Dora and the Lost City of Gold Review
PG: For action and some impolite humor
Studios: Paramount Pictures, Paramount Players, Nickelodeon Movies, Walden Media, Media Rights Capital
Director: James Bobin | Screenwriters: Nicholas Stoller, Matthew Robinson
Run Time: 1 Hour and 42 Minutes
Cast: Isabela Moner, Eugenio Derbez, Michael Peña, Eva Longoria, Danny Trejo, Jeff Wahlberg, Benicio del Toro, Madeleine Madden, Nicholas Coombe
Release Date: August 9, 2019
Having spent most of her life exploring the jungle with her parents, nothing could prepare Dora (Isabela Moner) for her most dangerous adventure ever -- High School. Always the explorer, Dora quickly finds herself leading Boots (her best friend, a monkey), Diego (Jeffrey Wahlberg), a mysterious jungle inhabitant (Eugenio Derbez), and a rag tag group of teens on a live-action adventure to save her parents (Eva Longoria, Michael Peña) and solve the impossible mystery behind a lost city of gold.
D-D-D-D-D-DORA! D-D-D-D-D-DORA! Dora, Dora, Dora in live-action. You better give her respect before I cut ya! That was my initial thought once it was announced that Michael Bay was producing a live-action adaptation of Dora the Explorer. Given his poor track record with movies based on beloved properties, this was something that many were fearful about. Thankfully, his name was dropped from the film and the team behind 2011’s highly praised The Muppets stepped forward. At long last we finally have Dora and the Lost City of Gold, a movie that is a delightful surprise, to say the least. Again, this is from the team behind The Muppets. Do you know how incredible that movie is?! Of course when you have James Bobin and Nicholas Stoller working together, the end product is bound to be something of valuable effort.
For all of her 16 years of life, Dora only knew of the jungle. Her vivid imagination led her on the wildest adventures with her pet monkey, Boots. But when her archaeologist parents find a clue that leads to a lost city of gold, Dora is sent from the jungles of South America to the concrete jungle of North America to attend high school, for they deem her too impulsive and irresponsible to join them on their expedition. When she reaches the city and reunites with her family -- including her assimilated cousin Diego, whom she hasn't seen in a decade -- she realizes that America is not what she expected. She maintains her brains in agriculture, literature, and other academic areas, proving to be a knowledgeable teenager with a high IQ, but due to her upbringing, she lacks common sense and social skills. Honestly, who can blame her? She’s Dora the Explorer not Dora the Socializer. She’s immediately viewed as the school weirdo, even embarrassing Diego in the process. Thankfully, after a decent mileage of gags of Dora being a fish out of water, the adventure kicks off once she, Diego, and a few other misfits she meets in class (a nerd named Randy and a bossy straight-A student named Sammy) are kidnapped during a field trip. Now, as she is literally shipped back to the jungle, she must find her parents and discover the lost city of gold before evil mercenaries find it for themselves.
Over the past several years, actress Isabela Moner has been showing her range as a performer. While she has typically been boxed into supporting roles, her portrayal of Dora is the performance where she gets to shine, as Moner proves she is one of the most talented young actresses working today. This is her movie through and through and she nails it expertly. Once you observe her as she swings through vines, speaking in an innocent tone with the high octave, you don’t see Moner, you see Dora. Moner comes onboard as if she was Clockwork Orange-d into binging endless episodes of Dora the Explorer until she became one with the titular character, which she did. Moner perfectly captures the unbothered good-natured spirit along with the charismatic upbeat energy of the character. One can easily deliver a Dora impersonation -- you’ve seen Ariel Winter do it in that CollegeHumor sketch -- but Moner adds nuances to her performance, making the character her own. Since this is a character with absolutely no social skills whatsoever, most of her dialogue when interacting with others comes out of left field, but her delivery is timed so well that most of the comedy comes from her. While sometimes dark (given the perilous situation she’s in), the movie doesn’t attempt to be edgy or even rebellious. Screenwriters Nicholas Stoller and Matthew Robinson passionately capture her charm, innocence, and natural energy through their writing. A notable aspect which this film prospers from lies in how Dora is written. No matter how drastic her situation might get, whether it be facing off deadly mercenaries or fellow high school students, she’s completely unbothered and turns the most tragic of scenarios into something optimistic. That element there -- how undefeated Dora’s spirit is -- is the heart of the movie.
Aside from Moner, the supporting cast gives solid performances as they bounce off of her energy, the most notable one being Eugenio Derbez who adds to the fun. If you’ve seen one of his past projects like Overboard or How to Be a Latin Lover, you have a good understanding of his comedic talents, which meshes perfectly with this ensemble. Not all of his material lands, for he relies too much on physical comedy, but when he’s interacting with these groups of kids, there are hilarious moments. Another performer that stands out is Madeleine Madden, whose character Sammy had me laughing the most. Because of this being a Nickelodeon movie, her character and her delivery reminded me of another Nick heroine: Helga Patacki from Hey Arnold. Sammy’s no-nonsense personality and intimidatingly bossy attitude is so aligned with Helga’s that the contrast against Dora’s sunniness had me cracking up hard.
While the film is cleverly written and features a number of funny jokes, there are areas in the story department that could’ve been patched better. First off, the film opens with an emotional separation of Dora and her cousin Diego, teasing that family would be a primary theme. It’s heavily prominent in the first act, but once the adventure kicks off, it’s kind of thrown out the window. Instead, it focuses on Dora mostly learning how to become friends with Sammy rather than rebuilding that connection with her cousin. They do share decent moments together, but they’re not strong enough to leave an impact. Then, the character of Randy is kind of completely useless and could’ve had better lines outside of being the one-note nerd who is also socially inept in a way that’s borderline creepy. No disrespect to the actor who is funny and talented, but the way the character is written is a bit odd, for he really serves no purpose at all.
By art direction standards, the movie could’ve benefited from a few more imaginative set pieces given the material. They could’ve also avoided predictable set pieces, such as characters who have to deal with quicksand, but it’s all truly powered by the comedy which compensates for some of the film’s shortcomings. When it gets weird, that’s when the film is at its most hysterical. All I have to say is: flower patch scene. Once you see it, you’ll be dying of laughter. Most of the notable absurdities of the series are present here. I could discuss how humorous Boots is, but what made this for me was the CG Swiper. The role he plays is so weird, but it works; Swiper is part of the mercenary team that hunts down Dora and her friends. You have these big macho men with guns and machetes, but amongst them is this orange fox wearing a blue mask standing on its hind legs. The film makes meta jokes regarding the abursidity, adding to the hilarity as well. That said, there are a few details about his character design that I admire, like how he runs like a fox at a fast speed but also on his two legs when he needs to, or how they integrate cartoon sound effects as he moves. Then, when you hear him speak his lines you’re giggling over the fact that it’s friggin Benicio Del Toro! He went from a movie with Moner where he’s a cold-blooded killer to a movie where his catchphrase is,
If Benicio Del Toro as Swiper isn’t worth the price of admission for you, I don’t know what is! Granted, it’s confusing how he is integrated into this world, for Swiper can talk and others can understand him, yet Boots is just a monkey who makes monkey noises. It kind of has the Family Guy complex where everyone can understand Brian but only a selective few can understand Stewie. You know what? It’s Dora the Explorer. This movie is more fun than it needs to be.
With this being another collaboration between Bobin and Stoller, the two manage to build a delightful adventure film for the whole family that is gleefully self-aware, unapologetically bizarre, and, most of all, a ton of fun. They constructed an Indiana Jones-scaled adventure for this familiar hero and it never loses sight of the spirit of the character or why she’s the phenomenon that she is. It has that general appeal that makes it a true delight, if not even a timeless classic, amongst the likes of -- dare I say -- Paddington. The film is a thorough tribute to the titular character that never panders for its audience. Sure, not all of the jokes land and there are a few modernist culture jokes like Micheal Pena imitating electronic music, but that’s it. The majority of the flaws lies within the first act, but once the second act kicks off this becomes not only one of the best family films of the year, but undoubtedly one of the best movies of the summer.
With a powerful central performance by Isabela Moner, who brings this beloved character to life, paired with a cleverly self-aware script, Dora and the Lost City of Gold is a delightful family film that captures the fun and good-natured spirit of the source material in a hysterical adventure film that everyone who knows the character will enjoy.
Rating: 4/5 | 84%
