Liveaction 'Dora the Explorer' Isabela Moner talks beauty from her films, including 'Transformers: The Last Knight,' 'Instant Family,' and 'Sicario: Day of the Soldado.' Doraand the Lost City of Gold by Mia G. Dora & The Lost of Gold (2019) - Movie REVIEW Dora and the Lost City of Gold - Movie Review Peñaremains one of the biggest scene stealers in recent memory, and his casting as Dora’s dad is spot-on. Dora and the Lost City of Gold loses points for feeling like the scripts of two very different movies have been hastily stitched together, and at points the film visually looks like it was a rush job. The production design and locations PublishedAug 13, 2019. The live-action Dora the Explorer movie is out-performing every Disney remake in 2019 as far as critical reception goes. Continuing a trend of recent years, 2019 has brought even more iconic . While most of us groan whenever yet another adaptation is announced, we’re entering a whole new era of them. Whereas studios would throw so many different incarnations of popular properties at the wall to see what stuck in the past few decades sometimes with wildly different tones, we’re now at the point where said studios are sick of losing tens of millions of dollars, rebooting the same characters ten times over. Instead, why not throw a decent amount of change in Dora’s case, $40 million dollars at a project to get it right the first time pleasing existing fans and garnering new ones in the process. At least then there’s room to build. Dora and the Lost City of Gold does just that, taking the decidedly very G-rated cartoon and morphing it into a slightly more grown-up PG live-action adaptation. Eva Longoria, Michael Peña, and Isabela Moner in Dora and the Lost City of Gold 2019 The setup seems like it merits those same groans but quickly evolves. The gist is that Dora’s parents Michael Peña, Eva Longoria, who have homeschooled her all her life and trained her I the ways of an adventurer, send her off to public high school. This is exactly what I’m referring to above there was a chance that in decades past, the entire film would take place in said school, groan-worthy jokes and all. Thankfully they only use this period to set up Dora’s character, which all feels endearing in a way that’s extremely Elf2003-like. Dora congratulates her cafeteria staff for making something as amazing as mac & cheese in the same way Buddy celebrates “the world’s best cup of coffee,” but with an actual child-like innocence played straightly by Isabela Moner as our titular hero. The production team kind of doesn’t let up from there, as there are many cartoon aspects spliced into The Lost City of Gold’s DNA, including two literal cartoons Boots the monkey and Swiper the Fox. And by the way, when Swiper appears on-screen and just kind of talks, with zero explanation or magical lore-based reason, it’s incredible. The same goes for a surprise that I won’t mention here all of which help prevent Dora from being an edgy reboot or something that barely resembles its source material. Isabela Moner in Dora and the Lost City of Gold 2019 I’m glad they don’t dwell on the whole fish out of water thing for long, as the school motif is short-lived. We get to see Dora in a classroom setting, briefly at a dance, and then she and her friends are whisked away into a PG-Tomb Raider with constant mentions of death and some semi-harrowing situations. The second set crew has a chance to shine here with some great aerial shots, adding a nice element of practicality to a film with two computer-generated major characters. Don’t get too excited though, as this is still a family production filled to the brim with hokey jokes and performances of varying quality. A lot of the big talent is relegated to part-time roles, and while Moner is up to the task of carrying the film, she doesn’t get a lot of help especially from most of the adult cast. There are moments where they really commit with some jokes that elevate it above reactions that just involve kids snorting in a theatre, and there are parts where you’re kind of scratching your head wondering why they went the way they did. Dora probably isn’t going to sway any adults who aren’t into films aimed at younger audiences, but for everyone else, it’ll go down as one of the better family films and adaptations really in recent years. Dora is a great character and they did her justice. Swiper No Swiping Dora and the Lost City of Gold feels like a niche film for a very specific audience. If you’re part of that audience, this is likely to be a wildly entertaining and hilarious family adventure. What it does, it does incredibly well with plenty of in-jokes from the cartoon and a handful of well written, goofy jokes that help keep the tone suitably light and adventurous. However, the lack of explanation around key Dora the Explorer concepts like the map and Swiper, along with very basic character arcs make this a film designed specifically for families and children who have grown up with Dora, rather than the average movie-goer. Beginning with a brief prologue including Dora and cousin Diego, the film skips forward in time as we see Dora separated from her cousin where he leaves the rainforest and heads off for the concrete jungle in Los Angeles. Growing into an adventurous but naive young woman, Dora is taken away from the rainforest at the request of her parents to stay with cousin Diego, who’s very much acclimatized to the harsh realities of the real world. Dressed in bright, vibrant colours, our naive young explorer finds herself struggling to adapt to this harsh, new world before being thrown back into the jungle again to save her parents from a greater threat that appears. From here the film sees Dora and a handful of misfits band together to try and save Dora’s parents, all whilst navigating treacherous traps, quicksand and a number of other nasty additions to the jungle. Dora and the Lost City of Gold reminds me of old family-orientated adventure films like Flubber, Jumanji and Small Soldiers. The concepts may be different but that cheesy style combined with self-aware comedy and basic characterisation shine through and give the film some depth and personality. Dora settles into its groove early on and throughout the film, the pacing is perfectly poised between fast action pieces and slower, comedic segments. The balance is handled really well here and throughout this 100 minute film, Dora never feels like it drags on unnecessarily. If you’ve grown up with kids obsessed with Dora the Explorer, Nickelodeon’s latest animated adaptation is for you. Instead of trying to appeal to everyone and failing spectacularly, Dora defiantly sticks to its target market and is all the stronger for it. It’s a classic, fun-filled family adventure with plenty of goofy jokes and well-written action pieces to keep things interesting. It’s certainly not for everyone and at times the special effects do feel cheaper than they perhaps should for the big screen. However, there’s enough jokes and subtle nods toward the source material here to make this the perfect example of how to adapt an animated children’s show whilst keeping the integrity and spirit of the original in check. Parents and kids will certainly love this but perhaps everyone else may not take to it quite so fondly. Click Here To Go Back To Our Film Reviews Now a young adult, the former kid explorer named Dora is big on adventure and wildlife in the new live-action film Dora and the Lost City of Gold. Mostly getting rid of the childish themes of the hit animated show, this now teenage Dora journeys to the dark side of the jungle in order to save the day and her family while navigating traps, villains and a water slide that is eerily reminiscent of The Goonies. No matter how action-packed director James Bobin The Muppets tried to make this adaptation, it never grows past a five-year-old level, despite some phenomenal set pieces. In other words, the film takes no chances on being edgy or growing up with Dora herself, instead, the film relies on the safe way of delivering dialogue and cartoonish action sequences that would only excite super young fans of the show. The 16-year-old Dora Isabela Moner lives with her parents Eva Longoria and Michael Pena in the jungle inside a luxurious jungle abode. Even though she's been raised in the wild by her animal friends and parents, she is set to Los Angeles to a city high school. She doesn't take to city life very well due to her awkward know-it-all nature, but she makes a friend or three and eventually Dora and her three classmates are sent back to Dora's parent's place in Peru to search for The City of Lost Gold. That's where Alejandro iconic actor Eugenio Derbez enters the picture as the flamboyant bad guy that never seems to be an enemy, but more of a slight nuisance. I know themes are light-hearted in the film, but to amp up any sort of conflict or suspense, the villain should be as good as its protagonist, which it never is here. Dora and the Lost City of Gold is not a good film. Each bit of adventure, drama, and suspense or lack thereof falls flat and vanishes immediately into thin air. Every henchman or foe that crosses paths with the teens is easily knocked down with no real fight or anxiety. The animated Lion King movie is more likely to give kids nightmares than this film. In addition to that, the performances border on silly self-awareness and being over-the-top in every scene. It becomes tiresome quickly. The one element that has worked well in the film is the elaborate and practical set pieces, which look top-notch and beautiful. The jungle never looked so bright and prosperous before with big stone structures, tons of trees and wildlife, and other mysteries along with way. It brought that old nostalgic feel of real-life sets back to the films and left a lot of the CGI at the door, with the exception of Dora's animal friends. For trying to be a hip, young adult feature film and furthering the story of Dora, this Lost City of Gold never pushes any boundaries, let alone step within 50 feet of them. The result is a movie that wants to attract all ages, especially the teen audiences, but could only muster a toddler's attention span for a few minutes. It's painful to get through and that's unfortunate because this could've been that start of a bigger franchise with a little grit. Vital Disc Stats The Blu-ray Paramount swings Dora and the Lost City of Gold to Blu-ray + DVD + Digital. The discs are housed in a blue plastic case with a cardboard sleeve featuring the entire cast Inside, you'll find the digital code that you can download for iTunes. Dora’s grown up a bit since her seemingly perennial childhood through eight seasons on TV beginning in 2000 and her briefer tween years starting in 2009, but the audience will remain largely hormone-free for her big-screen debut in Dora and the Lost City of Gold. Except for some of the jargon and the interracial cast, this is a film whose sensibility and aesthetics lie squarely — in both senses of the word — in the 1950s. Imparting the air of having been highly sanitized and thoroughly rinsed, this late summer Paramount release is squeaky clean and unhip to an unusual degree, its commercial success resting all but exclusively on a built-in fan base. The Bottom Line A story about hormonal teens aimed at little kids. Release date Aug 09, 2019 Something seems off and far too Hollywood-ish from the very beginning, where we find the 16-year-old Dora the earnestly conscientious, rather mature and nothing if not lively Isabela Moner living with her zoologist mom Eva Longoria and archeologist dad Michael Pena in a deep jungle abode so luxurious and elaborate that it looks like something rich tourists would pay a few grand a night to stay in. Like Tarzan, Dora grew up in the jungle with animals as best friends but, unlike the fictional vine-swinger, she’s being sent to to study at Silverlake High. Dora has relatives to stay with, including good-looking cousin and all-around too-cool-for-school Diego Jeff Wahlberg, nephew of Mark. But she’s quickly deemed a weirdo, to Diego’s embarrassment, and piling on is the conceited, condescending Sammy Madeleine Madden, an intimidator who does all she can to make the newcomer’s life miserable at school. The only guy who takes to her is ultimate nerd Randy Nicholas Coombe, and it isn’t long before this ill-matched foursome finds itself transported from the Natural History Museum back to Dora’s parents’ place in Peru to renew the search for the titular destination. Of course, a bad guy, Alejandro Eugenio Derbez, worms his way into the mix, but by now it’s quite clear that the filmmakers never intend to try to present any real challenges or formidable foes that would generate genuine suspense or dramatic excitement. Although this franchise relies upon preteens for its core audience, upping the ages of its protagonists to a more hormonal demographic makes one imagine that prospective viewers have been exposed to at least mildly rugged Indiana Jones or Transformers-like action, to the extent that more eventful and exciting scenes could have been served up. In the action and suspense department, what director James Bobin The Muppets, Muppets Most Wanted, Alice Through the Looking Glass delivers here feels more like 1950s kiddie television. In essence, every dramatic goal is achieved far too easily, every opponent is ultimately made of straw. The characters are never truly challenged, as if the filmmakers are afraid that any credible peril might prove too frightening for some little kid. There’s nothing remotely akin to Bambi’s mother’s death here to disturb any youngster’s sleep. What keeps things alive, up to a point, is the imperturbable attitude of the titular heroine, who is invested with try-and-stop-me spirit by Moner, who’s actually 18 and looks it despite preventive measures. The same goes for Wahlberg, who’s 19. There’s a palpable gap you can’t help but notice between the essentially innocent, borderline-pubescent nature of the leading characters and the film itself, and the more confident and mature vibes emanating from the leading actors. The director seems to be trying to keep the hormones at bay, but there are some things you just can’t disguise, perhaps human nature first and foremost. Dora seems committed to projecting a pre-sexualized version of youth, while throbbing unacknowledged beneath the surface is something a bit more real, its presence rigorously ignored. To be believed, this story should have been set in 1955. Production company Burr! Productions Distributor Paramount Cast Isabel Moner, Eugenio Derbez, Michael Pena, Eva Longoria, Adriana Barraza, Temuera Morrison, Danny Trejo, Jeff Wahlberg, Nicholas Coombie, Madeleine Madden, Q’Orianka Kilcher, Christopher Kirby, Isela Vega Director James Bobin Screenwriters Nicholas Stoller, Matthew Robinson, story by Tom Wheeler, Nicholas Stoller; based on the television series Dora the Explorer by Chris Gifford, Valerie Walsh Valdes and Eric Weiner Producer Kirstin Burr Executive producers Julia Pastor, Eugenio Derbez, John G. Scotti Director of photography Javier Aguirresarobe Production designer Dan Hennah Costume designer Rahel Afiley Editor Mark Everson Music John Debney, Germaine Franco Casting Sarah Halley Finn Rated PG, 103 minutes

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