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Year One
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Emperor's New Groove, The
EMAILPRINTWalt Disney Pictures

Generally favorable reviews
Based on 28 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 19 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Family/Kids
Written by: Jonathan Roberts
Directed by: Mark Dindal
Release Date:
Theatrical: December 15, 2000
DVD: May 1, 2001
Running Time: 100 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
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)
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Chicken Little
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
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.
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.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >Variety Robert Koehler
Light, taut and compact, the zippy adventure is sometimes much too hip for the room.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >Newsweek David Ansen
This is a fleet, funny family entertainment that should tickle parents as well as tykes.
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.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >USA Today Susan Wloszczyna
The goofiest, giddiest and, yes, grooviest animated trip since Aladdin unbottled its genie.
Read Full Review >Time Richard Corliss
Doesn't aim too high or strain too hard; it is at ease inhabiting its pretty, miniature realm.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >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.
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.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly David Chute
Plotwise, the movie's groove is more like a well-worn rut. Visually, too, the movie looks half-recycled.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 9.4 (out of 10) based on 19 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.
