Dora and her best friend, Boots, are returning to the small screen for more adventures. Paramount+ recently dropped the first official trailer for its Dora the Explorer reboot, and it promises to be a colorful and uniquely animated reimagining of the beloved show.
The original Dora the Explorer made its Nickelodeon debut nearly 24 years ago. Aimed at preschoolers, the show features a Latina girl, Dora, who loves to go on adventures with her anthropomorphic monkey friend. In addition to getting help from Backpack and Map, Dora often breaks the fourth wall to engage with and seek help from the audience. Viewers are often encouraged to learn new words in Spanish and practice their reading and counting skills. Since the show ran until 2014 and boasted eight seasons, many young viewers likely continued watching the show beyond preschool.
For many years, Dora was one of the few Latina characters viewers had to look up to on television. Although her original show eventually concluded, Dora lived on in the spinoff series Go, Diego, Go! and sequel series Dora and Friends: Into the City! Recently, the franchise has experienced a revival with the release of the live-action film adaptation Dora and the Lost City of Gold. So it’s not surprising that Paramount+ is capitalizing on the comeback with an official reboot series.
What to expect from Paramount+’s Dora
Paramount+ dropped the first official trailer for Dora on February 26. Meanwhile, the streamer confirmed the series would be available on its platform beginning on April 12.
The trailer confirms that Dora, Boots, and the rest of the gang have been given a fresh look. They still have the same costumes and defining features but now boast more detailed, modern-looking computer-animated designs. Meanwhile, the gang is up to their familiar antics of adventuring and helping each other through obstacles. The series appears to be set in a very colorful rainforest as the characters are spotted swinging from vines, and one scene shows a rainbow arching over several waterfalls. Based on the trailer, Dora looks like quite a visually appealing and nostalgic series.
Diana Zermeño, who voiced Dora in Dora and the Fantastical Creatures, will be reprising her role as the titular character for the reboot. Zermeño isn’t the only returnee from the short film. Asher Colton Spence and Marc Weiner also reprise their roles as Boots and Swiper, respectively. Meanwhile, Anairis Quinones and Danny Burstein are returning but will be voicing new roles as Map and Grumpy Old Troll, respectively. Dora’s original voice actor, Kathleen Herles, has joined the series as Mami’s voice. Rounding out the cast are Donovan Monzon-Sanders as Tico, Quintún Muñoz as Benny, Katarina Sky as Backpack, Tandi Fomukong as Isa, Mike Smith Rivera as Papi, and Maria Canals-Barrera as Benny’s Abuela.
The official synopsis for Dora reads:
With all-new CG animation and imaginative character-driven storylines, the upcoming Dora series follows everyone’s favorite bilingual explorer, Dora, and her best monkey friend, Boots, as they embark on epic adventures in a fantastical rainforest. Guided by trustworthy Map, Dora and her friends must work together to overcome many obstacles while being challenged by the sneakiest fox, Swiper.
With the return of Herles and all of Dora the Explorer‘s iconic characters combined with a cute animated reimagining, Dora could prove to be a faithful and entertaining reboot.
(featured image: Paramount+)
