DVDFile

Buena Vista Home Entertainment / 2005 / 75 Minutes / G
Street Date: December 13, 2005

I hadn’t seen The Emperor's New Groove, so I wasn’t sure if I was at a disadvantage when I loaded this disc into my player.  I was pleased to find that it stands alone, independent of whatever may have inspired it, a film deemed popular enough to produce this direct to DVD production.  I was, however, disappointed that the film was not carefully structured to appeal to all ages as other Disney productions have.  This film seems aimed squarely at the younger set.

From what I can gather, Kronk (Patrick Warburton) was not the principal character in the first film, but he must have struck a chord, for he’s front and center here.  Kronk is now chef at Mudka's Meat Hut, where he’s found his calling.  The townspeople like and respect him.  He’s caring and helpful, particularly to the elderly tribespeople.  He seems to have found happiness with one exception: he longs for his father’s approval.  He would do almost anything to get that thumbs up from Papi (John Mahoney).

In fact, since a wife, children, and a big house on the hill are the yardsticks Papi uses to measure success, Kronk has, let’s say, exaggerated his accomplishments in letters to his dad.  Now comes word that Papi is coming for a visit and Kronk panics, knowing full well that he’s about to be exposed as a fraud.  That’s no way to get that coveted thumbs up.  And as Kronk sits in the mess his panic wrought, he contemplates his recent past and how it came to all this.

The film is dominated by two flashbacks that establish Kronk’s warm heart and inherent nobility.  In each, he’ll make choices that benefit others to his own detriment.  In the first, he allows himself to get drawn into a scheme hatched by the evil Yzma (Eartha Kitt) to defraud the elderly with snake oil masquerading as a mystical youth potion.  Kronk will accumulate enough cash to buy the old folks home high on a hill and replace it with an impressive mansion before he realizes his part in a nefarious plot and does the right thing. 

In the second flashback, he takes his troop of Chipmunks (think Brownies) to a competition at Camp Chippamunka.  He comes up against the highly organized, highly disciplined, highly competitive, and very British (?) Miss Birdwell (Tracey Ullman).  The contest is fierce, each trying to have its troop outdo the other until the two troop leaders suddenly realize that they’ve fallen in love.  Peace might reign if one of Kronk’s kids hadn’t hatched a nefarious scheme of her own.  Kronk takes the blame and hearts appropriately break.

These two stories converge in a climactic visit in which Kronk and his father come to understand how much love and respect the villagers have for the bumbler.  The film is pleasant enough, but not sufficiently entertaining for adults.  To Disney’s credit, there are many references to other motion pictures woven through the animated feature (there are even satirical references to Disney theme park rides); these were clearly intended to engage adults and offer a little sneaky humor that is bound to go over the heads of the intended audience.  Alas, it is not quite enough to do it for me.

The animation is unremarkable but smooth.  It’s stylistically rather simplified, but I was left with the impression that there was an image created for each frame of film (unlike some inexpensive animation productions).  Based on the credits, the work seems to have been outsourced overseas.  The musical numbers are lively but stop the story line in its tracks every time.  This is a film with gentle humor that should please the youngsters.

The Video: How Does The Disc Look?

Kronk's New Groove is presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic video and the transfer is squeaky clean.  Colors are vivid and noise-free.  Edge halos have almost been banished; those that remain never intrude.  Shadow detail and deep rich blacks are not an issue in this bright, lively presentation.  Small object detail is well above average and the finely grained textures of the background plates are rendered with satisfying detail.  Compression artifacts are not visible.

The Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

There are two 5.1 tracks on this DVD: Dolby Digital and DTS.  The tracks are quite nice, with reasonable use of the surround channels.  The sound effects are sharp and crisp, the exclusively studio recorded dialog crystal clear, and the funky score conveyed with reasonable fidelity.  Some modestly deep bass is present, but it does not plumb the depths of the audio spectrum.  DTS has the edge, with slightly more natural timbre.  Use the Fast Play option and you’ll never know that DTS is available unless you carefully examine the back of the keepcase.

There are two alternate language tracks, French and Spanish, each presented in Dolby Digital 5.1.  The optional subtitles are in English for the hearing impaired.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

This disc is programmed with what Buena Vista calls Fast Play, in which previews, film, and supplements are presented sequentially without your intervention.  Interestingly, this harkens back to DVD’s early days in which they were programmed to display the studio’s logo and immediately start the main feature (I miss those days).  You are given the choice to accept Fast Play or proceed to the Main Menu, which is accessible at any time, anyway.

Continue, and the program will begin with a collection of promos and previews (5:31) for: Lady and the Tramp DVD; The Wild; Shaggy Dog; and, Bambi II.  They may be skipped, since they are available in the Sneak Peeks section, along with Leroy & Stitch, The Fox and the Hound 2, Valiant, Pooh’s Grand Adventure, and The Emperor’s New School.

The only significant supplement on this DVD is Backstage Disney’s lighthearted How to Cook a Movie full screen featurette.  Hosted by the voice of Kronk, Patrick Warburton, he introduces directors Saul Andrew Blinkoff and Elliot M. Bour.  The featurette also seems aimed at the younger set, who may have limited attention spans.  Several aspects of the making of an animated film are described in very terse terms: The Directors; Script; Voice Talent; Animation; Art Direction; and, Fun.  And the Advice for Beginners is rudimentary: you should like to draw, you should practice drawing.  That’s a lot of territory to cover in seven minutes and fifty-four seconds.

And for the kiddies, there are two games on the disc: Kronk’s Brain Game (a bit of silliness based on helping Kronk run three errands); and, Pyramid Scheme (a trivia game based on the film).

The 75-minute film is organized into twenty chapters.

Exclusive DVD-ROM Features: What happens when you pop the disc into your PC?

There are no DVD-ROM features on this DVD.

Easter Eggs

Highlight and select the pots and pans to the left of the list of choices on the main menu page and cheese will explode all over the menu screen.

Final Thoughts

This one is strictly for the kids, perhaps nine and younger.  Do you have young Disney animation fans running around the house?  You could do worse than this Kronk adventure.