Evil henchman Kronk has turned from his wicked ways since we last saw him in The Emperor's New Groove. Dim-witted but lovable nonetheless, Kronk has a new dilemma on his hands when a "llama gram" arrives that his father is coming to visit. Never having been able to win his dad's acceptance of his culinary ways, Kronk longs for the day he'd receive a thumbs-up from Papi. However, Kronk believes the only way this might happen would be to have a wife, a family, and a house on a hill. So can he gain all these to win his father's approval before he arrives?

I fell in love with The Emperor's New Groove when I first saw it in the theaters five years ago. Disney had outdone themselves in creating a fun animated comedy that was silly beyond silly in the same vein as early Looney Tunes cartoons. The characters were lovable, the message relevant, and the animation quality. It easily became my all-time favorite hand-drawn animated Disney feature. But in recent years, Disney has commissioned straight-to-video sequels of many beloved animated films including The Lion King, Lilo & Stich, Tarzan, and countless others. Naturally, despite the disappointing theatrical success of The Emperor's New Groove, a sequel was announced for the film... the creatively approached Kronk's New Groove.

Those who love The Emperor's New Groove agree that one of the best things about the film is Kronk -- the slow, dumb, but lovable assistant to the evil sorceress Yzma. I was delighted when I heard the sequel would be centered around Kronk, but concerned that making the film revolve around such a secondary character as Kronk might not work. And while it isn't perfect by any means, it actually does work. And what makes it work is that you already like him from the first movie. Those unfamiliar with The Emperor's New Groove will most likely feel an outsider to an hour-long .

The strongest thing Kronk's New Groove has going for it, too, is that all of the original voice cast has returned. The underrated Patrick Warburton is back as the title character, David Spade makes a cameo appearance as Emperor Kuzco, John Goodman is back as Pacha, and even Eartha Kitt returns as the evil Yzma. While some of the jokes in the film don't work as well as the filmmakers may hope they do, there are plenty of grin-inducing moments when references to the first movie are made. In fact, just seeing many of these characters back in the saddle was fun. The first half hour is probably the strongest in the film as Kronk naively gets involved with Yzma again (who is now a human again as opposed to being turned into a cat in the first film -- but bears a clever side effect from it) and then has to rectify the mistake. While flashbacks tell a few subplots, the central theme is Kronk's desire to win the approval of his father, Papi. The corniest sequence involves Kronk's meeting of a fellow Chipmunk camp leader named Birdwell who he falls in love with. The two flirt a lot, with her even calling him "Kronky Poo," and it just seems rather cheesy at times. Some humorous moments ensue, but ultimately the strongest moments in the film - and the most natural ones - were when Kronk and Yzma were interacting with each other. Fans of the original will also love a few appearances from Kuzco who interrupts the film a couple times and actually works himself into the story in one scene. Finally, the film also spoofs a few other popular flicks including Lady & The Tramp, Titanic, and Lord Of The Rings, with cute results. While I laughed at each one, I felt it slightly cheapened the film. The Emperor's New Groove didn't rely on spoofs for its biggest laughs (a play on The Fly in a brief moment is really all that comes to mind), and it helped give the story a stronger, more authentic feel.

Overall, Kronk's New Groove is a pretty good sequel to a movie that really doesn't need a sequel. It's funny, creative, but not without flaws. Kronk's New Groove is not for casual fans of The Emperor's New Groove and those who treasure the original may also not care for the filmmakers tinkering with the storyline. I was a little fearful that Kronk's New Groove would be an abysmal spin-off, but it is instead a fun little comedy for the family. If you have any questions or comments about the film before you see it (if you decide to), feel free to contact me.
- John DiBiase, (reviewed: 12/18/05)