"The Emperor's New Groove" vs. "Kingdom of the Sun" - An Assessment and Scrutiny About The Two Different Versions of The Movie

Hi folks! Welcome to my My Own Personal Nerdy Disney and Animation Scrutinizing Analysis blog. A blog where I'm analyzing several Disney films, Disney or Animation in general! These entries are just meant to be my analyses. Not reviews or statements. Just fun analyses! Though I'll make some personal remarks now and then, the content of these entries are meant to be depicted objectively. They're made for entertainment purpose only and the pictures/clips are copyright Disney or other companies. 

Make sure to leave a comment if you like this site! And if there's something you think could be improved, please let me know. But in a constructive way, please. And just a note; I'm not a Native English writer, so my incorrect grammar may be notable.

And finally; If you haven't seen the films, beware of spoilers! And the funny lines aren't meant to be nothing than funny. So I hope you won't find them offensive. If so, I apologize

 

 

 

The Kingdom is hidden behind
the logo ;)

Yes, I`m the llama of Midas :)
Lucky me :)

 

 

 

The letter C was
added afterwards :)
Don`t ask me how
:)

The beginning of this Millenium wasn`t only a changing time for animation, but for Disney themselves. After coming off the heels of the successful Renaissance that lasted a decade, Disney went slowly into a new dark era where their movies were declining. These movies weren`t catching the attention of neither critics nor audiences. Of course a relelvant aspect is how Disney eventually abandoned hand drawn animation because of these underperformances. So it`s needless to say that within five years, Disney decided to ditch hand drawn animation all together (despite having a brief resurgence with The Princess and the Frog and Winnie the Pooh, which unfortunately was a very brief one). The only exception was Lilo & Stitch that became a major hit. But unfortunately it wasn`t able to save the future of hand drawn animation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Perks of Disney`s Change of Formula in The Dark Age

 

I`ve watched Jump
In too many
times :)

However, in retrospect, the dark age that followed the Renaissance was also an interesting time for Disney. It was a time where Disney genuinely decided to throw out the formula that was so frequently criticized for being homogenous from the Renaissance. And actually started to take some new risks. Regardless of how these movies are perceived of being inferior to the Renaissance, the risks they took were an evidence of how Disney themselves wanted to detract themselves from that pattern. And expand their horizons. 

Which was a good thing. While most of the pictures from the 1990`s felt from the same cloth, at least the Dark Age had a disctinctive feel to each of their movies. Some of them didn`t even felt like Disney and as they`ve could`ve come from other studios. And being an older teenager at the time, I`ve applauded those choices. As it made some of their films feeling like breath of fresh air.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Emperor`s New Groove

I was so sullen that I had to
get even on the villain with
calling her out :) Please
forgive me :)

I know this posion
looks like a trompet :)
But hey, it was meant
to be something in
disguise :)

The first one to actually start this new timeline was a little, frisky comedy called The Emperor`s New Groove. A simple middle-of-the-road movie that felt that it could`ve come from Warner Bros, Groove was pretty much a departure from the Renaissance in various ways. Despite having various, typical Disney components (an arrogant ruler who learns humility), Groove was essentially a full blown comedy with a lot of cartoony anachronisms to it`s Incan setting (evidence by it`s groovy title, no pun intended). And various meta-in jokes. Groove was the first movie since Saludos Amigos to be set in Latin-America. And being essentially a road trip/buddy comedy with no love interest whatsoever for the main lead (animator Nik Ranieri compared it to Dumbo for being a small picture with heart). 

It also was pretty much a non-musical, with the exception of a opening and closing song, Perfect World (written by Sting, but sung by Tom Jones. As Sting thought he was too old to sing it). And the mandatory end credits song, My Funny Friend and Me (Sting likes buddy songs and took inspiration from a trip with his partner, Dave Hartley. Yet he feared that it would be too sappy for a comedy). 

And with lot of inspired voice acting (David Spade as Kuzco, John Goodman as Pacha, chosen for being a father that you’d want to have, Eartha Kitt as Yzma and Patrick Warburton as Kronk). Groove had few characters and short running time. Even the animated style was more lean and simple, but it was a style that Thomas Schumacher loved (Peter Pan was an influence for the bright colors). The simplicity was also reflected with it`s marketing. Being released with not much fanfare, and without the usual Disney merchandising campaign (in fact, the studio didn’t really know what to do with it and even the meta-marketing made some of the crew confused. The marketing just couldn’t promote it).

Yeah, it`s groovy to be
violent :) Don`t blame me :)

Please don`t open
it :) It will only
unleash chaos :)

While Groove was unfortunately a Box Office failure, it still outgrossed what was going to be the big hit of the fall, 102 Dalmatians. However, Groove did get good reviews. Some labeled it for being Disneys funniest romp since Aladdin and for being the best Warner Brothers-comedy from Disney (why is why Disney rolled out new TV spots for it afterwards). And did eventually found it`s audience and has become a cherished cult classic. As it sold over 8 million copies in 2001 alone. And sure, while it shared a similar setting to DreamWorks` The Road to El Dorado (which also was a comedy, but a more polished one), at least the latter was an amalgam of various cultures, whereas Groove focused on an Incan setting (despite how the land in Groove is fictional, according to Dindal). 

Kingdom of The Sun

I`m a Royal stand-in :) Sort of :)

However, we all know that Groove eventually didn`t start that way. Originally it was conceived of being an serious, dark epic called Kingdom of the Sun. Which had an entirely different storyline. Kingdom was essentially an Incan version of Mark Twains The Prince and The Pauper (which Disney had adapted before with the Mickey Mouse short). Alongside with Prisoner of Zenda, a story, about a prince and his distant cousin who are dead ringers. Interwoven with some Incan myths. 

I`m trying to make
myself taller :)

Still, Kingdom it had the same arcs for Kuzco, who was then also an Emperor, called Manco Capac, and Pacha (voiced then by Owen Wilson). Manco and Pacha switches places. Yzma (who originally looked much more like Eartha Kitt, but was redrawn when she mentioned to the studio that she'd want royalties), who looked like an Incan version of Cruella deVil, was then a high priestess who wants to regain her beauty (supervised by villain animator Andreas Deja, which was a dream that came true for him. For wanting to animate a character as campy and over the top. And yes, Eisner wanted Barbara Streisand as Yzma). Yzma transforms Manco into a speechless llama, while Pacha falls in love with Manco`s bride to be, Nina (voiced by Carla Cugino).

Kingdom was originally directed by Roger Allers (The Lion King, who got to choose between Incan, Mayan and Aztec). And had various songs by Sting, approached in 1997. And yes, the choice could be seen as cynical. For following the same mold that Disney`s did with Elton John and Phil Collins for Lion King and Tarzan (but it was Chris Montan who wanted Sting. For his lyrics, yet feared that Sting would be too sophisticated). Kingdom was originally going to be the big Summer release for 2000. And the whole crew were excited for the project. It had an estimated $30 millions of dollars of finished animation.

No, I don`t want you
to outshine me :)

I`m doing the llama dance :)

Yet the fate of Kingdom is essentially history: By the Summer of 1998, it was scrapped due to various problems. And was in danger to be canned. For six months production was shut down.  

Disney already agreements with McDonalds, Coca Cola and General Mills about Kingdom`s release. Eisner issued an ultimatum: The studio had two weeks to convince him that there was an way to save the project. The team only had 18-months to transform Kingdom into Groove. Eisner shut down the $25 million production. 

Yeah, I want to shine :) That`s
why the light behind me is
golden :) I can`t help being
conceited :)

Eventually, Kingdom`s co-director Mark Dindal (who came on two years later than Allers but was chosen for his sly wit for his work on Cats Don`t Dance) managed to scrap the film into a light hearted comedy (a random conversation with a random woman made Dindal realize that there were little to the story). Which was a complete different vision that Allers had envisioned. Yet he was genuinely surprised and hurt of the lack of faith the studio had in him. Which is why he pleaded to be taken off the project, because it was too disheartening for him. Yet Allers handled it like a pro and didn`t feel any resentment towards his followers. Dindal eventually became the sole director for Groove, which was a rarity for an animated director at the time. Peter Schneider felt they were just repeating themselves with the same forumla. Which is why the crew wanted a change (which made the Chuck Jones vision for Groove a choice from the get-go, since Dindal loved that stuff as well). But the change was also caused by the precarious position which Disney was finding itself in the late 90s.

This will be the new trend
in the future :) The mummy
dance: )

Even an angel can be mad :)

Manco was retooled into Kuzco, while still having a
similar personality (but the choice to name him Kuzco cause names that start with a hard "K" sound funnier), even though the crew used months to figure out his personality. Presenting him in a positive way was a challenge. Pacha and Yzma were also retooled, despite having their similar characteristics (Pacha became the linking thread for have a character that the audience would root for, considering how egomaniac both Kuzco and Yzma are). Pacha`s age was risen up from sixteen to fourty-five (while it was suggested to have Kuzco interact with a kid instead of Pacha). Nina, Huaca (Harvey Fierstein, Yao in Mulan) and Snowball the llama were deleted. As were the mummies that backed up Yzma (who were named after the rock stars Mick, Bowie and Lemmy). And new characters as Kronk (who was going to be more vain, though the crew were concerned around his large chin, which was too stereotypical) and Pacha`s family (Chicha, Tipo and Chaca) were created (Kronk was inspired by Rick Rossovich in Steve Martin`s Roxanne. Yet he was in danger of being discarded for being needless, yet the dinner scene saved him)

The story team needed six months to reboard the whole thing. Yet the writers worked overtime. And declared it to be probably the funniest writers’ room you could possibly have. The whole city was redesigned and more caricatured, inspired by Las Vegas. Groove was even scheduled for a mid-December release, a month that Disney hadn`t been given any release for long time (which was given due to how the rest of release slot was full). If Kingdom hadn`t been made into Groove, it wouldn`t have been the first of an unofficial triology of Disney films which felt like they`ve could`ve been made from other studios (Atlantis The Lost Empire and Lilo & Stitch). Chris Williams (Bolt, Big Hero 6) was among those who reboarded Groove. Don Hahn (Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Maleficent) was the co-producer. For the final script, they didn`t wrote one during production.  So they had to make one before it`s release. The title was first changed from Kingdom of the Sun to Kingdom in the Sun. But yeah, believe it or not, but the title was chosen by test audiences.  

Other Disney Features With Rocky Beginnings

At least it`s not
Let`s Groove ;)

To take consideration into this subject, we`ll have to take consideration into two different movies. But what eventually happened to The Emperor`s New Groove was in reality not different from the usual Disney process and to other Disney films. Most animated movies don`t work in their first screenings (according to Ed Catmull’s Pixar book, every movie is awful the first six times, until seventh time). Movies like Pinocchio, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King and even Pocahontas and Brother Bear had rocky beginnings and were originally completely different from their final results. However, what truly different about Groove is that it was (somewhat) based from an original concept. And therefore having much more flexibilitiy to change it. So Groove and Kingdom of the Sun are essentially as different as sun and rain. 

Even a wooly can
be a bully ;)

But because of Groove being known for originating from something different, it will always being known for exactly that and facing comparisions to it`s predecessor. Yet producer Randy Fullmer said they didn`t feel pressure during the change. And when the studio approved the new version, he had never experienced something like that before. And Schumacher said that he`s never seen a project changing so much. Yet if there`s one significant change to the new version, it was the ending. Sting wanted it to be more environmental, so he wrote a full-length letter to Disney about it. And joked about him being fired, for being afraid to be that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Reasons For Why Kingdom of the Sun Being Scrapped & The Good and Bad Sides of the Change

The name of Cuzco
city has now been
given to a llama :)

So the real question is Disney did the right choice by changing Kingdom of the Sun into The Emperor`s New Groove. But the real tragedy is that the only ones of us are able to answer that, are Disney themselves. Despite that not everything of Kingdom was wasted, as the team were doing lots of good work on it. But Allers didn`t knew how to fix the film (no offense to Allers). However, there are important reasons for why Kingdom was scrapped: It didn`t resonate enough with audiences. It was hard to know who to care about. The pacing was wacky. It had too many elements. It was too predictable and po-faced (which would`ve made it similar to it`s other two counterparts with indigenous, American tribes, Pocahontas and Brother Bear). Eisner was uncomfortable with the spiritual and cultural aspects. What gained praise, though, was the pomp and the pageantry of the project and the lassoing-the-sun climax. And the songs from Sting. Schumacher only enjoyed the love ballad, One Day She`ll Love Me, which the crew hated to loose. 

And Walk The Llama Llama,

We`re the new Native
Supersquad: The
Fantastic Native
Five :)

which rest of the crew hated. Because Hartley's clever lyrics didn't sound right coming out of a unsophisticated peasant boy. Since Pacha hadn`t been to the big city before, it didn't make sense to use words like "panorama" and "the perfect fashion statement. And that Llama was just the wrong way to introduce kindly Pacha to the audience (despite how they enjoyed the bounce and beat of the song). Yzma`s song, Snuff Out the Light, was also a favorite number and an absolute show stopper (it was compared to the Pink Elephants on Parade from Dumbo). Originally the characters were supposed to sing, even though Sting recorded the love ballad with Shawn Colvin. Sting loved the Cuban vibe of the songs and even jumped ahead of the process).   

I`m a llama in drag ;)

If Kingdom was released, it would`ve followed the unoffical pattern started by the Renaissance (by having a stirring epic every second year). Yet the reels of Groove were superior. While Schumacher wanted to give faith to Kingdom, he felt the movie should`ve been a comedy all along. Yet Eisner worried about the comedic take, since he feared that Groove would suffer the same fate as Hercules. And while the same fate happened, both became essentially cult classics afterwards. Even though the animators at the Florida studio thought the crew had lost their minds with their anachronisms (originally Kuzco was going to meet some villagers and Adam West was playing one of them. A character named Mochi, who was even going to have a song. And was referring to a phone call, which killed the whole part of the movie). Based on test audiences, Kuzco and Yzma worked. As well as the llama plotline and the story's South American setting.

I`m representing an
invisible squad :)

By analyzing the choice Disney did by ditching Kingdom, no matter how you perceive it, it was not a wasted choice by any means. Groove really turned out to be a successful and good movie. While it`s far from perfect (in my opinion), at least the changes did benefit it to the better and made it something unique in the Disney canon. Yet finding the right tone was a struggle for the team. For all the anachronisms, there was a gag with a space shuttle that was excluded (which was going to happen in the scene where Kronk gets rid of Kuzco).

We`re the smolder gang ;)

However, the downside with Groove, was that it had to be made at the expense of Kingdom. Which is really a pity. Yet regarding how the crew handled the changes, Sting liked that the first version had a larger, epic scale and was therefore questioning if he would be able to pull the new version it off. Yet he was disappointed that his songs weren`t sung by the characters. But the deleted songs were put on the official soundtrack for two reasons: To pad out the length and to make Sting work with Disney again. Deja left the assignment, as he felt that Yzma lost her potential in the new version. While Eartha Kitt was gracious with the change, she`s said that Kingdom`s Yzma was more profound and had Native Intelligence. Both Sting and John Paul Davidson (director of The Sweatbox) actually liked Kingdom. Which could fuel some theories that Disney should`ve kept Kingdom instead.

The Reveal and Information of Kingdom of the Sun 

 

What are you supposed
to be, anyway? :)

I wanted to show
my nail :) It`s
grown, huh? :)

During the years, many Disney fans like myself have wondered how Kingdom of the Sun was supposed to be. Since there were little information around it back in the late 90`s and not to mention little leaked stills of it. Yet since we live in the age of Internet, some rough animation and model sheets has been leaked. However, one reveal has been The Sweatbox documentary. Made by Sting`s wife, Trudie Styler, in 2002. In fact, one condition Sting agreed to do Kingdom was that Trudie would be allowed to film a documentary about the making. Which Schumacher agreed on, for cunning reasons (sorry if this comes across as spiteful). And while it was fascinating for the production crew, some members on Kingdom weren`t too thrilled about it.

Unfortunately, as part of the deal, the distribution rights for Sweatbox remains with Disney. And the studio has since refused to release it. Yet it was eventually screened at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2002, and opened in one theater in Los Angeles in order for an Academy Award nomination (it was originally set for an early 2001 release). But since we live in the era of the Internet, Sweatbox was eventually found through various mediums. While the majority of Sweatbox dedicates to The Emperor`s New Groove, it does reveals some of process by Kingdom in the first act. Animators were fascinated for the true and honest take on the documentary. Yet Schneider was disappointed that it wasn`t released. And Schumacher wasn`t afraid that it would hurt the studio's image. 

Yes, this is the coolest weapon
there is in our Inca century :)

However, the true reveal didn`t happen until the fall of 2016. Where animator Nik Ranieri (who supervised Kuzco and based his dance moves on Michael Jackson) posted the script for Kingdom on his Facebook page. It eventually was the reveal that many of us Disney fans wondered about. Yet the outline revealed that the script was plagued with various problems (no offence to the screenwriters). Also revealed at the time was Manco`s love interest, Mata. Who for some reason was never mentioned previously. But she was going to be a snarky character and join Manco. And was going to be voiced by Laura Prepon from That 70`s Show. The panel at the El Capital Theatre revealed Kingdom was visually quite dark, too.

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Reasons to Look Forward To Kingdom of the Sun

 

But the question should`ve been why people looked forward to Kingdom of the Sun. Well, I could list up my reasons. The first one is simple: It was going to be helmed by Roger Allers. Who made the brilliant and universally loved The Lion King. Which was pretty much the lone reason for people to look forward to it. Another reason was how Disney were able to do dramas well in the 90`s. Since how cherished and beloved the dramas were, as Beauty, Lion King and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Pocahontas was somewhat of an exception, despite it`s fanbase).

This gives the term
I`ve got your back a
literal meaning.
Duuh :)

But another personal reason for looking forward to Kingdom, was it`s exploration of cultural setting. Having had a personal interest for Incas through many years, it was disappointing that The Emperor`s New Groove pretty much ditched anything that resembled Incan mythology. Besides the topography, it didn`t feel like a genuine representation of the Incan culture (especially with it`s lack of Andean music). Which Allers really wanted to stress the mythic aspect of it and was especially intrigued by the visual possibilites of the lassoing climax. And yes, I was disappointed when I learned through websites at time that the story had been retooled to a more slim and skimpy story. And yes, there`s been several fans who`ve shared my disappointment and been sullen over the changes, as well as animation insiders.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Could`ve Disney Been Able to Save Kingdom of the Sun? 

 

Yes, I have a stand-in :)

But another and more relevant question is whether Disney could`ve been really able to salvage Kingdom of the Sun? It`s a fragile question that is hard to answer. But let`s rather twist it a little and ask if Kingdom`s script could`ve been improved? My answer to it, perhaps yes. To make my own changes, my biggest change would`ve been to make Manco the lead character. While it happened to The Emperor`s New Groove, Kingdom could`ve followed a same rut. Despite how Pacha is obviously the lead, perhaps the ending could`ve benefited from having him stay. 

I know how you dislike
that I`m talking to you
like a baby. But get used
to it. Since you`re small ;)

Kiss my feet :) But don`t
worry, I`ve washed them ;)

Either way, the story neeeded to expand certains elements

and tighten others. As an explaination for why Manco and Pacha were lookalikes and perhaps enhanced the relationship between them. But also to not having Pacha`s encountering with the Sacred City seem too random, as it does (no offense to the screenwriters). And recuding the comedic elements, as they seem out of place. And truth to be told, also making the mythical aspects more intertwined with the plot. Since they seem somewhat separate to the main story. But of course the biggest change would`ve been able to make it appealing towards an audience. Still, Allers saw Groove and appreciated what the crew had done. Yet the leadership of the studio said that “they’ll never make that kind of movie again.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Final Conclusion

 

It`s a groovin` game :)

At the end of the day, no matter which version people rooted to see, the sad truth is that none of us will be able to ever see Kingdom of the Sun. The result is only known to Disney. Antoher sad reality is that Kingdom will be never ever be made. While it would be tempting to suggest that Disney should`ve make up for it by making another Incan setting, it`s most likely not going to happen. 

I`ve made it myself :)

It`s our version of Litwalk`s
Arcade :)

However, with that said, The Emperor`s New Groove shouldn`t be shunned as a failure. While unfortunately it was made at the expense of Kingdom, Groove was a creative success, nonetheless. Having it`s 20th Anniversary in December 2020 and it`s 20th Anniversary for being released on DVD and VHS in May 2021 (before the entry was written), Groove has it`s fanbase and deseverdly so. In fact, some crew says that people get more excited when they tell they worked on Groove than with other projects. And David Spade still talks about it. Randy Fullmer said that “most animators have waited ten years to work on a film like this”. But at the end, there`s nothing left to wish Happy Past 20th Anniversary and may you continue to have many more. 

At least it`s not The Emperor`s
New Clothes :)

We`ll be burned by sunlight
at the end :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Groove on my updates on https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100035703494050 and https://twitter.com/NerdyLunada.

 

References:

The Emperor`s New Groove The Ultimate Groove 2-Disc Collector`s Edition

The Sweatbox

https://www.laughingplace.com/w/leg/?legacyasppage=News-ID115140.asp 

https://www.laughingplace.com/w/leg/?legacyasppage=News-ID115160.asp

https://www.fumettologica.it/2014/12/intervista-roger-allers-re-leone/2/

https://www.vulture.com/article/an-oral-history-of-disney-the-emperors-new-groove.html

https://moviechat.org/tt0332422/The-Sweatbox/58c7bae9f9fcca09a0d8765c/Where-can-I-see-this

https://www.laughingplace.com/w/articles/2021/01/28/adam-west-emperors-new-groove-disney-movie-insiders-presents-podcast/

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1310984472286951&set=pb.100050452901553.-2207520000..

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1310985285620203&set=pb.100050452901553.-2207520000..

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1310985352286863&set=pb.100050452901553.-2207520000..

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1310985472286851&set=pb.100050452901553.-2207520000..

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1310985472286851&set=pb.100050452901553.-2207520000..

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1310985578953507&set=pb.100050452901553.-2207520000..

https://www.dvdizzy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=5222  

https://www.laughingplace.com/w/articles/2020/12/15/kuzcodystopia-the-origins-of-the-emperors-new-groove/

https://www.laughingplace.com/w/articles/2020/12/18/wdfm-mark-dindal-event-recap/  

https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/ESP7721801191?selected=ESP8658133265

http://www.animationscoop.com/from-drama-to-llama-the-20th-anniversary-of-the-emperors-new-groove/

https://collider.com/the-emperors-new-groove-history-explained/ 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWvE7rRGlBs&t=322s (The Emperor's New Groove one-night-only event at El Capitan Theatre)