History WesternAnimation / TheEmperorsNewGroove

* BreakingOldTrends: This film is the first in the {{Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon}} to not be an adaptation of (or heavily influenced by) another work. However, this was not intentional. The original incarnation of the movie back when it was called ''Kingdom of the Sun'' was going to incorporate aspects of ''The Prince and the Pauper'' but as that version fell apart, the rush to produce a final product resulted in a heavily comedic original film.

* WeNeedADistraction: While at the diner, Pacha creates a distraction by telling the waitress that it's Yzma's birthday which prompts the diner staff to mob her table singing "Happy Birthday" giving Pacha and Kuzco time to slip away.

* AmbiguousDisorder: Kronk is very literal, has difficulty lying, misunderstands social cues, vocally repeats things, and finds it hard to focus on something that isn't what he's interested in. All of these are symptoms of autism spectrum disorder. Producer Randy Fullmer [[https://youtu.be/89aePH1NTNg points out]] that Kronk isn't dumb, he's just never quite focused on what everyone else is focused on.

** In one scene, Kronk finds a golden-throated small-winged warbler and adds it to his "exotic bird bingo" sheet while, in the background, Yzma is being chased across the screen several times by SynchronizedSwarming bees.

** In one scene, Kronk is talking to himself while, in the background, Yzma is being chased across the screen several times by SynchronizedSwarming bees.

** Used by Kuzco to justify his going back on his promise not to destroy Pacha's village and build Kuzcotopia]].

* TheUnsmile: When Kuzco joins Yzma and Kronk for dinner, he asks Yzma if she has any hard feelings about being let go. Her "None whatsover" reply is made through severely clenched teeth and an incredibly forced smile. * UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist: Kuzco, who starts out as a total {{Jerkass}}.

* VillainProtagonist: Kuzco, while arguably entertaining, is also irredeemable for the first half of the film. As an emperor he is, at best, neglectful to his subjects, and at worst is actively abusive. On a personal level his interactions range from casually rude to cruel.

* WorldWearyWaitress: The Mudka's Meat Hut has a World Weary Waitress, Mata, that seems permanently bored, sighs as she repeats the welcoming routine to newcomers and doesn't bat an eye to the strange "woman" (Kuzco in disguise) that is with Pacha. When he unnecessarily tells her that they are on honeymoon, she just says "Bless you for coming out in public".

* ExtremelyShortTimespan: The official storyline of the movie starts the day before Kuzco's birthday and ends in the afternoon of the day after; meaning the entire film took place over two and a half days. Oddly, this directly contradicts Pacha's statement "With that bridge out, it's a four day walk to the palace".

* BalefulPolymorph: The Emperor's transformation into a llama is the result of Kronk bumbling Yzma's attempt to assassinate him, mistaking a transformation potion with the intended poison. Later, chaos ensues during the finale when they acquire the ''rest'' of Yzma's (unlabeled) transformation potions, and [[spoiler:Yzma herself never fully recovers from being turned into a cat]].

* ABirthdayNotABreak: Aside from the last two scenes and the {{Flashback}} at the beginning, the entire film-in which Kuzco almost dies numerous times, undergoes a BalefulPolymorph, is days long distance away from home, has his worldview questioned for the first time in his life, and passes DespairEventHorizon-happens on his eighteenth birthday and the days before and after.

* DownerBeginning: Downplayed. The film's CueTheRain opening is purposefully over dramatic and PlayedForLaughs. But it still has a more somber tone than the rest of the movie, especially when you learn why Kuzco is crying in the jungle. [[spoiler: He's a kid trapped in a BalefulPolymorph who just learned no one in the world cares that he's missing, and he rejected the only person who ever showed him some genuine kindness.]]

* TheUnsmile: When Kuzco joins Yzma and Kronk for dinner, he asks Yzma if she has any hard feelings about being let go. Her "None whatsover" reply is made through severely clenched teeth and an incredibly forced smile.
%%* UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist: Kuzco.

* EverythingsBetterWithLlamas: Goes without saying.

* SpoiledBrat: Kuzco. He eventually gets better.
-->'''Kuzco:''' Now I feel really bad. ''Bad llama.''

* ChekhovsSkill: Kuzco and Pacha make their way out of a ravine by pressing their backs against each other and walking up the cliff's walls. They later use the same technique during the film's climax when they have to climb the palace's walls.

* PrideBeforeAFall: Kuzco begins the film as an emperor on the top of the world, but can only think about himself and treats everyone beneath him like garbage. This leads to his advisor plotting to kill him. Instead, she accidentally turns him into a llama, and he is tied in a sack and carried away to a nearby village. He eventually ends up alone and stranded in the jungle.

* DownerBeginning: Downplayed. The film's CueTheRain opening is purposefully over dramatic and PlayedForLaughs. But it still has a more somber tone than the rest of the movie, especially when you learn why Kuzco is crying in the jungle. [spoiler: He's a kid trapped in a BalefulPolymorph who just learned no one in the world cares that he's missing, and he rejected the only person who ever showed him some genuine kindness.]]

* RandomizedTransformation: Due to how poorly (if at all) Yzma labels her potions, it also alway wild guesses on what each of them do. Because of this, when Pacha and Kuzco get a hold of a bunch of potions to change Kuzco back into a human, they go through a roulette of animals while on the run, never knowing what Kuzco will turn into, until they are down to the last potion.

* WeNeedADistraction: While at a diner, Pacha overhears Yzma and learns she plans to murder Kuzco. To distract Yzma so he and Kuzco can escape, Pacha lies to the waitress claiming that it's Yzma's birthday and asks for a celebration. Yzma's suddenly mobbed by the diner staff singing "Happy Birthday" to her while Pacha drags Kuzco away.

* TheUnsmile
-->'''Kuzco:''' So, no hard feelings about being let go?\\
'''Yzma:''' ''[teeth clenched]'' [[BlatantLies ...None whatsoever.]]
* UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist: Kuzco.

* TheUnreveal: How exactly ''did'' Yzma and Kronk beat Kuzco and Pacha back to the palace? (Answer: the map Kronk shows has a huge PlotHole in it.)

** Yzma's {{Animorphism}} potions still leave the affected human the ability to talk. This is used to pinpoint Kuzco down, as Yzma knows the "talking llama" has to be him.
** There's also a fly that can talk. Since he's the only non-human transformed animal shown to do this, this has lead some fans to theorize that the fly was a transformed human.
* TamperingWithFoodAndDrink: Yzma ([[ComplexityAddiction eventually]]) chooses this method for her attempted murder plot.

* TooDumbToLive: Kuzco has dinner served to him by the ObviouslyEvil Yzma- ''after'' he's fired her.

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: Invoked by Kuzco; a StaggeredZoom out to show the height of a waterfall goes one step too far, ending up focused on a branch where a monkey eats a beetle.
-->'''Kuzco:''' What's with the chimp and the bug?! Can we get back to ''me''?!

* StaggeredZoom: Parodied: "Um, what's with the chimp and the bug? Can we get back to ''me?''"