The Emperor's New School
The Emperor's New School | |
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Created by | Mark Dindal |
Based on | |
Written by |
|
Directed by |
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Voices of | |
Theme music composer | Danny Jacob |
Opening theme | "Kuzco Academy" |
Composer | Michael Tavera |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 2 |
No. of episodes | 52 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producer | Bobs Gannaway |
Running time | 22 minutes |
Production company | Walt Disney Television Animation |
Original release | |
Network | Disney Channel |
Release | January 27, 2006 November 20, 2008 | –
The Emperor's New School is an American
In January 2006, New School premiered on four platforms: Disney Channel, ABC,
Premise
Story and characters
The Emperor's New School follows
Kuzco's former royal advisor
As a student, Kuzco lives with the peasant
Continuity and humor
New School is the second sequel of the 2000 film The Emperor's New Groove following the 2005 direct-to-video release Kronk's New Groove.[1][10] The series is set after the events of The Emperor's New Groove,[10] and premiered roughly a month after the release of Kronk's New Groove.[11][12] Among its sources of humor are several running gags and callbacks to the original film, such as Yzma being harmed whenever Kronk pulls the wrong lever to her secret lab, and Kronk making his signature dish, spinach puffs.[2][13] There are some apparent plot discrepancies between the series and the film. For example, Kuzco has reverted to his original narcissistic personality, seemingly undoing the personal growth he underwent over the course of the film.[9] Meanwhile, Yzma returns in New School as a human even though she was last seen in the film after being transformed into a cat.[14]
The series uses
Inspired by the comic timing of the Austin Powers films, the series makes frequent use of awkward pauses in its dialogue.[11] Jeanne Spreier, writing for The Dallas Morning News, said the show's sense of humor relies on one-line jokes that are more likely to appeal to older children than "youngsters."[4] Spreier noted the storylines dealt with "the more common problems of adolescence" and the school setting was grounded in "decidedly contemporary American attributes", including such clichés as the overachiever (embodied by Malina), subpar cafeteria food, and a physical education teacher who refuses to accept any student excuse for avoiding class participation.[4] New School often incorporated "modern-day accouterments", such as an episode about fictional Inca forms of Christmas (Giftmas) and Santa Claus (Papa Santos).[17]
Production
Concept and creation
Although The Emperor's New Groove had disappointing box-office returns compared to the earlier
The Walt Disney Company approached Bobs Gannaway to be executive producer of a spin-off series several years after the film's release. Gannaway had previously worked on television adaptations of other Disney properties, including Timon & Pumbaa (a spin-off of The Lion King centered on the two titular characters) and Lilo & Stitch: The Series (from the film of the same name). His work on these shows had established his reputation as the "go-to guy" for expanding on pre-existing films.[11] New Groove director Mark Dindal approved the selection of Gannaway, as the two had become friends following their collaboration on the 1997 animated film Cats Don't Dance. Dindal was credited as creator of the series, and Howy Parkins and David Knott as directors.[3][20] The writing staff was led by Dindal, Kevin Campbell, and Ed Scharlach.[20] New School was Disney's last spin-off series for children above preschool age until the 2017 premiere of Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure.[21]
The writers chose the school setting for the show because they felt this environment would provide better opportunities to explore Kuzco's lack of
Cast
A majority of the film's voice cast returned for the series.
J. P. Manoux replaced David Spade, the original voice for Kuzco in The Emperor's New Groove, in New School.[3][25] Although Spade had reprised the role for Kronk's New Groove,[26] Manoux portrayed the character in other media, such as The Emperor's New Groove video game,[27] an episode of the animated series House of Mouse,[28] and the 2001 animated film Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse.[29] Manoux had debuted as Kuzco in a DVD bonus feature for The Emperor's New Groove.[30] Critics described Manoux's version of Kuzco as so similar to Spade's performance that it was essentially an impression.[3][25]
John Goodman, the original voice for Pacha, was replaced by Fred Tatasciore for New School.[1][20] Some media outlets attributed Brian Cummings with the role,[11][31] but Cummings instead had voiced unnamed miscellaneous characters for 11 episodes.[32] Cummings had done "advance voice work" for Pacha as part of The Emperor's New Groove's development.[31] Goodman returned to portray Pacha for the second season.[12]
Animation and music
New School uses traditional 2D animation by Toon City and Wang Film Productions.[3][37] Flash animation had been dismissed as incompatible during development.[11] In an attempt to preserve The Emperor's New Groove's art style, Gannaway kept its focus on the characters. He explained that the original film had made the characters appear "flatter" against "solid washed-up backgrounds", which "helped [them] pop"; his intention was that the series should continue this technique.[11] Each episode took roughly nine months to complete, and between 16 and 17 were developed at a time.[5]
Janis Liebhart co-wrote the theme music, "Kuzco Academy", which was produced by Danny Jacob.[37] It is a "rocking march number" and "pastiche college fight song" featuring Kuzco bragging about himself.[38] Jacob had previously written the theme music for Lilo & Stitch: The Series, which he described as his "first home run", and went on to become a frequent composer for Disney.[39] Jacob wrote, produced, and arranged other songs for New School.[37] Michael Tavera was the composer for the series, and arranged one song ("New Kid Ozker").[37][40]
Episodes
Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
First aired | Last aired | |||
1 | 21 | January 27, 2006[45] | November 11, 2006[45] | |
2 | 31 | June 23, 2007[46] | November 20, 2008[47] |
Broadcast history and release
New School was aired on three
Each episode runs for 22 minutes
The series is distributed by Disney and the American Broadcasting Company (ABC).[20] Both seasons have been made available to purchase as a digital download on the iTunes Store and to stream on Disney+.[50][51][56] Previously, New School had been made available to stream on Netflix beginning in 2009 as part a licensing deal that included several other Disney Channel series.[57] Disney discontinued any further licensing deals with Netflix in 2019, when it launched Disney+.[58] New School was also available on Disney's test streaming service, DisneyLife,[37][59] which was rebranded in 2019 as Disney+.[60]
Reception
Critical reception
Upon its initial broadcast, New School received mixed reviews from critics. Animation World Network's Sarah Baisley enjoyed its look, which she described as "simple but attractive background designs that work well for TV delivery".[3] Praising the series for its "irreverent good humor", Karen MacPherson of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette cited the "Kuzco's Doodles" segment as a highlight. She believed the focus on comedy prevented the storylines from becoming "preachy".[2] Several publications criticized the characters as being obnoxious,[25][64] a focal point of Pam Gelman's review for Common Sense Media, which dismissed the series for its "lackluster animation and annoying characters" and questioned why anyone would voluntarily help someone as selfish as Kuzco.[64] Kevin McDonough, writing for the United Feature Syndicate, panned New School as "the kind of kids' cartoon that gives kids' cartoons a bad name." In McDonough's view, the characters' inclination to shout most of the dialogue would be especially irritating for parents.[25]
Critics have also had mixed reactions to New School in retrospective reviews. Although he disliked the series overall, author David Perlmutter praised its animation and the performances of Kitt and Warburton.
Malina became a subject of criticism from a feminist perspective. Bustle's Kadeen Griffiths wrote that her role as Kuzco's love interest was sexist, particularly his frequent and overt objectification of her as a "hottie hot hottie", but also noted she had a greater degree of "depth and focus" than most other cartoon love interests.[9] MacPherson criticized the series for including only two prominent female characters, Yzma and Malina, and said the latter's figure-hugging clothing indicated that her intelligence was "clearly secondary" to her attractiveness.[2]
Criticism of educational value
New School has been criticized for its low educational content, potential negative impacts on young viewers, and dubious age appropriateness in light of regulations on children's television programming in the United States. According to filings made in accordance with FCC rules, the target age of New School is 8–11 years old.[6]
The series was criticized in a 2007 survey by Children's Media Policy Coalition (CMPC), an
In a 2008 report for Children Now by communication professor Barbara Wilson and her colleagues, New School was among 30 television programs surveyed because they were supposed to contain "educational or informational for preschoolers, elementary-school kids and teenagers as part of federal 'core educational programming' requirements". According to the report, the characters in New School displayed some of the highest levels of social aggression, which the report defined as "any behavior designed to harm an animate being's self-esteem or social status," including "derisive name-calling, socially ostracizing someone, gossiping, and spreading hurtful rumors."[72] It was one of three series deemed to have high levels of social aggression, alongside Hannah Montana and Jacob Two-Two.[73] Wilson noted that, in principle, a children's series could highlight characters who exhibit socially aggressive behaviors to teach children to avoid such behavior, but she doubted whether that message would be adequately conveyed by shows with repeated instances of social aggression, which would be "far more likely" to feature such content "for laughs and to entertain".[74]
The show's values as an educational resource has also been assessed in light of its historical setting. Common Sense Media found that it represented a missed opportunity because "despite the potentially interesting and educational setting (an Incan empire), there's no learning about history or the culture of these people."[64] Conversely, a review in a Spanish journal of pedagogy found that the series provided an opportunity to introduce students to topics like the cultures and peoples of the pre-Columbian era, as well as the subsequent period of European colonization of the Americas.[75]
Awards and nominations
New School received several awards and nominations. For her performance of the character Yzma, Kitt won two
Award | Year of ceremony | Nominee | Category | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Annie Awards | 2007 | Eartha Kitt (for "Kuzclone") | Outstanding Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production | Won | [61] |
Patrick Warburton (for "Kuzclone") | Nominated | ||||
2008 | Eartha Kitt (for "The Emperor's New School Musical") | Outstanding Voice Acting in a Television Production | Won | [62] | |
Howy Parkins (for "The Emperor's New School Musical") | Outstanding Directing in a Television Production | Nominated | |||
Daytime Emmy Award
|
2007 | Eartha Kitt | Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program | Won | [63] |
2008 | Eartha Kitt | Won | |||
Jessica DiCicco | Nominated | [76] |
References
Citations
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- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Baisley, Sarah (January 27, 2006). "Disney's The Emperor's New School Premieres on Four Platforms". Animation World Network. Archived from the original on January 22, 2019.
- ^ a b c d Spreier, Jeanne (February 1, 2006). "OnScreen: The Emperor's New School". The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on June 20, 2019 – via Newspapers.com. (subscription required)
- ^ a b c Mason, Crystal (July 21, 2007). "Jenks graduate gets animated for Disney Emmy-winning producer excels in his new groove". The Oklahoman. Archived from the original on January 22, 2019.
- ^ a b c d Wright (2007): Appendix II Archived November 20, 2019, at the Wayback Machine, pp. 2–3
- ^ a b c d Aliaga Serrano (2008), p. 56.
- ^ Dawson, Diana (January 22, 2006). "Kuzco goes to 'School'". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on December 21, 2019.
- ^ a b c d Griffiths, Kadeen (July 28, 2014). "7 Nick & Disney Shows From Your Childhood That Were Pretty Sexist". Bustle. Archived from the original on September 6, 2016.
- ^ Insider.com. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Zahed, Ramin (February 2, 2006). "Out of the Inca Well". Animation Magazine: 32–33.
- ^ a b Graff, Michael (November 9, 2015). "16 Things You Never Knew About The Emperor's New Groove". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on October 15, 2017.
- ^ Brooks & Marsh (2009), p. 419.
- ^ Bajgrowicz, Brook (August 25, 2019). "Disney: The Most Magical Female Characters, Ranked". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on September 13, 2019.
- ^ Cutler, Jacqueline (January 21, 2006). "Report Card: The Emperor's New School has a royally funny student". The Daily Item. p. 39. Archived from the original on December 11, 2019 – via Newspapers.com. (subscription required)
- ^ a b c Burch, Rob (October 17, 2013). "Disney 53: The Emperor's New Groove". THR. Archived from the original on June 10, 2017.
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- ^ Taylor, Blake (May 15, 2017). "[DVD Review] 'Tangled: Before Ever After' is Knotted Beginning for Promising Series". Rotoscopers. Archived from the original on December 5, 2019.
- ^ a b Daley, Katerina (May 18, 2019). "10 Best Disney TV Shows That Started As Movies". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on July 6, 2019.
- ^ Messer, Kate X (July 21, 2006). "Just an Old-Fashioned Cat". The Austin Chronicle. Archived from the original on November 16, 2018.
- ^ Dransfeldt, Jeffrey (August 30, 2007). "Puddy in his hands". Ventura County Star. Archived from the original on December 11, 2019.
- ^ a b c d McDonough, Kevin (January 27, 2006). "Emperor's New School needs lesson in restraint". United Feature Syndicate. Archived from the original on June 20, 2019 – via Newspapers.com. (subscription required)
- ^ "Kronk's New Groove (2005)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on December 11, 2019.
- ^ "The Emperor's New Groove: Credits". Giant Bomb. Archived from the original on December 11, 2019.
- ^ Writer: Elizabeth Stonecipher. Director: Tony Craig & Bobs Gannaway (September 2, 2002). "Ask Von Drake". House of Mouse. Season 3. American Broadcasting Company.
- ^ "Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on December 11, 2019.
- ^ Dindal, Mark (Director) (May 1, 2001). The Emperor's New Groove (DVD). Walt Disney Animation Studios.
- ^ a b "Aberdeen man gives voice to animated characters". Rapid City Journal. Lee Enterprises. September 24, 2012. Archived from the original on September 26, 2012.
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- ^ a b Wilcox (2014), p. 96.
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- ^ Writer: Stein Johanna. (June 23, 2007). "Room for Improvement". The Emperor's New School. Season 2. Disney Channel.
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- ^ a b "Season 1 Episode Guide". TV Guide. Archived from the original on July 19, 2019.
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- ^ Becker, Anne. "Disney Promotes Teen Stars in TV Movies". Broadcasting & Cable. Archived from the original on December 21, 2019.
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- ^ a b c Gelman, Pam (2006). "The Emperor's New School". Common Sense Media. Archived from the original on April 28, 2018.
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Books and print sources
- Aliaga Serrano, José D., ed. (2008). "Kuzco: Un emperador en el cole" [Kuzco: An emperor in school (a Spanish-language title for The Emperor's New School)] (PDF). Recursos Didácticos [Didactic Resources]. Comunicación y Pedagogía [Communication and Pedagogy] (in Spanish) (230). ISSN 1136-7733 – via Academia.edu.
- Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle F. (2009). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present. New York: ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4.
- Crump, William D. (2019). Happy Holidays--Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film. Jefferson: ISBN 9781476636467.
- Hischak, Thomas S. (2011). Disney Voice Actors: A Biographical Dictionary. Jefferson: ISBN 978-0-7864-6271-1.
- Hischak, Thomas S.; Robinson, Mark A. (2009). The Disney Song Encyclopedia. Lanham: ISBN 978-0-8108-6937-0.
- MacBride, Marsha J.; Mago, Jane E.; Timmerman, Jerianne (October 1, 2007). Reply Comments of the National Association of Broadcasters (PDF) (Report). National Association of Broadcasters (in FCC filing). Retrieved December 11, 2019.
- Perlmutter, David (2014). America Toons In: A History of Television Animation. Jefferson: ISBN 9780786476503.
- Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Lanham: ISBN 978-1-5381-0374-6.
- Wilcox, Janet (2014). Voiceovers: Techniques and Tactics for Success. New York: ISBN 978-1-62153-429-7.
- Wilson, Barbara; Kunkel, Dale; Drogos, Kristin L. (November 2008). Educationally/Insufficient? An Analysis of the Availability & Educational Quality of Children's E/I Programming (PDF) (Report). Children Now. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 17, 2008. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
- Wright, Coriell (September 4, 2007). Comments of Children's Media Policy Coalition (Report). Children's Media Policy Coalition (in FCC filing). Retrieved December 11, 2019.
External links
- The Emperor's New School at IMDb