The Emperor's New Groove

The Emperor's New Groove is a 2000 American animated comedy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Mark Dindal and produced by Randy Fullmer, from a screenplay by David Reynolds, and a story by Dindal and Chris Williams. The voice cast features 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 young and self-centered Emperor Kuzco (voiced by Spade), who is accidentally transformed into a llama by his ex-advisor, Yzma (Kitt), and her dim-witted but affable henchman, Kronk (Warburton). For the emperor to change back into a human, he entrusts a village leader, 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 epic titled Kingdom of the Sun. Following his directorial debut with The Lion King (1994), Roger Allers recruited English musician Sting to compose several songs for the film. Because of the underwhelming box-office performances of Pocahontas (1995) and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), Dindal was brought in as co-director to make the film more comedic. 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 to theaters on December 15, 2000. It performed disappointingly at the box office compared to Disney films released in the 1990s, grossing $169.5 million on a $100-million budget. However, the film found larger success when it was released for home media, and became the best-selling DVD of 2001. In the years since its release, The Emperor's New Groove garnered a cult following among fans. It received generally favorable reviews from critics. 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.