By Risa Deninta Irawan
The Emperor’s New Groove (2000) begins with an arrogant young emperor, named Kuzco who wants to build a summer house with a pool in Pacha’s village. Kuzco’s position as an emperor motivates Yzma to kill him with the poison, however, it transforms him into a llama. Kuzco is stranded in the jungle with Pacha and accidentally knows Yzma’s plan then he changes his mind not to destroy Pacha’s village and asks Pacha to walk him to the palace. In the palace, Kuzco tries to find a poison that can transform him into a human again. After gets back into human form, Kuzco changes and becomes a good emperor who has a warm heart for everyone. This movie can be analyzed by three major part scenes.
Firstly, the scene shows Kuzco is talking arrogantly with the two guards who are blocking Pacha. The scene uses an eye-level shot which is a neutral shot and it uses medium-shot to show the detailed gesture of Kuzco who has the most power. Kuzco’s body size which shorter than other characters represents that he is the one who deserves protection. They are in the palace colored in dark red that implies it under Kuzco’s majesty while Kuzco wears red clothing that implies he is the emperor. The dim light around the two guards suggests that they are also under Kuzco. However, Pacha wears the light one that implies he is not under anyone’s majesty. Furthermore, Kuzco shows his power by saying, “When I give the word” [10:20] means whatever he says everything will be changed according to his will. It suggests that Kuzco is authoritarian and abuses his power for his own good by ignoring Pacha’s words.
The scene shows Kuzco as a llama for the first time while yelling at Pacha. It uses a close-up shot to emphasize the emotion of both characters. Even though Kuzco turns into a llama, he still is arrogant by saying, “I don’t make deals with peasants!” [26:22]. His statement suggests that he is an authoritarian who doesn’t care at all about other’s opinions. He also thinks that he is the emperor can do everything with his majesty.
Finally, after Kuzco gets back into his human form, his attitude that being arrogant is changed. This scene uses a medium-long shot which shows the facial expression and body gestures of both characters. Kuzco turns into a human who has a warm heart by saying “You’re sure?” [1:10:07] that he wants to make sure his apologies are forgiven from the old man. He treats others in a good way. In the end, an authoritarian emperor is changed to an emperor who humanizes humans.
The title The Emperor’s New Groove signifies the story. It represents that the story is about a new path of the emperor. From the beginning, Kuzco is an arrogant emperor who uses the power for his good, then changes into a llama after drinking poison. When turns back into his human form, he changes his attitude. He becomes a good emperor who has a warm heart for everyone.