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 was too old when Dora the Explorer was at peak popularity (I was brought up with Blues Clues, Thomas the Tank Engine, and Bananas in Pajamas) but as more friends had children, it was unavoidable to get through life without seeing a single episode (and let's be honest, once you've seen one episode, you've seen the formula for every single episode. One would not expect a live-action Dora the Explorer (which is traditionally targeted towards the pre-school age-range) to be good, and yet, this PG film adaptation is better than it has any right to be.
This is a film of two parts--the set-up (the first act), and the adventure (the second and third act)--and it feels as if both parts were written by completely different people with no knowledge of what the other team had written. The contrast in tone, and humour switch to such a drastic degree that it is incredibly jarring. The film starts off strong (from an adult's perspective, at least), connecting the movie to its cartoon counterpart within the first few minutes and moving on to a decade later, where Dora has (physically, at minimum) grown up into a teenager. The film takes on an incredibly self-aware, near-satirical, parodical state, fully aware of the absurdity of the original show. It's willingness to make fun of itself, is ultimately endearing, and is a great source of comedy for any adult that has seen a single episode.
Isabela Moner encapsulates the personality of Dora really well. Her performance relies heavily on having a strong sense of optimism and positivity, and the energy level that she brings is unmatched. She is a-dora-ble. She isn't so blatantly perky that she comes off as naive, she simply portrays someone that was raised in isolation from modern society, who was allowed to form her personality without outside pressures (a.k.a. high school life). The remainder of the young actors are fine, but nothing to write home about. Danny Trejo and Michael Peña are perhaps the greatest sources of humour from the adult roles, though their roles are minor.
It's during the second and third act that the film loses its hold on the audience. Turning away from the satirical take on high school dramas, Dora and the Lost City of Gold turns into a "child-friendly" version of Tomb Raider and Indiana Jones: The Last Crusade (the film does copy several scenes from the latter). The child-friendly tone means they have removed any sense of danger and filled every scene with as many poop or fart jokes as possible. It's a decision that was made to appeal to the younger children, but in my theatre, there were minimal laughs being had.
The dry sarcastic humour was so well done, that the adult audience couldn't help but feel let down by the remainder of the film. It was so formulaic, and unoriginal that you lose all interest. Which is disappointing, because the story is surprisingly cohesive. It simply lacked any tension and danger to be of interest. Even for the younger audiences, the film doesn't quite hit the right mark. Too basic a plot for teens and preteens, too visually dark to appeal to pre-schoolers, the film seems like it would work best for children aged 5-8 years old.
There are some reasonable themes to do with being yourself, not letting other people change you, and being there for your family. The special effects are very noticeable but fine. It's that first act that stops Dora and the Lost City of Gold from being a complete throwaway of a film. That self-aware Deadpool-esque humour that is ever so popular these days is executed in this film perfectly. Every structure, song, character, and quirk that you didn't even realise you remember from the TV show is referenced in a way that will no doubt get some laughs from the parents. It's simply unfortunate that the latter end of the film doesn't maintain the stand that the first act set up.
Dora and the Lost City of Gold is in cinemas on 26th of September, 2019