--- title: "The Emperor's New Groove: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-emperors-new-groove/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-emperors-new-groove" critics_score: 79 critics_reviews: 10 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Emperor's New Groove (2000): what the critics said Critics' score 79 from 10 reviews: 9 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics like it, and for the same reason: it is faster and funnier than the studio’s usual output. Nine of the ten reviews are positive. The praise clusters on the comedy, with reviewers pointing to the pace of the gags and the snap of the one-liners, and several trace the tone to Warner Bros. cartoons and 1930s screwball farce rather than to Disney’s Broadway-style musicals. The voice cast is the other point of agreement. Eartha Kitt’s scheming Yzma is named most often, with David Spade, John Goodman and Patrick Warburton close behind, and the animation is generally called sharp and well drawn. The spread is narrow. The one real reservation comes from Empire, which finds the gags plentiful but the film short on heart and quickly forgotten. Time Out thinks the modernising is self-conscious, though it still counts the result a success. A few reviews note the absence of grand visuals or a big score, but most treat that as a relief rather than a loss. ## Los Angeles Times — Kevin Thomas Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 15 December 2000. The critic describes it as a delightful, effervescent morality tale conveyed with wit and sophistication that enchants adults as well as children. He singles out the perfect voice casting, exotic Incan-inspired settings, and light, soufflé-like tone with the panache of a 1930s screwball comedy. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-dec-15-ca-182-story.html) ## Total Film Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 16 February 2001. A side-slicingly sharp, bruisingly funny buddy movie that is slick and unlike a normal Disney film, with wit and energy that lifts the studio out of a rut. The finest and funniest Disney for ages, it bristles with wit despite not launching a thousand lunchboxes. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/the-emperors-new-groove-review/) ## Evening Standard Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 10 April 2012. This is one of Disney's wittiest animated features, breaking new ground stylistically with its laid-back, post-modern tone and sophisticated draughtsmanship. The freshness comes from the cartoonists' restless line and the snap of the one-liners, making it too good to waste on children only. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/the-emperors-new-groove-7433365.html) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 15 December 2000. The critic calls the film a goofy, slapstick cartoon in the best sense, praising its zany energy, sight gags, and cheeky storytelling that evokes classic Warner Bros. cartoons over typical Disney musicals. He notes the fun buddy dynamic between the self-absorbed emperor-turned-llama and the helpful peasant, finding it upbeat and funny. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-emperors-new-groove-2000) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 16 February 2001. The critic praises this Disney animation as witty, sharply designed and richly voiced, calling it lively and funny rather than worthless. Eartha Kitt's scheming courtier Yzma is singled out for particular praise. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2001/feb/16/culture.peterbradshaw2) ## Variety — Robert Koehler Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 10 December 2000. The review notes that Disney's new animators have staged a palace revolt, establishing a fresh, hip attitude with light, taut comedy inspired by Chuck Jones and Tex Avery rather than recent Disney trends. It praises the amusing buddy comedy, farcical chase sequences, and successful modeling of characters on their voice actors, especially the energy from Spade, Goodman, and Kitt. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2000/film/reviews/the-emperor-s-new-groove-1200465891/) ## The New York Times — Stephen Holden Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 15 December 2000. The review praises the film as a timely reminder that animated movies can succeed with sprightly humor and sharply etched characters rather than grandiose visuals or Broadway scores. It highlights the cheeky effervescence and the fable of Kuzco learning friendship and humanity through his llama misadventures. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/15/movies/film-review-a-ruler-something-of-a-snake-becomes-a-llama.html) ## Time Out — WH Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 23 April 2014. The critic describes the film as a self-conscious but largely successful attempt to modernise Disney's animated format with a jive-ass sensibility and cheeky anachronisms. Dindal's easygoing direction and witty one-liners are singled out as making for an entertaining change of tone from the studio's usual caution. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-emperors-new-groove) ## Empire — Emma Cochrane Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. The animation is superb and the gags come thick and fast as the emperor-turned-llama teams with a peasant in a buddy movie setup, but it lacks the heart of previous Disney classics. An attractive, generally enjoyable concoction that is fun but quickly forgettable. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/emperor-new-groove-2-review/) ## Eye for Film — Angus Wolfe Murray Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 9 March 2001. The film has a sharp comic edge and cynical tone that banishes sentimentality in favor of wit and barbed repartee. The animation is excellent and the voice cast, including David Spade, John Goodman, Eartha Kitt and Patrick Warburton, delivers perfectly. [Read the review](http://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-emperors-new-groove-film-review-by-angus-wolfe-murray) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-emperors-new-groove.md