DORA AND THE LOST CITY OF GOLD (2019)

 Directed By: James Bobin Written By: Nicholas Stoller & Matthew Robinson Story by: Tom Wheeler & Nicholas Stoller Based on the television series “DORA THE EXPLORER” Created by:  Valerie Walsh, Chris Gifford & Eric Weiner Cinematography: Javier Aguirresarobe Editor: Mark Everson

Cast: Isabelle Moner, Eva Longoria, Michael Pena, Adriana Barraza, Eugenio Derbez, Benicio Del Toro (voice), Danny Trejo (voice), Temuera Morrison, Q’orianka Kilcher, Madeline Madden, Nicholas Coombe, Jeff Wahlberg, 

Having spent most of her life exploring the jungle with her parents, nothing could prepare Dora for her most dangerous adventure ever: high school. Always the explorer, Dora quickly finds herself leading Boots, Diego, a mysterious jungle inhabitant, and a ragtag group of teens on a live-action adventure to save her parents and solve the impossible mystery behind a lost Inca civilization.

This movie is for those who grew up on Dora and are now teenagers. So they make it the same way and to explain her kind of arrested development of sorts. It is explained that she has been growing up in the jungle. So regular civilization and especially high school and its rules and culture are foreign to her. 

This film comes across as cute mroe than anything else. As it offers plenty of danger but also plenty of fun and entertainment.

You know what type of movie you are going to get from the get-go. As this is a film more made for pre-teens that is the kid. If adventure films that have been missing for that audience that offer kids being heroes and while under adult supervision end up being mroe the wise ones.

This is like a modern-day Amblin film. Where there is the threat of danger even though you know there isn’t probably going to be any even for the fates of villains. 

Also, credit must be given to a film that has a psychedelic sequence that is animated. Where the kids trip out from mushrooms and a scene where two scorpions mate on someone’s head.  

What really puts the film in a high is having Benicio Del Toro steak the film With him voicing the character of Swiper the Fox. And Eugenio Debrez provides plenty of comedic Relief as the inept explorer helping Dora and her crew.

While the film has many callbacks to the original animated show that come off as Jokes most of the time. This is a nice wholesome and fun family film. That has little to no cynicism and is rather simple. 

Though would expect nothing less from Director James Bobin director of many modern muppet movies and shows. 

Grade: C+