Soundtrack Review: Elena of Avalor

Last July when Elena of Avalor debuted on Disney Channel, Walt Disney Records put out a seven track EP with some songs from the first few episodes. Now fans can dive deeper into the music of Avalor with the expanded full soundtrack, recently extended to twenty three tracks. All of your favorite songs from the show are here, along with some new ones that have yet to debut on the show.

With Latin musical influences, kids will be exposed to a wide array of musical styles while listening to this album. Tracks leap from Mariachi to Latin Pop to Salsa, Banda, and Chilean Hip Hop. This makes it one of the most lively and interesting soundtracks ever for a Disney Channel product.

The most heavily promoted songs from the series makeup the first three tracks. The show’s catchy theme song bookends the album, with the English version as track 1 and the Spanish version as track 23. Next is “My Time” and “Ready to Rule,” both of which have been used to promote the series on TV and in Disney Parks.

My personal favorite track is “The Magic Within You,” which is an inspiring ballad that feels like it could have come from any of Disney’s princesses. Another song that feels like it fits into the Disney Princess wheelhouse is “Avaloran Lullaby,” a sweet love song to Elena’s kingdom. And a song from the TV movie event, Elena and the Secret of Avalor, is also included (“The Spirit of Avalor”).

Not all of the songs are sung by Elena. One of the album’s highlights is “Someone Special,” sung by Elena’s friend Naomi. Fans of Disney’s Broadway version of The Little Mermaid or Netflix’s Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt will recognize Titus Burgess’ unmistakable voice on “Blow My Top.” Eden Espinosa (Disneyland’s Magical) also appears as Orizaba on “The Gift of Night.”

Brand new songs that have yet to debut on the series make an early appearance here. “Steppin’ Up” is an uplifting rock anthem that’s one of the best tracks on this release. “Play It Your Way” has a Beach Boys feel to the verses, but gets back to the Latin roots on the chorus. Other unheard tracks include “The Bros are Back,” “Something I Would Never Do,” “Home For Good,” “Fix Anything,” and “Our Mighty Jaquin Cry.”

The first Original Soundtrack of Elena of Avalor features almost every song that has appeared in the series so far, plus seven songs that will be featured in forthcoming episodes. It’s an engaging and lively collection of fun songs that kids will love and parents won’t mind having on heavy carpool rotation. At twenty three tracks, it offers nearly an hour of diverse tracks and is a surprise at every track change.

Alex Reif
Alex joined the Laughing Place team in 2014 and has been a lifelong Disney fan. His main beats for LP are Disney-branded movies, TV shows, books, music and toys. He recently became a member of the Television Critics Association (TCA).