Dora and the Lost City of Gold

Dora the Explorer is a kids show that has been an important stepping stone for representation in kids animation. It features a Latina lead character who teaches children from all over how to speak Spanish. It’s an important show for sure, but it’s hardly something to make a movie out of, at least at first glance. It’s got a little girl whose best friends are a monkey with red boots and a talking map and backpack as they solve simple puzzles while evading a conniving fox named Swiper who finds enjoyment in taking their stuff. As someone who grew up watching the series with a passion, I was skeptical of what Dora and the Lost City of Gold can do with the admittedly unconventional material.

Never did I expect it to be as delightful, sweet, and fun as it was. It manages to embrace many of the wacky and bizarre elements and tropes of the series while also blending it with a sense of maturity, much like what our titular heroine experiences throughout the story. It stays true to the spirit and energy of the series and its characters while making way for an adventure of its own making, and Isabela Moner beautifully centers herself as the heart and soul of that adventure. Sure it’s silly at times and often abandons logic and reason altogether. It’s still a wildly entertaining, endearing, and utterly joyous adventure, whether you’re a child or the parent of the child.

Having grown up in the jungle since she was a child, Dora (Isabela Moner), now a teenager, is told by her parents (Michael Peña and Eva Longoria) that she must attend her most harrowing adventure yet– high school. There, she is to stay with her grandmother along with her cousin Diego (Jeff Wahlberg). But her spunky personality and naivete of everything modern don’t exactly make her, and Diego, all that popular. To make matters worse, Dora, along with Diego and fellow students Sammy (Madeleine Madden) and Randy (Nicholas Coombe), are kidnapped and taken to the jungle, where Dora’s parents have since gone missing in search of the lost city of gold, Parapata. With the aid of the eccentric Alejandro (Eugenio Derbez), Dora and her friends must trek across the jungle if they are to save her parents and protect the lost city from mercenaries out to get them.

Acting as an Indiana Jones for kids, Dora and the Lost City of Gold stays true to the spirit and overwhelming optimism of the series it’s based on while also making enough room to create an exciting adventure on its own. The high school setting plays perfectly into the wacky tropes and antics of Dora, while the jungle makes for a rousing journey filled with heart, adventure, and positivity. But through both settings, the film successfully imbues its own meta humor towards the series, and much of the comedy stems from the odd and confusing nature of the show.

For instance, in the film, Dora likes to make everything into a song, much to the chagrin and annoyance of everyone around her. While there aren’t any musical numbers or mosh pits, except during the credits (because why not?), her just casually making any situation into a nursery rhyme makes for some of the best comedic moments, and there are plenty of other moments that fans of the series will get a crack out of, whether it’s a wink or a nod to their childhood.

While it sustains its own adventure and its own story, the film can’t help but slip into the crack of the series, where much of its zany essence and quirky tropes come to fruition. You’ll some familiar faces, hear some familiar beats, and recognize plenty of easter eggs. But the film embraces these qualities with pride, with its head held high as it stands proud of its silliness and goofy components. You have a talking fox, voiced by Benicio Del Toro, who wears a bandit’s mask and likes to steal stuff, a backpack that can hold practically anything, and a lot more. But all of it is done in the name of understanding its material and having fun with it.

It’s therefore easy to see that there are plenty of leaps in logic and reason as well as a few plot holes and a story even Dora the cartoon character can see coming from a mile away. But with the case of this movie, the fun and enjoyment lies in the journey rather than the destination, and that’s what’s important. It manages to walk a fine line between nostalgic callbacks and a heartwarming tale about being yourself and staying true to who you are, no matter where you live.

But the film would never be as good as it is nor would any of its humor and sentimentality if not for Isabela Moner’s endearing and powerfully tender performance. Expressing much of the naivete and innocence as in many other fish out of water tales, Moner captures the childlike wonderment and optimistic spirit that embody Dora the Explorer. Even as Dora the character matures in the film, Moner successfully retains the fun and joy that was ever present in the show. Her adorably naïve high jinks in school make her the official class weirdo, and inevitably the laughing stock of the entire school, but she retains a great big smile and a cheerful persona through and through, never losing sight of making the best out of every situation.

Her innocence and sincerity just make you want to be her friend. You don’t just want to root for her. You want to smile when she smiles, say hola when she says hola, dance with her when she dances, sing along when she sings, or hug her when she feels sad. But underneath all that gullibility is a brave, smart, and adventurous young woman who is prepared for anything and will confront anything she deems wrong and unfair. In a smaller but nonetheless great piece of writing, the writers let us the audience know she’s not blind to her humiliations. At one point, when Diego confronts Dora about everyone laughing AT her, Dora responds that she’s well aware of them laughing, but insists that she must continue being herself nonetheless. Her conviction to stay true to herself and where she came from, as well as her compassion, courage, and adventurous spirit makes her a perfect young heroine for many children to look up to.

Overall, Dora and the Lost City of Gold is an adventurous expedition fueled by a bright and sunny performance by Isabela Moner at its core. At times it acts a lot like the cartoon, maybe a little too much. But it’s an experience that’ll satisfy long-time Dora The Explorer fans (such as myself) as well as entertain younger audiences and give them a young leading woman to look up to. Whenever the film grinds to a halt or suffers from its writing, no worries, because Dora will be there to lead to way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksj69JaBrAo&t=13s&t=1s&w=585