The Emperor's New School is an American animated television series created by Mark Dindal that aired on Disney Channel for two seasons between January 2006 and November 2008.

J. P. Manoux replaced David Spade as Kuzco, and Fred Tatasciore played Pacha until the original actor, John Goodman, returned for the second season.

The choice of a high school setting was made to explore Kuzco's lack of social etiquette and provide for storylines based on the everyday challenges of adolescence.

[6] Kuzco's former royal advisor Yzma disguises herself as the academy's principal, Amzy, and repeatedly attempts to prevent him from graduating so that she can instead claim the throne as empress for herself.

[7] In the first season, Kuzco is often transformed into an animal by potions from Yzma's lab, typically to thwart his efforts to finish school assignments.

[11] Jeanne Spreier, writing for The Dallas Morning News, said the show's sense of humor relies on one-line jokes that are more likely to appeal to older children than "youngsters".

[4] Spreier noted the storylines dealt with "the more common problems of adolescence" and the school setting was grounded in "decidedly contemporary American attributes", including such clichés as the overachiever (embodied by Malina), subpar cafeteria food, and a physical education teacher who refuses to accept any student excuse for avoiding class participation.

[4] New School often incorporated "modern-day accouterments", such as an episode about fictional Inca forms of Christmas (Giftmas) and Santa Claus (Papa Santos).

When shown on Toon Disney, The Emperor's New Groove increased the channel's audience share for the time slot by 125 percent compared to the previous year.

According to Gary Marsh, the president of Disney Channels Worldwide, the film's post-box office success led to the commission of New School.

[11][19] The Walt Disney Company approached Bobs Gannaway to be executive producer of a spin-off series several years after the film's release.

Gannaway had previously worked on television adaptations of other Disney properties, including Timon & Pumbaa (a spin-off of The Lion King centered on the two titular characters) and Lilo & Stitch: The Series (from the film of the same name).

[11] New Groove director Mark Dindal approved the selection of Gannaway, as the two had become friends following their collaboration on the 1997 animated film Cats Don't Dance.

[21] The writers chose the school setting for the show because they felt this environment would provide better opportunities to explore Kuzco's lack of social etiquette.

[11] While Gannaway acknowledged viewers might initially dislike Kuzco because of his selfish attitude, he hoped the series would portray him as a "sympathetic jerk" who "really doesn't know any better".

"[33] The rest of the main cast are Jessica DiCicco as Malina, Shane Baumel as Tipo, Rip Taylor as the Royal Records Keeper, and Curtis Armstrong as Mr.

[11][20] Guest appearances included Miley and Noah Cyrus, Joey Lawrence, Gabriel Iglesias, and Dylan and Cole Sprouse.

He explained that the original film had made the characters appear "flatter" against "solid washed-up backgrounds", which "helped [them] pop"; his intention was that the series should continue this technique.

[38] Jacob had previously written the theme music for Lilo & Stitch: The Series, which he described as his "first home run", and went on to become a frequent composer for Disney.

[1] The series was also promoted with a website that included minigames, video clips from "Rabbit Face", and downloadable images, wallpapers, and messenger icons of the main characters.

[52] According to TheGamer, the series was "notable for its popularity";[53] it was later cited in a 2019 Screen Rant article as one of the "forgotten" or "less-known" Disney Channel shows.

[50][51][56] Previously, New School had been made available to stream on Netflix beginning in 2009 as part a licensing deal that included several other Disney Channel series.

Animation World Network's Sarah Baisley enjoyed its look, which she described as "simple but attractive background designs that work well for TV delivery".

[3] Praising the series for its "irreverent good humor", Karen MacPherson of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette cited the "Kuzco's Doodles" segment as a highlight.

[20][65] The voice cast received similar praise in Screen Rant reviews by Matthew Trzcinski and Katerina Daley, even though both deemed the series inferior to the film.

[9] MacPherson criticized the series for including only two prominent female characters, Yzma and Malina, and said the latter's figure-hugging clothing indicated that her intelligence was "clearly secondary" to her attractiveness.

[2] New School has been criticized for its low educational content, potential negative impacts on young viewers, and dubious age appropriateness in light of regulations on children's television programming in the United States.

Common Sense Media found that it represented a missed opportunity because "despite the potentially interesting and educational setting (an Incan empire), there's no learning about history or the culture of these people.

"[64] Conversely, a review in a Spanish journal of pedagogy found that the series provided an opportunity to introduce students to topics like the cultures and peoples of the pre-Columbian era, as well as the subsequent period of European colonization of the Americas.

[76] Parkins was nominated for an Annie Award for Outstanding Directing in a Television Production in 2008 for his work on the episode "The Emperor's New School Musical".