Dora and the Lost City of Gold movie review

MOVIE TITLE: Dora And The Lost City Of Gold

RATING: PG

LENGTH: 1 hour, 42 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE: B+

IN A NUTSHELL:

Everything you’re about to read is true, except that foxes don’t swipe. That is a hurtful stereotype. Nickelodeon and Paramount Pictures presents Dora The Explorer in a way that gives you the nostalgia you want (if you watched the TV show) but in an even broader action-comedy. With a wink of their eye, Nick Jr. offers a movie that is cheeky fun and sweet, making it a good family-friendly way to end the summer before school starts. This is the first Nick Jr. movie to hit the Big Screen.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

If you watched the Dora The Explorer cartoon TV series with your kids, you’ll get a kick out of seeing this together.
Some Spanish is spoken without subtitles.
Talk of poo.
Young kids may ask what mating is. That’s your heads up! There is quite a bit of talk of mating in the movie. Some brief kissing.
No profanity. One person says OMG.
People in dangerous situations.
Fart noises
You see a cartoon man’s rear end.
People inhale a hallucinogenic plant spore
Teens make fun of other teens, some name-calling
We’re told that treasure hunting is bad and exploring is good. Do you agree?

THEMES:

“If you just believe in yourself, anything is possible.” – Dora (Isabela Moner)
“I have to be myself. That’s all I know how to do.” – Dora

THINGS I LIKED:

Isabela Moner is fantastic as the adorable Dora whose enthusiasm and love for knowledge are contagious. Before taking on this live-action role, Isabela was the voice talent for Dora’s friend Kate in the animation Dora & Friends (INTO THE CITY)
The movie starts out immediately with that famous song and the characters you know and love.
The movie is very self-aware, which provides a lot of humorous moments.
Who wouldn’t want Michael Pena and Eva Longoria as their parents? We get to see Michael Pena let loose a little bit with his comedic chops.
It was hilarious to see Dora as a dorky high school student trying to learn about the “indigenous people.”
Eugenio Derbez always comes through with comedic beats with a Latino flair. The first time I ever saw him was in How To Be A Latin Lover
The film does a good job showing how tough high school can be.
Wow, I didn’t expect hard-hitting actors like Danny Trejo and Benicio Del Toro to show up in this children’s comedy!
The odd-ball collection of teens results in The Goonies type of adventure that is familiar and charming.
The movie was actually filmed in Australia.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

Boots the monkey was fine, but not as adorable or fun as I would have hoped. However, something funny happens with him about an hour into the movie. A few weeks ago, somebody noticed that Boots wasn’t actually wearing any boots in the movie! They had to quickly add them in digitally before the movie premiered.
Several jokes and scenes went on a little too long and, because it’s generally a movie for kids, the humor grabs the low-hanging fruit.
The tone and style of the movie shift several times. For example, sometimes animals talk but sometimes they don’t. Sometimes the film tries to reenact moments from the TV show in a cheesy way and sometimes it goes off in a different direction.
It’s full of cliches.
Swiper’s animation is not very good.
There is a cute gag in the movie where Dora looks at the camera and asks the audience if they can say certain words in Spanish while no one else around her knows who she’s talking to. I thought that would be a running gag throughout the movie, but it was only one scene in the beginning.

FUNNY LINES:

“Can you say severe neurotoxicity?” – Dora (Isabela Moner)
“Why does that fox have to remain anonymous? Who is going to recognize one specific fox?” – Sammy (Madeleine Madden)
“High school is a horrible nightmare.” – Diego (the cousin)

INTERESTING LINES:

* “Sometimes a song is the best idea.” – Sammy

OTHER MOVIES LIKE THIS YOU MIGHT ENJOY:

Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle