★★★
Dora, a teenage explorer, leads her friends on an adventure to save her parents and solve the mystery behind a lost city of gold.
Classification: PG
It would be easy to assume that this film would just be another ill-advised live-action attempt at a beloved animated property that would just embarrass itself with poor comedy and forcing the character to modernise to be more "trendy" or "relatable" to new audiences. Even though both of those elements are present in this film, the overall experience of Dora and the Lost City of Gold is very enjoyable thanks to its adventurous storyline and the delightful lead performance from Isabela Moner. Appearing to continue on from the animated series, Dora now a teenager is sent to live with her relatives in the city and learns to adjust away from her home in the jungle, the fish out of water comedy can appear a little predictable but the direction from James Bobin combined with Moner's earnest and heartwarming performance makes almost everything about Dora feel refreshing. When the film plays upon references to the cartoon show such as Dora seemingly breaking the fourth wall or an animated sequence brought upon by inhaling mysterious jungle pollen it shows that Bobin and his team had real respect for their source material and disarms any cynicism one would have for the film.
The star of the show is Dora herself, Isabela Moner is a breakout star who makes the entire film a joy from beginning to end. When some of the weaker elements begin to rear their heads Moner is there to save the day with wide-eyed enthusiasm and dazzling wonder. She is like a cartoon brought to life but the film gives her moments of vulnerability where Dora faces uncertainty with her place in the world, giving realism not only to the stakes of the film but to the character herself. Moner's Dora is never distracting or unrealistic compared to the more straight-laced or "normal" characters, its actually the passion from her performance that makes the more ridiculous elements of the more digestible while her supporting cast at times struggles to fit into the film. Michael Peña and Eva Longoria as Dora's parents are a fun couple for the few scenes they have and Eugenio Derbez gives a surprisingly fun performance as Dora's jungle guide Alejandro and despite some issues in the script Dora's classmates also have some satisfying arcs by the end of the film.
They are not outright terrible in fact for most of the runtime the supporting characters of Dora's classmates, Diego, Sammy, and Randy have their moments and are enjoyable but they are the ones that fall victim to the scripts weaker elements. The script's handling of Dora's life in the city was a fun mix of wacky comedy and legitimate emotion where on the flip side when all the characters are taken to the jungle the city kids reactions are for over the top freakouts that are more annoying than funny. These characters do have satisfying moments and receive clever payoffs to display their growth and heroism but where Moner feels original her counterparts feel more clichéd. The most outlandish and distracting part of the film, however, would be the animated sidekicks; Boots and Swiper, while references to the cartoon are cute, the design of the two creatures just feels strange and don't integrate fully into the logic of the film. Eventually, you can move past Boots CGI as he acts like a monkey for the whole film but its Swiper completes with mask, gloves and fully voiced by Benecio Del Toro that will have audiences scratching their heads at the point of the character besides for Dora and others to yell "Swiper! No swiping".
You may think that enjoyment from Dora and the Lost City of Gold comes from surprise that the film is not as terrible as one would expect but through the script and Bobin's direction, the adventures of the film are legitimately fun and engaging. Dora has grown up but that doesn't mean she doesn't still have time to be a positive educational influence as her passion for knowledge and discovery makes her a fantastic lead for this family film. The film wisely takes the opportunity for an older version of the character to live up to her title; Dora abilities as an explorer are put to the test as clear influences from Indiana Jones and Uncharted create great sequences of "Jungle Puzzles" and exploration through the Peruvian jungle. The production design of the jungle and subsequent temples help with the immersion of her adventure as it would be easy for a lot of Lost City of Gold to look like the set of children's jungle show on daytime television. Except for a few choice decisions in the third act, the overall journey of Dora and her friends of the film is gratifying putting character development before spectacle and even when spectacle takes over Dora is still the focus of the film.
Dora proves herself as an inspiring cinematic hero who will hopefully grace the screen again with another captivating adventure. James Bobin's direction delivers a fine family adventure headlined by a performance by Isabela Moner that seriously can't be praised enough. Even with its faults, nothing truly breaks the enjoyment of the film, a bad joke here and strange fox there can't come close to dousing Moner's enthusiasm for the role and the story, and Bobin has fun delivering his dose of adventurous jungle fun. There are surprises to be had in the story as the experience feels close to a classic adventure film, putting its focus into the heart of its characters and their story rather than the exotic nature of the locale. Enchanting for Dora fans everywhere and a terrific first impression for newcomers, Dora and the Lost City of Gold hopefully marks the beginning of a brand new series of adventures for the intrepid explorer.
Director: #JamesBobin
Release Date: August 16th 2019
Trailer:
Written review copyright ©CoreyBullochReviews
Images and Synopsis from the Internet Movie Database
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