubbing of Disney's ''[[Alice in Wonderland (1951 film)|Alice in Wonderland]]'' by [[Roberto de Leonardis]] and ''[[Young Frankenstein]]''.<ref name="Belchevski 2015"/>

Although the Italian adaptation did not impact the story, it changed the tempo of the action, significantly altering the characters' characterizations.<ref name="Belchevski 2015"/> New lines of dialogue were created as an adaptation, and the dubbing rendered comic situations that were neutral in the original.<ref name="Belchevski 2015"/><ref name="Falcone 2020"/><ref name="Amato 2021"/> Among the most notable dialogue adaptation was the breaking of the [[fourth-wall]] scene, with Kuzco stating "It's not possibile! How did you get back here before us?" and Kronk answering "Well, you got me. By all accounts, it doesn't make sense", was changed to Kronk stating "Good question! Everyone in the cinema [or theater] hall is wondering [or asking the same question]!" (''Bella domanda! Se lo stanno chiedendo tutti in sala!''),<ref name="Belchevski 2015"/><ref name="Manara 2019">{{cite web |last=Manara |first=Lorenzo |date=October 21, 2019 |title=L'importanza della traduzione |trans-title=The importance of translation |url=https://www.lorenzomanara.it/importanza-della-traduzione/ |access-date=November 6, 2025 |website=LorenzoManara.it |language=it}}</ref> which became part of Italian common parlance and [[meme culture]].<ref name="Belchevski 2015"/> Unlike some other Italian adaptations, whose dubbing made it not as good as the original or where it lost some meanings of the original, the dubbing of ''The Emperor's New Groove'' was considered an exception for the dubbing adaptation making it better than the original.<ref name="Manara 2019"/>

==Franchise==
{{main|The Emperor's New Groove (franchise)}}
[[DisneyToon Studios]] produced a [[direct-to-video]] sequel titled ''[[Kronk's New Groove]]'', which was released on December 13, 2005, followed by an animated television series on [[Disney Channel]] titled ''[[The Emperor's New School]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |title=DisneyToon Studios is producing sequels to "The Emperor's New Groove" and "Brother Bear" |work=Variety  |access-date=February 8, 2015|date=April 6, 2005 |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-131972711.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150329170041/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-131972711.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 29, 2015}}</ref> [[Patrick Warburton]], [[Eartha Kitt]], and [[Wendie Malick]] reprised their roles for the sequel and series while [[J. P. Manoux]] replaced [[David Spade]] for the series and [[Fred Tatasciore]] voiced Pacha in season 1. John Goodman subsequently reprised his role for the second and final season of the series. Kuzco appears as a recurring guest in the animated television series ''[[House of Mouse]]'' and its direct-to-video film ''[[Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse]]'', with Pacha, Yzma, and the Royal Recordkeeper also having minor guest appearances in the show. Like every other [[Walt Disney Animation Studios]] character, Kuzco, Pacha, Yzma, and Kronk have cameo appearances in the short film ''[[Once Upon a Studio]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Reif |first1=Alex |title=Disney's "Once Upon a Studio" – List of Characters in Order of Appearance |url=https://www.laughingplace.com/w/disney-entertainment/disneys-once-upon-a-studio-list-of-characters-in-order-of-appearance/ |website=Laughing Place |date=October 16, 2023}}</ref>

[[The Emperor's New Groove (video game)|Two video games]] were developed and released concurrently with the film. The first, for the Sony [[PlayStation]], was developed by [[Argonaut Games]] and published by [[Sony Computer Entertainment of America]]. The second, for the Nintendo [[Game Boy Color]], was developed by Sandbox and published by [[Ubisoft]]. Both titles were released in [[PAL]] territories the following year. The PlayStation version was re-released for the North American [[PlayStation Network]] on July 27, 2010. Additionally, Kuzco, Pacha, Yzma, and Kronk appear as playable characters in the [[City-building game|world-builder]] video game ''[[Disney Magic Kingdoms]]'', as well as attractions based on Mudka's Meat Hut and Yzma's Lair.<ref>{{cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYymimttxfw&ab_channel=DisneyMagicKingdoms |title=Update 43: The Emperor's New Groove {{!}} Livestream|via=[[YouTube]]|date=August 21, 2020}}</ref> The [[Tokyo DisneySea]] rollercoaster attraction [[Raging Spirits]] took visual inspiration for its Inca ruins theme from the buildings in the film with a structure based on Kuzco's palace similarly crowning the ruins site.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mouseinfo.com/forums/tokyo-disney-resort/15952-tds-new-coaster-name-raging-spirits.html |title=TDS: New Coaster Name "Raging Spirits" |publisher=Mouseinfo.com |access-date=September 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131223060853/http://www.mouseinfo.com/forums/tokyo-disney-resort/15952-tds-new-coaster-name-raging-spirits.html |archive-date=December 23, 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Works cited==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite video | people = [[Mark Dindal]] (dir.), [[Randy Fullmer]] (prod.), Colin Stampton (art director), Joseph C. Moshier (character designer), [[Stephen Anderson (artist)|Stephen Anderson]] (head of story), [[Nik Ranieri]] (animator), [[Bruce W. Smith]] (animator) | title = The Emperor's New Groove—Audio Commentary | medium = DVD | edition = The Ultimate Groove (Two-Disc Collectors Edition)| date = May 1, 2001 | publisher = [[Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment]] | location = [[Burbank, California|Burbank, CA]] | id = {{UPC|786936150926}} | ref = DVD1}}
* {{cite video | people = Various cast and crew members | title = The Emperor's New Groove—Supplemental Features| medium = DVD | edition = The New Groove | series = Disc 2 of 2 | date = May 1, 2001| publisher = Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment | location = Burbank, CA | id = {{UPC|786936150926}} | ref = DVD2}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20010516210040/http://disney.go.com/disneyvideos/animatedfilms/groove/ Official website (archive)]<!-- Also http://disney.go.com/groove lead to http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/emperorsnewgroove/ which is also archived on the Wayback Machine -->
* {{IMDb title|id=0120917|title=The Emperor's New Groove}}
* {{mojo title|emperorsnewgroove}}

{{The Emperor's New Groove}}
{{Mark Dindal}}
{{Disney theatrical animated features}}
{{Walt Disney Animation Studios}}

{{Portal bar|Disney|Film|United States|Animation|Cartoon}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Emperor's New Groove, The}}
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[[Category:American children's animated comedy films]]
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