Disney cut most of Sting’s songs for The Emperor’s New Groove, and he said he wanted “vengeance.” His wife filmed the mess. Then he kept working with Disney, right up to Only Murders in the Building.
In December 2000, Sting said Disney’s “The Emperor’s New Groove” left him wanting payback.
“At first, I was angry and perturbed. Then I wanted some vengeance,” he said, as the Associated Press reported.
Disney had cut most of the songs he wrote for the movie. His wife, Trudie Styler, had cameras rolling the whole time, and Disney has kept her documentary, “The Sweatbox,” on the shelf ever since.
You’d think Sting would steer clear of Disney after that.
He didn’t. In 2021, he played himself, and a murder suspect, on “Only Murders in the Building,” a Hulu show made by Disney’s own 20th Television.
Why was Sting mad at Disney?
The movie he signed up for stopped existing.
Disney hired Sting in 1997 to write songs for “Kingdom of the Sun,” an Inca musical from Roger Allers, fresh off “The Lion King,” Disney historian Jim Korkis wrote for Cartoon Research.
He and his writing partner, David Hartley, wrote six songs. Then Disney threw out the story and rebuilt it as a llama buddy comedy.
The characters he’d written for didn’t exist anymore, Sting said. He told ABC News he “tried to resign about three times.”
We told the whole story of how Kingdom of the Sun turned into The Emperor’s New Groove earlier this month. This one’s about Sting.
What is The Sweatbox documentary?
It’s Styler’s behind-the-scenes movie about all of it. And it might be the most awkward making-of Disney ever let anybody film.
Styler, who directed it with John-Paul Davidson, was given “unlimited access,” Korkis wrote. Her cameras sat in on story meetings, voice auditions and Sting’s recording sessions.
That’s how she caught the phone call. Producer Randy Fullmer calls Sting and tells him his six songs are out, according to Korkis.
At one point, Sting calls the rebuilt movie “hamburger,” Variety noted in its 2002 review.
Disney’s animation boss at the time, Thomas Schumacher, told the AP in December 2000 that he’d seen footage and wasn’t nervous. “I think it’s going to be great!” he said.
Variety reviewed it at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2002. Disney owns it, and it’s never been released.
Did Sting stay mad at Disney?
Doesn’t look like it.
Even in 2000, he’d cooled off. “After about five minutes of ranting and raving,” he got back to work, he said, as Korkis reported.
He wrote two new songs for the new movie: “Perfect World,” which Tom Jones sings in the film, and “My Funny Friend and Me,” which Sting sings over the end credits, the AP reported.
Then, in March 2001, Sting sang “My Funny Friend and Me” at the Oscars. It was the first musical performance of the night, according to Digital Hit’s recap. The song lost, but the show aired on ABC, which Disney owns.
Sting has four Golden Globe nominations for best original song, according to the Golden Globes’ own database. All four are from movies released by Disney or by Miramax, which Disney owned from 1993 to 2010, according to Box Office Mojo and the AP:
“The Mighty”: from “The Mighty” (Miramax, 1998)
“My Funny Friend and Me”: from “The Emperor’s New Groove” (Disney, 2000)
“Until...”: from “Kate & Leopold” (Miramax, 2001). This one won.
“You Will Be My Ain True Love”: from “Cold Mountain” (Miramax, 2003)
So much for vengeance.
Was Sting in Only Murders in the Building?
Yes, in Season 1, back in 2021.
The Hulu show stars Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez as neighbors who start a true-crime podcast about a death in their New York apartment building, the Arconia.
Sting lives there too. In Episode 3, Short’s character, Oliver, shares an elevator with him and tells his dog, “Don’t stand so close to Sting,” Laughing Place’s recap noted. That’s a Police joke, for the younger readers.
Episode 4, called “The Sting,” made him a suspect. The trio shows up at his door with a half-cooked turkey to question him, and he ends up writing a song on the spot about how he didn’t kill Tim Kono, the dead neighbor. It hit Hulu Sept. 7, 2021.
Showrunner John Hoffman told TheWrap the cast got a private Sting concert between takes. “We were just in love with him,” Hoffman said.
Here’s the turkey scene, from Hulu’s official YouTube channel:
Is Only Murders in the Building a Disney show?
Pretty much. Disney’s 20th Television is the studio behind it, Variety reported.
Disney had also been running Hulu since 2019. In 2025, it agreed to pay Comcast a final $438.7 million for its share, which made Hulu all Disney’s, Fox Television Stations reported.
So the guy who wanted vengeance on Disney did a murder-mystery cameo for... Disney.
Can you watch The Sweatbox?
Not officially. Disney has never put it out on home video or Disney+.
A sliver of it did sneak out, though. Korkis wrote that it was cut down into a short “Making the Music Video” extra on “The Emperor’s New Groove” DVD, built around “My Funny Friend and Me.”
“The Emperor’s New Groove” is streaming on Disney+, and “Only Murders in the Building” is on Hulu and Disney+, according to JustWatch.
What are some fun facts about Sting and The Emperor’s New Groove?
Some of the cut songs survived. Disney put three of them, including “Walk the Llama Llama,” on the soundtrack album as bonus tracks, the AP reported.
Eartha Kitt had a big villain song. “Snuff Out the Light” had Yzma in a blacklit dungeon with three comic mummies named Mick, Bowie and Lemmy, after aging rock stars, Korkis wrote.
The documentary’s name is a Disney inside joke. “Sweatbox” was what animators called the stuffy screening room with no air conditioning where their work got picked apart, according to Korkis.
The phone call where Sting finds out his songs are gone is still in that movie. Disney just hasn’t let anybody watch it.
Article compiled with the help of the Pirates & Princesses newsroom.
Pirates and Princesses is your destination for Disney news, theme park updates, and the pop culture you love. From Disney cruises and travel tips to Disney fashion, food, collectibles, and movie news, PNP covers it all. Visit us at piratesandprincesses.net for daily coverage. Follow PNP on Facebook and Instagram, and listen to the Pirates & Princesses podcast on Apple Podcasts and YouTube.
Hat Tips:
Associated Press via Deseret News, Dec. 15, 2000: Stunned Sting stung when songs were cut (Sting and Thomas Schumacher quotes)
ABC News, Dec. 14, 2000: Sting’s New Groove Struggle
Jim Korkis, Cartoon Research: The Sweatbox documentary
Variety, Sept. 11, 2002: The Sweatbox review (Toronto International Film Festival)
Digital Hit: 73rd Annual Academy Awards results and commentary (2001)
Golden Globes awards database: Sting
Box Office Mojo: The Mighty, The Emperor’s New Groove, Kate & Leopold and Cold Mountain distributor listings
Associated Press via 6abc, Dec. 3, 2010: Disney completes $663M sale of Miramax
Alex Reif, Laughing Place, Aug. 31 and Sept. 7, 2021: Only Murders in the Building recaps, Episodes 1-4
Jennifer Maas and Tony Maglio, TheWrap, Sept. 7, 2021: The ‘Only Murders’ Cast Got a Private Sting Concert Between Takes
Variety, 2024: ‘Only Murders in the Building’ Renewed for Season 5 at Hulu (20th Television)
Fox Television Stations, June 2025: Hulu now fully owned by Disney after $439 million deal with NBCUniversal
JustWatch: The Emperor’s New Groove and Only Murders in the Building U.S. listings, checked Oct. 11, 2026
Hulu on YouTube: The Trio Brings Sting a Turkey
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