Go, Diego, Go!

A show that teaches toddlers about animals while being fun is a real gem, and we still use it years after it ended. My only issue with it is the use of "magic", taken from the Dora show. I would much rather see technology as a solution provider instead.

I hate to tear down something that tries to be positive, but this show has some serious problems. First of all, everyone has already gone over how unoriginal the show is, how it's just Dora for boys. That is no big deal, though. My issue with this program is the message it sends kids:

Baby wild animals are friendly and adorable and they NEED YOUR HELP.

We live in Alaska, where coming across bears is a very real possibility. All I can picture is Diego finding a baby bear:

DIEGO: Oh, look, a baby bear! He needs our help! BABY JAGUAR: Rowr! DIEGO: Look, here comes Mama Bear. She wants to give us a thank-you hug! You're welcome, Mama BeaaaAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!

Teach kids respect for nature and love of animals, that's great. But they need to learn that wild animals are wild and should be left alone. After one episode, we never watched this show again and never will.

I loved both Dora the Explorer and Diego when I was little. If you've seen one or both of those shows before, you know that they're spinoffs of each other and the shows' title characters are cousins. I now hate the former and feel so ashamed that I used to like it. As for the latter, I hated it during my early days of hating the former, but I'm now mixed/neutral towards it. It fixes some of my problems with Dora, and others remain. Allow me to explain why I feel the way I do about Diego.

Premise/plot: The premise of Diego's show is quite similar to Dora's. One of the main differences is that it features some different characters-although Dora and Boots make guest appearances from time to time. Instead of following a path, the title character rides a zipline to reach his destination. The focus is on animals and nature rather than math, kinesthetic skills, and problem-solving. The show also moves away from the "memorizing and finding" formula used in Dora.

One notable improvement in Diego's show is the learning aspect. It provides interesting facts about animals, such as how to identify their cries, and introduces viewers to lesser-known animals like chinchillas. However, there are a few inaccuracies-for instance, it mistakenly states that rhinos can only be found in Borneo.

Like Dora, Diego teaches some Spanish, which is one of the few aspects I appreciated about the original show. Consequently, when kids "graduate" from the "memorizing and finding" stage of Dora, Diego might be a suitable next step if they haven't already started watching it.

However, it's fair to say that Diego is somewhat of a rehash of Dora. It retains some of the repetitive elements of its predecessor, such as some but not all of the songs lacking variety in their lyrics and predictable interactions with the Bobo Brothers. Whenever the Bobo Brothers attempt to take something from Diego, he tells them, "Not so fast." They respond with, "Oops, sorry," and run off-similar to how Dora and Boots defeat Swiper.

I suspect that many boys wouldn't watch Dora because the title character is a girl. Perhaps Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. Aimed to create a boy-oriented version starring Diego, believing that a male character would attract more boys. However, several strong female characters are present, like Diego's sister Alicia, Mama Jaguar, and Click the Camera, making it possible that it is for both genders.

Music and songs: The songs are an improvement from the Dora songs. They're much catchier and more along the lines of noticeable dance music, most notably Click the Camera's Theme Song and the Rescue Pack Theme.

I'm probably the only person in the entire world who has noticed this, but the latter has a similar but slightly different-sounding beat to the Teddy Ruxpin song "Do the Grunge," which makes me like it even more! The music and songs have a jungle vibe, which is fitting because most of the episodes are set in jungles.

Characters: The main characters in this show are quite similar to the characters in "Dora the Explorer." One might say they're almost rehashes of them. Diego is Dora, Baby Jaguar is Boots, Click the Camera is Map, Rescue Pack is Backpack, and the Bobo Brothers are Swiper. The Bobo Brothers never seem to sincerely apologize for taking Diego's belongings, which suggests that they aren't truly sorry for their actions. You would think they would learn their lesson about stealing after being confronted countless times, but they never do, much like Swiper.

Interestingly, the Bobo Brothers don't seem intimidated when Diego says, "Not so fast!"-unlike Swiper when Dora and Boots say, "Swiper, no swiping!". It's also worth noting that Diego's voice is notably higher in this show than in Dora.

Despite the characters being quite Dora-like, there are some traits I appreciate that seem to be missing from the "Dora" characters. For instance, Diego consistently saves animals in need and promotes environmental conservation, which I commend him for. Additionally, he's not as oblivious as Dora, which I find appealing. Both he and Alicia are very experienced and knowledgeable about technology, and Alicia also assists at the animal sanctuary.

Baby Jaguar is an adorable character, and I find his growls both cute and funny! Unlike Backpack, who simply carries items, Rescue Pack has the incredible ability to transform into anything Diego might need-a kayak, a telescope, a rope, a hang glider-anything at all. This unique feature makes Rescue Pack stand out as better than Backpack!

Ironically, I don't remember as much about this show and its characters as I do about "Dora the Explorer." I think I've watched more of "Dora" than this show.

If you don't like Dora, maybe you would like Diego better.

My 3 year old daughter never really gravitated to Dora, but they showed a Dora episode introducing Diego and she was hooked. She has learned a lot about other animals than the normal ones they teach in pre-school. She has learned about animals that my wife and I didn't even know existed. Because it is only on 2-3 times during the day, it can be on at the wrong times. Thank god for Tivo. She will watch the same one 2-3 times in a row before I have to convince her to watch another one. The secret is to record from Tivo to a DVD with a recordable DVD player. Saves a lot of money from buying the individual DVDs at $15-20 each. We all know that kids this age cycle through shows about every 2-3 months (except Clifford). That one has stood the test of time.

My daughter loves both Diego and Dora but she definitely prefers Diego. Although Diego is a spin off of Dora, the show is good and my daughter learned so much about animals. She is 3.5y-o and she knows a lot more than the children of her age. We watch the show in French - teaching English words - and my daughter loves it. With Dora, my daughter is getting a little bit fed up. I think she has seen it all and therefore prefers diego. However, I think both shows are important and involve the kids. I recommend Dora and Diego to all parents and children who do not want their children to be couch potatoes.I think that a show involving children both physically and mentally is a must see TV.