Dora and the Lost City of Gold (2019)

Directed by: James Bobin | 102 minutes | adventure, family | Actors: Isabele Moner, Jeff Wahlberg, Madeline Madden, Nicholas Coombe, Eugenio Derbez, Eva Longoria, Michael Peña, Isela Vega, Christopher Kirby, Natasa Ristic, Temuera Morrison, Christopher Rawlins, Q’orianka Kilcher | Original voice cast: Benicio Del Toro, Danny Trejo, Dee Bradley Baker, Sasha Toro, Marc Weiner,

Tutudutudu Dora, tutudutudu Dora! Admittedly, there are many children’s programs whose music will drive you crazy as a watching or accidentally listening parent, but Dora the Explorer’s tune is definitely in the top ten. Nevertheless, the cartoon series “Dora the Explorer” was extremely popular among toddlers and preschoolers between 2003 and 2013. In the Netherlands it was for many children the first acquaintance with words in the English language (although you may wonder what has stuck with them). In the US, the children learned Spanish words. In addition to the educational benefits, the adventures appealed to the imagination, because the merchandise was impossible to get hold of. Despite that success, the initial response to the announcement of a Dora the Explorer live action movie was met with skepticism. How was this supposed to work?

Fortunately, the makers have embraced that mistrust. In fact, they gave it a really nice twist. ‘Dora and the Lost City of Gold’ opens with a scene in which six-year-old Dora is ‘exploring’ outside with her nephew Diego (“Go, Diego, Go!” was a spin-off series of “Dora the Explorer”). Her parents (Eva Longoria and Michael Peña) call in the imaginative duo and it turns out that this is the last time Diego and Dora will be together for a while. Diego leaves for the big city and leaves his niece sad. The references to the series are endless. Dora breaks through – just like she did in the series – the fourth wall and asks the viewer if they can repeat after her. Her parents look surprised at who Dora is talking to and daddy Cole sighs hopefully: “She will grow out of it.”.

We skip ten years and see Dora (now played by Isabelle Moner) filming herself with a GoPro running through the jungle. Unfortunately for father dear, it turns out that she has not forgotten talking in a vacuum. “This is a golden poison tree frog! Can YOU say ‘extreme neurotoxicity’?” Then the makers leave the funny references to the series for what it is and we dive into the city and especially high school life together with the lead actress, because Dora is sent by her parents to the big city to live with her nephew . They are now finally going in search of the lost city of Parapata. After all those years of being taught by her parents/professors, Dora is definitely not stupid, but she is socially handicapped. Before long, nephew Diego (Jeff Wahlberg) is ashamed of her behavior. However, Dora sticks to the mantra her mother gave her before they went on an expedition: “Just be yourself and everything will be fine.”

That advice doesn’t help much at first, because during a school trip to a museum, Dora, along with Diego, nerd Randy (Nicholas Coombe) and the catty but ambitious Sammy (Madeleine Madden) are kidnapped by a couple of treasure hunters who have evil intentions with her. parents. They end up in the jungle, where Dora feels comfortable, but her classmates want nothing more than to leave. The mission is to find Dora’s parents before the kidnappers do. With the help of a friend of her parents, Alejandro (Eugenio Derbez), this will of course work.

‘Dora and the Lost City of Gold’ skilfully navigates between parody, comedy and adventure film. The film is nowhere hilarious, but a few smiles can certainly be taken off. Expect a lot of slapstick (it has a scene about having to empty your bowels in the jungle) and quicksand won’t get you clean either. It’s as if the film is specifically targeting the kids who followed the series at the time. Director James Bobin provides the whole with enough momentum and just enough character development and amusing jungle puzzles to remain entertaining. Isabelle Moner is a sparkling lead actress. Her energetic and funny portrayal lifts the film. It’s a nicely written character anyway, Dora is definitely not a typical teenager. In addition, the film benefits from the collaboration of Danny Trejo as Boots and Benicio Del Toro as Swiper/Zwieber. They are small rolls, but they are the icing on the cake. Of course Boots and Zwieber are mainly woven into the story as a tribute to the source material, but what is Dora without Boots and Zwieber? Halfway through the film there is another scene that should not go unmentioned: Dora, her classmates and Alejandro end up in a field for flowers with special powers and what happens then… you will have to watch the film yourself for that. But trust us it’s worth it.