Heartwarming / The Emperor's New School

• "Empress Malina" has Kuzco mistakenly uses a potion to give Malina a toucan beak in an effort to get rid of her zit, because he wants Malina to be perfect for the dance. Yzma (who gave the potion in the first place) gives a Sadistic Choice between going to the dance with a beak-faced Malina or surrendering the throne to Yzma for the beak antidote. After learning the beak-antidote is fake, Kuzco makes a third option and gives himself a toucan beak too. That way, he and Malina can go to the dance together. And to top it off, he claims perfection is overrated, implying he'd rather enjoy her company instead.
• "Yzmopolis":
  • What finally convinces Kuzco to make the wish that fatefully starts the plot rolling? His attempt to cheat got Malina in trouble, and (aside from her anger) he's upset at how being different from the students even makes her life hard. And much beforehand, Kuzco felt horrible for how much his selfish actions affects others, such as how he responded to Kronk and insulting him or how he upset Chicha. It may be another example of a forgotten aesop, but it still stands!
  • Later, what convinces him to change his mind and wish to be Emperor again? Malina in the new universe was living in exile for being "pretty and smart", and she was sent to the dungeon for her new-found confidence (which Kuzco gave her^note  Double-heartwarming). So off he goes to undo his wish.
• In "Kuzclone", after Kronk comes clean about Yzma's plot, he, Malina and Pacha come to the real Kuzco's rescue. Despite his earlier belief that his friends already had friends of their own, Kuzco comes to the epiphany that because they came for him in his darkest hour, these three truly are his friends!
• "Chipmunky Business":
  • In the ending, Yzma yelling at the condor who snatched up her nephews. They may be as creepy as she is, but at least she wasn't willing to let the condor go without a fight.
  • After failing to get the other patches, Kuzco tries for the one Jr. Chipmunk patch that even Kronk never got: the Condor Patch. ^note Cue Dramatic Chord Kuzco narrowly manages to claim the condor's feather to get the badge, but he instead gives it to Kronk, saying all the lessons about teamwork and being unselfish got to him. As thanks, Kronk awards him with an "I Didn't Earn a Single Patch" patch.
• In "The Mystery of Micchu Pachu", Malina revealing that when she's scared, she sleeps with her stuffed animal. She's showing Kuzco a vulnerable side to her, as a way to tell Kuzco that there's nothing wrong with being scared.
• "Picture This!" ends with a Time Skip to the future, where Malina's horrible School photo ends up going down in history as being a picture of "the most beautiful woman". And not because she looks good in it (really, she doesn't), but because it's indicated she's considered the most beautiful woman on the inside.
• In "The Emperor's New Musical", Yzma was attempting to destroy the school. However, at the end, during the song "Our Academy", she's ending up helping saving it instead, even singing along, and she looks genuinely happy.
  • Kuzco himself is the one that includes Yzma as a member of "Our Academy" in the opening verse that he sings, which Yzma seems touched by (possibly convincing her to renege on her plans to sabotage the show). More generally, it shows Kuzco's appreciation for everyone in the community besides himself and his ability to put aside his jealousy for Dirk Brock, and Malina is also moved by Kuzco's last-minute display of relative selflessness (enough that she accedes to Guaka's suggestion that she and Kuzco share a kiss, since "every musical has to have a kiss").
• "Kuzcokazooza" ends with Kuzco finding out that nobody stayed for his act and only came for Dirk Brock. However, Malina starts cheering him to play the kazoo since she knew he did this for her. Even though it's clear she isn't impressed with his skills and isn't thrilled to hearing him sing a bunch of songs on a kazoo, the fact that she willingly encouraged him to play for her even after trying to warn him that nobody was interested in hearing him play is quite touching.
• "Kuzco's Little Secret":
  • Kuzco's caring attitude for his pet chinchilla, to the point of being outright selfless towards it. Malina herself notes how heartwarming it is.
  • It's also nice to see Malina acknowledge her interest in Kuzco, something she had never vocally done before.
• "Cornivale":
  • After his ordeal, Kuzco learns to appreciate Pacha's relatives, hugging them despite his usual dislike for physical contact.
  • Likewise, Kuzco inviting Cabbie to join them, even though nobody told him to. Furthermore, he would later vouch for Yzma of all people. No wonder this is the penultimate episode, since it shows how much Kuzco has matured.
  • The interactions between a disguised Yzma and Pacha's family. It really implies that Yzma could be far happier if she stopped acting so bitter and obsessive.
• The Grand Finale's "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue reveals that Kuzco had Pacha and the family move into the palace with him after becoming emperor again.
• Multiple episodes note that Kuzco had nowhere to go after getting kicked out of the palace, but Pacha's family welcomed him into their home with open arms.