The Emperor’s New Groove occupies a distinctive corner of Disney animation — arriving near the close of the Disney Renaissance, an era that produced enduring hits like The Lion King and The Little Mermaid. Unlike those sweeping musicals, this film deliberately trims the sentimentality and romance in favor of brisk, gag-driven comedy, squeezing rapid-fire jokes into a compact run time under 90 minutes. Read more on the Disney Renaissance.
Directed by Mark Dindal and featuring voice performances from David Spade, John Goodman, Patrick Warburton, and Eartha Kitt, the film marks its 25th anniversary with its inaugural 4K Blu-ray release. The restored feature will return to the big screen at Hollywood’s El Capitan Theatre from Nov. 21–24, 2025, and will be released digitally (Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, and Fandango at Home) on Dec. 9, 2025 — the same day the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray becomes available.
While the press materials haven’t listed bonus content, fans will surely hope for extras such as Eartha Kitt’s performance of “Perfect World” — the film’s standout number — and archival material showing Patrick Warburton’s on-set improvisation of Kronk’s humming in his sneaking sequence, a moment that reportedly involved an immediate rights discussion. (See the original performance here: Eartha Kitt — “Perfect World”; details about Warburton’s humming rights: Warburton rights anecdote.)
It would also be compelling to see a documentary tracing the movie’s evolution: the project began in 1994 as a much broader, musical romantic comedy titled Kingdom of the Sun. An in-depth feature about that creative transformation — from ambitious musical to lean, fast-paced comedy — would be an ideal supplement for this anniversary edition. If Disney’s release doesn’t include such material, there are reliable retrospectives that cover the film’s development and legacy. Read a detailed retrospective here.
The Emperor’s New Groove — 4K Blu-ray edition will be released on Dec. 9, 2025.
Source: Polygon
