Surprisingly enough, for a movie like this, there are a few examples:
- Everything involving Pacha and his family.
- When Yzma and Kronk visit Pacha's family, Kronk genuinely bonds with Pacha's kids over jump rope. Unlike Yzma, Kronk shows no animosity towards Pacha's family, even when they lock him and Yzma in a closet.
- When Kronk is leaving Pacha's home, Kronk leaves on good terms and seems to genuinely forget the fact that he isn't related to Pacha's family — saying "Let's not wait 'till the next family reunion to get together." In turn, Chicha and the kids actually like Kronk, as opposed to Yzma, who they take great pleasure in subjecting to slapstick.
- During the end credits, Kronk is running his own Squirrel Scouts troop which includes members of Pacha's family.
- In the sequel, when Pacha and his family come by to the diner where Kronk works, they greet him warmly and treat him as a dear friend.
- Kronk deciding not to go through with killing Llama!Kuzco twice. He even saves his life the first time and again at the climax (albeit unintentionally).
- Kronk enjoying his time in the restaurant as the new chef. Instead of begrudgingly going along with it because he accidentally caused the chef to Rage Quit, he puts a lot of care into his dishes and gets them out in a timely manner. It’s also worth mentioning that Kronk starts working there full-time in the sequel, when it's revealed that he's actually loved cooking since he was a boy.
- Pacha lending Kuzco his poncho when he starts shivering from the cold.
- Kuzco accidentally (or not) saving Pacha from falling off a cliff. He may say, "Don't read too much into it", but the viewers and Pacha know better.
- The moment Kuzco finds Pacha again after learning the truth about Yzma's plot to kill him. Just when Kuzco has resigned himself to being a llama permanently, he accidentally stumbles upon Pacha, who's telling his llamas the story of how Kuzco saved his life earlier. Despite what Kuzco wanted to do to him, Pacha doesn’t think he’s a bad person, just someone confused about his direction in life. To his surprise, the latter doesn't chew him out or say, "I told you so", but simply smiles, politely waves off the attempts from Kuzco saying sorry that he didn't require, and asks, "So, you tired of being a llama?"
Kuzco: (bawling) "YEH-HEH-HEH-HESS!!" *sniff*
- A small-but-significant moment as Pacha and Kuzco are racing back to the palace: Kuzco expresses concern for Chicha and the kids and questions Pacha if he really thinks it was a good idea to leave them behind with Kronk and Yzma.
- As they're leaving Pacha's house with the supplies they need, Kuzco takes a moment to compliment Chicha's beauty. This coming from a guy who rudely dismissed an entire line-up of potential brides for not being pretty enough for his standards, it means either Kuzco has developed enough to acknowledge the merits of other people, or he thinks Chicha is just that beautiful. Granted, he does so in a daze after she smacked him in the face, but it’s the thought that counts.
- Yzma gets a small Pet the Dog moment when she allows the distraught mook who has been turned into a cow to go home early.
- Not only that, she asks if anyone else needs to, and all of them say "No, we're good", then she orders a second attack.
- Depending on the viewer's point of view, despite that Kronk said earlier that no one seemed to care that Kuzco was gone, when Yzma tells the palace guards that the llama (who's really Kuzco in his unrecognizable llama form, and they don't recognize him) and Pacha killed the emperor, they are ordered to kill them. Yeah, the palace guards are following orders, but they do seem to get genuinely angry with the pair. And during the final chase, the palace guards still seem genuinely angry at them, all while trying to kill them. That could mean that the palace guards really did care for Kuzco after all? Their facial expressions could imply that the attempts to kill Kuzco and Pacha are not Just Following Orders but also personal.
- When Yzma furiously insults Kronk's spinach puffs and Kronk begins to tear up, we see his shoulder angel give him a small pat on the cheek.
- During the climax, the scene in which Kuzco saves Pacha from falling to his death in the canyon gets an even more heartwarming echo. Pacha is about to lose his hold on the stonework, but the potion that can turn Kuzco human again is also about to fall. Despite his conflictedness, he chooses to save Pacha (for real) rather than get the vial. That is true Character Development right there, people.
- Watch Kuzco making amends to the old man who he had thrown out the window at the beginning of the film.
Old Man: Oh now you stop being so hard on yourself. All is forgiven.
Kuzco: You're sure?
Kuzco: Whoa-ho-ho, tiger. Oh, hey! I gotta use that arm later. Okay buddy, take care. (Chuckling to himself after the man leaves) Heh, he's a sweet guy.
- At the beginning of the movie, Kuzco does not allow anyone to touch him, even in a friendly manner. It demonstrates how much he's changed that he lets the old man (Rudy, according to the sequel) play-hit him.
- Kuzco taking Pacha up on his suggestion to build his summer home next door to Pacha's house.
Kuzco: So, you... lied to me.
Pacha: I did?
Kuzco: Yeah, you said when the sun hits this ridge just right, these hills sing. Well, pal, I was dragged all over those hills and I did not hear any singing. So, I'll be building my summer home on a more
magical hill,
thank you.
Pacha: Heh. Couldn't pull the wool over your eyes huh?
Kuzco: No, no, I'm sharp, I'm on it. Looks like you and your family are stuck on the tuneless hilltop forever, pal.
Pacha: ...You know, I think I heard some singing on the hill next to us. *
Beat* In case you're interested.
- What sells it is that Kuzco, being...well, Kuzco, can't just come out and apologize. He's doing it, but he's doing it in his own way, just to remind us that this is still the same guy who once was about to destroy a man's (now his best friend's) village. Oh, and his summer home? Just a simple hut. The only trace of "Kuzcotopia" at all is the building's model turned into a fancy birdbath.
- The final scene of the film, showing the new bond between Kuzco, Pacha, and Pacha's family:
- Pacha decides to try out Kuzco's way of making an entrance when they're about to go down a pair of water slides (presumably ones Kuzco had built after deciding to construct his summer house nearby).
- When Kuzco comes out of the water, Chicha presents him with a homemade poncho of his own. He looks like he has tears in his eyes when he receives it, as if it's the first time he's even gotten a heartfelt gift like that.
- Followed by Kuzco getting hugs from her, Pacha, and the kids, showing that he is pretty much considered one of the family now.
