Disney History - Emperor's New Groove (Down to Disness)

[@TheaterRaven]

"The Sweatbox", the documentary Sting's wife made, has been leaked online a few times. I watched it. Basically, the drama boiled down to this: Roger Allers, the director for "Kingdom of the Sun" (who also directed "The Lion King") wanted to make the movie a big, sweeping epic based on "The Prince and Pauper" as well as Inca mythology. The original story had the emperor and peasant, who looked alike and were the same age, switch places. The peasant began to fall for the emperor's betrothed, while she began to develop feelings for him and couldn't understand why "the emperor" had suddenly become a kinder, gentler man. Meanwhile, Yzma, the emperor's advisor, discovered the switch and planned to use the peasant as a puppet emperor so she could rule the kingdom. Oh, and also, she wanted to perform a spell that would make the sun disappear forever during an eclipse (she blamed the sunlight for her aging terribly, and also there are lots of legends in South American folklore about fear of the sun not returning). So, that's the story Allers wanted to make and Sting wrote a bunch of songs for it, including the song "One Day She'll Love Me", which was to be sung between the peasant and the emperor's betrothed (and which can be found on the soundtrack for "The Emperor's New Groove"). Most of the work of the film was complete, like you said, but when the higher ups at Disney saw it, they didn't like it. They come off as pompous in the documentary, as if to say, "Who cares about art? We're running a business, WE know what sells, and this won't." That's probably why Disney won't release the documentary to the public because God forbid their executives look like money-gobbling, arrogant assholes (even though they clearly are, given Disney's power in the entertainment industry). In short, that's what it came down to, artistic vision vs. business, and sadly, no one hears the artist when money speaks louder.

[@anaamore6907]

I'll watch Disney movies but I won't give them anymore of my money with any of that Disney season pass shit. Last time I went to Disneyland I was wildly disappointed at how expensive everything was and how I was left feeling empty the only reason I'll ever go back is to take my kids to experience it once, that will be the last time too, for me anyway. The money I spent there I could have used to travel a new country and really seen some magical and wondrous things.

[@cartooncottage2024]

@Amazing Spiderman Fan 2002 We're still in a pandemic. Watch it yourself.

[@Crazyaboutthemc]

"Right the poison, the poison for kuzco, the poison chosen specially to kill kuzco, kuzco's poison. That poision?" Probably my favourite kronk moment!!

[@bradleycotton3237]

ItsJustGabi Mine was, “My acorn is missing,” “Squeak squeakin’ squeak squeakity!” “Did you eat the acorn?” “Squeaker squeak squeak squeakin’?” “You owe me a new acorn!” “Squeak, squeak squeak, squeak squeakers...” “...Squeakin’.” “I’m so proud of you guys!”

[@ddc163264]

ENG has an opposite effect on me as the end song brings me to tears because my daughter loved dancing with me to it when she was a little girl. So ENG has a special place for me.

[@hb2578]

I worked at the Disney Store when this movie was released...we repeated the lines all day long!

[@bradleycotton3237]

HelloHolly “Okay. This is the real me. Not this. This. Not this. Winner. Loser! Okay, see this palace? Everybody in it is at my command. Check this out! Butler! Chef! Theme song guy!”

[@bradleycotton3237]

HelloHolly “D’OH!!! You threw off my groove!” “I’m sorry, but you’ve thrown off the emperor’s groove.” “SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!” “...You were saying?” “What’s his name?”

[@bradleycotton3237]

HelloHolly “Hehehe. Hi. Excuse me. Two seconds here. Um, I’m the one in the cart. Remember? This story’s about me. Not him! Got it? Okay. We’re gonna move ahead. Sorry to spoil it for you.”

[@rjshron]

its always the best time of the month when these get uploaded

[@SarahSterling]

+Josaen Ronquillo Aw thank you for saying that!

[@FireBlastStudios]

I know you mentioned it at the bottom the screen already, but I was fortunate enough to see the Sweatbox before Disney removed it. I think there's a couple of reasons it was never released, both to protect "Disney's Image" one is there's some major swearing in it (the F word is at least used once by Sting).. the other is I think they are afraid people will think negatively of them because of what happened. However I don't think it paints them in a negative light, it just educates on the very complicated process of film making. changes like these happen all the time at Disney. I honestly much prefer the film we got to what KOTS seemed like it would have been.

[@JonasAlmostFamous]

I think this movie is underrated in terms of comedy. Its definitely a funny movie haha And I think a lot of the early 2000s Disney movies are easily overlooked. I would love to see an episode about the Hunchback of Notre Dame.

[@taylormanes8113]

i know i'm late to the game but sarah i love the ombre hair!!!! it looks so good on u. and i love emperor's new groove-- I quote it CONSTANTLY.

[@michelleboon7646]

I've been relentlessly checking my subscription box for a new down to disness....I need these videos every day!!!

[@minalovegood4060]

Please do Hunchback of Notre Dame

[@sunbeamsami]

+Mina Lovegood HUNCHBACK IS MY FAVORITE DISNEY MOVIE TOO!

[@kat.ily111]

It wins the "No one complains when you put this movie on" award.

[@daisysmith4859]

I'm so glad you covered Emperors new groove this month! It's one of my all time favorites! I love Yzma and Kronk, my husband and I were them for Halloween last year. I've always heard it had a complicated production but never really knew many details, gonna have to check out that documentary!

[@itzellaluna4299]

I wish you did these more then once a month! I loved these videos. They're my favorite!!

[@meganschmittou1191]

The thing that stands out about this film, to me, is all the great one-liners! There are so many quotable quotes. Especially Yzma's lines - Eartha Kitt was so fabulous

[@meaganromanchuk6101]

Every time you do one of these, I am overcome with the driving need to watch the movie you talked about. Except Pinocchio, just can't handle that one. I guess I know what I'll be doing tonight, though! :)

[@ClaudiaSteichen]

Plz do Hercules! I watch these every month!

[@vivianjuarez2888]

or finding nemo

[@beckaq6950]

This move is one of my faves. It is a very underrated Disney movie but I think once you watch it the humor gets you.

[@conniekucani2772]

YAAAY I asked for Emperor's New Groove, so happy to see you talk about it :DDD

[@Speshhbeshh]

these are my favorite videos that you make!! and I love that you do all kinds of Disney movies, not just the super popular ones! :)

[@lugalan95]

YES!!!! I wait every month for this to be uploaded! I love them Sarah!!

[@heatherlowe5026]

"He ended up on the wrong team and probably doesn't even know it." haha love that! The Down to Disness videos are thee best, thanks for doing the research for us! ♥

[@CookieMonsterChloeh]

I love this series! I look forward to it every month.

[@MelanieAnneAhern]

Let me guess..._you_ have a great personality?

[@underwearmonster]

This was one of my faves growing up and I still can’t get enough of it to this day. I would say a notable thing about it is that the main character doesn’t have a love interest. You could argue it wasn’t the first to do this. But I definitely remember realizing this as a kid and thinking it was so unique because it’s just a movie about two friends with zero love drama. Whereas most Disney movie up to that point (at least the most prominent ones) were about a princess and her prince or a hero and his lady.

[@Whitney_Sews]

I love Emperor's New Groove! We watch it all the time and hope to cosplay from it sometime.

[@mydivadoggirl]

One of my favourite movies, I was obsessed with it when it first came out xoxo

[@Kayleigh]

This has always been one of my favorites next to A Goofy Movie! Such a great video, Sarah!

[@delatorture1633]

I've never watched this movie from beginning to end. Thanks to you I feel like Ive watched it now. The making of documentary really spikes my interests. I can't wait to watch it. Thanks!

[@SarahSterling]

+DE LA TORTURE It's SUPER interesting. I'm almost done with it and I wish I had a chance to watch it all before I filmed because there are some tidbits I'd want to add.

[@stitch6995]

Yay thank you for doing he emperors new groove !! Yzma is by far my favourite Disney villain ! So happy you have done my 2 favourite Disney movies now lilo and stitch and The emperors new groove

[@picabritanica2811]

Oh Hercules would be an awesome one to do. It always astounds me how much of my favourite Disney movies are improvised, love it. x

[@jessec6097]

I always look forward to these! Love to learn something new about Disney movies.

[@miriamcq]

i'm so excited for April's episode.Can't wait to find out what movie it will be about!!

[@becka_little]

Mary Poppins or The Aristocats would be great ones to do! And The Emperor's New Groove is one of the funniest movies ever I definitely don't watch it enough! These videos are amazing, please don't ever stop doing them haha!! :)

[@Sofiehihi-n7v]

Love love love these videos! I always learn a bunch of new stuff each time. I would love to see you reveal some fantastic stuff about Mulan. You're a fantastic youtuber and I love your videos. Xx

[@amyjanebrewer3368]

currently binge watching these.... ridiculously addictive

[@alisonshore9979]

I love these videos! Always learn so much and Emperor's New Groove is one of my favorites!

[@kiaravillegas6042]

You should do a Disneyland meet up! I swear every time I'm at Disneyland I'm always hoping to run into you or someone from thingamavlogs. It's cool to know there's others out there who have the same obsession as me, DISNEY!

[@DragonPrincessAoife]

What is it famous for? It's one of the most quotable films Disney ever did! "Cheese me no likey!"

[@ChicHulaGirl86]

I remember I didn't even see this movie until it came out on dvd! I felt like it didn't even look very good. Boy, was I wrong! My mom bought it for me and I was very skeptical, but I've never laughed so hard! SO many one liners! I think this is definitely an underrated movie! :) Loved hearing all these fun facts, Sarah! Great video!

[@CandyCamera13]

Hi Sarah, I really enjoyed this and look forward to more in the series ^^

[@stacymiles9498]

Love this movie! I still watch it in my classroom with my kids. Ps- voting on Twitter is great! Thanks Sarah for a great vlog

[@lovelythorns]

At one point I had the Emperor's New Groove completely memorized. Gonna go watch it now!

[@ParadoxFreak]

One of my favorite films!

[@ashleyooacevedo]

Along with Tarzan and Return to Neverland, Emperor's New Groove was one of my favorite and most watched Disney movies as a kid. I always watched the TV sequels and the show. It'll always be a treasured part of my Disney childhood.

[@kirstenv1279]

Great video as always ❤️ would love to see Hunchback Of The Notre Dame next time 😊

[@mercyyepez14]

Yesss I was just about to request this! Love it!

[@amelianewman8920]

I LOOOVE your Disney bookshelf in the background!! Maybe do a video showing what's on there, cause I really want to do that in my room...But I live in Canada so some things may be hard to find😂😂

[@selenaestrada4794]

Emperors new groove is the best I didn't know it was the first Disney movie to picture a pregnant woman

[@abeeyer5136]

Sarah you are awesome!!!!!!! I love your down to disness videos.

[@candice212]

This movie is so underrated. It's always been one of my Disney favorites!

[@beckiejbrown]

0:50 say what!? I didn't know that!

[@beckiejbrown]

THANKS for the link to the doc! :D

[@rosaliesaysrawr]

kronk is my fav

[@NoahLindquist96]

4 years late, but I’d say this movie is most notable for being the first full blown comedy in the Walt Disney Animation Studios lineup. Every movie before that maybe had comic relief characters and comedic moments, but Emperor’s New Groove is indisputably a comedy from beginning to end.

[@crazytheduck88]

One of my favorite underrated Disney movies 😍💕

[@hpboy13]

I disagree with you - this movie was enormously significant for bringing about the end of the Renaissance. First movie since Rescuers Down Under to not be a musical. Also one of the first "buddy comedies" Disney did, a genre alive and well in today's Zootopia.

[@yoyayoya101]

When you said Patrick had improvised some lines, I immediately thought of Kronk's little sneaking song. I was pleasantly surprised to find out it actually was improvised.

[@rhiannon0307]

Could you please do Hunchback of Notre Dame or Hercules? They're two of my favourite Disney films and I think it would be really interesting to uncover the history behind them:) Love your videos:D

[@AaronFairbanks]

I never knew there was a BTS documentary for this!! Thanks for tracking it down and sharing, Sarah :D

[@aheb96]

Love the Down to Disness videos! You should do Hercules or the little mermaid next

[@jamiesebastian]

I love this series! I think it would be cool if you talked about a Pixar movie next since you haven't done one yet.

[@Mark12367]

These are always great :) Thanks for making them!

[@nicoleharris2830]

love these videos soo much! please do one about hercules!

[@joaquinrazo8631]

Its famous for "pull the lever kronk"

[@Michaelina]

I just watched the Emperor's New groove recently for the first time and it was SO CUTE. Can you do a down to disness on Mulan?

[@satria222poxy]

My mom loves Yzma a lot because of her purple-ness and sense of humor. Also Kronk is awesome as always!!!

[@cutielamerr]

The Sweatbox used to be on KZbin. If you dig hard enough I'm sure you can still watch it somewhere. I watched it a very years back, great documentary, so informative, and heartbreaking that they had to overhaul the entire film mid-production.

[@Jackiehansa]

Hercules !!!! Love Meg 😍 your videos are amazing I'm obsessed !

[@Bluestar6264]

more down to disness please!!! I'd love to see one about the rescuers or oliver and company :D

[@catherinehuard78]

I would love too see a Down to Disness about The Aristocats! It's my favorite Disney movie! :)

[@raynshine]

But what about the line "Bring it on" or that scene in general? It's all over social media, it's even in Hot Topic as multiple types of merchandise. I personally think that scene and line is the most popular piece of the movie.

[@lucianaisenrich8636]

Do Fantasia!! my personal favorite disney movie~

[@kelsisantiago6400]

PRINCESS AND THE FROG PLEASEEEEEEEEEEE

[@danielguizar360]

Do the Three Caballeros or the Black Cauldron.

[@AlyssumIvy]

I love this movie! I was just talking about it a few days ago!

[@angekuzel]

Maybe you can do Hunchback Of Notre Dame. Or maybe Tangled. :) Love this series!

[@straak]

It's famous for never allowing the documentary about the making of it - THE SWEATBOX, to never see the light of day.

[@sophkarps8246]

would this movie be the first Disney movie to break the fourth wall? or was there a Disney movie before it that did that?

[@SarahSterling]

+sophJ karps Good question...

[@LakinAleyse]

+imSarahSnitch Didn't Jiminy Cricket break the fourth wall in Pinocchio?

[@JJdaPK]

Gaston kind of winks at us when he says "Every last inch of me is covered with hair."

[@blancacasanovas8776]

amazing video as always ✨ please please please do Atlantis: the Lost Empire ! it's my fave! I feel like if you were to ask twitter not many people would vote for Atlantis because it's kinda forgotten.. :(

[@callmestitch_684]

Please do a Brother Bear Down to Disness episode! ILYSM!💜💜💜💜💜

[@conleearyn]

Please do the hunchback of notre dame!!

[@sarahmoyer6623]

I had no idea it was loosely based on the Prince and the Pauper. I'd love to hear more about the goofy movie which I know is your fave!

[@RachelMudd]

This movie was the first movie I ever saw in a movie theatre! So that's something important!

[@alena4924]

If you want to watch the documentary about its creation, specifically about kingdom of the sun, the sweat box is actually on KZbin. :)

[@WhyMeghan]

To answer your question, it’s famous for Kronk.

[@callmestitch_684]

I love Emperors new groove! My niece and nephew love it so much, I feel like every time I go and see them, they always put on emperors new groove. We went to mickeys Halloween party 2015, my sister was planning on doing a family costume theme, my sister was going to be yzma, my brother in law was going to be pacha, and my nephew was going to be kuzco, but my niece didn't have a costume that fit in it's the theme so they ended up changing it. P.S I love you and your videos! P.P.S, please do a brother bear down to disness episode!😊💜

[@bandme796]

How about a classic like Pent Trap or Freaky Friday? One of my favorite very little known Disney movies is North Avenue Irregulars. It had a great cast and a CRAZY story line!

[@JaqiMoon]

I'm dying to learn more about Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Just the licensing hurdles alone would be interesting, plus the story about bumping the lamp ;)

[@EliseGehrke]

I love this movie one of my favorites! You should do princess and the frog !!!

[@TotesCray658]

do Hunchback of Notre Dame next!

[@Steveofthejungle8]

YESSSS MY FAVORITE DISNEY MOVIE!

[@soldier7652]

PULL THE LEVER KRONK

[@shell1295]

I'm definitely going to re-watch Emperor's New Groove now but I'd love to see my fav, Beauty and the Beast on your next Down to Disness :)

[@jakinneverland3922]

I don't have twitter =/ I think you should do Jungle Book though because its the last movie Walt worked on. Or the little mermaid because she was the first princess since the late 50s, or Zootopia just because its freaking awesome and it deals with real issues that we are dealing with in society today. I've said it before but, I freaking love this series! Thank you so much Sarah for putting so much into these, I know it must not be easy!

[@SarahSterling]

+Jak InNeverland I think you can vote on Twitter even without a handle? Not sure. Thank you for watching!

[@2010Aveen]

cool I did learn a lot. It was a movie I was never that fussed on seeing as a Disney fan but a friend kept telling me it was really funny so I gave in and watched it (many years ago now) and I thought it was hilarious!!! I agree totally one of the funniest Disney movies ever!

[@CHOCOCHIPSx]

the most iconic and memorable thing i remember from emperor's new groove is WRONG LEVER

[@MnMsandOreos]

You forgot the fact about how the Secret Lab (which all the characters know about) was based on Michael Eisner's secret project, computer animated films (Dinosaur). All the 2D animators knew what it was but Eisner wouldn't let them see it the "secret" room it was being done in, so they threw in the joke about the Secret Lab

[@elskanminn]

I'd love to see a Down to Disness about Oliver & Company or The Aristocats!

[@bjsm1995]

It's famous for some of its quotes!!!! my friends and I always quote this movie!!!!

[@annaleonardi7]

I love down to Disness!

[@fashionistagirl15]

I would love to see a down to disness on Mary Poppins!!