Crouton Exclusive: Black Panther Director admits to copying storyline of Emperor's New Groove
The national prestige that The Crouton has built over the course of the last year and a half recently landed them an interview with none other than Ryan Coogler, the director of the wildly successful global phenomenon Black Panther. In a twist that few could have seen coming, the director admitted to stealing most of the concepts for his movie from the Oscar-snubbed masterpiece from the year 2000, The Emperor’s New Groove. Over the course of a tearful interview, Coogler explained specifically how Black Panther was actually a complete rip-off of one of the 21st century’s most under-appreciated films:
Ryan Coogler (RC): Well first off, the location that Black Panther takes place in is so obviously based on New Groove that I’m surprised no one caught on before now. You thought Wakanda was the first example of a thriving empire with a complex civilization untouched by European colonialism? Wakanda is just an African version of the Incan empire and the majestic city that is Kuzcotopia.
RC: Not to mention, the cutting-edge technology displayed in Wakanda is nothing compared to some of the tech we see in Kuzco’s empire. You thought the Black Panther suit was cool? It doesn't even come close to matching the patented Yzma-carrier that Kronk uses.
RC: Then there’s the obvious case of Shuri, T'Challa's genius sister. Where did people think that I got the inspiration for a strong, independent woman with an underground lab? The original symbol of female empowerment is Yzma, obviously.
RC: And sure, everyone loved M’Baku, the totally jacked guy that, despite being at odds with him, decides to help T’Challa when he’s vulnerable; but did no one realize that was basically my version of Pacha?
RC: And last but not least, it’s the most obvious part of all: Black Panther himself. A leader of a nation that is granted the powers of the region’s most majestic creature? I can’t believe we never got called out on that. Sure the Black Panther can leap from tall buildings and destroy cars with his bare hands and survive a hailstorm of bullets...but the Llama King can spit on you from, like, six feet away.
