Today is the twentieth anniversary of the premiere of The Emperor's New Groove. The film follows a selfish Incan emperor who is magically transformed into a llama and must team up with a kind-hearted villager he offended in order to return to normal.
The film is the fortieth from Walt Disney Animation Studios. The film was originally conceived following the success of The Lion King as a dramatic musical epic. However, following the lackluster performances of Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame the film was reworked to have more comedic elements. When the original director left over creative differences the film's musical elements were abandoned and made into a comedy.
The film was not well received upon its initial release. It was considered a let down compared to their earlier works and the first post-Renaissance film. It premiered to fourth place and was the twenty-fifth highest grossing film of the year. The reviews were largely positive. It was nominated for numerous awards, winning several. However, in retrospect it has become highly regarded as one of the best post-Renaissance Disney films. It was the first of several high profile animated comedy movies including Shrek and Ice Age. It spawned a direct-to-video sequel, a Disney Channel series, and a highly regarded documentary about the troubled production.
Chris Williams worked on the story. It features the voices of Wendie Malick as Pacha's wife Chicha, Bob Bergen as Bucky the squirrel, Jess Harnell as a guard, Frank Welker as various animals, as well as Jack Angel, Jennifer Darling, Patrick Pinney, Jim Cummings, and Kath Soucie doing additional voices.