Episode 44 - The Emperor's New Groove (2000) (with Astrid Goldsmith)

Voted for by the Fantasy/Animation community on social media as the inaugural #feelgoodfananim, Episode 44 of the podcast looks at the Walt Disney studio’s cel-animated feature The Emperor's New Groove (Mark Dindal, 2000). Chris and Alex are also joined by their very first returning guest, award-winning animator Astrid Goldsmith (a.k.a. Mock Duck Studios), to discuss the troubled production history, buddy narrative and anarchic comic structures of a film that marked a seismic formal shift in the familiar Disney style. Or did it? Listen as the trio make their way through The Emperor’s New Groove’s adherence to the Disney formula and its ambiguous relationship to the Disney Renaissance, while remembering the landscape of Hollywood animation in the 1990s where the film began life as “The Kingdom of the Sun”. Other topics include the fantasy of The Emperor’s New Groove’s strongly self-reflexive register and complex use of voiceover narration; character design, anthropomorphism and talking llamas; and what happens if you pull the wrong lever. To all our listeners, stay safe and remember, no touchy!