Dora and the Lost City of Gold (2019)
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Dora and the Lost City of Gold Movie Review
Dora and the Lost City of Gold is a 2019 family adventure comedy film directed by James Bobin and starring Isabela Moner. It’s a surprisingly solid, fun flick.
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“Oh look, Dora brought a knife
on the field trip, everybody!“
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Having spent most of her life exploring the jungle, nothing could prepare Dora for her most dangerous adventure yet – high school. Accompanied by a ragtag group of teens and Boots the monkey, Dora embarks on a quest to save her parents while trying to solve the seemingly impossible mystery behind a lost Incan civilization.
First and foremost, I have always as a kid wondered about Dora the Explorer and why is it so stupid. So yes, I never liked it, not even as a child. And this movie reminded me of that with a very annoying opening. I hated that she broke the fourth wall so constantly and I was worried that the whole movie would be like that.
But then everything changed when the movie became much more interesting and/or entertaining. I am of course talking about its irreverent, very self-mocking way of comedy. The flick basically makes fun of its title character and particularly this property, but in a very funny, and never overly condescending manner.
That’s why the second act is the best part of the movie whereas the third act is fine, but a standard conclusion for this type of movie. The humor is great, especially in the school scenario, and some moments, such as the pooping scene, are so weird to the point of becoming a genuine curiosity.
As for the visuals, the movie looks pretty good, albeit nothing special. I liked the designs of the animals and it looks very polished, but maybe too polished and shiny, though the Peruvian jungle is very well utilized and I loved how adventurous the film is, though obviously typical in plot and in the villain reveal. I also liked the use of Spanish language in it. Also, the animated sequence was so charming that I wanted more of it.
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Eugenio Derbez plays such an annoying, obviously villainous character who is my least favorite here, but Diego is memorable in his annoyance with Dora, and I really liked Sammy who is a lot of fun and sharing some great interactions with Dora who is phenomenally played by Isabela Moner and very on-point that I was quite impressed with her work here. Boots the monkey is cute, but I wanted more of Swiper the Fox in the movie.
Dora and the Lost City of Gold is a surprisingly solid family adventure flick with an annoying beginning and a pretty standard third act, but a hugely entertaining, adventurous and funny second act with a very welcome self-aware approach to it. Isabela Moner is stupendous and very believable in the main role.
