Reviewing - The Kuzco Collection
He’s the sovereign lord of the nation, the hippest cat in creation. He’s the Alpha, the Omega – A to Z. Just don’t throw off his groove.
Emperor Kuzco is the charismatic and snarky predecessor to an even more unconventional Disney hero, Stitch. But where Stitch’s zany antics often end up making him look ridiculous, Kuzco prides himself on one thing – himself. Whatever he does, he does it with class. Even if that includes getting turned into a llama.
The Emperor’s New Groove (***)
In which Kuzco interrupts his own movie - but if he’s a llama in those moments, wouldn’t that mean these interruptions occurred BEFORE he turned back into a human? Unclear
Jam-packed with laughs, Kuzco’s adventure has enough heart to be distinctly Disney but nothing to make it great.
After the ambitious releases of Fantasia 2000 and Dinosaur, The Emperor’s New Groove brings Disney back to its traditional animated roots. Interestingly, this film only came out a year and a bit after Tarzan. It must have been a busy time for Disney, having four films all being released within a nineteen month period. This film in particular had a really hard time making it to the big screen. Originally titled “Kingdom of the Sun”, the story began taking shape way back in 1994. There’s a whole documentary titled “The Sweatbox” that goes into how tumultuous the production was, and I hope to watch it sometime soon.
The big difference that I think sets this film apart from the flicks of the Disney Renaissance is its extreme emphasis on jokes. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not complaining about the comedy in this movie. It’s a VERY funny movie. Kronk has so many hysterical scenes, like his self-soundtracked spy bit, his shoulder-angel conversation, and any part where he’s cooking. Kuzco is ridiculously full of himself, in a snarky and charismatic almost Tony Stark kind of way. I suppose the difference is that Tony has reason to boast, whereas Kuzco doesn’t. Kuzco’s moments where he interrupts the movie are also pretty funny, even if the kind of fourth-wall breaking cynicism he presents are kind of cliché in today’s age. The thing where a movie freezes and then a character says “Yep, that’s me...you’re probably wondering how I got here” or something along those lines is a big joke online now. But in this film, the trope was either still new or the execution was competent enough to be forgiveable.
So it’s not a bad thing that this movie is so funny. The point I want to make though is that this film emphasizes and focuses on humour in a way that pretty much all of the Disney Renaissance films didn’t. Even Aladdin – which had Robin freaking Williams – kept Aladdin’s struggle to tell Jasmine the truth at the heart of its story, while the Genie played a hilarious and supporting role. Because the focus is on the jokes, the heart of the film or the potential for truly poignant moments gets a little bit thwarted. Kuzco, our main man, is a funny character. As a result, he can’t really have a big emotional revelation in the same way that Simba, Quasimodo, or Belle could. He still grows as a character, but he’s never straight-faced for very long.
The animation is fine, but the shading and CGI integration that I loved so much about the Disney Renaissance is virtually nonexistent. There aren’t really any shots that take your breath away. Like I said, this film wants to make you laugh, and not much else.
As a comedy, this is good stuff. Compared to Disney’s prior work, I suppose it’s a bit of a letdown, but on its own merit it’s certainly not a bad movie.
Oh yeah, and did you notice that Piglet’s voice actor John Fielder provided the voice for the old man that threw off Kuzco’s groove? I never noticed that until this time watching the film.
Kronk’s New Groove (**1/2)
In which Kronk highlights all the ways my father made me feel insignificant without opening his mouth
Patrick Warburton is great, but he’s not enough to save an uninspired plot.
Kronk was one of the best parts of the original film. Unfortunately, there are far too many movie spinoffs where a supporting character is given the spotlight and they end up unable to carry the film on their own shoulders. Kronk is an interesting exception to this rule – it’s not his fault that this movie doesn’t work. Patrick Warburton has an iconic voice – you’ve almost certainly heard him in another movie or television show – and he gives it everything he’s got for this follow-up. What makes this film hard to enjoy is that there’s just nothing that great going on story-wise. The movie is almost a package film; it’s made up of two large flashbacks followed by a third act that happens in the present. In other words, it’s almost like three separate stories – and if Cinderella II, Belle’s Magical World, Piglet’s Big Movie, or Tarzan and Jane have been any indication, that narrative structure is NEVER a good sign for an animated film – ESPECIALLY a direct-to-video film.
There are moments where the movie almost gets funny, but it relies too heavily on re-hashing jokes from the original. The whole fourth-wall breaking moments where Kuzco jumps in are now jarring rather than charming. The shoulder-angel bits are done to death.
All in all, they’ve taken a funny character and refused to do anything interesting with him.
The animation is competent to the point where it’s basically on the same level as the original, but there just isn’t anything in here worth watching again.
Except, of course, for the bit with the nostril flare of total rejection.
The Emperor’s New School (**)
This felt a bit like Phineas and Ferb except dull and without charm or creativity.
Phineas and Ferb was a great cartoon show, and every episode was virtually the same. Phineas and Ferb would do some cool outrageous thing while their sister Candace tried to bust them on it. Simultaneously, their pet platypus (who is really a secret agent) would do battle with the evil Doofenshmurtz. Somehow, the two storylines would connect at just the right moment in a way that turned everything back to normal – right at the moment when Candace was about to ‘bust’ her brothers. It was a simple formula, but they somehow kept it fresh and exciting.
This show is similar but worse. Most episodes feature Kuzco getting involved in some sort of hair-brained scheme to try and pass a course (he’s always on the verge of failing). Yzma always enlists Kronk’s help, someone gets turned into some sort of animal, and somehow things work out anyway and Kuzco passes. Oh yeah, and the potion that turned him into an animal always wears off – because thank goodness they do that. Unfortunately, where Phineas and Ferb stayed funny and fresh each episode, this is kind of bland from day one. Jokes that were funny in the original film are bled beyond dry for the show. There’s just nothing that made me laugh.
This next part is a bit nitpicky, but come on – I didn’t watch all this stuff for nothing. The chronology of this show makes no sense given the original film and the sequel. Kronk’s New Groove takes place immediately after the original, as evidenced by Yzma’s cat tail. This film can’t take place after Kronk’s New Groove because Kronk is once again in Yzma’s service. But it also can’t take place after the original film, because why on earth would Kuzco allow Yzma to still work for the government? It ALSO can’t take place BEFORE the original film, because Kuzco clearly understands how Yzma is constantly trying to take his emperor position again. If he understood this, she never would’ve been around for the original film.
And HEY! This is a high school, right?! What is Kronk doing here? We know Kuzco turns 18 in the original film, so whether this happens right before or right after the movie, we can believe Kuzco is still in school. But Kronk is mid-to-late twenties! It said that in the movie! NOT ONLY THAT, but there’s a freaking scene in this show where Kronk looks back at his time in college! How can he be in high school IF HE GRADUATED COLLEGE?!
Stupid.