Ah, the holidays - meaning it's time for the traditional movie from Walt Disney to hit the theatres. Scheduled to open today in theatres (meaning I have an excuse not to have seen the film), The Emperor's New Groove is this season's offering, starring the voice talents of John Goodman and David Spade (editorial comment: if I were in charge, Spade's animal character would have been an ass, not a llama - but, then, that's typecasting, isn't it?).

Continuing a tradition started with Phil Collins and Tarzan, this soundtrack features a series of compositions by a well-known, aging pop star - namely, Sting. (Geez, with this trend, it's only a matter of time before Limp Bizkit does a soundtrack for Disney.) And although there are some weak moments on this disc, for the most part, the soundtrack holds its own.

It's interesting to note that two of the best songs - "Snuff Out The Light" (performed by Eartha Kitt) and "Walk The Llama Llama" (performed by Rascal Flatts) - didn't even make the final cut for the movie. Too bad; these tracks do seem to capture the essence of the film better than the two appearances of "Perfect World" (performed by Tom Jones). Sting's two vocal appearances - "My Funny Friend And Me" and "One Day She'll Love Me" (the latter with Shawn Colvin) - are pretty good, though I honestly don't see either of these being contenders on the A/C charts.

John Debney takes a crack at the score on The Emperor's New Groove, and for the most part does a good job, though there are several points during "Beware The Groove" and "Pacha's Homecoming/The Blue Plate Special" where I wish someone had taken the volume control and shoved it to "11". Three words, John: too fribbin' soft!!!

On pieces like "Run Llama Run" and "A New Hope," Debney seems to hit the mark well, while "The Jungle Rescue" and "The Great Battle/Friends Forever" weaken just a little bit.

So, besides noting that I've had to type the word "llama" more times than I've ever had to write it in my life, how does The Emperor's New Groove compare to other Disney soundtracks? It's passable - and I ain't llyin'. (Cripes, did I just write that?!?)

Rating: B-

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