Opens:
December 15, 2000
Company:
Walt Disney Animation
MPAA
Rating: Not Yet Rated (“G” expected)
Description:
The Emperor’s New Groove, which use to be called Kingdom in the
Sun and before that Kingdom of the Sun has gone through so many
changes it’s hard to keep track. The story use to be about a prince
who trades places with a member of his kingdom who looks nearly
identical. The only way to tell the two apart is by a special
mark of the sun that appears on the arm of the prince. Little
does the prince know that his adventure will be no walk in the
park as a lost city is discovered and evil villainess uncovered
with an agenda of her own. That was before. Now the story is about
a young Emperor who needs lessons in kindness. He makes many enemies
and is eventually turned into a llama, escaping to a village he
was planning on demolishing. Read the February 3, 2000 tip for
further information.
Added
9/26/00
Outrageous comedy reigns supreme in a mythical mountain kingdom
when arrogant young Emperor Kuzco is transformed into a llama
by his power-hungry advisor, the devious diva Yzma. Stranded in
the jungle, Kuzco's only chance to get back home and reclaim the
high life rests with good-hearted peasant Pacha. Kuzco's perfect
world becomes a perfect mess as this most unlikely duo deal with
hair-raising dangers, wild comic predicaments, and -- most horrifying
of all -- each other as they race to return Kuzco to the throne
before Yzma tracks them down and finishes him off. Ultimately,
Kuzco's friendship with Pacha teaches this royal pain to see his
world in a different way. With its distinctive flavor, upbeat
music by Grammy® Award-winning singer-songwriter Sting, and stylish
animation, "The Emperor's New Groove" is sure to get moviegoers
in the groove for fun, fantasy, and adventure.
Crew
Director......................................................................Mark
Dindal
Producer..................................................................Randy
Fullmer
Executive Producer.........................................................Don
Hahn
Musical Score..........................................................Marc
Shaiman
Songs..........................................................Sting
& David Hartley
Voice
Talent
David Spade......................................"Kuzco"
- The Young Emperor
John Goodman............................................."Pacha"
- The Peasant
Eartha Kitt................................................"Yzma"
- The Evil Advisor
Patrick Warbuton...................................."Kronk"
- Yzma's Assistant
Today's
Tips:
Sept 26, 2000
Tip
by = Spade
Movie Tip = The trailer for The Emporer's New Groove is now availble
at disney.com.
More Tips:
(January 28,
1999) “The Insider” tells Animation Artist magazine that there
has been a lot of behind-the-scenes problems with the development
of Kingdom of the Sun, which is greatly delaying the original
plans of having it out in the year 2000. “It still appears that
the production will get made and become one of Disney´s main movies
in 2001 - probably the Summer,” says “The Insider.”
(February
3, 1999) “Cory” tells Animation Artist magazine that the villain
in the film is a powerful sorceress named Yzma, voiced by Eartha
Kitt.
(April 9,
1999) “Mr. Peaches and Cream” came through with some reliable
personnel information on Kingdom of the Sun as follows: “Yzma
is being animated by Andreas Deja (notable for his work on Scar,
Jafar, and Hercules) David Spade is going to provide one of the
voices for the film. And, finally, the music will be done by Sting.
I also heard this is the first ‘original’ film Disney has done
since the Lion King—If you thought the Lion King was original.”
(August 11,
1999) One of our most reliable sources, The Animation Ranger,
tells Animation Artist Magazine that Disney has changed the name
of its animated film from Kingdom of the Sun to Kingdom in the
Sun.
(August 25,
1999) We have a new tipster in town who has some good connections.
“Oris” is one of our new contacts and he/she says, “Unfortunately,
Andreas Deja, a very talented animator (Scar, Jafar, Hercules....)
has left the project. (Doesn't that seem weird when you know that
a year ago he said "it's my goal to make her as memorable as Cruella
De Vil..."?) He now works at the Orlando studios on Leilo and
Stitch, which he thinks is one of the best and most original stories
Disney has ever invented. At one point the production stopped
because the directors weren't getting along and the story sucked.
I think Roger Allers left and now works on Leilo and Stitch. Mark
Dindal is the only director -very unusual for a Disney movie...
The plot has been a little changed, and the production has restarted.
The movie will probably get a fall 2000 release date.”
(February
3, 2000) We’ve received some disturbing news about still another
name change. Numerous sources, one within Disney, have told us
that Kingdom in the Sun (which use to be Kingdom of the Sun) is
now being changed to The Emperor’s New Groove. This is one of
the most disturbing name changes we’ve ever witnessed simply because
the title doesn’t sound good for any move, much less a Disney
animated movie. From reaction we’ve seen around the net, it seems
that Disney did not hold a focus group to determine reaction to
the name. If the title must be changed, here are a few of our
suggestions based on what we know: The Emperor (short and sweet).
The Aztec Emperor (short and slightly mysterious). The Prince
and the Llama (after all, it’s a story of the prince turning into
a Llama). The Price of Power (which is what the movie deals with).
We feel that each of these suggestions, which took seconds to
come up with, are much stronger than The Emperor’s New Groove.
The words “new groove” just don’t seem to fit the title of a legendary
story set in the past in the Aztec empire.
We’ve also
received reports that Disney is going to take a more “modernized”
and “humorous” approach to the film - ala Hercules - versus a
stronger story approach like Tarzan, The Lion King, etc.. This
is just the latest news in a string of incidents that have plagued
this film for a long time. Can it be fixed? Will the title be
changed again? There are many questions left about The Emporer’s
New Groove.
(February
3, 2000) The movie has apparently undergone a major story change,
which was the reason for the title change. According to recent
tips, the prince goes to claim his throne from his evil aunt.
Instead of becoming king, he is accidentally turned into a Llama
(versus killed) and must face a good portion of the movie as a
talking Llama in another land looking for a way to get changed
back into a prince.
(February
7, 2000) Not only is Disney planning on keeping “The Emporer’s
New Groove” as a title, but Disney is also now promoting the title.
This great tip by “Yensid” sheds some more light...
The following
is what tour guides at the "Magic of Disney Animation" in Walt
Disney World are now allowed to say to guests about The Emporer’s
New Groove:
The Emperor's
New Groove is Disney's next full-length animated feature, scheduled
to be released this holiday season. The story takes place in a
mythical kingdom inspired by the beautiful landscape and rich
culture of South America. Young Emperor Kuzco is planning the
construction of a summer palace for himself, a little project
he likes to call...Kuzcotopia. There's just one problem-- a small
village occupies the future site of the palace and Kuzco wants
it destroyed. A peasant from the village named Pacha travels to
the imperial city to ask Kuzco to build his vacation home somewhere
else. The emperor is not about to take orders from a peasant,
however, and tells Pacha that his village is history. Pacha heads
back home with the bad news.
Meanwhile,
Kuzco fires his longtime advisor, Yzma, because he thinks she
has gotten too old for her job. Yzma vows to take revenge and
orders her dim-witted henchman, Kronk, to poison Kuzco. Kronk
bungles the job and turns Kuzco into a llama instead. Through
a series of humorous twists and turns, Kuzco the llama winds up
in the back of a cart headed out of the city. As fate would have
it, the cart belongs to Pacha and Kuzco suddenly finds himself
in the very village he plans to demolish. Desperate to find Yzma
and break the spell, Kuzco sets off for the imperial city with
Pacha hot on his hooves. But this odd couple quickly finds itself
lost in the jungle and our two heroes must depend on each other
to survive. And survival won't be easy.
When Yzma
finds out Kuzco is still alive, she and Kronk set out to hunt
him down. But you'll just have to see the movie to see how it
all turns out! The Emperor's New Groove is currently in production
at Disney's animation studios in Florida, Paris, and California.
The director is Mark Dindal. Providing the voice of Kuzco is actor
David Spade, best known for his work on "Saturday Night Live"
and the TV sitcom, "Just Shoot Me." Other members of The Emperor's
New Groove's voice cast include John Goodman as Pache, Eartha
Kitt as Yzma, and Patrick Warburton, who played Elaine's boyfriend,
Puddy, on "Seinfeld."
TENG features
all new, original songs by pop star Sting, and the film's original
score was composed and conducted by Marc Shaiman.
Aug 9, 2000
Tip by = ShortDrummerBoy
Movie Tip = Disney.com has posted the trailer to this movie which
appears to have a very cartoony look compared to the Atlantis
movie and their previous movies that have come out within the
past couple of years. It looks very much like a cross between
Hercules and Aladdin. It looks pretty neat.
Upcoming
Films
