Elena and the Secret of Avalor

Elena and the Secret of Avalor is a Sofia the First/Elena of Avalor crossover television special. It premiered on November 20, 2016 and serves as the prequel/backdoor pilot episode for Elena of Avalor.

Plot
In the Kingdom of Avalor, Elena takes Naomi up a mountain to show her favorite view of the kingdom. Elena laments to Naomi how she was trapped in the Amulet of Avalor for forty-one years and then presents to her a broken wand. She tells her that it was Shuriki's wand and how she would still be trapped in the Amulet if it was not for a brave young Princess: Sofia. Elena then proceeds to tell Naomi the whole story:

A coach is heading toward Avalor Palace. On board are the sovereigns of Avalor, King Raul and Queen Lucia, and they are being chased by a green mist. When the coach reaches the palace, Elena comes out to greet her parents just in time to see the mist get revealed as a sorceress who kills Elena's parents with a spell. The sorceress then proceeds to strike Elena with the same spell. The attack is revealed to be a daydream that Sofia is having. Flora flies by and dismisses the students for summer vacation. As Sofia heads back to the coach, Sofia's Amulet starts to glow blue alerting her that it is time to go to the Secret Library. Meanwhile, King Roland and Queen Miranda are trying to decide where to take their kids for their summer vacation. When the Royal Twins meet up with them, they reveal they still have not picked a place out. Meanwhile, Sofia grabs Behind the Walls and heads to the Secret Library. When she arrives, the Library selects a book called The Lost Princess of Avalor, to the shock of Sofia who asks, "Like my Amulet of Avalor?" When the book goes into the pendulum, it turns into a man known as Alacazar, the former Royal Wizard of Avalor. He then proceeds to tell Sofia the story of The Lost Princess of Avalor, which is the tale of Princess Elena. On her fifteenth birthday, she was given the Amulet of Avalor by her mother Queen Lucia. But one fateful day, an evil power-hungry sorceress named Shuriki invaded Avalor. She attacked the King and Queen and set her sights on the palace. As the story goes, Elena chose to face Shuriki on her own. When Shuriki tried to strike her down, the Amulet saved Elena's life by pulling her inside it. Alacazar found the Amulet and discovered that the only way to free Elena was to find a special Princess to set her free. For years, Alacazar searched for this Princess until he grew too old to continue. He then used the last of his magic to turn himself into the book he transformed from. Alacazar also explains that over the years the Amulet has tested many princesses before her and up till now the Amulet has only chosen Sofia to set Elena free, and the daydreams she has been having were Elena telling her the time has come to set her free. In order to free Elena, Sofia must go to Avalor and summon his chanul. Alacazar also warns Sofia to be careful as Shuriki is as powerful and as evil as ever. Sofia goes to her family and convinces them they should spend their vacation in the Kingdom of Avalor. The Royal Family of Enchancia then sets sail for Avalor.

The Royal Family arrive on the Royal Galleon under the command of Admiral Vasquez. When Sofia sees Avalor City, she wonders how she is going to find Alacazar's house in such a huge city. However, Sofia is horrified to learn that they are going to meet Shuriki first since Roland sent a message ahead telling her they were coming. It is the custom to greet the King or Queen when visiting a new Kingdom. Meanwhile, Shuriki is using her magic to get ready for their arrival when Chancellor Esteban comes in and informs her they have arrived. The Royal Family is greeted by a cheering crowd, but Sofia notices that the crowd is not actually happy. Shuriki arrives to greet them and Sofia is instantly wary. Sofia notices a flute playing to Shuriki's chagrin. As they get into the coach, Sofia spots Shuriki's guards take the flute from the boy playing it, upsetting him. They arrive at Avalor Palace where Shuriki gives them a tour before taking them out to a feast. Suddenly, the Jaquins arrive and snatch some of the food. Shuriki is about to pull out her wand, but Esteban stops her and leads the group back inside. Sofia's Amulet glows and pulls her toward the Jaquins, which Sofia takes to mean they can help her. Sofia goes up to the Jaquins and asks for their help. The Jaquins refuse stating they do not help friends of Shuriki's. However, after hearing Sofia's plan to help bring Princess Elena back, the Jaquins instantly become delighted to help and fly her to Alacazar's house.

Sofia arrives at Alacazar's house. A woman greets her but proves to be of no help when Sofia tells her why she is here. Suddenly, Alacazar's grandson Mateo walks up and asks Sofia about her magical knowledge and reveals that the woman is his mother. Sofia introduces herself and reveals Alacazar sent her. Mateo realizes that Sofia's Amulet is the Amulet of Avalor and takes her to his workshop. Once there, Mateo reveals that he has been training himself to be a wizard in secret since Shuriki outlawed all magic other than her own when she took over. He also reveals that a chanul is a spirit animal that acts as a guide to all the magical things in the world and that it was Alacazar's chanul who revealed to him of Elena's imprisonment in the Amulet and how to get her out. Mateo summons Alacazar's chanul Zuzo who tells Sofia what she has to do to free Elena from the Amulet: She has to get Shuriki's wand. Once she gets it, she must journey to the mountains where she must wrap the amulet around the wand and put them both on the Crown of Aziluna, a statue of a Maruvian healer known as Aziluna who could undo any spell or curse. After Zuzo vanishes, Sofia does not know how she is going to get Shuriki's wand until Mateo accidentally gives her an idea: To dance with her. At Avalor Palace, Armando is entertaining the Royal Twins while Shuriki's conversation with Roland and Miranda is having her contemplating invading Enchancia. Sofia comes in and convinces Shuriki to dance the sambarossa with her. After Armando has shown them how, everyone dances the sambarossa. During the dance, Sofia pretends to trip and steps on Shuriki's shoes. While Shuriki is recoiling from the pain, Sofia steals Shuriki's wand from her. After pocketing the wand, Sofia convinces Shuriki to let her and her siblings play hide and seek with Armando while she and her parents resume their discussions. When Armando starts counting, Sofia pulls her brother and sister away with her. Amber realizes that Sofia is up to something and asks her about it. Sofia promises her and James that she will explain everything later and right now needs them to stay hidden for as long as possible. James instantly agrees but Amber demands to know why Sofia will not tell them, only for her to say it is for their own good. Sofia heads back to Mateo and the Jaquins with the wand. Both are impressed with her for pulling it off and the group then flies off to free Elena.

The group arrives at the Maruvian Temple where the Crown of Aziluna is, and go inside to find a magical lake. For the magic to work, Sofia needs to swim across the enchanted waters. So Sofia turns herself into a mermaid and dives into the lake. Once underwater, she finds the Crown of Aziluna and does as Zuzo instructed. This causes a island with a statue on it to rise out of the water. Once it surfaces, Sofia slides down to the face of the statue. Suddenly, Sofia's Amulet glows pink and descends. Once it hits the ground, a person appears in a flash of pink light. The Amulet returns itself to Sofia now pink. The person is revealed to be Princess Elena, who is finally free. Elena hugs Sofia and greets the Jaquins and Mateo. She then voices her intention to free Avalor from Shuriki. Upon leaving the temple, Elena tells the group of her plan: She is going to use Shuriki's wand against her. Sofia and Mateo want to help, but she refuses and flies back to face Shuriki alone with Sofia and Mateo going after her anyway.

Armando is still playing hide and seek with Amber and James when Elena lands in the castle. Skylar wants to help, but Elena tells him she has to do this alone. Elena confronts Shuriki in the throne room and tells Shuriki it is time to pay for her crimes, to Shuriki's horror. When Roland asks "What crimes?" Elena brings up how Shuriki invaded Avalor and seized the throne from the Royal Family of Avalor, her family. Proving that Elena is telling the truth, Shuriki has the royal guards restrain Roland and Miranda. Shuriki tries to pull out her wand only to find out that Elena has it, which makes her deduce that Sofia took it. Miranda is shocked to learn of her daughter's involvement, which Elena confirms by telling everyone that Sofia is the one who freed her. She then tries to blast Shuriki, but only succeeds in blasting aside a tapestry that reveals a painting of Elena's little sister and grandparents. Shuriki reveals that was how Alacazar protected them: By placing them inside an Enchanted Painting even her magic cannot touch. She also reveals that Esteban is Elena's cousin, and then takes back her wand before ordering her guards to seize Elena. However, Skylar flies in and helps Elena escape. Shuriki orders her guards to capture Sofia and Elena. Roland angrily shouts at Shuriki to leave Sofia alone, prompting Shuriki to order her guards to lock Sofia's family in the dungeon. Elena meets up with Sofia and tells her that Shuriki has her family. Together, they fly back to Mateo's house.

When they arrive back at Mateo's house, Mateo's mother Rafa comes out and reveals the spell that can free Elena's family. Citizens of Avalor also come over and, at Sofia's urging, Elena agrees to let them help. Sofia and Elena fly to a secret entrance to the palace and sneak into the dungeon. Once inside, they meet Armando, who agrees to help. While Armando distracts the guard, Sofia sneaks past him using her shrinking ability. Sofia finds her family and lets them out. After locking up the guard, Elena explains everything to Sofia's family, asking them not to be angry at her for her heroics in helping Elena take her kingdom back from Shuriki. The group then sets off to execute Elena's plan. Meanwhile, Shuriki demands that Esteban produce the results she desires. Esteban protests that when he helped her invade Avalor she promised no one in his family would get hurt to which Shuriki retorts that she also promised him power which she granted after appointing him Chancellor. Shuriki tells him to be grateful she kept one of her promises or he will end up like his aunt and uncle, Raul and Lucia. Suddenly, Luna flies in and attacks Shuriki, who chases after her. Once Shuriki is gone, Mateo sneaks in and, using the spell his mother gave him, frees Elena's family from the painting. The entire group then flies off to execute the next part of the plan: Rallying the Citizens of Avalor against Shuriki. United, the Avalorians and the Enchancians all march on the castle together and overwhelm the guards, who lock the gate. Sofia and Elena fly in and open the gates, through which the Avalorians march through. With her royal guards having lost their nerve and fled, Shuriki tries to intimidate the crowd by darkening the sky, showing she still has her magic to stop them. Shuriki raises her wand to blast Elena, but Esteban, who has had enough, grabs Shuriki's wand and tosses it to Elena, who destroys it. With her wand gone, Shuriki's powers are destroyed and she ages into an old woman. Horribly weakened, Shuriki hops down a waterfall and swims away. Sofia offers the amulet back to Elena only to be told that she can keep it. Elena then assumes the throne of Avalor, to the joy of the Avalorians.

Back in the Secret Library, Sofia and Alacazar both review the story Sofia finished. She has given Elena's story a great ending which has also given her story a great beginning. After Alacazar vanishes, Sofia's dress undergoes a transformation and she leaves the Secret Library. Back in the present, Elena and Naomi both decide to lock Shuriki's wand away in the treasury forever.

Cast

 * Ariel Winter as Princess Sofia
 * Aimee Carrero as Princess Elena
 * Jane Fonda as Shuriki
 * Sara Ramirez as Queen Miranda
 * Darcy Rose Byrnes as Princess Amber
 * Tyler Merna as Prince James
 * Travis Willingham as King Roland II
 * Barbara Dirickson as Flora
 * Chris Parnell as Migs
 * Yvette Nicole Brown as Luna
 * Carlos Alazraqui as Skylar
 * Jenna Ortega as Princess Isabel
 * Emiliano Díez as Francisco
 * Julia Vera as Luisa
 * Christian Lanz as Chancellor Esteban
 * Jillian Rose Reed as Naomi Turner
 * Joseph Haro as Mateo
 * Keith Ferguson as Zuzo
 * André Sogliuzzo as Alacazar
 * Joe Nunez as Armando
 * Ana Ortiz as Rafa
 * Fritz Sperberg as Panicked Guard

Reception
The movie has been nominated for Outstanding Animated Program on 69th Emmy Awards (2017).

Songs

 * The Great Unknown
 * Our Mighty Jaquin Cry
 * The Spirit of Avalor
 * My Time

Home Video Release

 * Elena and the Secret of Avalor

Trivia

 * This is the fourth TV Special movie in the Sofia the First series, following Once Upon a Princess, The Floating Palace and The Curse of Princess Ivy. It is also the second to be a stand alone movie due to the fact it is a crossover between Sofia the First and Elena of Avalor.
 * It is the fourth installment of the Secret Library Story Arc, following "The Secret Library", "The Secret Library: Olaf and the Tale of Miss Nettle", and "The Tale of the Noble Knight".
 * This special has its plot before all Sofia the First episodes from "The Tale of the Noble Knight" to "Royal Vacation" and the entire Elena of Avalor series.
 * Sofia's Amulet changes color from purple to ruby pink after Sofia frees Princess Elena. Due to this, this is the last time Sofia's amulet is shown in purple.
 * Sofia's family learns the truth of Sofia's Amulet in this special.
 * This marks the second time Amber learns the truth of the amulet, the first being The Curse of Princess Ivy.
 * This special is the prequel to Elena of Avalor and the first TV Special movie in the series.
 * Sofia gets a newly designed signature dress.
 * "My Time" was released as a single to promote Elena of Avalor, long before the special premiered.
 * Sofia uses her ability to turn into a mermaid for the third time in this special.
 * This is also the first time that one of Sofia's abilities remains working without the amulet.
 * Sofia uses her shrinking ability for the fifth time in this episode.
 * This is the fifth time Amber's hair gets messed up
 * The special was originally planned to premiere on July 22, 2016 but for some reason was rescheduled.
 * This is the first special where Cedric and Baileywick do not appear. This is also the first special where none of Sofia's animal friends appear.
 * This is the first special where the Amulet doesn't summon a Princess to help.
 * This is the last time Tyler Merna voices Prince James.
 * This the first time Mateo summons a chanul. According to himself.
 * Moral: You don't always have to face a problem alone.

Goofs

 * Amber is not on board the purple jaquin with Sofia during My Time reprise beginning, and appears seconds later.

International Premieres

 * November 20, 2016 (Canada)
 * December 3, 2016 (United Kingdom)
 * December 9, 2016 (Spain)
 * December 10, 2016 (Portugal)
 * March 18, 2017 (Brazil, Disney Channel Latinoamérica, Japan)