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The Emperor's New Groove poster

Movies that feel likeThe Emperor's New Groove (2000)

When the self‑absorbed Emperor Kuzco is accidentally transformed into a llama, he must rely on a humble villager to survive the jungle and reclaim his throne.

If you loved The Emperor's New Groove, the closest films we have are The Road to El Dorado (2000), The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004) and The Lion King 1½ (2004). All three share The Emperor's New Groove's epic and whimsical feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005).

🍅 86% Rotten Tomatoes★ 7.4 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Mark Dindalepicwhimsicalwittyplayfulwarmcozy
8 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · HBO Max · Amazon Prime Video

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If The Emperor's New Groove hit the spot, these will too

The Road to El Dorado poster
The Road to El Dorado
2000 · dir. Bibo Bergeron
🍅 49%★ 6.9family · adventure · animation

Wisecracking buddy comedy dropped into a lush, mythic setting

The difference: Swindlers posing as gods, not a ruler learning humility

Stowing away after a failed con, a pair of swindlers end up on El Dorado, the fabled "city of gold", where they quickly get in over their heads when they are mistaken as gods by the inhabitants.

The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie poster
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie
2004 · dir. Stephen Hillenburg
🍅 68%★ 7.2adventure · animation · comedyPrime VideoParamount+

Absurdist humor driving an underdog's quest to clear his name

The difference: Underwater slapstick silliness, no royal transformation at all

There's trouble brewing in Bikini Bottom. Someone has stolen King Neptune's crown, and it looks like Mr. Krab, SpongeBob's boss, is the culprit. Though he's just been passed over for the promotion of his dreams, SpongeBob stands by his boss, and along with his best pal Patrick, sets out on a treacherous mission to Shell City to reclaim the crown and save Mr. Krab's life.

The Lion King 1½ poster
The Lion King 1½
2004 · dir. Bradley Raymond
🍅 76%★ 6.5adventure · animation · comedyDisney+

A comic sidekick duo carrying the jokes through familiar territory

The difference: A prequel origin story, not a fallen ruler learning empathy

Timon the meerkat and Pumbaa the warthog are best pals and the unsung heroes of the African savanna. This prequel to the smash Disney animated adventure takes you back -- way back -- before Simba's adventure began. You'll find out all about Timon and Pumbaa and tag along as they search for the perfect home and attempt to raise a rambunctious lion cub.

Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit poster
🍅 95%★ 7.5adventure · animation · comedy

Clever, character-driven slapstick built around a small-village scheme

The difference: Stop-motion British eccentricity, not a Latin American empire's throne

Cheese-loving eccentric Wallace and his cunning canine pal Gromit run a business ridding the town of garden pests. Using only humane methods, which turns their home into a halfway house for evicted vermin, the pair stumble upon a mystery involving a voracious vegetarian monster that threatens to ruin the annual veggie-growing contest.

A Bug's Life poster
A Bug's Life
1998 · dir. John Lasseter
🍅 92%★ 7.2adventure · animation · comedyDisney+

An underdog outsmarting bigger forces with wit and sheer nerve

The difference: An ant colony's uprising, not a llama-transformed emperor's trek

On behalf of "oppressed bugs everywhere," an inventive ant named Flik hires a troupe of warrior bugs to defend his bustling colony from a horde of freeloading grasshoppers led by the evil-minded Hopper.

Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted poster
Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted
2012 · dir. Eric Darnell
🍅 78%★ 6.8animation · family · comedyMax

A mismatched group bickering their way through a colorful adventure

The difference: A circus-disguise road trip, not a humbled ruler regaining his throne

Animal pals Alex, Marty, Melman, and Gloria are still trying to make it back to New York's Central Park Zoo. They are forced to take a detour to Europe to find the penguins and chimps who broke the bank at a Monte Carlo casino. When French animal-control officer Capitaine Chantel DuBois picks up their scent, Alex and company are forced to hide out in a traveling circus.

Chicken Little poster
Chicken Little
2005 · dir. Mark Dindal
🍅 36%★ 5.7animation · family · comedyDisney+

Same director's fast, gag-driven animated comedy for the whole family

The difference: An alien-invasion panic plot, not a vain ruler humbled into a llama

When the sky really is falling and sanity has flown the coop, who will rise to save the day? Together with his hysterical band of misfit friends, Chicken Little must hatch a plan to save the planet from alien invasion and prove that the world's biggest hero is a little chicken.

Mulan II poster
Mulan II
2004 · dir. Darrell Rooney
★ 5.7animation · comedy · familyDisney+

Lighthearted Disney sequel humor built around royal obligation

The difference: A marriage-duty plot, not a transformed emperor's road trip

Fa Mulan gets the surprise of her young life when her love, Captain Li Shang asks for her hand in marriage. Before the two can have their happily ever after, the Emperor assigns them a secret mission, to escort three princesses to Chang'an, China. Mushu is determined to drive a wedge between the couple after he learns that he will lose his guardian job if Mulan marries into the Li family.

Asterix Conquers America poster
Asterix Conquers America
1994 · dir. Gerhard Hahn
★ 5.9family · animation · adventure

A fish-out-of-water hero stumbling through an unfamiliar land for laughs

The difference: Roman-era slapstick history, not a llama-turned-emperor's journey

When marauding Romans capture - and catapult - their pal Getafix into lands unknown, the shrewd and cunning Asterix and his able sidekick Obelix spring into action! But their journey leads them to a strange and dangerous new world, where they must face a tribe of Indians, a stampeding herd of buffalo and a medicine man with designs on their magic potion!

Horton Hears a Who! poster
Horton Hears a Who!
2008 · dir. Jimmy Hayward
🍅 79%★ 6.8animation · comedy · familyNetflixMax

Epic where it counts, whimsical underneath

An imaginative elephant named Horton hears a faint cry for help coming from a tiny speck of dust floating through the air. Horton suspects there may be life on that speck and despite a surrounding community, who thinks he has lost his mind, he is determined to save the tiny particle.

Trolls poster
Trolls
2016 · dir. Mike Mitchell
🍅 76%★ 6.4adventure · animation · comedy

A colorful buddy adventure told with rapid-fire comic energy

The difference: A rescue-the-village quest, not one vain ruler's comeuppance

After the monstrous Bergens invade Troll Village, Princess Poppy, the happiest Troll ever born, and overly-cautious, curmudgeonly outcast Branch set off on a journey to rescue her friends. Their mission is full of adventure and mishaps, as this mismatched duo try to tolerate each other long enough to get the job done.

Over the Hedge poster
Over the Hedge
2006 · dir. Karey Kirkpatrick
🍅 75%★ 6.7adventure · animation · comedyRent or buy

Witty and playful in the same breath

A scheming raccoon fools a mismatched family of forest creatures into helping him repay a debt of food, by invading the new suburban sprawl that popped up while they were hibernating – and learns a lesson about family himself.

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The best-reviewed films that share The Emperor's New Groove’s defining feeling.