In February 2000, the new film was announced as "The Emperor's New Groove" with its new story centering on a spoiled Inca Emperor—voiced by Spade—who through various twists and falls ends up learning the true meaning of friendship and happiness from a poor peasant voiced by Goodman. The release date was shifted to December 2000. Despite the phrasing of the title, the film was not related to Hans Christian Andersen's classic Danish fairy tale "The Emperor's New Clothes" (although both stories involve an emperor being tricked). However, according to Mark V. Moorhead of the "Houston Press", the film's plot does bear some resemblance to that of "The Golden Ass" by Lucius Apuleius, wherein a man is turned into a donkey.