The Sovereign Lord of the Nation
he's the hippest cat in creation.
History
As an infant, Kuzco's parents (The rightful Emperor & Empress of the Kuzconian Empire) left him in the care of Yzma the royal advisor, and the other palace staff when they left on a boat to attend to royal matters overseas. Unfortunately, their vessel was lost at sea and official word on the circumstances of the incident never made it back to the empire. As far as he was ever told.
This left the young prince to claim his place as the rightful ruler of the Inca and Kuzconian Empire, as the only remaining heir to the throne despite his young age.
Under Yzmaโs care (since she had many decades of working alongside the royal family; and it absolutely shows โ physically.) and along with the aid of royal nannies and tutors, Kuzco was raised to rule the Empire his parents left behind for him. It didn't take long for him to get used to getting his way, whether it was for a new toy, a favorite meal or a late bedtime- all he had to do was cry and he got whatever he wanted. This of course shaped his views of the world as he grew older, developing a high and mighty, arrogant, self absorbed 'I'm-better-than-you-in-every-way' attitude that followed him well into his adulthood and to the eventual throne.
Just before his 18th birthday, Kuzco makes plans to demolish an entire village within his Kingdom to make room for an awesome summer home as a birthday present to himself. He invites the village leader, a peasant named Pacha, to the palace to ask his opinion on which part of the hill gets the most sun. He then proceeds to announce his plan to demolish the village, and has Pacha thrown out when he protests. In the meantime, Yzma has begun to take advantage of Kuzco's egotistical attitude, and lack of attention to the Kingdom issues and has begun to take Emperor duties into her own hands-- including that of hearing the complaints from local village leaders.
When Kuzco realizes this is happening, he doesn't hesitate to fire her. Which, after decades (and decades, and decades) of service, does not sit well with her. So she immediately begins to devise a plan to kill him so that she will become Empress.
The plan ultimately goes awry, thanks to her helpful (big, dumb meathead) evil assistant Kronk misreading the potion's label, and Kuzco is instead turned into a llama and whisked out of the Kingdom by Kronk under the cover of nightfall. He's accidentally dropped onto a cart being led out of town by an unsuspecting Pacha, the peasant he had dismissed earlier that day.
Once the Pacha realizes what happened, and after he saves the Emperor's life from an aggressive pack of jaguars, he and llama Kuzco strike a deal. If he takes Kuzco back to the palace to turn him back into a human, Kuzco will find another hilltop to build his awesome summer home on. At this point, Kuzco was lying so Pacha would bring him back-- but after several near death experiences and a slap fight, Kuzco admits he isn't that heartless.
This journey helped Kuzco realize that not only was his ex-royal advisor evil, but that being an emperor gives him the power and thus the opportunity to benefit his subjects over himself for the good of his Empire (and ultimately, his reputation). Not only that, he found people who genuinely care about him as a person, not just as the Emperor, through the friends he made along the way.
He eventually makes it back to the palace, and after a death-defying boss level worthy fight, takes the potion that returns him to his awesome, human self. True to his word, he immediately begins to right his past wrongs; starting with the old man he threw from the window for throwing off his groove, and finding himself a new hilltop for his summer home.
Emperor's New School
Not long after the events of Kuzco's great (llama) adventure, Yzma devises a plan to turn herself back into a human, and to make it impossible for Kuzco to keep his throne. It's thanks to an inconspicuously placed amendment to the prior Emperor's royal scrolls, that the Royal Record Keeper and the council discover a clause that prevents Kuzco from retaining his Emperor title without having received a proper education, or marrying.
Shocked and outraged, Kuzco demands to see the scroll himself, and is horrified to learn that it's true. He needs a document stating he's received an actual education or an Empress to rightfully claim the throne before his 21st birthday, otherwise he will forfeit the crown.
Effective immediately, he is unceremoniously tossed out of the palace without the aid of his Royal Staff to assist him. With no place to go, he heads for Pacha's village, where his (quaint and homely) summer home resides; but Pacha insists on housing Kuzco himself once he hears about the news. Which is fitting, because privately Kuzco has begun to think of Pacha as a 'father figure' after their little adventure. Not something he'll ever share, of course. But it's true.
Kuzco very reluctantly enrolls at the local campus once -- Kuzco Academy-- once he realizes that marrying is out of the question, until he takes notice of a particularly hottie hot hottie. Which of course helps him to decide this school thing might not be so bad. You know, despite being surrounded by peasants, and having to sit through lectures of course.
Not ever one to stand down, Yzma connives her way in as the Principal of the school, and makes it her personal mission to make sure Kuzco wont graduate and receive a diploma, so that he will never become Emperor and she can take the throne.
But it's with the help of his friends, both new and old, that Kuzco finds his way through the mayhem (and Yzma's schemes) and is successful in graduating and reclaiming his title as Emperor.
and his perfect world will spin, around his every little whim
'CAUSE HIS PERFECT WORLD BEGINS AND ENDS WITH HIM.
Personality
Kuzco is known for being a selfish, stubborn brat who is highly egotistical, loud, brash and cocky. He's been getting his way regardless of what that means from a very young age, and has a hard time dealing anyone who tells him "no".
After his adventure, however, Kuzco has realized the importance of thinking before he acts, and of listening and understanding the needs of those in his Kingdom. He realizes that what benefits others is also a benefit to himself, and that he doesn't want to become that 'lonely, friendless' Emperor everyone always warns him about.
Sympathy and empathy are not easily taught, and neither is the idea that just because he owns everything, does not mean he can ALWAYS get his way; but Kuzco is trying his best to become the better man (and friend) that Pacha and his new friends believe he can be.
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