He pushed Disney to change the ending of Cuzco: “If you do this, I quit”

If today Cuzco, the Megalomaniac Emperor is considered one of those Disney classics that never fails to make us laugh, there was a time when its (original) ending did not make its composers laugh at all: a certain Sting who rudely delivered an ultimatum to Mickey’s company. Rediscover this most interesting anecdote…

Made in 2001 Cuzco, the megalomaniacal emperor Won over fans with his antics, which made him one of Disney’s funniest characters, and his ultimate moral. And yet, the latter was almost completely different.

Directed by Mark Dindall, the film tells the story of Cuzco, a selfish, capricious and spiteful young Inca emperor who sets out to build his luxurious summer residence on a beautiful hilltop for the empire – even though he must destroy a small village in the process.

But his plans are foiled by his scheming advisor Izma, who dreams of taking the throne from him and who transforms him into a lama. He is then forced to join forces with the Pasha – the hill dweller he wanted to exterminate – in order to regain his human form.

Warning, spoilers! The rest of this article covers the ending of “Cuzco, Emperor of Megalomania” (2001).

Before the cartoon appeared on our screens, its production went through many difficult stages. Originally titled Kingdom of the Sun, the film was intended to have a much more serious and epic tone (of the Pocahontas genre), the project was inspired by the novel. The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain. And all enhanced by a signature original soundtrack Sting.

However, the production fell into disarray after the departure of Roger Allers, the co-director of The Lion King who was supposed to write the screenplay. Mark DindallNow only in charge of the project, he decides to take another direction: a completely crazy comedy that we know, but not quite… with an ecological ending!

The ending of the film that we know sees Cuzco becoming a better man and eventually building a simple country house on a hill next to Pacha. But the original ending, of course, saw him spare the Pasha’s village but build his dream palace by destroying much of the rainforest…

And here is where Sting intervened. According to Collider, the singer, who is very committed to the field of ecology, simply rejected this ending, and even stated (via NME) that he then issued an ultimatum to the film’s directors.

“I wrote them a letter and said, “If you do this, I’m resigning because it’s the complete opposite of what I’m fighting for. I’ve spent 20 years trying to protect the rights of indigenous peoples, and you’re uprooting them to build a theme park. I will not be a party to this.’“

Therefore, the final sequence of the cartoon is changed, and we see Cuzco and Pacha spending the summer in their hills – without the destroyed village and forest: Sting Won!

Cuzco, the Megalomaniac Emperor can be found streaming again on Disney+ and you can check out his little hidden details below!