This takes place before the movie.
In the movie, Kuzco was the emperor, in this one, he's training for it. It clears up the Aesop Amnesia. And, with selfish Kuzco, it makes a fair amount of sense for him to forget all the peasants.- Doubtful, since a lot of jokes and homages in the series came from the movie. The llama has been done.
- And he already knows Yzma is evil.
- And he and Pacha are friends, kinda.
- Impossible, the series ends with basically the same ending as the movie, it's more of an Alternate Timeline
Both levers are wrong...at first.
Kronk rigged them that way for a laugh. While Yzma is too busy getting out of whatever trap he laid, he puts in a code on a secret keypad to make one lever right. She just never bothers to remember which lever was wrong last time. When Kronk first had the idea, sneaky Kuzco came across a piece of paper with his code.The female llama herder in the early versions of the movie was retooled into Malina.
Kuzco has no other Love Interests.The Spaniards have already been visiting the Americas, and about to colonize.
Explains why they also serve Spanish rice and Swedish meatballs. And why they refer to their own gods as myths. And why Malina tells Kuzco being Emperor doesn't make him better.- Remember, the whole franchise has never been historically correct. What makes you think they'll start doing that with the series? And the Spanish rice and Swedish meatballs are just in the Anachronism Stew.
- Even with the whole Anachronism Stew, there's a character named Ramon. A Spanish name
This takes place WAY after the movie
They're decendants of the movie ones. See above. There are also backpacks, elections, and robots.- ALL of them with the exact same name? And they all look exactly alike? And they have the exact same personalities? And if it's the future and they have robots and such, why don't they have cars or live in skyscrapers? Why do they still live in such close proximity to a jungle? Why do the guys still wear skirts, dresses and, namely Kuzco, huge earrings? Even now most people who believe themselves to be of Inca descent wear Western clothes at some point, if not most of the time. Again, remember the Anachronism Stew. The whole thing shouldn't be taken too seriously.
- Not all of them. Yzma is Yzma in both the movie and the series and tricked the new Kuzco's father into reinstating her as the Emperor's adviser.
Kuzco is putting on a mask for public appearances.
Basically, as far as the entire kingdom knows, he still IS a spoiled brat. He's not ignoring the events and Aesop of the film, but instead keeping up appearances so he doesn't get swarmed for being the nice emperor-to-be. Can you imagine how many demands he'd be given once he took the throne if he was a nice guy on campus? He's being Genre Savvy, or something similar. The only problem is that he hasn't included Pacha and company on his plan.- That...makes sense. Wow; you just made Kuzco seem a lot smarter. Though it still doesn't explain his wish to have never become emperor. You'd think someone Genre Savvy enough to come up with this plan would know that you should Be Careful What You Wish For.
- Supported by the Series Finale, in which Kuzco, mere days away from graduating and becoming emperor, suddenly lets his facade break and becomes incredibly stressed and insecure in his abilities as an emperor, to the point that he asks Yzma to permanently transform him into a chicken.
If a new movie in The Emperor's New Groove series is ever made, this series (and Kronk's New Groove) will be declared Canon Discontinuity.
This is largely supported by Disney's track record of doing this multiple times before. The show takes place in the alternate universe Narrator Kuzco from the film is from.
I mean it makes sense. Narrator!Kuzco was just as much an idiotic, selfish jerk as Kuzco was at the start of the film and about as much as he is is in the show, yet Narrator!Kuzco knew what was going to happen, at least until the point Kuzco was in the rain. Narrator!Kuzco must come from an alternate universe where Kuzco never learnt his lesson, which is here in this show.- It sure is an interesting theory, but 1° in the alternate timeline, perhaps he didn't learn his lesson as much as in the movie, but he did get somewhat better; abusive or not, he's still friend with Pacha in the series. and then 2° Narrator!Kuzco comments on the series, too… does that mean he's from yet another timeline ?
Kronk knows which lever is the right one and that Amzy is Yzma, but pulls the wrong one and fakes not recognizing Yzma every time because he finds it funny
Just watched a sequence of lever gags, and he always pulls the left lever when something goes wrong. He's not that stupid... This series and Kronk's New Groove take place in two separate timelines.
It explains why Kronk's love interest is absent from this series. On the other hand, it doesn't explain how Yzma turned back from a cat in the series.- Wrong. It's shown the potions that turn people into animals wear off in the series. Her turning back from a cat in the series was just another example of this. Assuming the series' timeline isn't one where she was never turned into a cat in the first place.
This is actually a TV show in universe.
Kuzco and his friends are all just actors, which explains why Kuzco acts jerkish despite learning his lesson in the movie and why Kronk still works for Yzma. As for Yzma being in the show, it's either not really her or she has to act in the show as a "community service" punishment for her crimes. It also explains the distinct lack of a fourth wall.