Following the footsteps of Indiana Jones and Lara Croft, a young explorer steps into their treasure-hunting, temple-exploring shoes. A favorite among the kids and a borderline nuisance when you have it playing at your house non-stop, Dora the Explorer gets a live-action adaption.
While the thought of being stuck in a theatre with an animated girl asking you to locate things hidden in plain view doesn’t necessarily sound appealing, Dora and the Lost City of Gold is aware of its ridiculousness, which makes it enjoyable.
1. Quick Review
Dora and the Lost City of Gold is buoyed by sincere performances and a cast that seems to be in on the joke of a franchise featuring a Talking Bag & Map, and a bandit-mask wearing Fox.
The cast helps it along with dedicated performances, and although the script isn’t great, it gets the movie over the line. The film tries to appeal to both kids and adults alike, and director James Bobin succeeds in producing a fun movie for the whole family.
2. Info & Watch Links
Dora and the Lost City of Gold
Air Date: August 9, 2019 Status: Airing Studio: Paramount Pictures
3. Is It Worth Watching?
The animated series Dora the Explorer ran for six years on Nick Jr., and its reruns still find a way into many households. The live-action adaptation makes the movie watchable, and some of the jokes manage to get a chuckle out of you. Although the script isn’t particularly great, it tries to appeal to both kids and adults.
I. Plot
We first meet a six-year-old Dora, who has grown up deep inside the Peruvian jungle, where her parents live, explore, and home-school her. Her mother is a zoologist, and her father is an archaeologist. Dora’s cousin, Diego, and his family decided to leave for Los Angeles.
At the same time, Dora and her parents stayed in the jungle, searching for the lost treasure of the Golden Inca City, Parapata.
When Dora is 16, she leaves her parents to go to high-school with Diego. New to the urban environment, Dora has a hard time letting go of her childishness and adapting to the school’s environment. This causes a rift between her and Diego, who is embarrassed by her presence.
On a field trip to a museum, Dora, Diego, and her classmates are kidnapped by mercenaries and taken back to Peru. A man named Alejandro, who claims to be a friend of Dora’s parents, helps them escape. During that time, Swiper, the wicked fox, steals Dora’s map for the mercenaries.
Alejandro tells Dora that her parents are missing, and the mercenaries hope that Dora can find them and, in the process, lead the greedy men to the hidden treasure of Parapata.
Dora and her friends must navigate the dangers of the forest and face many obstacles in searching for her parents. While tackling these natural and artificial dangers, friendships are forged, and relationships mended.
II. Cast & Characters
Isabela Moner displays excellent maturity in her role as Dora. Her performance is a balancing act that has to resemble the cartoon without appearing ridiculous or a parody of the source material. As expected, she is enthusiastic and full of solutions to puzzles and problems as she optimistically leads the group.
She captures the naïve and innocent nature of Dora and mixes it with the spunky teenager attitude. Talented veterans Michael Pena and Eva Longoria, play Dora’s parents and bring a level of mature adult humor to the screen. Their roles are cut short, and you wish that the excellent actors had more time on-screen to help the script.
III. Visuals
The movie is brought to life with bright color palettes and CGI that draws inspirations from Indiana Jones movies and Tomb Raider games. The natural elements of the forest such as the caves, marshes and quicksand are animated well.
The characters of the monkey Boots and the stealing fox Swiper are also brought to life by the 3-D animation which helps in not making their presence an eyesore.
4. Grade
Story: B
Cinematography/Animation: B
Acting: B+
Music: B+
Direction: B+
5. Final Thoughts
Dora and the Lost City of Gold is a whimsical movie that doesn’t get on your nerves, like the cartoons. It respects the source material while producing a family-friendly adventure that is entertaining to watch. The film casts a big net to catch a target audience of various age groups and come up victorious.
It is everything you expect from a Dora the Explorer movie but it has a sophisticated touch that makes it worthy of the big screen.
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