You remember the memes. When the first trailer for Dora and the Lost City of Gold dropped back in 2019, the internet collectively lost its mind. People were making Michael Bay jokes about Dora walking away from massive explosions, mostly because of a persistent (and totally false) rumor that he was producing it. Honestly, it looked like a fever dream. A live-action teenage Dora who still breaks the fourth wall? It felt like a recipe for a cringey disaster.
But then the movie actually came out.
It turns out, James Bobin—the guy who gave us The Muppets—actually knew exactly what he was doing. Instead of a gritty reboot, we got a weirdly smart, self-aware adventure that somehow respected the source material while poking fun at it. It’s one of those rare family films that doesn't just treat the audience like they're four years old.
The Weird Reality of the Dora and the Lost City of Gold Universe
Most people expected a standard "fish out of water" story where Dora goes to high school. We got that, but the film stays bizarrely committed to its cartoon roots in a way that’s genuinely unsettling if you think about it too hard.
Take Swiper.
In the show, he’s a fox who steals things. In the movie, he is still a fox who steals things. He wears a blue mask. He walks on two legs. He is voiced by Benicio Del Toro, for some reason. The weirdest part? None of the adults in the movie find this strange. They just accept that there is a kleptomaniac talking fox working for a group of mercenaries.
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It’s this specific brand of surrealism that makes Dora and the Lost City of Gold stand out from typical Nickelodeon fare. The film constantly balances on a knife's edge between being a "real" jungle adventure and a meta-commentary on the original show. Dora herself, played by Isabela Merced (then Moner), is portrayed as a girl who is so relentlessly optimistic and "Dora-like" that she’s basically an alien to her high school peers.
Why the "Michael Bay" Rumor Stuck
It's funny how a single rumor can define a movie's pre-release hype. Because the film was being produced by Paramount and involved a lot of jungle action, a story circulated that Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes was the production company.
It wasn't.
While the movie has some decent stunts, it’s much closer to Indiana Jones than Transformers. The set pieces—like the quicksand scene or the massive Inca puzzles—feel tangible. They actually built huge sets at Village Roadshow Studios in Queensland, Australia, rather than relying entirely on a green screen. They even had actors speaking Quechua, the indigenous language of the Andes, to keep the Incan history at least somewhat grounded in reality.
The Incan Mystery: Is Parapata Real?
In the movie, Dora is searching for Parapata, the titular "Lost City of Gold." If you’re a history buff, you’ve probably heard of Paititi. That’s the real-world inspiration.
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Paititi is a legendary Incan city supposedly hidden somewhere in the dense rainforests of southeast Peru. Unlike El Dorado, which the Spanish mostly invented out of greed, Paititi has some actual historical legs. There are various accounts from the 16th century of Incas fleeing into the jungle with their gold after the Spanish conquest.
What the Movie Got Right (and Wrong)
- The Language: They used Quechua. That’s a huge win for authenticity.
- The Setting: While filmed in Australia, the production did a massive amount of research to make the "high jungle" of Peru look accurate.
- The Gold: Let’s be real. If a city made of solid gold actually existed, someone with a satellite would have found it by now. The movie treats it as a mystical, hidden site, which fits the "Inca legend" vibe perfectly.
That Hallucination Scene is Pure Nightmare Fuel
If you haven’t seen the movie in a while, you might have blocked out the scene where the characters accidentally inhale spores from giant flowers. Suddenly, the live-action world melts away.
Everything turns into 2D animation.
It’s the exact art style from the original Nickelodeon series. This is easily the most "meta" moment in the film. It’s a literal trip down memory lane that reminds you how weird the cartoon actually was. Seeing a 2D animated Alejandro (Eugenio Derbez) panic in a live-action jungle is the kind of creative risk you don't see in many $49 million movies.
Performance and the 2025 Reboot
The movie did... okay. It made about $121 million globally. That’s a win for a mid-budget family film, but it didn't set the world on fire. Critics actually liked it way more than audiences expected, with many praising Isabela Merced’s ability to play a character that should be annoying but is actually deeply charming.
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However, if you're looking for a direct sequel with the same cast, you might be disappointed. In 2025, Paramount released Dora and the Search for Sol Dorado.
It’s a reboot.
They swapped the cast, with Samantha Lorraine taking over the lead role. It’s a bit of a bummer for fans of the 2019 version, as that cast—including Michael Peña and Eva Longoria as Dora's parents—had incredible comedic timing. Peña’s "rave" speech alone is worth the price of admission.
Actionable Next Steps for Fans
If you're revisiting Dora and the Lost City of Gold or showing it to a new generation, here’s how to get the most out of it:
- Look for the Easter Eggs: The movie is packed with them. Diego’s stuffed jaguar is a nod to Baby Jaguar from Go, Diego, Go!. The "We Did It" song is there, but you have to wait for the credits to get the full, choreographed version.
- Compare it to the Reboot: If you have Paramount+, watch the 2019 film and then the 2025 Sol Dorado back-to-back. The 2019 version leans much harder into the "weirdness" of Dora, while the newer one tries to be a bit more of a standard action-adventure.
- Check the Locations: If you’re ever in Queensland, you can visit some of the filming sites like Tamborine Mountain. It looks just as lush in person as it does on screen.
The movie works because it doesn't try to make Dora "cool." It lets her be a dork. In a world of cynical reboots, that’s actually pretty refreshing.
Watch the 2019 film first if you want the "meta" experience, then move to the 2025 reboot for a more traditional action take on the character.