Dora and the Lost City of Gold, in terms of action or effects movies, is the best movie of the summer for me! Caveat: I watched the cartoon with my niece who loved the show. Dora the Explorer was a cartoon series that ran on Nickeleoden which began in 2000. The animated series was created by Chris Gifford, Valerie Walsh, and Eric Weiner. Its current version as Dora and Friends: Into the City! which has her as a teenager going to school at Playa Verde, California. There was also the spin-off show, Go Diego Go!, introduced in the third season of Dora with “Meet Diego!” (2003). The film doesn’t require seeing any of the animated series.
It is directed by James Bobin who also directed Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016), The Muppets (2011), and the comedy series, Flight of the Conchords. The story is by Tom Wheeler who also wrote the animated movie, Puss in Boots (2011). The screenplay is by Nicholas Stoller and Matthew Robinson. It begins with young, six year old, Dora (Madelyn Miranda), her monkey Boots, and Young Diego (Malachi Barton). The film was more than what I expected, not just a silly romp with Dora as a teen, it shares some of the learning as the cartoon series.
They return to the bayside home of Dora and her parents, Elena (Eva Longoria) and Cole (Michael Peña) Márquez. Longoria was an episode of Grand Hotel this year and is known for her part as Gabrielle Solis in Desperate Housewives. Peña was Luis in Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) and also the evil Red in A Wrinkle in Time (2018). They are both professors, home studying Dora, and searching for the Incan city of Parapata (it translates to “For Legs”). The funny part is Dora speaking to camera and asking the audience to say, “Delicioso.” This has a twist with her father wandering who she is talking to and the audience who watched the show understanding it. They explain that Diego has to leave with his parents.
Ten years later, the now sixteen year old Dora (Isabela Moner), is busy running through the jungle. Moner was in the comedy Instant Family (2018) and she was memorable as Isabel Reyes in Sicario: Day of the Soldado (2018). Dora is a first lead role for Moner and she has an almost unending optimisim, intelligence, and skills to survive in the jungle. Her co-star from Sicario: Day of the Soldado, Benicio Del Toro, is also here voicing Swiper! She finds a cave and explores it with Boots. The setting is classic Raiders of the Lost Ark and even though there is a chasm with a golden idol on the other side which Dora believes is a clue to Parapata. She tries to leap across, but doesn’t quite make it, falling to the sandy bottom. Dora sends Boots to bring her parents.
Later, Dora discovers that her parents have located Parapata, but they are worried over Dora hurting herself on her own so are sending her away to the jungles of high school! Her parents note that they are explorers and not treasure hunters which is a shade more moral than Indiana Jones who wants to take cultural items away to American museums. She also has to say goodbye to Boots. Elena gives her daughter a satellite phone to talk with them and follow their journey. Dora makes the plane trip to Hollywood, California. She appears in the LAX crowd, the grown up Diego (Jeff Wahlberg) and his parents wonder what Dora will look like now, and she bypasses the crowds sliding down the escalator rail! Wahlberg, nephew to Mark, was in the sci fi movie Future World (2018) and the drama Don’t Come Back from the Moon (2017).
At Diego’s home, Dora’s biggest supporter, is his grandmother, Abuelita Valerie (Adriana Barraza). Diego worries that his prima may not fit in at school. The security guard checks Dora’s backpack to the point that all of the students start to get late for class. He leaves her deadliest weapon, her yo-yo. Dora is interested in a Save the Rainforests table watched over by Sammy (Madeleine Madden). She is the overachieving student, but without experience. Madden was part of the Tidelands Australian series which has her Violca part of the strange seaside town. Dora also runs into another student, Randy (Nicholas Coombe) who boasts he can hold his breath for seven minutes, maybe that will be important later. He is a bullied student, nervous, but of course he has yet to prove his worth.
They attend class and the teacher asks about Moby Dick, Sammy raises her hand, but the teacher is surprised to see another hand raised and chooses Dora. She summarizes the basic plot and symbolism, a model student, not just for her intelligence, but her enthusiasm. We should have whole schools of Doras! Still, Sammy makes it clear to Dora that she has a rival. Dora loses contact with her parents over the satellite phone. Later, the students have a dance where you dress up as “your favorite star.” Dora takes this literally and her costume is only appreciated by Randy. She goes out to dance and replicates the moves of jungle animals. I really like a self-confident character, a great role model for teens, even going her own way and being different from others. The others scoff at her dance and Diego is upset at the backlash.
He takes it out on Dora which causes her to withdraw into her closet, but she is consoled by Abuelita Valerie. The school goes on a field trip to the Natural History Museum. Sammy finds herself grouped up with Diego, Dora and Randy. Their first assignment is to find the oldest object in the museum. Dora notes that the banners showcase an Egyptian exhibit. A museum worker, Christina X (Natasa Ristic) says that the Egyptian exhibit is not yet open, but leads them downstairs. They are found by two security guards, Viper (Christopher Kirby) and Powell (Temuera Morrison) who recognize Dora. The group is placed in a crate and taken away. Dora uses her knife to open the top of the crate and finds out they are at the airport. They plan on having Dora lead them to her parents and Parapata. Viper throws in a gas canister that will put them to sleep until they reach the jungle!
At the jungle, the henchmen load the crate into a truck, but the students are freed by Alejandro (Eugenio Derbez) who says he is a colleague of Dora’s parents. Derbez is a comedy legend in Mexico, he has started in American films with Instructions Not Included (2013), the action movie Geo Storm (2017), and the comedy Overboard (2018). I worked out Alejandro’s character almost from the moment he is introduced, but Derbez has fun with the part more than the gags shown in tv spots. One of the strengths of this film is its majority Latino cast, it is a talented ensemble. The group heads to a warehouse and Swiper takes Dora’s journal detailing her parents’ journey. There is a terrific action scene with Dora chasing Swiper past aircraft propeller blades.
Still, they are outnumbered by the mercenaries. Alejandro reappears in a jeep to take them to safety. Sammy and Randy are worried about returning home. Diego trusts in family loyalty. Of course, Dora is back in her element, but has to watch out for the others who are not ready for the jungle. Plus, of course we have the return of Boots! There is some funny moments and I really liked that there is some learning moments within the action. I think another unexpected part was the singing, there are some memorable songs I would like to hear from a soundtrack. The Spanish words, some of the conversations are sub-titled, and the moments of learning which span history and mathematics are not heavy handed and part of the story. This is what I find more satsifying than a straight action movie or comedy. I don’t think of it strictly as a “kids movie” since I think it appeals to everyone. I really hope for more adventures with Dora and this entire cast in sequels that span across the globe! Dora and the Lost City of Gold is a brilliant movie that has comedy, songs, and more fun than can be contained in a trailer, Swiper Don’t Swipe It, and Don’t Miss It!
Five Backpacks out of Five!
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