Elena of Avalor- Series Overview

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mrdent12
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Re: Elena of Avalor- Series Overview

Post by mrdent12 »

The whole "test" was left open for a while until the end of the series. I don't think the writers really knew what it was or if they did it was planned out years in advance with alot of false leads.
Jabroniville
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Re: Elena of Avalor- Series Overview

Post by Jabroniville »

mrdent12 wrote: Fri Aug 27, 2021 4:43 pm The whole "test" was left open for a while until the end of the series. I don't think the writers really knew what it was or if they did it was planned out years in advance with alot of false leads.
It's kinda funny because Elena was nearly killed like 5 billion times between then and now, so anything could be a "test".

The showrunners do seem to have a ton of planning in place. It wasn't clear until about this point in the show's run that side characters would always be returning, and things used in one story come up later a lot. Here is the big with the "Shadows of Night" who are the villains in the Series Finale, and I'm not sure if they planned it that way or not.
Jabroniville
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Re: Elena of Avalor- Series Overview

Post by Jabroniville »

28) "Royal Rivalry". A pretty famous, notable one in the fandom, for the wild introduction of Princess Valentina, with an omega-level design (black girl with a purple dress). This episode is a very... "Girl Show" episode. The kind of episode you saw a bunch, where this cool, special rival shows up who seems to be better than the main character at everything, and is showy and boastful about it, leading to a rivalry... only they end up friends because of stuff. This one is actually good, though- Valentina is just SO over the top with her snottiness, responding to everything that her own kingdom (which has had a long-running feud with Avalor) has a better thing, immediately setting Elena on edge and making the entire council furious with her. She & her servant beat Gabe & Elena at Olaball, and she has a song about how her kingdom has "A little bit MORE". She's even got magical training, one-upping Elena AGAIN.

All this ends up making Elena competitive and insecure to match, trying for more Olaball, overdoing it with the magic, and bringing two dog statues to life. Naturally, it comes out that her arrogance comes from insecurity. She'd heard all about Avalor's magical, awesome kingdom and princess, and discovered that all the stories were TRUE. Though technically all she's done since arriving in Avalor is brag, so I don't know how she gathered any of Elena's capabilities just yet, but at least she saw the kingdom.

The dogs threaten everyone (Esteban: "Naomi, I apologize for all of the things I said behind your back!" "And I apologize for all the things I said to your face!"), but the two Princesses immediately make good and Elena gets Valentina to lure the dogs back to the podium by getting them to "fetch" a giant tree. That was pretty fast. Actually a lot of this episode is just the character stuff, which is neat. And I like how this immediately changes Valentina, who isn't as snotty in any later episode. If anything, they could have slotted her into a main role immediately and she'd have fit in just fine. And this one even matters a bit because it has her kingdom now looking out for Victor & Carla, which alters the villains' plans.
mrdent12
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Re: Elena of Avalor- Series Overview

Post by mrdent12 »

I'm surprised that after all those years with Avalor under it's previous ruler there wasn't more kingdoms that had gripes with Avalor.
Jabroniville
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Re: Elena of Avalor- Series Overview

Post by Jabroniville »

mrdent12 wrote: Sun Aug 29, 2021 6:17 pm I'm surprised that after all those years with Avalor under it's previous ruler there wasn't more kingdoms that had gripes with Avalor.
This is one thing that was always quite interesting about the show's lore, but wasn't overly dwelled upon- it was ruled for DECADES by an evil sorceress who banned magic, music and dancing (and this was a world where everyone instinctively knows how to sing & dance in large groups), yet somehow thrived economically during that time ("We are now the biggest port in the world!"). Except a lot of people in the opening special looked a fair bit poor (there's a shirtless guy in shorts- though I was once chided for assuming others looked like hobos when they were wearing traditional Mesoamerican gear, lol), which I think implied a lot of economic disparity.

But yeah, a lot of the time it was almost like they kind of ignore the "Shuriki Years" because they didn't like the notion of what life was like there. It's a bit "heavy" for a children's show, I suppose, but getting into the deeper lore, you realize things like the castle guards probably all switched over under the new ruler. People will say things like "We haven't done a Parranda [caroling] in years!" and not mention that the reason why it was illegal, lol.
mrdent12
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Re: Elena of Avalor- Series Overview

Post by mrdent12 »

The wealth I can see because Shruki had those creatures that made everything into gold. It would have likely been concentrated at the top with her and chosen few however.

If the show did address the massive problems from the Shruki years, I concur the show would be pretty dark for kids. An episode where a foreign ruler comes and says "what happen to all the black guards and people kept in line by fear?" Wouldn't play well for kids tv
Jabroniville
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Re: Elena of Avalor- Series Overview

Post by Jabroniville »

29) "The Sword of El Guapo". I was wondering when Gabe was made Captain, and it turns out it's also the "possessed by a sword" episode, haha. I don't think we've ever seen the preceding Captain before. There's a simple running gag about how he almost never talks, and takes so long to do so he ends up interrupting the person checking on him. And they immediately announce his retirement (how long was he there? It's unlikely he was a Guard under Shuriki), and he names four possible successors- Rico the Former Backgrounder, two nobodies... and Gabe. I like Elena's little "yes!" to herself, with a side-glance to make sure everyone thinks she's impartial, haha.

Interesting little debate in the barracks (with some of the only "guys joshing each other in locker-room talk" moments I recall from the show). Rico is from a military family and shows off his fancy sword, which he got from his father. Funny bit as Gabe goes all "You don't need a fancy sword to win" and draws his, and everyone goes "awwww..." with disappointment at it. "WHAT!? It's standard issue! We all have the same one!". Gabe's "snappy comeback" actually draws nods of disapproval from the other guards in a funny background bit. And I have to say fencing using REAL SWORDS in the barracks is horrendously dangerous and probably not the thing a future Captain should be doing! Though their big "contest" for Captain (an obstacle course) is also horribly unsafe, with guys wading through a forest of artificial trees, swinging swords right next to each other.

So Gabe DROPS this important package he's to bring to the museum (which is pretty bad- I mean, most Disney characters don't drop stuff when they sing), finds it's a fancy sword, and decides he's going to "borrow" it. And of course it's magic and possesses him, so "El Guapo" takes him over repeatedly. With a smarmy smirk and lowering his jaw and emphasizing his cheekbones to indicate which is in control at any moment. Gabe soon announces himself as "Guapo" to everyone.

Naomi: "Doesn't Guapo mean handsome?"
Mateo: "yessssss..."
Naomi: "Well he does have a point!"
(it's fashioned as a pun about swords that makes the others shake their heads, but ALSO works for a certain pairing, lol)

So Guapo makes Gabe an elite, acrobatic swordsman, but also makes him act selfishly and egotistically. When he accidentally trips Rico, he just forges on and wins on the first day- the second sees them against each other again. Gabe realizes what's wrong when he acts like a douche to Elena (who REALLY hates having him touch her lips to shush her, lol), and desperately tries to get rid of the sword, which just returns to his hand in a series of funny visual gags (he tosses it off a bridge, and it appears behind him; he throws it into the museum and locks the door, but it manages to open it and STILL get at him). Finally Professor Mendoza explains the whole deal, and that nobody's found the cure.

I like how Gabe has to confess to Mateo, THEN Elena. Mateo first nerds out over a cursed object ("I've read about cursed objects, but never SEEN one!") but manages to make a potion: but the trick is that Gabe can't use the sword again. Then Elena of course gives him the "the soldier makes the sword" speech and he makes good on the last event, going back to help the injured Rico instead of abandoning him. And at least this time, Rico hurt HIMSELF.

This leads to all the guards taking back all their "baker boy" stuff and endorse him for Captain of the Royal Guard. He's offered the Captain's Sword, but in the funniest bit, hesitates. Elena: "It isn't cursed. Mateo checked". Mateo: *from the stands* "IT'S GOOD!". Love Elena's quick delivery there, and Mateo's calling from the stands.

Overall, a pretty good one, like most Gabe ones tend to be. Very fun stuff with Gabe doing cartoony things to get rid of the sword. It's interesting that the Guapo blade stuff is pretty much all on him- he actually dropped the sword while doing his job, then decided to go against Professor Mendoza's orders and use it, then kept allowing himself to be goaded by the others. It's kind of an interesting thing with Gabe where he has the same issue with confidence that Mateo does, but it manifests differently. Mateo in self-pity and introspection and Gabe with anger- both usually need a talking to from Elena about it. Like, Gabe was ALWAYS good enough for the jobs he has, and doesn't have to do three seasons of on-screen training the way Mateo does- it's like it was always in him. He just lacked the confidence to trust himself. All his bad decisions here come from thinking about his lack of lineage, thinking he needs a cool sword to win, and letting the boys' heckling of him get to him.

I just noticed the horses all have eyebrows. A great "cheat" to give them human expressions. lol just checking but a ton of animated horses do this. Max in Tangled kinda has light ones that are subtle, but in TTS they're pitch black.
Jabroniville
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Re: Elena of Avalor- Series Overview

Post by Jabroniville »

30) "Three Jacquins and a Princess". I still remember watching this the first time and being kind of stunned by how much it dumped on the show right away, lol. Like "Oh yeah so major character Miggs now has a mate and three eggs and oh look they're hatching, so here's four brand-new characters". Like he just flies in, announces he has a "new mate" (did he have an old one?), and Dulce is played by Rosie Perez. But she has like five lines in the whole thing, because both parents-to-be bail and leave Isabel in charge of the eggs since she's been wanting more responsibility and to not be treated like a kid.

So immediately the eggs hatch and instead of getting help, she tries to control the babies, who are adorbz but mischievous, and soon it's a disaster, especially once Mateo's enlarging potion makes the pink one huge. She learns a quick lesson, then helps save the day.

Meanwhile, there's a bake-off and Armando's chances are insulted by Dona Paloma, which makes Esteban, who usually picks on Armando, suddenly defend him. I love how Paloma's just horrible to Armando the whole time and thinks Lady Yolanda (one of those awful twins from an earlier episode) will automatically win, but still refuses to lie and say that her cake was the best. She's straight-up mad that Armando's is so good. Armando's cake looks rad, though. Haha and I forgot Dona Paloma got frozen by Mateo by accident.

So, um, the name of the game here is "Merch". I recall the baby Jacquins appearing in a TON of merch right away- they were all over Toys R Us and I think even the Disney Store got some. Like, they were everywhere, to the point where you could be forgiven for thinking Elena of Avalor was a show entirely about flying jaguars. So this episode comes off as a shameless "Merch Delivery System" in every way- just flagrantly pushing these new collectable cute things. The episode is pretty good despite that- mostly thanks to it being largely about Isa trying to control them.

Rosie Perez has such a neat voice and acting style. I'm kinda bummed I don't remember anything Dulce does in this or elsewhere. Like, she gets all of FIVE LINES and she doesn't even matter to the episode, despite becoming a mother in it!
Jabroniville
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Re: Elena of Avalor- Series Overview

Post by Jabroniville »

31) "A Spy in the Palace" Danger is afoot as Carla is given a shapeshifting potion by Shuriki to break into the palace and steal Elena's mother's tiara, which can give Shuriki a new magic wand. This, importantly, will turn Victor & Carla into evil wizards, as she promised. I love how Victor & Carla are so outgoing and sing-songy about their evil and Shuriki just has no time for that nonsense, lol. Just rolls her eyes at their villain rap, especially with Carla doing gangsta signals. So Carla becomes "Rita" and chooses Armando as an "easy mark" to get into the palace, pretending to be a distant cousin. Elena painting a banner while wearing her red "travel gown" seems dangerous, lol. At least put on the Indiana Jones travel gear! And she just called Naomi her "best friend!" After Gabe & Mateo made asses of themselves for a whole episode for that honor!

So Rita finagles her way onto the committee for a kingdom-wide celebration by sabotaging the work Naomi was doing. Naomi immediately tosses out accusations, and is hurt when Elena doesn't believe her. Naturally, SHE'S RIGHT, but nobody knows that, and even Naomi "realizes" she was wrong and apologizes. But her apology actually stymies the theft of the tiara! But, importantly, we end the episode with "Rita" still in the palace, now making friends with Elena AND Naomi, who can usually be counted on to cynically mistrust everyone! And we are introduced to Cruz, "the next Jacquin chief", who says nothing so this is clearly a "Part One" kinda deal.

A solid first part, though I never really cared for the rapid-fire "two minutes of conversation and now somebody storms out, upset because Elena didn't listen to them" thing. I mean, I know the characters are young and emotional, but Rita's been there a day and Naomi thinks Elena's now replacing her as "best friend"? Seems like they just had limited time and so drove the conflict anyways.
Jabroniville
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Re: Elena of Avalor- Series Overview

Post by Jabroniville »

32) "Science Unfair" Okay, so the "A" plot is Isabel does good at science, so she's nominated for a science fair- since her friends were instrumental to saving her boring lecture at school, they're recruited by Elena to help her on this one, but Isa has the family "Control Freak" genes, so just blows them off and sends them on a wild goose chase so she can do everything herself. This hurts all their feelings and so we do the mandatory They're Mad/Elena Gives Advice/Isabel Apologizes sequence, and the day is saved, and the scientist she respects allows her to study one class each day at the college. Believe it or not, this actually gets used later.

The "B" story is the big one, as Carla/Rita flirts with Mateo to try and gain access to the throne room, but fails. He does seem a bit taken (he even does the "douchey eyebrow raise" that Gabe did when he was trying to impress Elena), though, and ends up revealing that the statue in the palace garden is actually Fiyero, the Malvago from Season One! And THAT becomes much more important later, as Shuriki is impressed with the knowledge.

Like a lot of "Isa-Centric" episodes, I find the core plot a bit predictable and standard "Disney Junior Lesson-Learning", but the metaplot heating up makes up for it.
mrdent12
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Re: Elena of Avalor- Series Overview

Post by mrdent12 »

You'd think they would move the statue of a powerful Malvago to someone place safe instead of the palace garden. Someplace like a locked room or dungeon.
Jabroniville
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Re: Elena of Avalor- Series Overview

Post by Jabroniville »

mrdent12 wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 12:07 am You'd think they would move the statue of a powerful Malvago to someone place safe instead of the palace garden. Someplace like a locked room or dungeon.
Especially once Mateo creates a potion to undo the transformation! I wonder if he even told Elena about that yet.
Jabroniville
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Re: Elena of Avalor- Series Overview

Post by Jabroniville »

33) "Rise of the Sorceress" Carla has now been Rita for WEEKS, there's ANOTHER festival in Avalor she's helping with, and Shuriki is planning her final move tonight. Aaaaaaaaaaand Carla/Rita tries to get the potion to cure Fiero's petrification, again by seducing Mateo. Who, as a classic nerd, pretty much goes "Ah-HYUCK" the first time a pretty girl flirts with him. Rita effortlessly swipes his key. Gabe's "WOAH, you danced with RITA" and Mateo's smug "Why yes- I did" is great, but Naomi of course realizes how bad this is. Shuriki is legit impressed with Carla and then she unfreezes Fiero and forges an alliance- he distrusts her ("You banished me from Avalor!"- reflecting the past where Shuriki banned all other magic than hers), but agrees so long as they steal the Codex Maru.

So now there's a fun contrast of Elena's group singing a song about the sun "bring an end to dark and gloom" as Shuriki's army walks into the treasury and steals Elena's mother's tiara, Shuriki forms a new wand using its central jewel, and Fiero knocks over Mateo, but lolligags over the Codex too long and can only steal a handful of pages once Mateo rips the book from him. But then there's that horrifying moment where Elena learns of Rita's betrayal and walks into the central entrance of her castle only to see FREAKING SHURIKI stroll in alongside her minions, and flashes right back to the moment her parents were murdered. And Shuriki, surrounded by the same green smog, unleashes the familiar "VADISSIMA!" that killed them!

Thankfully, Naomi is here to pull Elena out of the way, and they dodge deathbolts until Mateo comes in with Elena's Scepter. Shuriki is floored to be blasted back by the "Blaze!" spell ("How did the scepter do THAT?"), and Mateo Force Fields up to protect everyone until Elena actually wipes out the new wand with a second blast! Defeated, Shuriki is about to be captured, but Fiero covers their escape by knocking down a chandelier. Shuriki declares she'll make him the "Royal Malvago" and the gang escapes, hoping the pages they've stolen will help them defeat Elena.

So, this was a fantastic episode and a huge part of the Myth Arc, with the revelation to Elena that Shuriki has not only survived, but still wants to kill her like she did Elena's parents. This completely changes the game of the entire series, and casts then next 10-ish episodes under an aura of fear. It's actually pretty interesting thematically that Shuriki's return was halted almost immediately by her defeat, as Elena's crew overpowers her & Fiero- most shows would have had the villains get a big "win" right away. However, as Shuriki's plans involve murder, that's a bit tricky- instead, we have the odd scenario of the villains being not only defeated, but depowered, and so the next bunch of episodes are set up, as they try to regain it.
mrdent12
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Re: Elena of Avalor- Series Overview

Post by mrdent12 »

Given the audience, I'm not surprised they went the route they did. For a show on Disney Junior you can't really have the bad person get big wins when it involves violence for longer than an episode or two.
Jabroniville
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Re: Elena of Avalor- Series Overview

Post by Jabroniville »

mrdent12 wrote: Tue Nov 02, 2021 3:25 pm Given the audience, I'm not surprised they went the route they did. For a show on Disney Junior you can't really have the bad person get big wins when it involves violence for longer than an episode or two.
Oh yeah, good point- you can do that in an older-ages show like Avatar where the Fire Nation rules the world and the gang are rebels, but it's a bit trickier here.

In fact, the pall this casts over the next several episodes is very rare for Disney Channel stuff, too. Elena becomes a woman obsessed.
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