The Emperor's New Groove

Disney's assembly-line animation house does it again, turning out its funniest full-length cartoon in recent years in The Emperor's New Groove, which tells the story of a snide, whiny, spoiled brat monarch (the perfectly voice-cast David Spade) of an ancient Peruvian empire who is turned into a llama by his nefarious court magician Yzma (Eartha Kitt) in a plan to take over the kingdom. Lost outside the city, the sarcastic and pampered emperor-turned-llama is reluctantly befriended by a villager (John Goodman) who helps him get back to his palace, defeat Yzma, and learn a little humility and human kindness along the way. A hilariously self-aware sense of humor lends a freshness to the proceedings here, and while this is not a timeless animated masterpiece like some of its predecessors, it's more pure fun than most of them. Recommended. (R. Blackwelder)[DVD Review—Nov. 1, 2005—Walt Disney, 78 min., G, $29.99—Making its third appearance on DVD, 2000's The Emperor's New Groove: The New Groove Edition features a nice transfer and DTS or Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. DVD extras include audio commentary (by producer Randy Fullmer, director Mark Dindal, art director Colin Stimpson, character designer Joseph Moshier, head of story Stephen Anderson, Kuzco animator Nik Ranieri, and Pacha animator Bruce Smith), three deleted scenes (13 min.), a behind-the-scenes featurette (9 min.), the music videos “My Furry Friend and Me” performed by Sting (3 min.), “Walk the Llama Llama” performed by Rascal Flatts (2 min.), “The Emperor's Got Game” DVD game and trailers. Bottom line: if you already own the initial single-disc release or “The Ultimate Groove” 2-Disc Collector's Edition,” then you already have this “New Groove Edition,” and there is no reason to buy. If not, then this one's recommended.][Blu-ray Review—July 2, 2013—Walt Disney, 3 discs, 153 min., G, $29.99—Making their first appearance on Blu-ray, 2000's The Emperor's New Groove and 2005's Kronk's New Groove both feature solid transfers and DTS-HD 5.1 soundtracks. The Blu-ray contains both feature films with no special features, while the bonus DVD copies included carry over extras from previous releases. The DVD for The Emperor's New Groove features audio commentary (by producer Randy Fullmer, director Mark Dindal, art director Colin Stimpson, character designer Joseph Moshier, head of story Stephen Anderson, Kuzco animator Nik Ranieri, and Pacha animator Bruce Smith), three deleted scenes (13 min.), a behind-the-scenes featurette (9 min.), the music videos “My Furry Friend and Me” by Sting (3 min.) and “Walk the Llama Llama” by Rascal Flatts (2 min.), “The Emperor's Got Game” DVD game, and trailers. The DVD for Kronk's New Groove includes the “How to Cook a Movie” making-of featurette (8 min.), “Kronk's Brain Game” challenge, “Pyramid Scheme” trivia questions, and trailers. Bottom line: a Disney charmer and its sequel bow on Blu-ray in a handsomely-priced two-fer package.]