This coming Sunday night, ABC will be airing “The Emperor’s New Groove” on “The Wonderful World of Disney.” If you weren’t able to catch this incredibly funny film from Walt Disney Feature Animation during its initial theatrical release, now might be a really good time to get into the “Groove.”
Of course, whenever “The Emperor’s New Groove” pops up on ABC and/or the Disney Channel, I (since I’m supposed to be this all-seeing, all-knowing Disneyana expert) invariably get e-mails like this one from Emily E:
Dear Jim:
What can you tell me about “Kingdom of the Sun”? I keep hearing all these stories about how “Emperor’s New Groove” was supposed to be this really ambitious animated film from Walt Disney Feature Animation. But that somehow the production went off the rails. Which is how we ended up with “Groove.”
I had hoped that the Collector’s Edition DVD of “Groove” that I just bought could shed some light on the earlier aborted version of the film. But – with the exception of a small gallery that features a few concept paintings – this DVD doesn’t touch on “Kingdom” at all.
So Mr. Hill – knower of all obscure things related to the Mouse – can you please shed some light on “Kingdom of the Sun”? Let me know what I missed?
Well, Emily, if you really want to know what you missed out on when Disney canceled “Kingdom of the Sun,” you don’t want to look at “The Emperor’s New Groove” DVD; you want to listen to the “Emperor’s New Groove” soundtrack.
Why the soundtrack? Well — after you pop that CD into your stereo — take a close look at the soundtrack’s liner notes. There, you’ll see an odd star shape next to tracks 3, 4, and 7. If you’ll check out the teeny, tiny type in the lower left hand corner of the back of the “Groove” soundtrack, you’ll see that “these songs were written for but not used in the final film.”
That’s right, kids. Right there on your copy of “The Emperor’s New Groove” soundtrack are three songs that were originally written for “Kingdom of the Sun.” If you listen carefully to these tracks — particularly “Snuff Out the Light” (Yzma’s Song) and “One Day She’ll Love Me” — you can get a real sense of the decidedly adult wit and feel director Roger Allers wanted to bring to his version of “Kingdom.”
Let me give you a brief synopsis of where each of these songs would have fit into the original storyline of “Kingdom of the Sun”:
“Walk the Llama Llama” (Track 4) was actually supposed to be the song that would have introduced “Kingdom”‘s central character — Pacha the peasant llama herder — to the audience. Mind you, in this version of the film, Pacha wasn’t some heavyset middle aged man a la John Goodman. In Pacha’s initial incarnation, he was this carefree but good hearted 18 year old llama herder who was a dead ringer for Emperor Manco (which is what Emperor Kuzco was called in the earlier version of the movie). Pacha was to have sung “Walk the Llama Llama” as he lead his trio of llamas down the mountainside and into the marketplace.
As performed by Rascal Flatts on the “Groove” soundtrack, “Walk the Llama Llama” comes across as a pleasant enough ditty. But the animators who worked on the version of “Llama Llama” that was to have been used in “Kingdom of the Sun” actively hated this song. Why? Because they thought that David Hartley’s clever lyrics just didn’t sound right coming out of a mouth of a supposedly unsophisticated peasant boy. Given that Pacha had never been to the big city before, it just didn’t make sense that he’d use words like “panorama” and “the perfect fashion statement.”
The animators felt that “Walk the Llama Llama” was just the wrong way to introduce kindly Pacha to the audience. While they enjoyed the bounce and beat of the song, its lyrics gave the wrong impression about who the llama herder was. That’s why the “Kingdom” / “Groove” production team wasn’t all that upset when “Walk the Llama Llama” ended up getting cut from the film.
“One Day She’ll Love Me” (Track 7) — on the other hand — was thought to be a real loss for the project by the entire “Groove” production team. Here was this beautifully languid love song, loaded with adult emotions, that would have been a great challenge to stage effectively and animate well.
“One Day She’ll Love Me” was originally intended to be used about midway through the movie — after Pacha has switched places with Emperor Manco. You see, “Kingdom of the Sun” was supoosed to have borrowed quietly liberally from that classic Mark Twain tale, “The Prince and the Pauper.” As in: high and mighty Manco has grown bored with being ruler of his mountain kingdom. He discovers that kindly llama herder Pacha is his dead ringer. To get away from the duties of state for a while, Manco proposes that he switch places with Pancha. With the llama herder occupying the throne while Manco cuts loose for a bit. Of course, things don’t go according to plan … and Pacha is forced to stay on the throne, pretending that he’s the Emperor. Why? Because Yzma turns Manco into a llama …
Okay, maybe this story doesn’t have as much in common with “The Prince and the Pauper” as I thought … Anyway …
The uneasy llama herder had fooled just about everyone at the palace into thinking that he really is the Emperor. But the woman that Manco was betroved to — the hand maiden, Nina — has noticed a difference in her soon-to-be husband. Where once he was arrogant and haughty, now the Emperor is thoughtful and kind. Cruelty has inexplicably given way to kindness.
Nina — who was not looking forward to being Mrs. Manco — suddenly finds herself drawn to the seemingly transformed Emperor. Pacha also finds himself growing fond of Manco’s soon-to-be wife. At a party at the palace, the two teens fight their growing attraction to one another.
This is where “One Day She’ll Love Me” would have come in. This song would have been sung over the party sequence, illustrating Pacha and Nina’s inner-most thoughts and feelings. There’s a heartfelt, yearning quality to the ballad that Sting and David Hartley wrote that would have made this a really magical moment in “Kingdom of the Sun.” Folks at Disney Feature Animation say that this song really was one of the better moments in the earlier version of the film.
But — as “Kingdom”‘s complicated Prince-and-the-Pauper-like plotline was dropped in favor of “Groove”‘s simpler, sillier story — there just wasn’t a spot in the film anymore for an adult love song like “One Day She’ll Love Me.” So this genuinely beautiful ballad ended up on the scrap heap — making it the saddest loss for Disney Feature Animation since Alan Menken and Stephen Schwarz’s “If I Never Knew You” got cut from “Pocahontas.”
Another real loss for “Groove” was the decision to drop “Kingdom of the Sun”‘s villain song, “Snuff Out the Light” [Yzma’s Song] (Track 3). This number is considered by many who worked on both versions of the project as the comic highlight of “Kingdom.”
So what was so funny about “Snuff Out the Light?” You start with veteran song stylist Eartha Kitt cutting loose with some really witty lyrics. You then add some amazing visuals, as Yzma — working in a blacklit dungeon that soon fills with wild streaks of color — is backed up by a trio of comic mummies. The song then builds and builds, with great laughs punctuated by a driving beat. Those who worked on the piece compared it to the “Pink Elephants on Parade” number from “Dumbo.” So what’s not to like?
Unfortunately, once “Groove”‘s production team dropped Yzma’s original motivation (in the “Kingdom” version of the story, the aged sorceress had cut a deal with the demon, Supai, to plunge the world into eternal darkness so that the sun could no longer rob Yzma of her beauty), there was no reason for Kuzco’s adviser to still sing this song. So “Snuff Out the Light” ended up getting snuffed — much to the disappointment of the dozens of animators who’d labored for the better part of a year to turn “Snuff” into a comic showstopper.
(Note to Disneyland’s Special Events Office: “Snuff Out the Light” is just too good a comic villain’s song to let it drift off into obscurity forever. The next time you folks stage one of those “Disney Divas” events, please keep this number in mind, okay? If you throw a halfway decent Yzma impersonator up on stage and get a couple of mummies to back her up, I guarantee you’ll stop the show. Don’t believe me? Have Feature Animation unearth the work-in-progress version of this “Snuff Out the Light” for you. You’ll see for yourself that “Snuff” really was the big one that got away.)
Now, I suppose that all you Disney purists out there are wondering what three songs that aren’t actually performed in “The Emperor’s New Groove” are doing on the film’s soundtrack. There are two answers to that question:
The Fake Answer: With only two songs now being performed in the film — “A Perfect World” and “My Funny Friend and Me” — “Groove”‘s soundtrack seemed a bit on the skimpy side. Adding “Walk the Llama Llama,” “One Day She’ll Love Me” and “Snuff Out the Light” to the album helped pad things out, making the recording seem like a better value to retailers.
The Real Reason: The Walt Disney Company really wants to do business with Sting again. They feel badly that most of the songs he wrote for “Kingdom of the Sun” didn’t make the cut in “The Emperor’s New Groove.” By including a few of these dropped numbers on the “Groove” soundtrack, the Mouse is hoping that Sting might look kindly on the Walt Disney Company and be willing to tackle another song writing assignment for an animated feature sometime in the not-so-distant future.
(Memo to Disney Studio Head *** Cook: Did you actually watch “The Sweatbox?” That behind-the-scenes making-of documentary that film-maker Trudie Styler — AKA Mrs. Sting — made about all the turmoil that occurred during the production of “Kingdom of the Sun” / “The Emperor’s New Groove”? That seldom seem film should give you some clue as to when Sting might next be willing to work for the Mouse … several eons from now.)
Anywho … even though these three songs weren’t performed in “The Emperor’s New Groove,” me personally, I still think that they’re a delight to hear. If you really want a clue as to what “Kingdom of the Sun” might have been like, Emily, go pick yourself up a copy of the “Emperor’s New Groove” soundtrack. (And feel free to click the link at the bottom of the article to buy it and help support JimHillMedia.com in the process.) Then listen to “Walk the Llama Llama,” “One Day She’ll Love Me” and “Snuff Out the Light.” These three songs will give you some insight into the wit and style Allers wanted to bring to this project.
Okay. I know, Emily E. This isn’t as cool as — say — having the work-in-progress version of Disney’s “Kingdom of the Sun” folded in with the extras that you found on your “Emperor’s New Groove” DVD. But as the comic Steven Wright once so eloquently put it: “You can’t have everything. Where would you put it?”
Okay. That’s it for today, folks. I’m off to the airport for my flight to San Diego. I’m going to spend the next 12 days getting reacquainted with my lovely daughter, Alice, as well as hooking up with some old and new friends out west. Not to mention hosting the very first round of JHM tours of Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure theme park.
As you might imagine, it’s going to a very busy week-and-five-days. Hopefully, I’ll be able to score lots of great new stories for the site while I’m way out west. But — since my dance card is going to be kind of full now through March 25th — I may not be able to write a new story for the site every day while I’m away.
Not to worry, though. I’ve pulled some very interesting pieces out of the JHM archives and passed them along to David Gasior, our site’s tech guy. If I’m unable to file a new story any day over the next week or so, David will post one of these instead.
So I apologize in advance for the warmed over leftovers, kids. I promise — if and when I find some free time on this trip — I’ll be sure to post a new story. Or two. Or three.
Talk to you later, okay?