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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

Emperor's New Groove, The
Walt Disney Pictures


9.4

based on 28 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 17 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

FILM:

Chicken Little

MPAA RATING: G for General Audiences

Starring David Spade, John Goodman, Eartha Kitt, Patrick Warburton, Wendie Malick, Trudy Styler, and Tom Jones

The misadventures of an arrogant, egocentric young Emperor named Kuzco, who is transformed into a llama by his power-hungry advisor -- the devious diva Yzma. Stranded in a jungle, Kuzco's only chance to get back home and reclaim the high life rests with a good-hearted peasant named Pacha. (Walt Disney Pictures)

GENRE(S):	Family/Kids
WRITTEN BY:	Jonathan Roberts
DIRECTED BY:	Mark Dindal
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: May 1, 2001 Video: May 1, 2001 Theatrical: December 15, 2000
RUNNING TIME:	100 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

A spry and appealing film that throws off comic sparks with aplomb.

Mr. Showbiz Cody Clark

This joyous romp is no mere new groove, it's a live wire -- 110 volts of pure holiday cheer.

TV Guide Frank Lovece

A comic masterpiece.

Washington Post Rita Kempley

A hip, hilarious new animated feature.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

Spade and Warburton might not have made The Emperor's New Groove one of the mouse factory's all-time greatest, but they've certainly made it one of the funniest.

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas

A delightful, effervescent morality tale for children conveyed with such wit and sophistication that adults are likely to be enchanted as well.

Boston Globe Loren King

A lively, invigorating comedy: a near-perfect mix of fresh characters, well-cast voices, superb visuals, and a fast-paced, fantasy-adventure plot.

Miami Herald Christine Dolen

Thanks to myriad animators, the characters cavort, laugh and struggle against stunning backdrops, from lush jungles to cascading waterfalls. Groovy? Absolutely.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

Hip, funny, mostly nonmusical, decidedly non- epic family picture.

Variety Robert Koehler

Light, taut and compact, the zippy adventure is sometimes much too hip for the room.

Film.com Henry Cabot Beck

The design of the film is wonderful, the animation everything one comes to expect from a Disney picture, and the jokes fly by so fast.

Newsweek David Ansen

This is a fleet, funny family entertainment that should tickle parents as well as tykes.

Dallas Observer M. V. Moorhead

Most of it--ranges from very funny to hilarious.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

When the Looney Tunes trademark came on the screen at the kiddie matinee of long ago, the kiddies would cheer in unison because they knew they were going to have unmitigated fun. The Emperor's New Groove evokes the same kind of spirit.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

Why is The Emperor's New Groove Disney's funniest animated movie in years? Because it's the least like a Disney animated movie.

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

Nobody does this stuff better than Disney, and there's plenty here to like.

San Francisco Chronicle Peter Stack

This oddball comedy may be one of the brightest, funniest pieces of entertainment of the season.

USA Today Susan Wloszczyna

The goofiest, giddiest and, yes, grooviest animated trip since Aladdin unbottled its genie.

Time Richard Corliss

Doesn't aim too high or strain too hard; it is at ease inhabiting its pretty, miniature realm.

The New York Times Stephen Holden

Exhibits a cheeky effervescence and spunk.

Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector

Exciting, clever sequences driven by surprisingly little plot and culminating in a climax full of the transmogrification animation was invented for.

Philadelphia Inquirer Desmond Ryan

Picks up speed as it goes along and the finale is frenzied and, well, cartoonish.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Refreshingly flirts with a very un-Disney political incorrectness.

TNT RoughCut Andy Klein

Pretty hysterical.

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

Freewheeling and mindless.

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

A bright and zippy, but alarmingly over-campy and lighter-than-fluff cartoon feature.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

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.

LA Weekly David Chute

Plotwise, the movie's groove is more like a well-worn rut. Visually, too, the movie looks half-recycled.

The average user rating for this movie is 9.4 (out of 10) based on 17 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Jake H. gave it a9:
One of Disney's best and funniest animated films.

Chinese Boy gave it a 10:
Demon llama!

Scott L. gave it a 10:
ROCKS!

Simon D. gave it a 9:
Thanks to an inept ad campaign from a studio that had never produced a pure comedy before, this film vanished witohut a trace. But it is one of the funniest and wittiest comedies of any kind of the past ten years, influenced by Chuck Jones rather than by Walt Disney and full of spunk and even heart.

Lama gave it a 10:
Though the animation isn't great and the plot isn't too great either, I found the characters lovable, the jokes hilarious, the settings gorgeous, the music fabulous, and there wasn't really a "good vs. evil" theme in there (though there was a villain--who wasn't really much of a villain).

Redvers K. gave it a 10:
Bring it on.

Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Mulroneycakes gave it a 9:
This is a FUNNY movie. Really. Not a great classic - the animation's occasionally a little ragged, the angular drawing method a little wearing and the minamalistic backdrops to the palace scenes and so on served only to detach me from the movie - but BLOODY GOOD. Dump your kids in front of it and stick around with them. Also, an extra point for featuring possibly the first - gasp - pregnant woman in a major role in a Disney animated feat- sod it, cartoon.

Emperor's New Groove, The Walt Disney Pictures

Emperor's New Groove, The
Walt Disney Pictures