24 Years Later, This Unique Disney Movie Still Stands Out in Studio History!

From his early childhood, Kuzco, a young Incan emperor, has been accustomed to having every subject in his empire bend to his every whim, never experiencing disappointment or frustration.

To celebrate his eighteenth birthday in style, he plans to go all out and gift himself the ultimate present: a summer residence on a luxurious hill nearby. And it doesn’t bother him if this means demolishing an entire village and its inhabitants.

While Kuzco gleefully anticipates his new villa, Yzma, his supposedly loyal and devoted advisor, plots his assassination to seize his throne.

The Funniest Disney Movie Ever?

“For every laugh, there should be a tear,” Walt Disney often reminded his team of animators.

Directed by Mark Dindal in the early 2000s, Kuzco, the self-centered emperor, appears to have completely forgotten about the tear, focusing solely on laughter. Indeed, while every Disney film typically includes a substantial amount of humor, this one seems crafted purely to tickle the funny bone.

Standing out distinctly from the works that preceded and followed it, Kuzco is almost an anomaly in the history of the studio.

Originally a Completely Different Project

Originally, Kuzco was not intended to have a cartoonish appearance and a wildly zany tone. In the 1990s, following the success of titles like Beauty and the Beast and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Disney animators planned to deliver another epic saga, this time focusing on the Incan civilization.

Overseen by the director of The Lion King, the film was initially titled The Kingdom of the Sun and was to draw inspiration from Mark Twain’s The Prince and the Pauper. However, after a particularly turbulent production marked by significant disagreements between the film’s two directors, the project took a drastically different turn.

While Disney fans might still wonder what “The Kingdom of the Sun” might have been like, it’s hard not to revel in and chuckle at the zany adventures of the Incan emperor.

What They’ll Love…

• Kronk, Yzma’s hilarious bodyguard who talks to squirrels and cooks like no other, is undoubtedly the funniest character in the film.

• The final scene and Kuzco’s multiple animal transformations. From a llama, he turns into a turtle, a whale, and even a parrot.

What Might Concern Them…

• The villain Yzma, who, in Kuzco’s own words, “is scary without even trying,” might be a bit intimidating for younger viewers.

Rediscover all the hidden details of the film…