Yzma

Yzmais the main antagonist in The Emperor's New Groove and its spinoffs.

Yzma's Plan
Introduced as the Emperor's advisor, Yzma was first seen in the film sitting on Kuzco's throne and making decisions for him behind his back. Kuzco sees her doing this and (without thinking) fires her. Yzma lets out all her anger on busts of Kuzco by smashing them with a hammer, but Kronk accidentally gives Yzma the idea to get rid of Kuzco; with no heir to the throne, Yzma will take over and rule the empire. Then, Yzma and Kronk (via a roller-coaster) to the Secret Lab, where Yzma decides to poison Kuzco with a flea poison to save on postage (mainly because she accidentally knocked over one of the potions on a flowerpot, and then it melted). Yzma organizes to have dinner with Kuzco that evening.

Though Kronk is more interested in cooking dinner than carrying out Yzma's orders, he tells her that the poison is ready. Kronk poisons Kuzco's drink, but he forgets whose drink is whose, so he mixes all 3 drinks together, and he and Yzma quietly throw away their drinks as Kuzco downs his. However, Kronk mixed up Yzma's potions, accidentally turning Kuzco into a llama rather than killing him. Yzma tells Kronk to hit Kuzco on the head, take him out of town, and finish the job. Taking Kuzco's body to the edge of the city, Kronk has a change of heart at the last minute, and accidentally drops Kuzco onto Pacha's cart, just as Pacha is leaving the city.

Looking For Kuzco
As everyone (including Yzma), believes that Kuzco is dead, Yzma becomes empress and redecorates the palace. When Kronk lets slip that Kuzco is not dead, the two of them set off to find and kill him, with Kronk carrying Yzma on his back in a specially built miniature tent. They search the villages surrounding the palace (with no success), and Yzma gets tired when they get to the jungle. However, Kronk uses his Junior Chipmunk skills to ask Bucky which way the talking llama went.

Yzma and Kronk eventually reach Mudka's Meat Hut, a small roadside diner, where Kuzco and Pacha have coincidentally stopped for lunch.

Pacha notices Yzma and, realizing her intentions, tries to get Kuzco out of the diner. Disappointment on both Kuzco's and Yzma's part result in both going to the kitchen to request special orders, but they narrowly avoid seeing each other. Ultimately, Pacha distracts Yzma by telling Mata that it's her birthday. Then, just as Yzma was getting her greetings, he rushes out of the diner, taking Kuzco with him.

When Pacha tells Kuzco that Yzma plans to kill him, Kuzco doesn't believe him and falls out with Pacha, believing his claim to be a plan to save his village from destruction.

When Kuzco overhears that Yzma is out to kill him, he searches frantically for Pacha, but he can't find him (because he went home when Kuzco first told him to leave).

Having lost all hope of ever returning to to the palace and regaining his human form, Kuzco resigns himself to the fate of an ordinary llama.

That night, Kronk suddenly remembers Pacha's face and links him to Kuzco. The next morning, Kuzco finds Pacha and makes up with him, and then they go to Pacha's house. They find that Yzma and Kronk are there searching for Kuzco, and even telling Chicha that they are distant relatives of Pacha. Chicha and the kids stall Yzma and Kronk long enough for Kuzco and Pacha to get a headstart, but Yzma sees them disappearing over the horizon. A frantic race between Kuzco, Pacha, Yzma, and Kronk begins, such that Kuzco and Yzma are almost within eyeshot. Kuzco and Pacha use a rope to cross a gorge, and then cut it to try and keep Yzma and Kronk and bay, but Yzma's transport tent sprouts wings, and then she and Kronk begin to sail over the gorge. They are struck by cartoon-logic lightning, and then fall into a chasm before reaching the other side.

Final Battle
When Kuzco and Pacha reach the palace, they find that (much to the surprise of all present) Yzma and Kronk got there first, and were waiting for them. Yzma orders Kronk to finish Kuzco and Pacha off, but Kronk once again has a change of heart, and then triess to crush Yzma with a chandelier, but it falls around Yzma instead of on her. Upset, Yzma then sends Kronk down a trapdoor. Yzma knocks over the potions cabinet so that Kuzco and Pacha can't tell which is the antidote, and then calls the palace guards to kill them, because they "murdered the emperor", but Kuzco is the emperor, but they are not listening to him. Pacha tells Kuzco to just take all the potions. Pacha then throws the potions on the guards, turning them into various animals. After the guard (who has turned into a cow) is excused to go home, the guards started to chase Kuzco and Pacha. Kuzco tries every potion, transforming into a turtle, a bird, and then a whale before turning back into a llama.

Kuzco and Pacha outwit the guards, but Yzma continues to go after them until they reach the palace roof, and only 2 potions remain for Kuzco to try. Yzma snatches one of them, but it is the wrong potion, and she turns into a cat. She scratches Pacha, making him fall. Kuzco hits Yzma on the wall, knocking her out. Once Yzma recovers, she quickly snatches the potion away from Kuzco, declaring that once she turns back into "her beautiful self", she's going to kill him, and then cackles evilly. Yzma finds that she can't open the vial, and her frustration maks her fall; while Kuzco is saving Pacha, the vial also falls. However, both Yzma and the vial return to the roof, with the help of a giant trampoline. Yzma reaches the vial before Kuzco and Pacha, and seems to have won, until she is knocked out by Kronk (who has just emerged from the other end of the trapdoor). Kuzco turns back into a human and sets out to redeem himself, building Kuzcotopia on the hill next to Pacha's home. Meanwhile, Kronk becomes a scout leader, with Yzma forced to be a member of the troop. &nbsp

Behind the Scenes
Yzma was voiced by Eartha Kitt and animated by Dale Baer.

Design and Animation
Shades of purple in The Emperor's New Groove are almost excusively reserved for Yzma and her world (her Secret Lab, and the Palace when she is briefly Empress). These colours were chosen because they are generally considered the colours of madness. Yzma's angular shape is intended to suggest her evil nature; early designs depick an even more jagged, pointed figure. Yzma's design is also inspired by that of Cruella De Vil, who boasts similarly angular hips and shoulders. Dale Baer commented that Eartha Kitt's actions when voicing Yzma inspired many of the character's physical mannerisms. Yzma was also based on singer Yma Sumac, the "Inca princess of Hollywood"; Sumac may have inspired Yzma's extravagant and varied wardrobe.

Abandoned Concepts
Originally, The Emperor's new Groove was Kingdom Of The Sun, a film of a more serious nature, similar in scale to The Lion King. Yzma was still voiced by Eartha Kitt, but at this point, was animated by Andreas Deja. Her role in Kingdom of the Sun was similar in some ways; she was still the villainess, and was a member of the royal court, but was a sorceress (rather than a mad scientist). Kingdom of the Sun's story was similar to that of Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper; the Emperor (here, called Manco) switched places with Pacha (at this point, voiced by Owen Wilson), who, in this version, was physically identical to Manco. Once famed for her beauty, the very old Yzma blamed her now hideous appearance on the sun, and planned to plunge the kingdom into eternal darkness (illustrated in the song, Snuff Out The Light, which can be found on the The Emperor's New Groove soundtrack), involving Pacha in her plan through blackmail (she witnessed the 'switch' of Manco and Pacha). Kronk was not in the story; instead, Yzma's sidekick was a talking talisman named Hucua (voiced by Harvey Fierstein and animated by Nik Ranieri). The climax involved Yzma summoning Supai, a dark force, to engulf the kingdom, but being killed by the sun itself, which Pacha lassooed and pulled down to Earth. When Kingdom of the Sun eventually became The Emperor's New Groove, Yzma became a more comical character, and her motivation changed from vanity to lust for power. Reputedly, animator Andreas Deja was furious at this change, thinking the idea for the new version of the film to be a step backward, and left not only the project but Burbank entirely, moving to Florida to animate Lilo for Lilo and Stitch. Dale Baer took over animation duties for Yzma.

Unused Songs
Aside from Snuff out the Light, Eartha Kitt also sang a reprise of opening number Perfect World; this would have been performed by Yzma when she became Empress, and was intended to show that she had not only stolen Kuzco's Empire and Palace, but also his theme song. Perfect World (Yzma's Reprise) was ultimately cut from the film, as it was believed to slow down the story.