Kronk's New Groove
Year: 2005
Directed by: Saul Andrew Blinkoff & Elliot M. Bour
Starring: John Goodman, Eartha Kitt, David Spade & Patrick Warburton
Runtime: 72 mins
BBFC: U
Published: 25/07/22
Directed by: Saul Andrew Blinkoff & Elliot M. Bour
Starring: John Goodman, Eartha Kitt, David Spade & Patrick Warburton
Runtime: 72 mins
BBFC: U
Published: 25/07/22
The Emperor’s New Groove is one of Disney’s most underrated Animated Classics. It’s a masterpiece, a borderline flawless buddy comedy about a selfish young Emperor getting his comeuppance and learning to become humble and grateful for what he has. The film’s self-aware fourth wall breaking humour, zany characters, and gorgeous Inca inspired art style have ensured that Emperor’s New Groove went down as a cult classic on the home video circuit even if its theatrical run proved to be underwhelming. It’s a film that truly deserved a sequel just to be around such great characters again, so when it finally got one in 2005 fans of the original were eager to check it out. But how does it hold up against the rest of Disney’s direct to home video sequels?
Sometime after the event of the original film Kronk (Patrick Warburton) is now head chef at Mudka’s Meat Hut as well as camp counsellor for Camp Chippamunka. When Kronk’s father (John Mahoney) writes to say that he’ll be visiting soon, Kronk panics and realises that the life he told his father about is all a lie. Recounting how he gained and lost his dream house, as well as lost the woman of his dreams, Kronk seeks help from the locals to make his father proud.
Sometime after the event of the original film Kronk (Patrick Warburton) is now head chef at Mudka’s Meat Hut as well as camp counsellor for Camp Chippamunka. When Kronk’s father (John Mahoney) writes to say that he’ll be visiting soon, Kronk panics and realises that the life he told his father about is all a lie. Recounting how he gained and lost his dream house, as well as lost the woman of his dreams, Kronk seeks help from the locals to make his father proud.
Kronk’s New Groove almost falls into the trap of being a feature length setup to the Disney Channel show The Emperor’s New School. Having Kronk as the main character and telling episodic stories about his life after the original film is not brilliant, and this is the format the show works with too. However, Kronk’s New Groove does manage to separate itself from the show in that it doesn’t directly lead into it, it is its own self-contained tale.
Kronk was the loveable idiot of the original film, being villainess Yzma’s (Eartha Kitt) henchmen with a heart of gold put him in the (at the time) unique position of being a Disney villain that wasn’t actually evil. He was the comic relief, despite it being a comedy, he was the one character you could always guarantee would get a laugh whenever he was on screen. But being bumped up to leading man is a big stretch. The Emperor’s New Groove worked so well because of the character couplings, Kuzco (David Spade) and Pacha (John Goodman) juxtaposed each other so well that it was enthralling to watch them try and survive the wilderness together; meanwhile Yzma and Kronk managed to balance the scale of sinister but likeable. You don’t get that with Kronk’s New Groove because it’s just Kronk.
The first story does see him reunited with Yzma, but not to the same extent as the original film, and Kuzco and Pacha are barely in the film at all. The supporting cast that is there is nowhere near as compelling or interesting as those characters, leaving the entire film to be supported on the shoulders of a comic relief character which was never going to work.
The two episodic stories were fine, the first was definitely my favourite of the two, and they are both better than a lot of the episodic Disney Animated Sequels, but they aren’t going to blow anyone away, and compared to the original film they are massively disappointing. The first episode sees Yzma convince Kronk to help him sell fake youth potions to the elderly, and his conscience eventually getting in the way of her success. The second episode sees Kronk and his campers competing against a rival camp led by Miss Birdwell (Tracy Ullman) who Kronk falls for. The first episode had the same kind of humour that the original film did and I think that’s why I liked it more, whereas the second episode felt more akin to the Emperor’s New School show and felt largely pointless.
Kronk was the loveable idiot of the original film, being villainess Yzma’s (Eartha Kitt) henchmen with a heart of gold put him in the (at the time) unique position of being a Disney villain that wasn’t actually evil. He was the comic relief, despite it being a comedy, he was the one character you could always guarantee would get a laugh whenever he was on screen. But being bumped up to leading man is a big stretch. The Emperor’s New Groove worked so well because of the character couplings, Kuzco (David Spade) and Pacha (John Goodman) juxtaposed each other so well that it was enthralling to watch them try and survive the wilderness together; meanwhile Yzma and Kronk managed to balance the scale of sinister but likeable. You don’t get that with Kronk’s New Groove because it’s just Kronk.
The first story does see him reunited with Yzma, but not to the same extent as the original film, and Kuzco and Pacha are barely in the film at all. The supporting cast that is there is nowhere near as compelling or interesting as those characters, leaving the entire film to be supported on the shoulders of a comic relief character which was never going to work.
The two episodic stories were fine, the first was definitely my favourite of the two, and they are both better than a lot of the episodic Disney Animated Sequels, but they aren’t going to blow anyone away, and compared to the original film they are massively disappointing. The first episode sees Yzma convince Kronk to help him sell fake youth potions to the elderly, and his conscience eventually getting in the way of her success. The second episode sees Kronk and his campers competing against a rival camp led by Miss Birdwell (Tracy Ullman) who Kronk falls for. The first episode had the same kind of humour that the original film did and I think that’s why I liked it more, whereas the second episode felt more akin to the Emperor’s New School show and felt largely pointless.
Kronk’s New Groove does keep up the same great art style from the original film though and that’s something I’m very happy to see return. That being said it does lose a lot of the visual gags that Emperor’s New Groove had in favour of less subtle spoken gags and a surprising amount of adult humour.
Whilst many episodic Disney Animated Sequels have failed miserably, Kronk’s New Groove is just kind of average. It’s not exactly bad but it’s incredibly forgettable. When looked at in terms of a sequel to Emperor’s New Groove it’s a huge disappointment, however when taken in context of the other Disney Animated Sequels it’s scraping average. I’m sure kids will find a lot to enjoy, I certainly remember enjoying the film as a child, but more mature audiences who adore the nuance of Emperor’s New Groove will find this sequel sorely lacking.
Whilst many episodic Disney Animated Sequels have failed miserably, Kronk’s New Groove is just kind of average. It’s not exactly bad but it’s incredibly forgettable. When looked at in terms of a sequel to Emperor’s New Groove it’s a huge disappointment, however when taken in context of the other Disney Animated Sequels it’s scraping average. I’m sure kids will find a lot to enjoy, I certainly remember enjoying the film as a child, but more mature audiences who adore the nuance of Emperor’s New Groove will find this sequel sorely lacking.