Disney's new ultra-hip cartoon "The Emperor's New Groove" is clearly the product of a world-weary, post-Nickelodeon era.
It's not enough anymore to make the kids laugh while slipping in some satire for the grown-ups; kids are so savvy nowadays, you have to give THEM something to bite on, too. Set roughly in the age of the Incas, the film centers on Emperor Kuzco (David Spade), who in turn centers on himself. He's a brash young ruler who cares only for himself. He's not cruel or despotic -- he just doesn't think about anyone else. He gets mad at his adviser, an emaciated Cruella De Vil type named Yzma (Eartha Kitt), and fires her. For revenge, she plots to poison him with the help of her beefy, dim-witted assistant, Kronk (Patrick Warburton). Kronk screws it up, though, and instead of being killed, Kuzco is turned into a llama.
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