The MBTI Personality Types in the Emperor’s New Groove

Ah, Emperor’s New Groove. Maybe it’s the child in me, but I love this movie. I die of laughter every time I watch it. The other day Ryan randomly suggested we watch the movie again. Of course, after blogging about personality theory for over three years, we naturally analyze characters every time we watch anything, so we decided it’d be a lot of fun to determine the MBTI personality types of the most prominent characters in the Emperor’s New Groove. I mean, why not? Right?

But with that being said, I’m going to do something a bit different than our usual with this article. Ryan and I lean heavily into the analytical side of things. It plays to our strengths. However, lately I’ve gotten tired of diving straight into the weeds on everything. Obviously, we enjoy putting out detailed personality analyses, and never intend to stop, but some perfectly type-able characters just aren’t written with that depth of information. After all, there’s only so much information that can be packed into a 1-2 hour movie. Plus, overview content is convenient in the sense that it tends to be more beginner friendly, and provides a more simplistic, big picture idea of the personality types.

Therefore, in this article, I’m going to strive to strike a balance between vague personality overviews, and hyper-detailed breakdowns of each character’s entire cognitive function stack. I’m also going to try to take a more casual, discussion style approach. I hope this goes well. Let me know!

The MBTI Personality Types in the Emperor’s New Groove

While people like to throw their guesses around as to the MBTI personality type of every single minor character in a movie/show, that’s not really our style. If a character isn’t type-able, they’re just not type-able. We don’t like to make guesses we can’t support or lean too heavily on tropes or archetypes. (It’s not that I’m against archetypes, per say, but people often assume a character’s personality type based on an archetype without ensuring that there’s concrete evidence to support the conclusion. Since this theory is ultimately about one’s cognition rather than actions/roles, I view archetypes as potentially misleading.) Therefore, in the Emperor’s New Groove, we really see only 4 characters that have identifiable MBTI types: Kuzco, Yzma, Kronk, and Pacha.

Kuzco – ENTP

“When will you learn that all my ideas are good ones?”

Kuzco gives the impression of a stereotypical extraverted perceiving dominant. He’s classically extraverted and energetic, looking to enjoy life and have fun. So, the first question was: Ne or Se? Some might argue the initial dance sequence points to Se, along with his apparent focus on physical fun, like the summer house. However, there are certain moments in the movie that display his Ne reasoning quite well. Here’s an example quote:

“By the way, you’re fired. …Um, how else can I say it? You’re being let go. Your department’s being downsized. You’re part of an outplacement. We’re going in a different direction. We’re not picking up your option. Take your pick. I got more.”

In this, we see all the varying ways that he comes up with to simply tell Yzma that she’s fired. Some other examples in the movie can be seen when he makes up a dialogue with the crumbling wall (after he and Pacha nearly fell to their deaths), and his never-ending indecisiveness over his meal at the restaurant.

Of course, when identifying a dominant function, one must always look for the accompanying inferior function. For an ENTP, that is Si, which Kuzco demonstrates in how upset he gets over his “groove” being thrown off. It’s his routine. It must happen a certain, very specific way. Anyone who interferes is severely punished.

Our biggest question with Kuzco was ENFP or ENTP. I think people often want to label the selfish or self-focus as Fi, and the bossy nature as Te, but one has to remember that high introverted judging (Ti or Fi) is overall self-focused (which also is not the same as selfish) AND anyone who is a ruler like Kuzco is likely to be bossy and entitled.

The first big hint that Kuzco all around lacks Fi/Te is seen in the way he deals with Yzma. He doesn’t lean into his Te (need to assert and control), but rather, sneaks up behind her and tells her that she’s “doing that thing again” after watching her for a few minutes (which also implies that she’d done this before… on probably multiple occasions.) He then casually fires her. I would have expected a born ruler, or “king of the world” to be much more eager to lean into that Te and heavy-handedly assert his authority.

The other thing we noticed is that Kuzco prefers to ask questions and then nit pick the answers he’s given (suggesting Ti), which is shown in his dealings with Pacha. When they need to work together to climb up a wall, Pacha says to start with the right foot. Kuzco asks which right foot, and then questions/criticizes Pacha’s response rather than just assuming they’d start with his right foot instead. He seems to take a generally argumentative stance, and can’t help but criticize Pacha at every turn.

Kuzco does manage to fake being likeable and trustworthy for brief periods of time (the tertiary Fe), but can only maintain these acts in very short bursts. However, he does get a certain enjoyment out of the deception (as shown in the restaurant). His tendency to make small talk by way of asking about the other person’s family or colleagues is another potential indication of Fe. He asks Pacha about his family, and Yzma about Kronk to fill the awkward silence rather than focusing on the individual or talking about himself.

Yzma – INTP

“Why do we even have that lever?”

Yzma is remarkably similar to Kuzco, which made the dynamic extremely amusing. We wrestled as to whether to make her ENTP or an INTP, but inevitably settled on INTP. I noticed a popular opinion out there that she’s an ENTJ, but there is absolutely no sign of Te in this woman. Notice her dealings with Kronk. A good example can be seen after they poison Kuzco, and she needs him to get rid of the body. She demands that he complete the task, but then quickly yields to his pleas for dessert and a cup of coffee. Generally speaking, she easily (albeit reluctantly) yields to many of his various whims or quirks, allowing them to get sidetracked from the task at hand. Another good example is seen when Yzma accepts “94 monkeys to go” as a legitimate reason that Kronk cannot search Pacha’s house the moment she gives the signal. (Sure, she’s extremely annoyed, but where is the assertive/efficient nature of Te? Kronk should have been fired a long time ago.)

Now, with that being said, a prominent example of her Ti-Ne can be seen in this quote:

“How should I do it? Oh, I know. I’ll turn him into a flea. A harmless little flea. And then, I’ll put that flea in a box. And then I’ll put that box inside of another box. And then I’ll mail that box to myself, and when it arrives, I’ll smash it with a hammer. It’s brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, I tell you. Genius, I say!”

That has got to be the most inefficient and convoluted plan that I’ve ever seen. Where’s the Te? Not there. I mean, she did eventually make it around to something more direct (poison), but that is not her first impulse. Moving beyond that, the design of the lab, the roller coaster ride down, and the pointless lever that everyone keeps questioning the existence of all indicate not only a lack of Te, but point to that more random, quirky, inventive tendency often attributed to NTPs. She also gets carried around in a miniature tent-like seat that also happens to sprout wings and fly. (It seems valid to assume that she created this in her secret lab.)

Another Ne/Si example can be seen in the cover story that she gives to Pacha’s wife when paying the family a visit in her search for Kuzco. She says, “Why I’m his third cousin’s brother’s wife’s step niece’s great-aunt. Heh heh. Twice removed.” That is extremely, unnecessarily specific and convoluted.

As mentioned above, we wrestled with INTP vs. ENTP. Overall, Yzma presents as socially inept, but what’s more key here, is that she appears completely unwilling to even try to play the social game, to appease others or present herself as likeable. (Sure, she has to fake a very tiny degree of politeness when dealing directly with the emperor, but that is the exception to the rule and completely understandable for any personality type given the risk.) This overall seems to indicate inferior Fe rather than tertiary.

Kronk – ENFJ

“Hey, it doesn’t always have to be about you. This poor little guy had it rough.”

The most obvious thing about Kronk is his Fe. He’s service-oriented, wants to be helpful and loyal to Yzma, but struggles quite a bit with her evil ways. We see him get all into the dinner for Kuzco, planning the entire event out to completion even though Kuzco is literally going to be poisoned right at the beginning. He’s extremely friendly and emotionally expressive. He apologizes to every random person that he bumps into while chasing down his lost sack containing the unconscious Kuzco. Etcetera.

In addition to the dinner with Kuzco, what also struck as more Fe than high Fi (since this guy is an obvious feeler) is the moment in the restaurant where the chef gives up and leaves. Kronk feels obligated to take over the chef’s duties, and ends up trapped in the kitchen. He eventually does leave when Yzma demands it.

Kronk’s inferior Ti is reflected in the way he argues with himself via the two shoulder angels, when trying to determine whether to break from his orders and do the right thing or simply continue obeying Yzma.

The big dilemma with Kronk was ESFJ vs. ENFJ. I think sometimes characters that generally lack intelligence get labelled as sensors because people see the characters failing to do stuff such as read between the lines. However, intelligence is most definitely a factor that needs to be considered. (Let’s face it: Kronk is extremely stupid.) Also, intuition in the practical, real world sense is not always intuition in the typology sense.

There are a couple of things that specifically struck us like an Ni way of taking in or processing information. The simplest one can be seen when he realizes in his sleep that the peasant he saw in the restaurant was the same one that owned the cart that the unconscious bagged Kuzco fell onto. Ni users often report processing things in a more subconscious way, hence the epiphanies or ‘eureka’ moments that are often associated with them. That is what Kronk appears to do here. ‘

The second thing is shown when Kronk takes over as chef and is given a list of food orders. The waitress says the below:
“3 pork combos, extra bacon on the side, 2 chili cheese samplers, a basket of liver and onion rings, a catch of the day, and a steak cut in the shape of a trout.”

Kronk then subjectively reinterprets these orders into the following:
“3 oinkers wearing pants, a plate of hot air, basket of grandma’s breakfast, and change the bull to a gill, got it.”

The fact that he didn’t even attempt to remember it word-for-word seems to point away from the typically literal or detailed-nature of Si. Rather, he instantly translated it into something that had personal meaning to him, and remembered that instead. This falls more in line with Ni way of processing via walking away with a gist or essence rather than the specifics.

Pacha – ISFJ

“You know, some day you’re going to wind up all alone, and you’ll have no one to blame but yourself.”

Pacha instantly strikes like an auxiliary Fe user. While that much is clear, to be completely honest, I don’t feel like the case for Si is extremely solid. We mostly just didn’t notice anything that really indicated Ni. (It’s frustrating when I feel like my case revolves around what I didn’t see, versus what I did.) This is where I’m going to lean into tropes a bit.

Pacha presents like the simple man, living a simple life. He focuses on his family and on the security and well-being of his village. He’s fairly straightforward. There are no real signs of an abstract nature, or tendency to be vague. He communicates with Kuzco in a clear manner. Pacha gives Kuzco very specific warnings as to why he shouldn’t head back to the palace by himself, which Kuzco ignores. In addition, when Kuzco inquires about Pacha’s village (for his summer home), Pacha gives an idealized sensory description, explaining that when the sun hits it just right, the hills sing. This all seemed to indicate Si.

Pacha is a low key, meek, and seemingly timid individual (until his village is threatened, of course.) He’s polite, amiable, and soft spoken. While he does occasionally stand his ground with Kuzco, Pacha ultimately can’t help but look out for Kuzco regardless of the llama’s many lies and betrayal. He just keeps hoping Kuzco will change his mind. Pacha saves his life many times, gives him a blanket when he’s cold, and even ends up carrying him for part of the journey. Pacha struggles to believe that anyone can possibly be as selfish as Kuzco appears to be, which is why he keeps hoping that Kuzco will change his mind.

The other personality types we did pause to consider (beyond the IXFJs) was the IXFPs. However, his reactions seem Fe driven. When Kuzco falls through the bridge (after mocking Pacha and proclaiming that he was going to abandon him), Pacha first instinct is to say “Are you okay? Are you alright?” Once he verbally verifies this, Pacha proceeds to punch him as pay back for going back on his promise. In addition, he keeps telling Kuzco that if Kuzco really thought about it, he’d realize that he didn’t want to build his summerhouse on Pacha’s hill. The way he frames this, makes it about what Kuzco wants and appeals to his personal reasoning which demonstrates Fe/Ti quite well.

Pacha often frames things in a group-oriented way, indicating Fe. I’ll close the section out with one last quote: “No no no, it’s ok. This is alright. We can figure this out.”