Released in 2000, "The Emperor's New Groove" is... well, it's... um...VERY loosely based on the fable of "The Emperor's New Clothes," the movie has development roots from nearly a decade earlier, going through multiple rewrites and director and casting changes. The whole thing was even the subject of a documentary about the frustrating process. You'd think the result would be a disaster, a new black sheep (or "black llama," if you like) of Disney movies. On the other hand... the marketing was effective, and I remember a lot of the fun-loving adults I knew (I was a kid when the movie released) proudly stating this was their favorite Disney movie ever.Even as a kid, I fell into the other camp, recognizing the movie as being fun, but shallow compared to virtually any Disney movie that came before it. As an adult, my opinion hasn't changed, but I appreciate the fun humor even more now. It's faster-paced than a Looney Tunes' cartoon, constantly breaking the fourth, fifth and sixth wall. It's like if you took 50% of the budget and production quality of "Hercules," but 500% of it's humor. (I'm surprised to read that "New Groove" actually cost more to make than that, but I assume this is because of the long pre-production time more than anything.)Set in a fantasy-version of an ancient Aztec empire (best not to make any serious comparisons to a real culture with this movie), Emperor Kuzco is THE guy. He's the King. He's rich, he's cool, he's handsome, he's popular. As his personal theme-song guy sings, "a perfect world begins and ends with..." (Kuzco chimes in) "ME!". Of course, all the self-rigtheous glory is in Kuzco's head, and he's the most arrogant, selfish, entitled character you can imagine. Which the kingdom, including his thousands of personal servants, accepts, since he is the King, after all. Everyone excepts Kuzco's long-time personal royal advisor, Yzma. She finally plot to poison and kill Kuzco, with the help of her strong but dim servant Kronk. The plan goes wrong, and the Emperor is turned into a llama instead of a corpse. Kronk is sent out to kill and dispose of the animal, but the plan goes wrong, and he ends up with Pacha, a peasant from a small town miles away. He had just finished a long journey to the palace only to learn that Kuzco was destroying his village to build a summer-cottage / personal-amusement park. When the two discover the situation (Kuzco shocked to be a llama, Pacha shocked to see a talking llama), Kuzco commands that Pacha take him back to the palace, to which Pacha initially refuses, seeing an opportunity to convince or barter for his village to be saved. Kuzco isn't interested, and Pacha ends up saving him anyway fromt he wild jungles nearby. As they make their way back, Pacha does his best to convince Kuzco that there is some good in his heart, and through his hardships, Kuzco grows as a person. 
Thus we get a buddy-road-trip movie, a film that taught American kids what a llama was. The movie is narrated by a future Kuzco, occasionally stopping the film to remind us that the story is about him. The leading pair seem to get stuck in a variety of slapstick dangers, from waterfalls to caverns to jaguars and bats and scorpians and more. Some of that humor is gross, in the vain of an "American Pie" movie (one gag shows Kuzko's mouth full of flying bats, lifting him and Pacha to safety). All the while, Yzma and Kronk are out searching for the talking llama, and they produce laughs of their own, since Yzma is a nasty woman that looks to be roughly 250 years old, and Kronk is a sweet lug you can't help but root for, no matter what side he's on. This isn't sophisticated humor, but your five-year-old will laugh. Your fifthteen-year-old will probably laugh. Your mother will probably laugh. And laugh constantly, through nearly every minute of the adventure. I've never seen a movie this full of jokes. This isn't an award-winning classic like "Beauty and the Beast," but it's the most fun a Disney movie's provided since "The Great Mouse Detective."The core voice cast also completely sells the movie. You might cringe at the thought of David Spade, coming fresh off the success of movies like "Joe Dirt" (technically released a year later, but you get the idea), but his nasally voice is a perfect fit for the entitled Kuzco. John Goodman, a reliable go-to actor for cartoon voices, seems to be too big for a movie like this, but he gives Pacha a balance of big-Dad-heart while also being a fun buddy to watch survive the dangerous adventure. Not surprisingly, Eartha Kitt and Patrick Warburton are as perfect as you can imagine for Ezma and Kronk, and it's bizarre to think they haven't been in more cartoons before (being so popular, Kronk would become the focus for the direct-to-home-video sequel of the movie). But by comparison, "New Groove" is the cheapest-looking Disney movie I'd seen in decades. To focus on the fast-paced humor, the world is overly-styized and simplified, with lots of simple environments and bizarre and gaudy clothing facets. It's stylish and modern, and in places still features smooth animation, but feels more at home with maybe Warner Bros., not Disney. Whether "The Emperor's New Groove" is a good movie will depend on your personal tastes. If you were sick and tired of fairy tales and Disney aiming for award-winning productions, and have a sense of humor, this may very well be your favorite movie of all time. If you're the opposite (like me), you'll be disappointed to see Disney sink this low, but will probably still admit to having way more fun than they'd thought.