Movie Review: ‘Dora And The Lost City Of Gold’ Blu-ray

Review by Monique Thompson

STARRING: ISABELA MONER, EVA LONGORIA, JEFF WAHLBERG, MICHAEL PENA, DANNY TREJO

Having spent most of her life exploring the jungle, nothing could prepare Dora for her most dangerous adventure yet — high school. Accompanied by a ragtag group of teens and Boots the monkey, Dora embarks on a quest to save her parents while trying to solve the seemingly impossible mystery behind a lost Incan civilization.

I must admit, I may (or may not) have garnered mixed feelings about the mere thought of a live-action adaptation of Nick Jr’s Dora The Explorer. Especially after seeing the poster and trailer for the film and realizing this live-action Dora looks nothing like TV Dora. *le sigh* As I do most films, the question of “is this even necessary” ran through my mind each time I saw the trailer but let’s face it, live-action Dora is here and honestly, wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.

Initially, I immediately thought of Lindsey Lohan when she played in Mean Girls. Dora has spent her childhood being home-schooled while she’s explored the jungle in South America with her parents. When her parents decide to send her to Southern Cal to attend a public high school while they embark on a new mission. In Cali, Dora reconnects with her best friend Diego who’s already accustomed to the culture in the new country. Dora, Diego, and a couple other classmates get kidnapped by a group of mercenaries who are after Dora’s parents. After escaping, the teens must figure out a way to get to her parents before the mercenaries do.

As an adventure film, Dora is decent but not a major hit such as Jumanji or even Goosebumps. Quite frankly, it just doesn’t pack the power. There’s just not really much you can do with a character that’s technically created to engage toddlers. The grade school audience and tweens will likely more relate to this live-action adaptation but this Dora isn’t the same as the “Swiper no swiping” Dora.