“ | This is true! | „ |
~ Esteban's catchphrase. |
“ | It does not matter anymore, all you need to know is: I am ready to put the past behind me, let us train. Shall we? | „ |
~ Esteban turning evil. |
“ | I- I had no choice, Elena. | „ |
~ Esteban, Elena and the Secret of Avalor. |
Chancellor Esteban is the overarching protagonist in the Disney Junior TV series Elena of Avalor. He's the former Chancellor of Avalor and the older cousin of Princess Elena, Princess Isabel and Duke Cristóbal.
He was voiced by Christian Lanz, who also voiced Fishface in the 2012 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series.
Appearance[]
Esteban has short slicked black hair that is slightly graying around his temples with wavy side bangs that fall just above his ear. He also has brown eyes and tan skin. Although he appears to be in his 30s, he is actually in his 50s.
Personality[]
As Chancellor of Avalor, Esteban is very knowledgeable of the Kingdom of Avalor and, as he himself boasts, knows "anyone who's anyone in Avalor". He is also a firm adherent to etiquette, behaving rather snotty, prideful and uptight.
Esteban believes Elena is too young to bear the responsibilities that come with ruling a kingdom and disapproves of her personal approach to leadership to the point where he constantly seeks to undermine her and become viewed amongst the citizens as "the true power behind the throne". He dislikes being reminded that she is the one in charge, which ties into his overall intolerance of being told what to do by others. However, as the series progresses, he starts to warm up to his cousin and eventually stops trying to one-up her. And despite his differences with Elena, he does care about her enough to want to keep her safe and values his family quite enough. In fact, in "Island of Youth", he chooses to save Elena's life rather than retrieve his canteen to keep himself young.
When at long last the truth Esteban had tried so hard to hide is made known to Elena and the rest of the family, Esteban is remorseful and though he explains his motives for helping Shuriki, he excuses them by how he felt like an outsider in his own family, as though he were invisible and that Shuriki had taken advantage of his anger and youthful naiveté and a false promise that no one was supposed to get hurt. Esteban expects to be easily forgiven and is therefore shocked that his family (except for his grandfather Francisco) instead disowns him and vote to have him exiled to Soledad Island. While he acknowledges his misdeeds, he refuses to answer for them, choosing to escape the dungeon before his sentence is carried out with the help of the Delgados. He leaves with Ash after she turns Victor to stone and Carla refuses to go with her out of fear and having no other options.
Despite siding with Ash and being disowned by his family, Esteban displays there is still good inside him. He hesitated in helping the Delgados when he saw the Royal Family portrait and although he helps Ash, he would not allow her to hurt Elena, showing he still cares for and loves his family. Esteban even attempted to reason with Elena, revealing he never wanted their family to get hurt, but she refused to listen, believing his words to be nothing but lies.
Esteban was also unhappy and reluctant after gaining his newfound magical powers and did not want to hurt anyone. However, when Elena used her magic and transported him back to Avalor to confront her unresolved feelings, she officially disowned Esteban as family, causing him to officially turn to the side of evil and embrace his magic. But despite his newfound villainous ways, Esteban continues to show he cares for Elena and others as he continues to prevent Ash from hurting Elena and was worried for Alacazar when he was injured in battle. Yet when Chatana's pet Pili refers to him as possibly being more evil than Ash, he agrees with a smirk, implying that he has since then fully embraced his villainy.
However, when confronted by his grandmother about his actions, he reveals he does not see himself as a villain. In the end, he came to realize that power wasn't what he wanted if people were going to hate and fear him. After seeing Elena in danger of being petrified, he was willing to give his life for her. She finally forgives him, and he vows to spend the rest of his life making up for what he did.
Trivia[]
- Esteban is technically Elena's Regent, as he helped keep Avalor intact during her absence, and serves as Elena's mentor in leadership before she takes the throne.
- According to "Island of Youth", Esteban was a picky eater when he was younger and would only eat his food if his grandparents pretended the spoon was a jaquin flying around.
- It is also revealed in "Island of Youth" that Esteban feels he was never able to pursue his own passions because he was always being told what to do and still is.
- He and Duke Cristóbal are the only Royal Family members to have lived through Shuriki's reign.
- Esteban has a rivalry with Doña Paloma, who later serves as his replacement on the Grand Council.
- His name is "Steven" in English.
- Esteban has the same sash as his aunt Lucia, meaning that he possibly wears his aunt's sash out of remembrance.
See also[]
[]
/ Villains | ||
Television |