Why This Disney Classic Is Actually Its Secret Shame 

Everyone, it was for everyone

Kronk was originally a sentient rock? Well I'm glad to see they kept his character the same in spirit.

This movie is the reason why "pull the lever, Kronk" is heard at the top of waterslides to this day.

I unironically think this is the best Disney animated film. I'm thankful we got the version that was released. It was well before its time

While I’m sympathetic to Aller losing the chance to direct and would like to see his intended vision, The Emperor’s New Groove is a standout comedy among Disney’s catalog and we’re lucky to have it. It’s so funny and wild that it’s constantly inches from turning into a Bugs Bunny cartoon but somehow never loses sight of its heart 🎉

To me, Emperors New Groove has aged like fine wine. The older I get the funnier it becomes as they had so many adult themed jokes that were missed as a kid. It was brilliantly written. Yet, to this day, I still feel like Disney wishes it didn’t exist or acts like it doesn’t because you never see any signs of the movie in the theme parks no matter how popular it maybe

I think in the end, it was for the best. The movie we got is one of the funniest and most un-Disneylike movies they've ever made.

I didn't even grow up with this movie. I watched it as an adult. And it's hands down of the best comedies I've ever watched. It's for all ages & laugh out loud funny.

I loved this movie. Still can’t believe how much it’s been buried, same with Atlantis

Here in Latin America has always been loved, and Kronk is still a meme referent. Love a lot of the quotes and some iconic scenes

I still quote, "A llama! He's supposed to be dead!"

My all time favorite Disney animated movie, hands down, no question. It's one of those movies that I try to play as I'm doing work but always end up just watching it instead. "I've been turned into a cow, can I go home?"

This movie became a hit here in Brazil, mostly due to a solid voice acting by some high-caliber Brazilian actors. MANY of the so-called Disney failures became very popular here in my country, like Home On The Range and Chicken Little, for "similar reasons".

This was the Disney animated movie that I watched the most as a kid, I have so much nostalgia for the movie, I don't think any other Disney animated movie will ever compare to this film for me

I like the quote that one of the writers gave about why Emperor's new groove was as out there as it was. It was more or less "You had a writers room full of people with nothing left to lose." I think what make's Emperor's New Groove so special is that it's kid friendly, but Adult funny, and the jokes are actually well written, clever, jokes. Part of why it's gained a sort of "resurgence" in popularity is because it's actually aged like a fine wine as we've all grown up and are really able to better understanding the jokes a lot more.

My wife and I quote this movie to this day ("Pull the lever, Kronk") and even though our kids are too young to "get" a lot of its sharp humour, they still enjoy it, especially when Cat Yzma shows up. It's a Disney classic on its own merit.

I don't know who it was for, but as a teenager, my buddy and I went to the movies one Friday night and it was literally the only film playing that wasn't rated R or just completely uninteresting to us. So we walked into the theater with a bunch of little kids--and then proceeded to bust a gut the whole film. We loved it and were shocked by how great it was, having gone in with zero expectations.

My grandpa was not a fan of animated movies, but he always said this one was his favorite. Speaks volumes as to how fantastic this movie really is.

The production is tragic but it’s nice how many people (including me) love this movie all things considered

My kids regularly ask to watch this again. They’ve never asked to rewatch a modern Disney or Pixar movie

Dude, The Emperor's New Groove it's one of the GREATEST Disney movies here in Brazil because of the voice cast assembled to voice the movie. Nothing againt the original voices but, man... Selton Melo and Guilherme Briggs voices are UNBELIVABLE!! They use so much brazilian slangs that you gotta have a pretty good knowledge of brazilian portuguese to get it, but you'll crack from your chair on every scene!

I almost never rewatch Hunchback of Notre Dame. I rewatch Emperor's New Groove more frequently than most classic Disney films. Sad to see that director's vision lost, but for me and a lot of people it was a different kind of masterpiece.

Patrick Warburton is a national treasure. Good luck finding another voice like his when he's gone.

It's crazy how such a crazy process with no direction ended up making such a great film

The Sweat Box is a fascinating Rorschach test. It can be seen a triumphant tale of a great movie being created or a tragedy of passionate artist getting screwed over. Personally I didn’t get the vibes that Kingdom of the Sun would have been that great. I also like how the studio execs aren’t monsters. They can be callus, but you do get the sense they genuinely want to make a good movie, and are even capable of of humbleness when Sting expresses his disapproval of the original ending (that clip of him reading the letter was a bit out of context by the way) If anything the Sweatbox shows the importance of a clear vision that’s needed to tell a story.

7:43 “It’s called a cruel irony, like my dependence on you”

You know, if Disney didn’t absolutely suck in the areas of creativity right now, it was actually be a really cool idea to go and turn the original idea into a full animated movie. Bring the original crew back, let the original vision shine through, maybe make a few references to New Groove, but create something cool and new that audiences already have a soft spot for. Like, fr, if it was good, I think people would watch it, and the studio would win both ways; making something that’s familiar enough to brand as a kind of “remake” that they obviously love to do so much of, but also giving the audience something cool, new, and creative, which is actually what’s wanted by people nowadays. Plus, if they make the entire cast of Southern American descent, and really try to tie in the historical mythology and stuff like that, I think they might also expand their audience of people who are interested too…

I saw it in theaters when I was 4 with my dad (also saw the incredibles when it came out as well). I remember vividly people clapped after it was over. It was one of the best animated films I ever saw. It's humor was so fresh and real. The visual aspect was fun and warm. Every line was memorable.

This just goes to show that you can have two totally different visions on a project and perhaps both were completely valid. I'd also like to see a reimagining of what was originally proposed, however, The Emporer's New Groove is still one of my favorite Disney movies.

I think the original story still can and should be made into a film 🎥

I remember bringing my then 4 year old son to the theatre watching this and the two of us laughing our hearts out. I bought the DVD as well as the sequel so my youngest son and the whole family could also enjoy the movie. Even my wife loved this movie and our sons, both in their 2O’s now, still speak fondly of this movie.

With all the 'live action' remake Disney is doing, the original concept sounds like a good story for live action.

The Emperor's New Groove is unquestionably the greatest production Disney has ever released and (at this point) will ever release.

*The Emperor's New Groove* remains in the top five of my favorite movies (not just animated; ALL movies), and the amazing *Eartha Kitt* is still the character that makes me laugh the most. It's interesting how the terrible things behind the scenes that almost wrecked a movie turns into some of the most masterful films that became classics. *Home Alone* had similar issues. And, of course, *the greatest Christmas Movie ever created, DIE HARD,* also had terrible issues that ended in brilliance. Thanks for another wonderful video!!! 🤗

It is heartbreaking when a movie underperforms in the box office due to terrible marketing. I am glad it did so well on disk and depending on the contract the creators may have had a better payout. I was working at a multimedia store when it hit DVD and it was insanely popular to rent and for purchase.

It’s crazy I just literally re watched this, Kronos new groove, and the show emperors new school. honestly some of my favourite Disney content and something I look back very fondly of

Was it ever determined if corporate espionage had anything to do with the original Kingdom of the Sun being scrapped? It came out the same year as Road to El Dorado, and given what had happened with Bugs Life/Antz where the two films were blatantly pitted against each other could they have just opted to completely retool Kingdom as a satirical buddy comedy to save face and prevent the same thing happening again? Not 100% sure if there's anything to this, but Katzenberg did lure Elton John over to do the soundtrack when the competing project had one of the Lion King's directors attached to it....

I personally feel that Emperor's New Groove is a solid, fun, underrated film that deserves more recognition. But a part of me also wondered a completed version of "Kingdom of the Sun" would've looked like.

One of my favorite movies ever. Had no idea it had such a troubled production. Makes it all the more impressive

Unbeliebable how this movie with this production story managed to become such a masterpiece.

It’s amazing how much they pushed the humor, without losing the heart, and every single joke hit

That scene with the cook quoting has to be poking fun at the og director. Savage.

1:01 why can I hear a "no touchy" in that scene xD

I wonder how different it would've been if they've just kept the original idea. I mean New Groove was fun in it's own merits, but Kingdom of the Sun sounded awesome.

I recently rewatched this, and I was really surprised how much I still enjoyed it 😊😊😊

This was one of my favorite movies growing up and I'm shocked I never knew the history behind it. Thanks for sharing!

When I was a kid, I wondered why some of the songs on the movie’s soundtrack weren’t in the movie. I found out years later that they were originally intended for Kingdom of the Sun.

I grew up watching the movie and the series later on. And again as an adult I still love it and find to be one of Disney’s best movies. Hilarious and heartwarming

I remember seeing it in theaters at like 12 yrs old. I loved it so much, my grandma bought me the dvd, which was my first

I took my first girlfriend to see it in theaters the weekend it came out it. She was even more of a Disney fan than I am, but neither of us really had any idea what to expect and we left the theater when it was over feeling like we had no idea what we just saw. That summer, I worked at Suncoast video, and it was one of the videos we’d play in store. After one slow day when it was on in the middle of my shift, it became one of my favorites. It was hard to sort of get past your own expectations of what a Disney movie is/should be when you grew up during the golden age, even after how disappointing hunchback and Pocahontas were, so it was hard to wrap my head around it on first viewing. But I still have my gold edition dvd somewhere. It was the first Disney movie I ever bought, and I used my discount.

emperors new groove is one of the few movies I distinctly remember laughing out loud at the entire time in the theaters as a kid, and it still holds up today! I had no clue what tumultuous history it had!

That's so sad, this is one of my favorite disney films and here in Brazil is a super hit (mostly because of the Brazilian dub that is awesome). I wish I could see the original version too.

Hands down the funniest ever Disney film

In Brazil this movie is an absolute hit! The actors who voiced the characters were so good that most people my age actually still use a lot of the lines from the movie to make jokes or just references in our daily conversations. I didn't know any of this behind the scenes drama, but I do hope that we get to see the empire of the sun someday. Maybe as time goes by, he'll see an opportunity to show the world his vision

SO good!! I should have known you were a What Went Wrong podcast fan!!! 👀😂 Such a great breakdown & you never cease to amaze how thorough you are while still being very concise 👌

No other childhood film tops this movie.

This is still one of my top movies of all time! Loved it as a kid, and love it as an adult!

It would have been interesting to see the original vision of the movie realized, although I think the project mismanagement and undisciplined creative direction played a big part as to why it didn't happen. In other words, this is probably one of those few instances where the worse idea lost and was salvaged into something better.

I find it ironic but also enjoy it that you and cinema therapy [two of my fav channels] both made vids on New Groove but also looked at different aspects of it.

Literally the best Disney movie ever made, the humor still holds up today.

When Disney wants us to watch something, they'll smother us with marketing But when they don't want us to watch something They won't won't even bother to promote it

Secret shame? Da hell you smokin dawg. This shit an instant hood classic.

"Kind of like a family home being demolished and replaced by a gaudy water park." That final comment went hard, damn.

Easily in my top 5 Disney movies ever. Such a banger.

I appreciate the journey and evolution of how this story started and the final product seen by the public. I saw it in theaters, loved it then and I watch it frequently and love it now. I'm sorry to hear about the original version being demolished and I wonder what that original idea would have turned out to be.

I'm still happy with the film and it was one of my childhood favorites.

Great video, one of the best you have done in months!

I adore The Emperor's New Groove; it is quite possibly my favorite animated film of all time. It was played many _many_ times in our house when I was a child. I had no idea it had such a rocky development. I do feel for Roger Allers, though. Working on your own project for four years only to have the direction completely changed at the end (but not enough to leave room for your project to make a different debut some time in the future) would be crushing.

Me. The answer is me.

Emperor's New Groove is stylistically fantastic! The 4th wall breaks, the surreal humor, humorous anachronisms, and chaotic buddy-comedy plot is VASTLY superior to the self-important run-of-the-mill story that it started out trying to be

Your use of the movie clips were all absolutely perfect.

This is one of my absolute favorite movies. I wish they would make more like it, honestly.

This is an absolutely hilarious and fun movie. It's hard to imagine that anyone can dislike it

This was my favorite movie as a kid!

This movie was made for ME! Was hooked on it from the moment I saw it at my Grandma's. The documentary is a crazy watch, wish we had both movies!

2:48 "~screening the movies this way is like having someone chop your hands off and pull your pants down in front of a crowd, and you stand there incapable of pulling your pants back up.~" It took me forever to finish watching this video because I kept going back to hear this man say that line over and over. It's so freaking funny. like imagine having your hands all of a sudden chopped off but your chief concern - the thing that is causing you loads of stress - is not the fact that you're losing blood and need to go to the hospital and are about to die but that you can't grasp your pants.

Back when Disney gave a damn about traditional animation

This and Hercules are my favorite classic Disney movies. This for Kronk and Hercules for Hades.

Never been this early for any video!!! So I leave a comment!! Love this channel so much!!

Oy! Thanks for the viddy! I would watch, every iteration, of this design process.

I love this movie

Hm, it’s almost like they’re sitting on raw material for an interesting remake that people would actually want to check out…. Too bad they’re too dumb to see it. And Atlantis. And Treasure Planet.

As a Peruvian, I love the emperor’s new groove, but I would have loved to see what that original film was about! Truer to the history of my country

Our dear family friend is the famed and incredible artist Roger Allers. I appreciate you making such a wonderful piece on this little know fact of Disney history. My name is Nina and Roger named the princess/love interest after me! So you could understand my sadness over not being a Disney princess LOL This was to be the crown jewel on Roger’s long list accolades but sadly was ripped away because of deadlines. Roger left Disney after this and he has gone beyond his stepping stone and produced his own beautiful classic The Prophet which is a book him and my mother would read in highschool. His talented daughter is making a documentary on him and his career so be on the look out for that in the near future!

It's a family film. Intended to keep kids occupied and not bore parents to tears.

Its always like that in movies, we think we're watching the actual idea of the movie, when it's actually the second vision of it that came through lol. While the original plot doesn't seem so bad, I'm glad we got the version we grew up with.

My kids were shocked at how good this movie was. It's a genuinely funny film and probably the best comedy Disney has ever done.

Wow. Thank you so much. I have only recently cemented the reality that Disney is not what I hoped and thought it was growing up. I loved this movie, but I can totally see what happened here, and I am sorry I didn't get to see the original creative vision before it was Disneyfied. I would have loved to see Kingdom of the Sun.

The Emperor’s new groove is my favorite movie. I can quote most lines the dialogue as they are being spoken on screen. That being said I wish The Kingdom of the Sun had been able to be created as well, the concept sounds so incredible.

I love how it broke the 4th wall at times, was imperfect feeling, and not too focused on teaching a lesson or trying to sell cute merch.

To hear this was inspired by The Prisoner of Zenda is… amazing. One of my favorite pulp adventures of all time inspired one of my favorite animated films 😂

Wow this puts a light on one of my favorite childhood movies and on my birthday no less.

This movie is one of Disney’s absolute best. It lives on the short, distinguished list of movies where you can choose literally any line from the movie, quote it out if context, and get a laugh (others on the list are Monty Python and Princess Bride)

It sucks to hear anyone lost their project. I still love this movie, though. The reason it's as memorable as it is all boils down to how genuinely funny it is. It's probably one of my favorite comedies.

_The Emperor's New Groove_ is easily one of my all time favorite animated films.

That comparison at the end was chef's kiss.

This was my favorite Disney movie. I’m glad they went this route. I’d like to have seen the other version, but very happy this is the one that came out.

man this movie was a peak moment in child hood it’s great to know the backstory crazy to see that it could have been an entirely new movie but disney had their hands all over it

I adore this movie; it's one of my absolute favorites. It's wild to hear how much of a struggle it's production was.

The editing of this video is crazy he chose the most savage clips from the film 😭to explain the story but i love the video nerdstalgic but damn Also this movie is pure golden disney to me tbh