Dora and the Lost City of Gold (2019)

 

Six-year-old Dora Márquez lives deep in the Peruvian jungle with her parents, who are explorers and historians.  Dora spends her days going on imaginary adventures with her cousin Diego and a friendly monkey she's named "Boots".  Even when the day comes that Diego has to leave, her idyllic life doesn't change very much.

At least, not for a decade.  Around Dora's 16th birthday, however, her parents decipher the location of hidden Inca city of Parapata, a sight of fabulous cultural significance.  Also reputedly a site of fabulous wealth, though that's not a motivation for the idealistic Márquez family.

Dora is keen to join the expedition, but her parents don't believe she is ready for the reputed dangers, and instead send her to Los Angeles, to live with Diego's family.  There, she will attend high school and socialise with other people her age.

Given the metal detectors and bag checks required at the school, not to mention the dangers of cliquey, judgemental teenagers, you might wonder if Dora is any safer in LA than she would be in the Peruvian jungle.  But of course, if you think events aren't going to conspire to get Dora headed for Parapata, well, apparently you aren't familiar with the concept of "stories".  Which must make this blog very confusing.

So yes, villainous types also want to find Parapata - there's all that gold, after all - and their schemes soon have our eager teen explorer (plus a much less eager Diego and two of their classmates) back in the jungle, where hijinks quickly ensue.

Based on the kids' TV show that ran from 2000-2013 (with a handful of new episodes released just prior to the debut of this movie), Dora and the Lost City of Gold is a fun, comedic teen adventure tale.  It unapologetically leans into the goofiness of the original cartoon - semi-clothed, intelligent monkeys, larcenous foxes, and all.  It's helped immensely by Isabella Moner's performance as Dora, as she brings out the enthusiasm and innocence of the cartoon without it ever seeming forced.

I don't regret joining Dora on this adventure.