National Treasure for kids. That’s what I kept thinking throughout much of the 102 minutes of Dora and the Lost City of Gold. And just to be clear, National Treasure is one of the most fun and rewatch able movies out there, so that’s a very positive comparison. But it takes a little bit of a preamble to get there.
Dora (Isabela Moner) grew up in the jungle, just her and her mom Elena (Eva Longoria), and dad Cole (Michael Peña). Her cousin – and best friend – Diego (Jeff Wahlberg) lived there as well, before moving to Los Angeles at the age of six. Fast forward 10 years and Elena and Cole are about to embark on their biggest quest yet: to discover Parapata, the lost city of gold. Instead of taking Dora with them, they send her to Los Angeles to live with her aunt and uncle, reuniting her with Diego.
Having never been around other kids, Dora’s assimilation into high school life predictably goes poorly. One of Dora’s few comforts is tracking her parents’ progress on their journey. She wishes nothing more than to be with them, back where she believes she belongs.
Where’s the tension?
On a class field trip to the museum, Dora is kidnapped, along with Diego and two other classmates. The perpetrators are something of rivals with her parents. Except where Elena and Cole want to find Parapata for research and educational purposes, this group wants it for its riches. See where the National Treasure comparisons make sense?
Eventually rescued by a colleague of her parents, Dora leads the group on a trek through the jungle, hoping to simultaneously find her parents and reach Parapata before the treasure hunters. This inevitably leads them into various difficult and dangerous situations, tailor-made for Dora’s jungle-dwelling childhood.
Being a kids movie, there’s never any real feeling of dread or sense that the characters are in any actual danger. And while that’s fine for the target demographic, it does take away from the experience of any adults in the audience. But that being said, it’s still a fun ride watching the group showcase their incredible chemistry as they work their way through the jungle.
Let the kids shine
Probably the best decision made in was to let the four main kids become the true stars of the story. It would have been easy to let Michael Peña and Eva Longoria take control of the movie and act as safety nets for the young cast. But director James Bobin put his faith in the (relative) newcomers, and it paid off big time.
Jeff Wahlberg, Madeleine Madden, and Nicholas Coombe are great as Diego, Sammy, and Randy, respectively. And that’s with their characters not being much more than clichéd high schoolers. Each has their role to play, and there’s very little deviation from that. But they put so much effort into their roles, and play them with such earnestness that it’s easy to look past the shallow character development.
But as great as they are, it’s Isabela Moner as the titular character who stands out in Dora and The Lost City Of Gold. Only 18, this is her third straight fantastic performance. She was one of the few bright spots in last year’s Sicario: Day of the Soldado (one of the year’s bigger disappointments) and was wonderful in Instant Family (one of 2018’s bigger surprises). If she keeps it up, she’ll be a household name in no time, and will maintain that status for years to come.
The Dora character is relentlessly positive, confident, and energetic, and Moner channels it all perfectly. Whether she’s running through the jungle by herself, or trying to survive in a big new city while navigating the altogether different jungle of high school, she remains herself, through and through. And as nice as that is to see, the movie takes it even one step further.
As Dora gets made fun of and struggles to connect with her new classmates, she maintains the same upbeat personality. While it would have been easy for screenwriters Nicholas Stoller and Matthew Robinson to explain it away as Dora simply lacking self-awareness, they thankfully add more depth to it. At one point, cousin Diego confronts her (these quotes will not be verbatim), “You know they’re mocking you, right?” To which Dora replies, “I know that, but I have no choice but to be me.”
Dora doesn’t cave to peer pressure to change who she is. She doesn’t slink away and try to live on the sidelines. She steels herself against the jerks and the bullies and continues to confidently be who she is. And as a movie with a younger target audience, that simple scene can go a long way. It’s a great teachable moment for parents to share with their kids. It wasn’t a critical scene, but its importance extends far beyond the big screen. Kudos to Bobin, Stoller, and Robinson on making sure that scene remained in the film.
Wait, what just happened?
With any movie like Dora and the Lost City of Gold, there is going to be some level of suspension of disbelief, and that’s fine. Can a 16 year old actually communicate with certain wild animals? Sure, in this hyper-realized environment, why not. Do characters recover too quickly from what should have been serious accidents? Absolutely, but it’s not overused, so this too can be overlooked.
However, there are a few instances where what the movie is expecting the audience to simply accept as possible goes too far. One instance is a big spoiler, but it almost delves into supernatural territory. The others aren’t necessarily major plot spoilers, but it’s still better to leave them unsaid. But the way certain animals act, when no other animals come anywhere close to this, is too much. Yes, it’s minor and the moments don’t last long. But they are so just far removed from the movie’s reality.
The movie does nothing to set these moments up, which makes them extra jarring. They bring any momentum to a grinding halt, and it takes some time to get the momentum back. Don’t get me wrong, kids are going to love these parts. But when looking at them from a larger scale standpoint, they stick out as parts that would have benefited from even a small explanation or set up.
Dora And The Lost City Of Gold: A kids movie with enough for the adults too
While ultimately a kids movie at its core, there’s enough else to make it surprisingly entertaining for adults as well. Yes, the older audience has to look past a basic plot, simple explanations and resolutions for many of the conflicts, and minimal character development. And granted, it’s fair to point out that’s quite a bit to overlook. But if you can, what’s left in between all that is endearing, fun, and truly quite enjoyable.
Score: 68/100
