Anyone else notice this?

[Pagan]

Don't know if this has been discussed in depth before, but I just returned from WDW and noticed that there's nothing of any sort mentioning "The Emperor's New Groove".

No shirts, no dolls, no pins, NADA.

Does anyone know why this is so? I'm curious since it's one of my favorite Disney movies, and there's the Disney Channel series on right now that seems to be popular also.

[DisneyTwinsMommy]

I have honestly never seen the movie, but i do not believe it was a big money maker for Disney, so I'm not exactly surprised there is no merchandising... you could try ebay? or disneyshopping perhaps?

[MushuGrl]

I didn't notice it until you mentioned it! Wow. I LOVE that movie.

[crltkcagle]

oh yeah we noticed it while we were there. we kept looking for kronk and thought for sure the old evil woman would be one of the villians. but we couldn't find anything either. i was quite surprised because they have the chronicles of narnia everywhere which in my opnion was awful but nothing about new groove. they did make two movies so you would think there would be something.

[AbeeNormal]

I haven't even been to WDW yet.... and I was wondering why those characters aren't ever mentioned and I loved that movie.... so did our kids.
And I agree the Chronicles of Narnia was not so great and it's there .... Go figure (as Eisma would say):mpumpkin:

[SurferStitch]

I looked for Kronk last year after hearing he made some appearances, but was disappointed when I couldn't find him anywhere.

I agree...Emperor's New Groove is an awesome movie, and one of my favorites. It definitely deserves some characters and merchandise in the parks. Highly, highly underrated movie. It's a shame. :(

I also didn't care for Narnia (the movie), but you can't get away from it at WDW. I don't get it.

[WEDTOPIA]

I also didn't care for Narnia (the movie), but you can't get away from it at WDW. I don't get it.

It's not one of my favorite Disney movies ,but it is the 28th highest grossing movie of all-time , with close to $300 million. So merchandising wins out.

:mickey:

[DisneyDudet]

I have seen Pacha characters in parades in the past, but I haven't been since Jan 06, so I can't vouch for anything currently.

I have seen pins in the past before as well. Did you check the large pin stores, esp the one at DTD?

I guess they've phased them out, because I do remember merch quite a bit.

And we LOVE the movie! It really is one of the funniest Disney's made!

[JPL]

This movie falls under the forgotten category. I personally thought it was really funny. It really never took off like Disney expected and I woud guess that lack of merchandise is due to lack of sales.

[angedeaile]

Now that you mention it....wow...never saw a thing. Along with others, I too loved that movie!:thumbsup:

I do recall seeing pictures on the net of Kronk and Pacha somewhere in the World, can't recall where and how long ago though, but nothing of the two when I went last year.

You would think there would be something since "The Emperor's New School" is part of the Saturday Morning cartoon lineup on ABC. Promotion for an ongoing show would make sense, but alas...nothing.:confused:

[LibertyTreeGal]

I think it *almost* falls into the category of Treasure Planet, and other movies I have forgotten with good reason. Not that it is as bad as Treasure Planet, long by a looooong shot, more in the category of Hercules with movies that are just okay but not classics that most people will still be aware of in 100 years.

[Mousefever]

I remember seeing The Emperor's New Groove on a weekday morning, with only about four other people in the theater. I was falling off my chair laughing and everyone else was chuckling occasionally. I think that this movie is not funny to everyone. It's really a strange comedic mix. On the one hand, you have biting sarcasm, on the other you have plenty of physical comedy, plus you have the absurdity of a character who provides his own theme music. The mix is not for everyone, but for those of us who appreciate all three of those forms of comedy, it was a real winner. As to why it never took off as a part of Disney World, I don't claim to know. Maybe Michael Eisner didn't find it funny.


:dory:

[SAHDad]

I looked for Kronk last year after hearing he made some appearances, but was disappointed when I couldn't find him anywhere.

I agree...Emperor's New Groove is an awesome movie, and one of my favorites. It definitely deserves some characters and merchandise in the parks. Highly, highly underrated movie. It's a shame. :(

I also didn't care for Narnia (the movie), but you can't get away from it at WDW. I don't get it.
The reason you can't escape Narnia is because they are already gearing up for next year's release of "Prince Caspian". With 7 books in the series, I suspect everyone will have to deal with Narnia for some time.

I do think that ENG and Treasure Planet are much-maligned films. While they may not be classics in the same line as Snow White or Sleeping Beauty, that doesn't mean that they should just be swept under the rug either.

[DizneyRox]

There is only a small window where Disney really carries merchandise dealing with many of their movies. Unless the movie proves itself to be a "classic" they move onto the next big thing in an attept to cash in on merchandising.

ENG is one of those movies. Now that the movie has long been forgotten (which I don't think is deserved) the profitability of creating any merchandise is not worth it. How many plush do you really think they would sell?

[Pagan]

There is only a small window where Disney really carries merchandise dealing with many of their movies. Unless the movie proves itself to be a "classic" they move onto the next big thing in an attept to cash in on merchandising.

ENG is one of those movies. Now that the movie has long been forgotten (which I don't think is deserved) the profitability of creating any merchandise is not worth it. How many plush do you really think they would sell?
Well, like was mentioned before, they do have a Saturday morning cartoon with the same characters that seems to be pretty popular.

That's why I was wondering. They have a ton of Hannah Montana stuff, why not ENG?

[LibertyTreeGal]

Well, like was mentioned before, they do have a Saturday morning cartoon with the same characters that seems to be pretty popular.

That's why I was wondering. They have a ton of Hannah Montana stuff, why not ENG?

The people who watch Hannah Montana have mucho disposable income (teenage girls) whilst the fans of Emporer's New School don't (mostly kiddos). Remember the Disney Business Mantra:

"Appeal to the girls, sell to the girls, bow down before the girls......"

[LoriMistress]

The movie is funny, but very short lived. David Spade was in that movie...I think that makes my point.

[russk42]

this is only peripherally related, but my kids tell me that the actor who does the queue video for Soarin is also the voice of Kronk.

I'm on my way next Monday :mickey:, so I'll keep my eyes open for the merchandise.

[brownie]

this is only peripherally related, but my kids tell me that the actor who does the queue video for Soarin is also the voice of Kronk.

Yes, it is. It's Patrick Warburton, and he also did the voice of Buzz Lightyear for the animated series and the voice of the gym teacher in Kim Possible. He's also in the sitcom Rules on Engagement on CBS.

They had posters and drawings for Emperor's New Groove up in the animation tour on one of our trips, but it was called something else at the time. I'm not surprised there isn't more merchandise; although my family enjoys it and we rewatch the movie regularly, it doesn't seem to have the mass appeal that other movies have.

[Jared]

Yes, it is. It's Patrick Warburton, and he also did the voice of Buzz Lightyear for the animated series and the voice of the gym teacher in Kim Possible. He's also in the sitcom Rules on Engagement on CBS.
And most famously, Patrick Warburton starred as David Putty in "Senfield."

Anyway, "The Emperor's New Groove" was a solid movie, but it came out with such low expectations. Nobody expected the film to be a big moneymaker, and it wasn't. Though hardcore fans may buy merchandise, most guests are looking for the characters from the true classics.

[thrillme]

I'm surprised. When we went to see it in the theater it was packed. It's one of my FAVORITES.

In fact...whenever I'm having a really baaadddd week...I picture the scene where Kuzco had been turned into a Lama, chased by Panthers, tied to a rotten log, which then fell down the side of the mountain and into the river...now facing backwards floating down the river he hears a rumble...he asks Pancha..."Let me guess...waterfall...Yep...sharp rocks at the bottom...Yep...Bring it On!!!"

I LOVE Emperor's New School too!

[BrerSchultzy]

Not to bring up old issues, but....

This all comes down to the lack of diversity in merchandising.

And it's not just ENG. It's anything not Disney Princess, Pirates or "Disney Channel Pre-Teen American Idol Pop Sensations". It's a shame. I remember when I was a kid, and I collected figurines of all the movies...heck, I even had Gurgi and Tarin from Black Cauldron (talk about a forgotten movie).

It's a shame, but it's all to do with the watering down of the experience. Play to the highest common denominator...what the most people have seen and experienced. That way you aren't taking any risks. You also aren't appealing to the die-hards, but you do make more money.

[DisneyTwinsMommy]

Not to bring up old issues, but....

This all comes down to the lack of diversity in merchandising.

And it's not just ENG. It's anything not Disney Princess, Pirates or "Disney Channel Pre-Teen American Idol Pop Sensations". It's a shame. I remember when I was a kid, and I collected figurines of all the movies...heck, I even had Gurgi and Tarin from Black Cauldron (talk about a forgotten movie).

It's a shame, but it's all to do with the watering down of the experience. Play to the highest common denominator...what the most people have seen and experienced. That way you aren't taking any risks. You also aren't appealing to the die-hards, but you do make more money.

You can't possibly blame them for not merchandising things that will not sell, that's just not good business practices. It really doesn't bother me that the merchandise is all princesses and pirates, that is clearly what people are looking for. (Which the exception of a VERY small minority who are looking for more unique pieces...) If you surveyed 100 people and asked what their favorite character is, you would get very basic answers (Mickey, Cinderella, etc.)... no one is going to say Cody from the Rescuers Down Under, i assure you!

[wjrhw]

You can't possibly blame them for not merchandising things that will not sell, that's just not good business practices. It really doesn't bother me that the merchandise is all princesses and pirates, that is clearly what people are looking for. (Which the exception of a VERY small minority who are looking for more unique pieces...) If you surveyed 100 people and asked what their favorite character is, you would get very basic answers (Mickey, Cinderella, etc.)... no one is going to say Cody from the Rescuers Down Under, i assure you!

Good business is exactly the right answer. Public owned Corporations are expected to have higher and higher profits every quarter, every year forever. Eventually that takes away anything unique. I cost a certain amount to make a few hundred ENG items, but it is a lot cheaper to make thousands of standard fab 5 items. This is why the gift shops are all the same now. I don't think Walt could ever have succeeded under these same guidelines.

I would like to think that eventually this would backfire on them as well, but so far it's not happening.

[DizneyRox]

I would like to think that eventually this would backfire on them as well, but so far it's not happening.
Well, it's working for me. I have a difficult time finding anything to buy these days. I used to spend thousands at DTD, last few times I had trouble spending hundreds. One time I settled my hotel bill with the Disney Dollars I had set aside for spending money. Didn't want to have that sitting around doing nothing.

[EJS-Houston]

I'm a big fan of the movie, too, and while I didn't see much at WDW at my last visit two years ago...I did get a Disney villains t-shirt and mug (in a wonderful store at the MGM park called "Villains In Vogue") that feature a rogues gallery of Disney's villains, and Izma is on both. Although the t-shirt (which fits more villains into the picture) has some pretty obscure ones including the villains from Mulan and The Black Cauldron (who are so obscure I can't even recall their names), Izma is up front in the foreground with Curella, Scar, Maleficent, Capt. Hook and The Wicked Queen from Snow White, while Hades, Ursula and Jafar are further in the background. But I agree with the posters who have speculated that "The Emperor's New Groove" characters aren't much in evidence at WDW because the film didn't exactly burn up the box office...although you would think that the TV spin-off would boost the characters' popularity. Go figure.

[mermaidmarian]

I remember seeing The Emperor's New Groove on a weekday morning, with only about four other people in the theater. I was falling off my chair laughing and everyone else was chuckling occasionally. I think that this movie is not funny to everyone. It's really a strange comedic mix. On the one hand, you have biting sarcasm, on the other you have plenty of physical comedy, plus you have the absurdity of a character who provides his own theme music. The mix is not for everyone, but for those of us who appreciate all three of those forms of comedy, it was a real winner. As to why it never took off as a part of Disney World, I don't claim to know. Maybe Michael Eisner didn't find it funny.


I think there is little about The Emperor's New Groove that Eisner found to smile about. I think the history of the making of the film is a major sore spot in Disney animation history and the film, while pretty entertaining IMO, was greatly altered from its original concept and was a huge box office disappointment when considering the 6+ years of development and the money spent on it. It was initially intended to a be an animated musical film with a much more serious tone, similar to The Lion King, and there was a huge score done by Sting. This was ultimately scrapped well into the production stage, the director quit and the whole thing was hastily reworked. Despite the holiday release, Disney pretty much drop kicked it into theatres, and it has been relegated to red headed step child status ever since.

[teambricker04]

Well... if you want ENG t-shirts, go to DisneyShopping.com and look up the shirts that you can design yourself. They have stuff available from that movie, as well as some others that aren't many places.

We ordered a WHOLE BUNCH of shirts and got them this week. My DH got a Mr. Incredible, I got Tink, my oldest DS got a Big Pete and a MM Clubhouse, and my baby DS got a baby Tigger and an Animal onsie. You can get names on the back and numbers and various phrases. They turned out GREAT.

[EJS-Houston]

I remember seeing The Emperor's New Groove on a weekday morning, with only about four other people in the theater. I was falling off my chair laughing and everyone else was chuckling occasionally. I think that this movie is not funny to everyone. It's really a strange comedic mix. On the one hand, you have biting sarcasm, on the other you have plenty of physical comedy, plus you have the absurdity of a character who provides his own theme music. The mix is not for everyone, but for those of us who appreciate all three of those forms of comedy, it was a real winner. As to why it never took off as a part of Disney World, I don't claim to know. Maybe Michael Eisner didn't find it funny.


:dory:


I remember thinking when it was first released -- and it struck me this way again when I watched it on DVD this past weekend -- it's a Disney animated feature with the humor/sensibilities of a classic Warner Brothers short.

[big blue and hairy]

They had posters and drawings for Emperor's New Groove up in the animation tour on one of our trips, but it was called something else at the time.
It was called "Kingdom Of The Sun". It was very different than "Emperor's New Groove" turned out. It was a pretty serious movie with a soundtrack by Sting. The one song at the end is all that's left of that original soundtrack.

:sulley:

[Imagineer1981]

I once designed an Emperor's new groove attraction. I could post it if you guys want...PM me and let me know