Kronk's New Groove

Everybody loves sequels right? Disney seemed to think so in 2005 when it released Kronk’s New Groove, sequel to The Emperor’s New Groove. All the original voice actors reprise their roles, with new voices by John Mahoney and Tracey Ullman.

Kronk (Patrick Warburton) is now working as a chef in the diner seen in the previous film. No longer Yzma’s (Ertha Kitt) henchman, he’s loved by everyone and he loves his life. However, when he gets a letter that says his father is coming, he recounts how he used to have a girlfriend (Ullman) and a house on a hill just like his father wanted. But now, he doesn’t and fears the disapproval of his father.

The Emperor’s New Groove had some pretty decent fourth wall jokes. This film realizes that and tries to milk them for all they’re worth, including Kuzco just showing up and revealing the theatrical poster of the first film and the DVD cover of this film. And they’re hardly funny.

Kronk’s goal is also just inane, looking for a thumbs up from his father. And while he gets it, the way it’s teased is just so banal.

The pacing is also completely terrible, making a film that’s only 70 minutes long feel like it’s taking forever. When a direct to video sequel feels like it’s taking the same amount of time films like Birth of a Nation and Gone with the Wind take, that’s just asking for the toddlers that this is marketed to stop paying attention.

However, there are some good jokes, mainly due to Warburton’s deadpan style of delivery. Imagine him sneaking around and seeing someone pound a mound of dough and Warburton whispering “she’s pounding me in effigy” to himself. But with every good joke, there’s dozens of bad ones, which really doesn’t help the pacing.

#104

The Emperor's New Groove

Disney finally put out another original idea near the end of 2000. The Emperor’s New Groove was a traditional buddy comedy starring David Spade, John Goodman, Eartha Kitt, Patrick Warburton, Wendie Malick, and John Fiedler with a couple songs written by Sting and sung by Tom Jones. Originally intended to be a complete musical, it was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song, but lost to Wonder Boys.  

 

Kuzco (Spade) is the spoiled Emperor of a nation based on the Incan Empire. On his 18^th birthday, he is the target of an assassination attempt by his adviser Yzma (Kitt) and her lackey Kronk (Warburton). They fail and he is turned into a llama. He teams up with a peasant named Pacha (Goodman) to reclaim his throne.

David Spade turning into a llama is such an odd idea for a movie. And while the execution of the story isn’t all that great, the film isn’t actually all that bad. It’s your average buddy road trip comedy that stays with the formula of road trip comedies. But Disney is known for delving into the grandiose and this doesn’t feel like it.

However, this film is saved by its villains, comedic timing and clever destruction of the fourth wall. Yzma and Kronk have all the funniest scenes and they’re animated really well. Kronk also having the stupidest talent in talking to squirrels isn’t done to death and isn’t too stupid to ruin the film.

Also, timing is the hardest part of comedy. And this film has near perfect timing. The comedy happens just at the right time and never goes on for too long. There’s also one great running gag that isn’t overused. It also des well in how it breaks the fourth wall. Spade narrating, then arguing with himself or Kronk trying to make sense of a map the viewers have seen is great (In the Italian dub, Kronk even says the writers are still figuring the scene out). But like the timing, there’s not too many fourth wall jokes to ruin their effect.

Despite being such an odd idea, this is a pretty good film.  What’s even better is that Disney didn’t try to soak every last cent out of it with a crappy sequel and series. Right? Right?

Crap.

#19