I used to love the original Dora the Explorer series when I was younger, but now I hate it and find that it doesn't hold up anymore. I decided to watch the reboot because I heard that it was an improvement from the original in some ways. I recently watched 6 full episodes, so I gave it a fair chance. It is a slight improvement from the source material with some potential to be good, but the good does not outweigh the bad.
However, if you're an original Dora fan, it's possible that you won't like this because of the changes that were made. The reboot lacks some of the original's flaws, while others remain. Because of that, I'm going to try not to go too much in-depth as to why I dislike it. If you're interested in a further explanation, you can check out my review on the source material. If you like the reboot or the source material, I can handle your opinion.
**Cons**
1. Dora and company remain the same annoying, oblivious, flat, and one-dimensional characters, except for the Grumpy Old Troll.
2. The characters continue to treat the audience like idiots by asking dumb questions that are impossible for even a 4-year-old to answer incorrectly, like "Is this a triangle?" and "Can you see that blue house?". That's right, Dora still asks the audience where her destinations and any needed items are all the time, even when they're right in front of her or next to her and hard to miss.
3. The series has a generic, Cocomelon-like animation style.
4. Dora and Boots still do their "Swiper, no swiping!" routine, and it still scares Swiper away every time. This could make little kids think they can stop a thief from stealing their belongings and scare them away just by shouting "Swiper, no swiping!" or something similar. This raises questions about how simply telling bullies to stop would work. Dora and Boots' approach lacks effectiveness, as it does not address Swiper's actions or provide a reason for him to stop stealing. A more constructive strategy could help him understand the consequences of his behavior.
5. Swiper's motivation to steal Dora's belongings remains unexplained, making him more of a mere obstacle than a threat. To make matters worse, he still never learns not to take things that don't belong to him no matter what. One might think he'd learn from his mistakes after being called out for them thousands of times and that he'd get headaches from hearing Dora and Boots shout at him all the time, but apparently not.
6. Boots is now fluent in both Spanish and English, making the Spanish lessons pointless. He originally spoke English almost exclusively, and Dora would always teach him Spanish, which allowed the audience to learn the language too, as bad as the original series was.
7. The Grumpy Old Troll is now a good guy, but he has less personality than in the original series (from what I've seen) and is a bland character. His original portrayal wasn't too good either, but at least he had more personality back then.
8. Map is now female for some unspecified reason. If this change was made to promote gender equality, it seems unnecessary because the source material already had a balanced representation of both male and female characters.
**Pros**
1. The old theme song has been replaced with a new theme song, which I find nowhere near as annoying.
2. The voice acting in the reboot is an improvement; Dora and Boots no longer scream a majority of their lines at the top of their lungs and now have lower-pitched voices, making their vocals more tolerable. Some characters in the original had voices I found tolerable, like Map and Swiper, but overall, the reboot's voice acting feels less grating.
3. Backpack and Map's theme songs, the Travel Song, and We Did It are shortened, and they're not in every episode, so they're not as annoying or repetitive as their original versions. They're also less likely to get stuck in your head when you don't want them to.
4. The reboot's episodes are 11 minutes long, while the source material's episodes are 22 minutes (except for the specials). This shorter format avoids the filler content often found in the original series. For example, Dora and Boots no longer have to overcome obstacles in order to do simple tasks such as picking blueberries or buying ice cream.
In conclusion, while Dora (2024) has made some noticeable improvements over the original series, it still falls short in key areas that affect the overall experience. Some characters remain irritating and one-dimensional, and the educational aspects may not be as effective with the changes made. However, the new format and reduced repetition might appeal to some viewers. Ultimately, whether you enjoy the reboot may depend largely on your attachment to the original series and what you value in children's programming.
