The Emperor’s New Groove

The Emperor’s New Groove is a 2000 American animated slapstick buddy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 40th animated Disney feature film, the film was directed by Mark Dindal, written by David Reynolds and starring David Spade, John Goodman, Eartha Kitt, Patrick Warburton and Wendie Malick. The film follows a selfish young Incan emperor named Kuzco who is transformed into a llama by his ex-advisor Yzma. In order for the emperor to change back into a human, he trusts a village leader named Pacha who escorts him back to the palace.

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Narrated by himself throughout the film, Kuzco is the selfish and egotistical emperor of the Inca kingdom who routinely punishes anyone who disappoints him or “throws off his groove”. Kuzco meets up with Pacha, a kind peasant and village leader, and tells him that he plans to demolish Pacha’s hilltop family home to build himself a lavish summer resort called “Kuzcotopia”, leaving Pacha despondent. When Kuzco later fires his conniving adviser Yzma, she, along with her dim-witted henchman Kronk, plots to take the throne. The pair attempt to poison the emperor at dinner, but due to a mix up with the labels on Yzma’s vials, they inadvertently give him a potion that transforms him into a llama. When the two knock Kuzco unconscious and stuff him in a sack, Yzma orders Kronk to dispose of him. Kronk at the last moment changes his mind and saves him, but misplaces the sack on a cart belonging to Pacha.

Pacha returns home, unaware of the unconscious llama on his cart. When he wakes, Kuzco blames Pacha for his transformation and orders him to return him to the capital. Pacha offers to do so only if Kuzco changes his mind about Kuzcotopia, to which Kuzco at first refuses. However, after running afoul of the local wildlife, he accepts Pacha’s offer, secretly planning to go back on his word once he is safe. The two survive many ordeals in the jungle, and Pacha finds Kuzco has a kinder side to him underneath his ego, and believes he will remain true to his word. Meanwhile, Yzma has taken the throne, but soon learns that Kronk failed to kill Kuzco. The two set out to find Kuzco.

Both pairs arrive at a jungle diner at the same time. Pacha overhears Yzma’s plan to kill him, and tries to warn Kuzco, but Kuzco does not believe him, and announces that he still plans to destroy Pacha’s village, leading to a falling out between the two. However, Kuzco soon overhears more of Yzma and Kronk’s scheming. Realizing no one in his kingdom misses him because of his selfishness, Kuzco leaves the diner on his own, planning on living out his days as a llama. Pacha catches up, still willing to help Kuzco return to normal. Kuzco apologizes for his selfishness and they set off for Pacha’s house to resupply.

When they arrive, Yzma is already there. Pacha has his family stall Yzma, giving him and Kuzco a head start back to the capital. They head to Yzma’s laboratory and find numerous transformation potions, including the antidote, but Yzma and Kronk have somehow arrived first. Yzma orders Kronk to kill the pair, but Kronk cannot bring himself to do so, and ends up switching sides. After dropping him down a trap door, Yzma orders her guards to capture the pair under the pretense that they killed the emperor. Pacha grabs a handful of vials, while he and Kuzco flee, trying the various vials during their flight to find the right one. As they are cornered on the ledges of a giant wall structure, they find they are down to two vials. During a scuffle, Yzma falls onto one of the vials and is transformed into a “helpless” cat. After some hi-jinx, Kuzco and Pacha recover the other vial to which Kuzco drinks it.

Now human again and a more selfless ruler, Kuzco takes Pacha’s suggestion of moving Kuzcotopia over to a neighbouring, unoccupied hill next to Pacha’s village. Some time later, Kuzco joins Pacha and his family at his modest resort, sharing his swimming pool with them, while elsewhere Kronk has become a scout leader and trains a new batch of scouts, including the reluctant Yzma, who remains a kitten.