Dora and the Lost City of Gold Movie Review

Jumanji meets The Last Crusade, for 6 year olds

by Casimir Harlow
Movies & TV Shows Review

3

Dora and the Lost City of Gold Movie Review

Arguably better than anybody could have possibly expected from a live action adaptation of the animated kid's show, Dora is a fun family adventure where the peril never gets greater than a 6 year old can handle.

For 20 years Dora the Explorer - Nickelodeon's 'educational' animated TV series - has entertained generations of children, interacting with audiences using its fourth wall-breaking style, and helping kids to explore different languages and cultures, not least through its Latina protagonist.

In some ways, a live action adaptation was only a natural progression, although there were all kinds of ways it could go wrong, but Dora and the Lost City of Gold largely sidesteps potential pitfalls, embracing the quirky idiosyncrasies of its forebear and channelling its protagonist's wide-eyed exuberance in the direction of an Indiana Jones-lite adventure.

Indiana Jones, Jumanji, and Crocodile Dundee rolled into one, and reworked for pre-teen sensibilities

The daughter of two explorers, Dora is a highly educated 17 year old who hasn't got a clue about normal society, city life and socialising, having spent the majority of her life living in the heart of the Peruvian jungle. So when her parents go on an expedition and she's sent to school, it's a shock to the system, with Dora ridiculed and ostracised as the geeky outcast. Putting a brave face on, it's not long before she has to deal with bigger problems - her parents are missing, and a mysterious group of individuals are searching for them. Dora soon realises that she has to get to them first, but she's finally back in her element - in the jungle - doing what does best: exploring.
Dora and the Lost City of Gold
Dora had a tough opening act, juggling catering to the sensibilities of children and adults - a broad spectrum audience which only really Pixar has cornered, but which surprise entries like Bumblebee and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse have managed to also pull off, albeit pushing the boundaries of their PG rating. Dora is safely within that bracket, at times feeling little over a U in tone and content, but it has the added challenge of not only entertaining a broad target audience but also dealing with both complete newcomers and a range of fans who may have enjoyed the show at any point over the last 20 years.

The somewhat difficult start commendably deals with much of these elements, introducing Dora at age 7, as a girl who randomly speaks Spanish to the camera sometimes (much to the amusement of her parents - who include an on-form Michael Pena) and has a CG monkey friend who likes red boots, and whose adventures with cousin Diego are largely just in their imagination (but do involve a pesky CG fox who swipes stuff).

A decade later and Isabella Moner's 17 year old Dora is still bounding around the jungle, and it's only her fish-out-of-water transplant to the Big City that (nearly) takes the wind out of her sails, reminding of a teen Crocodile Dundee as she passes a backpack full of survival gear through the school metal detector or pulls a "that's not a knife, this is a knife" out when needed. There's plenty of room for gags at school, but it's when we head back to the jungle that the real Indy adventure begins, bringing with it deadly plants, quicksand, and even a hallucinogenic trip back in time, as well as a whole host of traps and puzzles to solve before time runs out.

Dora and the Lost City of Gold sidesteps potential pitfalls, embracing the idiosyncrasies of its forebear and channelling its protagonist's exuberance in the direction of an Indiana Jones-lite adventure

Moner carries the show, and it's amazing that - after Michael Bay managed to sexualise her 15 year-old self back in Transformers: The Last Knight (the last in a long line of underdressed female protagonists including a 21 year old Megan Fox, and then a 19 year old Nicola Peltz) - they managed to de-sexualise her even now she's 18, and turn this into a surprisingly wholesome family-friendly outing that fits the gap for kids who a ready for a little more than Pixar's (admittedly excellent) animated fare, but aren't quite ready for Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, or Marvel, at least not at the Big Screen.

It really is Indiana Jones (particularly The Last Crusade), Jumanji (particularly the reboot/sequel), and Crocodile Dundee rolled into one, and reworked for pre-teen sensibilities, and whilst diluting these classics down to this makes for a distinctly light watch for adults (you need to drop at least a point off the score if flying solo), it's a nice introduction to stronger stuff for kids, and far, far better than you could possibly expect from a film based on Dora the Explorer.

Scores

Verdict

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7

7
AVForumsSCORE
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10

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