Paula Fleri-Soler takes a behind-the-scenes look at Dora and the Lost City of Gold
Dora the Explorer was an animated children’s television series that ran on Nickelodeon TV from the year 2000 for a number of years.
Inspired by popular Nickelodeon shows like Blue’s Clues and Little Bear, which combined entertainment with education, Valerie Walsh and Chris Gifford created the character, a spirited pre-school girl and her animal friends whose adventures encouraged children to try and solve mysteries along with her as she embarks on many quests.
Created at a time when the Hispanic population in the US was increasing, Gifford credits Dora’s long-running success to a combination of engrossing original stories that appealed to kids of every background, and a unique approach to bringing the basics of the Spanish language to pre-schoolers.
Moreover, the programme provided an opportunity to showcase the diversity of Latin cultures, and each episode included cultural elements and some simple Spanish vocabulary. Of course, Dora reached beyond the Hispanic community; over the years she earned a following of devoted fans across all countries, nationalities and ethnicities.
Like many of her fellow animated peers, it was only a matter of time before Dora made her debut on the big screen, this time in live action. Now 16 years old, Dora leads an action-packed expedition through the Amazon jungle to rescue her parents from treacherous treasure hunters while facing her scariest challenge yet – high school.
An idyllic early life spent exploring the rainforest with her zoologist mother Elena and archaeologist father Cole has done nothing to prepare Dora to face her own peers – a bunch of American teenagers. Sent to stay in the city with her abuelita and her cousin Diego, Dora finds herself in a blackboard jungle where her wilderness skills do her little good.
A school field trip to the local natural history museum seems like familiar territory to the intrepid traveller, until she and three friends are abducted by a band of thieves who need her to track down her parents; and to discover what could be the richest archaeological find in history: Parapata, the ancient Lost City of Gold.
Transported to Peru, Dora and her friends are rescued from the bandits by a mysterious jungle inhabitant.
Dora and her simian sidekick Boots lead a trek into the unknown to save her parents and solve the mystery behind a centuries-old lost civilisation.
Director James Bobin says: “After 20 years, Dora has gone beyond being a TV character. She’s a cultural icon with a global appeal.” He notes that its educational elements and clever wordplay have made it a perennial favourite throughout the world.
“The show is very small and simple, and aimed very clearly at young kids,” adds Bobin. “I thought, what a fun idea to take that character, but make it play for everyone, from the people who watched it when they were four and are now 24, to today’s little ones and their parents and grandparents.
“Although Dora and the Lost City of Gold introduces audiences to a 16-year-old Dora, it retains many well-loved aspects of the original series. As a teenager, Dora is still the brave, confident and good-hearted girl she was at six.
“We took the character of Dora as she is in the cartoon, made her 16, and put her in an American high school, where she is definitely a fish out of water. She behaves exactly the same way, often with funny results.”
The same skills that helped her thrive in the wilderness independence, inquisitiveness and honesty – threaten to make her an outcast in the school cafeteria. Her cousin Diego is embarrassed by her lack of social skills, her classmates laugh at her, and the school’s alpha female, Sammy, is annoyed by the competition her intelligence poses.
“Everything is new, but she’s a character who’s not afraid of change,” says producer Kristin Burr. “She embraces it and is excited to experience and understand new things, which is a lesson we can all learn from.”
Dora and the Lost City of Gold stars Isabela Moner as Dora, Eva Longoria as her mother Elena, Michael Peña as her father Cole, Adriana Barraza as Abuelita, Jeff Wahlberg as Diego, and Danny Trejo, who provides the voice to Boots the Monkey.