Heartwarming / Elena of Avalor

"You need nothing more than those you adore,
On this holiday, let love light the way."^note Give it about 2 years in show time and this will go massively askew!

The Show

• From the movie:
  • The whole kingdom remembers Elena and immediately rallies to her side when they find out she's back.
  • Elena giving Sofia a big hug when she's finally set free from the amulet, saying she knew Sofia would be the one to break the spell.
  • Elena finally being reunited with her remaining family after 41 years.
  • Elena deciding to let Sofia keep the Amulet of Avalor as her parting gift for Sofia to remember her by.
  • Esteban solidifying that he is indeed on Elena's side by grabbing Shuriki's wand right out of her hands and throwing it to Elena. After Shuriki is defeated, he proudly declares Elena as the true queen of Avalor.
  • The implication that despite betraying his family in the first place and spending the last four decades as The Quisling, Esteban has been trying his best as Noble Top Enforcer to protect everyone from Shuriki's wrath since then to make up for it. For example, he changes the subject whenever someone does something that upsets her, like when Sofia brought up singing and dancing, which could've ended badly had Esteban not been there to intervene.
    • Esteban smiling while watching Sofia talk about singing and dancing, and him genuinely having a good time playing the guitar, especially if you remember in the Elena of Avalor intro how he rolled his eyes at Elena and Abuelo playing the guitar and dancing.
• Elena singing a lullaby to Baby Esteban to calm him down and him telling Elena "I love you, 'lena" in "Island of Youth".
  • Later, when he's back to his regular adult form, he has a choice of reaching to save what little fountain of youth water he has left or saving her. He saves her.
  • Elena and Esteban cuddling together Like Brother and Sister.
  • Isabel and Abuelo playing the Avaloran Happy Birthday song to Esteban. Esteban looks like he's about to choke up in tears when he hears it.
• Elena encouraging Mateo that he's a great wizard in "Spellbound" definitely qualifies.
• This is repeated again in "Finders Leaper" where she tries to show Naomi that she has a place on the counsel. To add to that, she gives the important jobs in that episode to her, showing complete faith.
• There are two stand out elements to "A Day To Remember":
  • The relationship the two restaurant owner siblings have with their deceased grandmother is second to none.
  • The ending is also heartwarming with Elena encouraging Isabel to attend the celebration and reminiscing about the times with their parents.
• Mateo doing everything in his power to help Elena when Orizaba starts her takeover in "The Scepter of Light," including carrying the princess back to the castle when she's exhausted herself from using her scepter's powers. After she's recovered from a days-long coma, Elena requests a private moment with Mateo by her bedside and takes his hand, thanking him and reaffirming their friendship.
• The episode "Navidad" also has two standout elements:
  • The portrayal of Isabel's wheelchair-using friend Cristina is full of this. Outside of one comment about it being easier to draw on a built in sketch pad, the show does not put any focus on her condition, subtly showing that it's a natural part of life.
  • How about the ending musical number with everyone joining together in celebration, realizing how important it is to spend time with others? The warm fuzzies were definitely strong there.
• "Crystal In The Rough" has two standout elements: Elena's dedication to helping Isabel adjust to school, and Isabel still staying her adorkable self even with her new outfit and personality.
• "Captain Turner Returns" is full of this, with Naomi's dedication to staying in Avalor, the brave face she puts on for her mother, Elena doing everything to help her, everyone in Avalor wishing her farewell, and the news that they can stay. For bonus points, her mother Scarlett maintains a ray of kindness.
  • Mr. and Mrs. Captain Turner's relationship is beautiful too. Scarlett is an independent career woman while Daniel is a bit of a House Husband, but they are Happily Married and unquestionably devoted to one another.
• When Gabe's father finally saw his son for who he really is when he saves Isabel and Kat and understanding him in Olaball.
• "The Princess Knight:"
  • Gabe agrees to teach Elena how to fence for real and gives her tips on how to become a great fencer in days, partially because she taught him how to play oleball.
  • When Luisa and Francisco invite Sir Elezar, Elena's secret identity, to the castle for tea, she accidentally outs herself as their granddaughter during the meeting. After she apologizes for the deception and reveals that she overheard Lord Elrod bragging that he intentionally broke Lucia's wrist to make her forfeit at their match years ago, her grandparents give Elena their blessing to continue in the tournament to defend her mother's honor.
  • After Elena wins the tournament, she reveals her true identity to the crowd. After a moment of shock, everybody cheers for Elena. Sir Cassius is also amazed that he just dueled the Crown Princess of Avalor even though he lost the match and gladly gives her the tournament trophy.
• Anything with Isabel and Elena with their sister moments, and the times Elena acts more mom-like towards Isabel.
• "King of the Carnival" has pretty good elements:
  • Esteban being so excited for the Carnaval parade that he cannot resist playing with his cousins such as surprising Elena and joking with Isabel.
  • Esteban putting Queen Lucia's crown on Elena and claiming that she looks just like her mother, and Elena kisses him.
  • Elena's heartfelt talk with Esteban after Victor and Carla Delgado trap them inside their float.
• The ending to "My Fair Naomi" has Naomi making up with her friends after she snubbed them when preparing for the party. They also have a nice dance together. For the extra kicker, her parents come back in time for the party.
  • Though the episode is Esteban instigating Naomi's Acquired Situational Narcissism partly so he can show up Dona Paloma and her snobby noble friends, he does seem to genuinely care about her, wanting her to have the best things not only because of his own arrogance but also because he wants her to be the best. Once he's done getting through to her, he's So Proud of her.
• "Wizard In Training" is a very sweet episode. Mateo's dedication to helping Olivia, even when he's distracted with helping her family, is very sweet. Olivia is just a big ball of heartwarming from her enthusiasm to her admiration of Mateo.
• The "Realm Of The Jaquins" movie has a lot of great moments:
  • Lets talk about what kickstarts the plot. Nico fails the test at the beginning of the movie due to Victor and Carla's influence , and they do everything possible to prove he should get a second chance.
  • Elena and Skylar are also really stand out. To elaborate, the movie dwells more into their all loving hero status. Even when being confronted by King Verago, Skylar's father, they both stand their ground and just focus on saving Avalor their own way, showing how much they value the greater good. This also doubles as a moment of awesome.
  • It's also nice that the movie emphasizes that, while Nico is obviously bummed about failing the test, he just focuses on saving Avalor, really letting his altruism shine.
  • King Verago finally letting go of his pride to listen to Elena and Skylar just goes to show that, for all his strictness, he cares for the greater good. Also of note is how he impressed he is with Skylar for standing up to him for others since he's making a name for himself, and the fact he promotes Nico to guardian of Avalor.
• Gabe figuring out a way to make Isabel tall enough to play Olaball in "Blockheads:" Have her sit on his shoulders.
• "Masks Of Magic" finally has Elena and Dona Paloma on good terms with each other. Notably, when it's revealed that Dona Paloma grew up in a poor class background on a farm, and lost everything in a flood , Elena does not hesitate to console her, and they work together seamlessly afterwards.
• When Elena is at the cemetery in "Jewel Of Maru" for Dia De Los Muertos, she reminisces through song about the good times she's had with her parents when they were still alive. This cleverly foreshadows the climax of the episode, where the spirits of her parents briefly return to give her advice on how to save Avalor and retrieve the titular jewel. Elena's tears of joy sells it.
• "Royal Rivalry" starts out with a nice mix of humor and seriousness, but it's the last 8 minutes of the episode that make this work. During the horse ride, we see more of Valentina's soft side as she reveals that her behavior is just a facade. After the horse carriage fiasco, we see why. She realized how great both Elena and Avalor are, and wanted to earn their approval. Their working together to save everyone, as well as their hug in the end, is touching.
• "The Curse Of El Guapo" has a few nice moments that make it worth watching.
  • Before being possessed by the sword, Gabe is heckled by one of his fellow Royal guards about how if he's getting the position, it's only because he's Elena's friend, which upsets him. His altruistic side is shown nicely here as he takes things in stride, hence why his descent to the dark side is easier to watch.
  • During the last competition, he sees the same guard that insulted him get injured, and wastes no time in helping him. This does not go unnoticed.
  • Gabe is made leader of the Royal guards at the end.
• "Three Jaquins And A Princess" has a few examples:
  • The baby jaquins take an instant liking to Isabel, especially Mingo, who mistakes her for his mother.
  • Even though Isabel messed up, Elena is not upset with her, and is instead stern but fair
  • The baby Jaquins (Estrella, Zoom, Mingo) reuniting with their mother at the end is very heartwarming, especially when Isabel names the latter
  • When Isabel goes to play with the baby jaquins in the end, Esteban watches with a loveable smile.
• "A Spy In The Palace" has two standout elements:
  • The episode goes to great lengths to show why Elena and Naomi are friends. They always have each other's back no matter what.
  • Seeing Migs trying to impress his kids with a new flying routine, and them being impressed is also nice to watch.
• In "Rise of the Sorceress", Naomi puts a comforting hand on Elena's shoulder when she talks about how this is the first Sunflower Festival she's had without her parents, and even CARLA, in the background, is giving a sympathetic look.
  • Related to the episode, even when Naomi proves that Rita isn't who she seems, she does not brag or say "Told you so.". Instead, when Elena is in danger of being blasted by Shuriki , she does not hesitate to push her out of the way. Best friend indeed.
  • Elena's willingness to include Cristina in the dance is quite touching.
• Some small scenes in "Shapeshifters" show Elena bonding with Mingo, Zoom, and Estrella. It's quite adorable. When she proves she was blamed for Chief Zephyr's disappearance, they do not hesitate to help upon finding out the truth.
• The ending to "Race For The Realm". After losing all three pieces of the Scepter Of Night to Shuriki , Quita Moz comes in and tells her that, while definitely bad, there's still hope in mastering her scepter powers. Considering everything that went down, this is huge sigh of relief.
• In "A Tale Of Two Scepters", you want to know why Elena had a hard time mastering her new powers, and conversely, how she manages to master them? She was thinking of how much Isabel meant to her? Aaawww...
• "Song Of The Sirenas" has a lot of moments that are pretty sweet:
  • Elena's altruism is in full force, with her willingness to help the Sirenas no matter the cost. Even with their past of sinking ships, she still wants to see the better in them.
  • During "Familia Forever", Gabe, Mateo and Naomi take part of the number, showing that Elena considers them a part of the familia too.
  • Princess Marisa invokes a lot of these moments, whether it's saving Elena from drowning or her willingness to prove the Sirenas are good now.
  • King Pescoro's backstory, while mostly a tearjerker, has some heartwarming moments sprinkled in. He ended up saving a woman named Camilla, and turned her into a Sirena to keep her alive. He also stops sinking ships because of her.
  • It's a slight tearjerker, but during the climax, Naomi's mother almost gets hurt in the chaos, and Elena immediately goes after Shuriki. As bad as the stuff she's been through, her good nature for others shines through here.
  • The Sirenas, led by Marzel, send Shuriki's ship off course to provide a distraction for Elena. They then make peace at the end of the movie.
  • As evil as he is, Cruz does genuinely love his sister, since he wouldn't escape with Victor, Carla, and the purple orb that may or may not be Shuriki unless they unfreeze his sister.
  • After Elena kills Shuriki with the Scepter Of Light , Skylar then comforts her, saying that the nightmare is over. Considering everything she went through, this is a huge sigh of relief.
• In "Tides of Change", despite showing some reluctance about the newfound peace with the sirenas at the end of the previous episode, Esteban agrees with Elena to give them a chance, because everyone should be allowed a second chance. Though no one knows why he said that, he is also someone that had come to regret his past sins, so knows exactly how it feels to desire redemption and grasp it.
• In "Snow Place Like Home", Carla strains her leg in the blizzard, forcing Victor to have to carry her through it, at great risk to them both. Also qualifies as a Tearjerking moment and — for Victor - an Awesome one.
  Victor: I'll walk for the both of us.
  • At the end of the episode, Victor's wife / Carla's mother reunites with them. And she is a malvago, which seems to indicate that the reason Victor and Carla were so dead-set on becoming malvagos is so that they could join her in the dangerous lifestyle that separated her from them.
  • There's also the relationship Gabe has with his comrades Miguel and Andres; they're like brothers and it doesn't matter if Gabe's spending Navidad chasing Victor and Carla—what matters is that he's doing it with them.
  • If there was still any doubt that Esteban cares about his family, he spends the entire episode worried that Isabel and their grandparents won't make it back for Navidad and may even get hurt by the snowstorm, and he still misses his deceased parents after all these years.
  • Esteban initially refusing to make Abuela's tamales without her. Later, he agrees to properly make them with the others and Abuela says that their tamales are wonderful and just the way she taught them.
  • Esteban holding up Isabel and calling her their "Navidad angel".
  • In "Hearts Full Of Cheer", the group wish for the safe return of "those who could not be with us" for Navidad, referring to Gabe and the other guards.
  • The episode ends with a shot of Elena, Isabel, Esteban, their grandparents, Naomi and her parents, Mateo and his mother, Luna, Higgins, and Armando in the living room spending Navidad together.
• In "Not Without My Magic", we have Carla's sheer giddiness at having both her father and her mother in her life again, plus said father and mother hiding their martial squabbling from her whenever she's present so that she maintains this happy mood.
• "Naomi Knows Best" really shows how strong the friendship between Naomi and Elena is. No matter how much they disagree, they always have each others' back.
• "Sister Of Invention" really shows how strong the relationship between Elena and Isabel is. Isabel wants to be seen as one of the gang in order to directly help others out. As for Elena, though doubtful, nonetheless lets her prove her worth how she can. It then ends with her joining them on more adventures.
  • This also carries over into other episodes that give Isabel a more prominent, such as "Norberg Peace Prize" and "Sugar Rush", where Elena is more willing to listen to her and follow her advice.
• While "The Magic Within" is a more serious special, it has plenty of these moments :
  • First off, there's Flo herself. Though very impulsive, she also has a huge heart and wants to make others happy how she can. Most notably, she sings some of Elena's mother's song to help her round up the floats that come to life.
  • While Esteban's trial is pretty sad, it does have one nice moment, with Francisco forgiving him for what he did. While he is outvoted on whether or not to punish him, the fact he sticks to it affirms that he has a huge heart for others.
  • The climax is essentially full of this, where Elena uses her mother's song and the love of her family to get the parade floats to calm down.
  • Victor and Carla confirm how much they love each other when they both refuse to go with Ash to Takiana. While it ends with him turning to stone, it's then followed up by Elena showing some sympathy for Carla when she gets recaptured by the Royal Guard. It also proves that Carla actually does have one parent who doesn't suck!
  • There's also when Isabel has a heartfelt smile to Elena. You can tell that even though both there moods must be pretty somber (for good reason), she's really trying to be happy, and just wants her sister to be happy too.
• Elena's reunion with her parents in "Flower Of Light". Thanks to being in the Spirit World, Elena finally gets to hug her parents for the first time in 44 years!
• Everything about the climax for "Flower Of Light" is this. Felicia manages to find the strength in her to dance and raise everyone's spirits so that the portal can open for all spirits. Meeting up with her husband again is so satisfying.
  • The ending is also this. At the beginning, she asks the band to be quiet due to reminding her of her late husband. Now at the end, she embraces it and celebrates.
• Raul and Lucia presumably made a vow on their wedding day - till death do us part. Well, that vow was wrong - they're both dead and they haven't parted. They're still together and in love. How many dead people can say that?
• "Sugar Rush" is definitely a heartwarming episode, mainly in how Elena and Isabel grow a closer bond with Luisa by working together to undo the magic, and then spend time later on.
• Pili's name in Nahuatl means "prince". He's Chatana's prince. Aww...
• "Dreamcatcher" really shows how strong Isabel and Elena's relationship is. With Elena in despair, she tries doing what she can to comfort her, even when she wants to talk about Esteban. When Isabel is in danger during the climax, Elena does not hesitate to help her. Their talk at the end is very nice.
• In "Changing of the Guard", Gabe shows no care that Antonia Bello, daughter of an ex-guard, is a girl and allows her to enlist in being a guard herself. What makes it more heartwarming is that while the men enlisting are shocked at first, they warm up to her upon seeing what a great fencer she is except for Rocco Villalobos.
• While Alacazar's death in "Spirit Of A Wizard" is pretty sad, his last words to Mateo, about how he's a great wizard, are very sweet and encouraging.
  • Elena can barely contain her glee when she hands Mateo his new wizard robe and tamborita, both of which had been hidden away in Alacazar's study. Mateo poses proudly with them, showing that the torch of Royal Wizard has officially been passed down to him.
• In "Team Isa", Isabel keeps asking herself "What would Elena do?" to save her and everyone else when Tito puts them all under a spell. This heavily implies that she looks up to her sister as a leader. Awww...
• After Princess Rebeca breaks her grandmother's beloved heirloom hanukiah, she's distraught and tearfully apologizes to her. Her grandmother takes a moment to mourn it, then accepts her grandson's new hanukiah for the festival, reminding Rebeca that Hannukah is about their people's resilience in the face of adversity, and not only making do with what they have, but making the best of it.
• "To Save a Sunbird" starts off as a tearjerker. Upon learning that Hool used so much of her magic to fix the Scepter of Light that she's dying, Elena is willing to save her life, and she is quick to hug Qapa after the latter and Lama use a Vidaflor to restore her youth, so Elena and Mateo could take her to Aziluna. When the effect wears off by the time the group gets to the temple of Aziluna, Elena is still determined to save Hool, so she jumps into the water and swims down to the statue and brings up the breath of life to the dying sunbird, saving her life. Even more heartwarming, when Hool returns to Qapa and Lama in Vallestrella, she's disappointed that she didn't get to eat a churro until Skylar comes with a basket of churros for her, which he says is a special order from Elena.
• "Shooting Stars" has Flo refer to Francisco as "Abuelo", showing she is officially part of the family.
  • When Elena, who doesn't quite understand science as well as Isabel and Tomiko, offers a suggestion to reroud the lightning rod to make the new lens for the telescope, Isabel cannot contain her joy at how her sister had two scientific breakthroughs in just one day.
• In Sweetheart's Day:
  • Luisa thinks that Francisco has fallen out of love with her and forgotten their special day. He hasn't - and proves it later by providing an entire courtyard full of Orchids (the symbol of love) and a cake he tried to bake. He declares her "the love of [his] life" and she refers to him as "Mi Amor" (my love). He notes that he's thankful that he "had the good sense all those years ago to offer you that Orchid"; she notes that she "had the good sense to accept." They've presumably been married for decades and they're still in love, still adore one another.
  • Elena tries to console Armando, who's remorseful that Marlena witnessed his singing and ran off after he broke the spell that got everyone to speak in singing—but the reason she ran off was to get her guitar, and she's outside the palace, singing her own version of Armando's song to him. It turns out that Marlena has feelings for Armando, and she offers him an orchid, asking him to be her sweetheart, which he accepts. What's more, when Armando asks her to get Sweetheart Stew with him, Flo goes up and places Armando's hand in Marlena's.
• Victor and Carla's Heel–Face Turn in "The Lightning Warrior", after showing once more how deep their father-daughter bond runs. Also the memories of Victor and Elena as childhood friends, and how she is able to forgive him and accept him and Carla as members of her team. More importantly, Elena has one childhood friend back in her life.
  • While Elena does appreciate Victor and Carla's offer to help her defeat Ash and Esteban, Elena doesn't want them to feel pressured into doing so. She's very understanding that going against a family member would be an uncomfortable position, and makes it clear they don't have to do this, and if they want out it won't be of any consequence to her. The father and daughter make it clear they'll be in it for the long haul.
  • Naomi being the one who is most vocal about how Elena should give Victor and especially Carla another chance is especially sweet when you remember how she had been jealous of Carla in her "Rita" disguise back in "A Spy in the Palace", which shows just how much she's matured since then.
• In "Dia de las Madres", we get to see just how close Elena and Esteban were as children, having a playful chocolate fight and playing peek-a-boo with baby Isabel. Luisa outright states Elena looked up to him like a big brother.
  • Elena and her grandparents see that Esteban wasn't in the family portrait for that Mother's Day, and Luisa is remorseful that she may not have done her job as a mother to him. But thanks to Elena's scepter, she, Luisa, and Francisco find that Esteban willingly missed out on the portait to plant two trees outside La Vida Dulce to honor his mother and grandmother. Aw...
  • Not long after Elena and her grandparents find out why Esteban wasn't in the portrait, the kids whom Elena and her family handed out boxes of chocolates over 50 years ago show up at La Vida Dulce to give thanks to Luisa, who's surprised by how much they've grown, for being like a mother to them over the years.
• "Coronation Day" has plenty of these moments:
  • We see Cruz and Vestia with the other jaquins, proudly doing their duty for Avalor, showing they've really come far from their villainous days.
    • Vestia and Cruz are no longer upset with Victor and Carla, and Cruz even lets the two ride on him, showing that they've all reconciled since Victor mistreated them in "Snow Place Like Home".
  • The way Elena puts her hand on Carla's shoulder and gives her a proud look after the latter declares she will help as promised. Elena has very much become an Honorary Aunt to Carla.
  • Carla finally getting Mateo's name right. Keep in mind she never made any attempt to say his name properly, but it shows she now respects Mateo enough to do so.
  • Ixlan proves just how loyal she is. When Mateo blasts Gabe while under Vuli's spell, Ixlan runs over to Gabe to make sure he's okay. Gabe gives a Big "NO!" when he sees that Mateo is going to do the same to Isa, and Ixlan saves her by running over and tackling Mateo before he can strike her.
  • Flo deciding to jump into the gateway after Ash drags Elena in. You don’t get a pet more loyal than Flo.
  • Despite Elena's initial concerns about King Hector's interactions with the other rulers, he's actually getting along well with them, even enjoying a friendly game with them before Esteban came.
  • As it turns out, Raul and Lucia knew about Esteban's betrayal, and they forgave him a long time ago, unbeknownst to Esteban.
  • When Cahu threatens to turn Elena to stone, Esteban takes the shot, and turns into stone himself. This helps Elena realize that she needs to forgive him, and he turns back to normal. They both then team up to bring her to the spirit world.
    • There's also fact that Esteban sacrificed himself, in spite of Elena not forgiving him and disowning him, it really shows he loves her and his family unconditionally.
  • Esteban picks up the Scepter of Light and was about to give it to Elena, but since it glowed in his hand, Elena decides to give him the honor to destroy Cahu's magic hourglass.
  Esteban: Elena! Your scepter! (the Scepter of Light suddenly begins to glow) Wha!?
  Elena: That means you can use it!
  • Elena finally calls Esteban "Primo" for the first time in so long.
  • During Elena's coronation at the end, virtually everyone is there to congratulate her, even Sofia and her family. Elena could never forget her own protégé and lights up as bright as we ever saw her the moment she sees the young Enchancian Princess. All in all, they had a profound effect on each others' lives; Elena would still be in the amulet if it weren't for Sofia, and Sofia wouldn't be the princess she is now without Elena, and despite living too far apart for anything more then the occasional visit for very special occasions to take place will always remain the absolute best of friends. They even share a brief dance during the final number of the series, just like in Elena and the Secret of Avalor.
  • Esteban is grouped with Higgins, Doña Paloma, Victor and Carla and even have a shot together. Higgins was his Only Friend until his own treachery was revealed, he had a nasty rivalry with Doña Paloma, and he hasn't been on good terms with the Delgados since they got banished from Avalor. Now, Esteban has finally patched things up with them after all their bad history.
  • When Elena appoints Naomi as her chancellor, she's initially very hesitant to accept the position. However, Esteban, Carla, and Dona Paloma silently give their approval, showing how much they developed beyond their ego.
  • After what happened in "The Incredible Shrinking Royals" and "Norberg Peace Prize", Abigail and Hector seem to get along better to the point where they skip down the line of guests together during the finale number of the series.