#dizquels62

[the-plot-blog-thing]

(originally published on 11/30/20)

DTVA/DTS TAGTEAM TWEET-ATHON MOVIE #62: KRONK’S NEW GROOVE (2005) 

Ok so, funny story. I actually saw this movie before I ever saw the original.

I remember seeing the trailer for the first movie all the time on my VHS for Toy Story 2 when I was younger, and just sort of piecing the plot together from that. I remember watching this movie all the time when we got the DVD because I figured it was the next best thing.

Anyway, I did eventually watch the original movie, and you all know the rest. It’s one of, if not my favorite, Disney movie ever made. But I’m just as familiar with this sequel as I am with that film, so I already had a lot of my opinions on this one already formed.

And my thoughts? While a lot of the jokes still have that same level of wit and charm as the original, I feel like a lot of this film’s runtime is wasted on trying to figure out what sort of a sequel it wants to be, and the final product suffers as a result.

This movie has like 3 different plotlines that sort of connect in the end, but not really well. 

1.) Kronk’s father is coming and Kronk wants to make him proud. 

2.) Yzma returns and scams Kronk into joining her again so he can get a house. 

3.) Kronk gets a girlfriend and loses her

All of these could be plots for movies on their own, but it feels like the script writers couldn’t decide which one to choose, and decided to do all of them under the guise of “The first movie was meta, so if we acknowledge that this movie is disjointed it will work!”

It doesn’t though. The Emperor’s New Groove is such a tightly made film, no scene or line of dialogue feels wasted. This movie just WASTES so much time trying to explain itself, and trying to connect all the plots, that there’s not enough time for comedy or fun animation moments.

And the problem is, only about 1.5 of these 3 plots are really all that good. The main Papi plotline is actually pretty funny for the short time spent on it, even if I feel the ending is a bit rushed.

The Yzma/ Old Folks plot is only good when Yzma is onscreen, and I couldn’t care less when she’s not. So I would say only about half of it is really any good.

The Birdwell plot COULD work, but the way it’s presented just doesn’t. It did get a few more chuckles out of me than I expected, but it is still the least funny out of all the plots.

I would’ve just picked one plot and ran with it, or better yet, just go back to the drawing board. I actually have like two different ideas for ways I think they could’ve gone, but I given the word limit of tweets, I won’t indulge them here...

Anyway, the animation is just ok. It doesn’t look bad, but it’s a little too stiff for a fast moving comedy like this. The music is good though, I like the opening song and I even like Yzma’s song despite it being a bit abridged in the actual movie.

The voice acting is still fantastic too. Patrick Warburton and Eartha Kitt are still fantastic, and it was nice to hear from John Goodman and John Mahoney. Tracy Ullman stands out as Birdwell even though that segment of the movie falls short.

I can only assume that they must’ve cornered David Spade in a soundstage and forced him to record a few lines as Kuzco because his role is almost nonexistent here. I do enjoy his few scenes though.

Overall, while I’ll always hold some nostalgia and love for this movie, I do acknowledge its flaws, and I just wish it were more consistent. 

6.5/10: Only a moderate raise of the thumb from Papi, sorry...