Dora the Explorer is a cartoon show that airs on the Nickelodeon channel and features stories about Dora Márquez, a young Hispanic woman who goes on adventurous adventures. The Dora the Explorer show is aimed at a younger audience, ages six to ten, though four- and five-year-olds also seem to enjoy the show. Dora speaks English and Spanish, and helps viewers learn to use simple Spanish words, so it’s not uncommon to see young viewers of the Dora the Explorer show who can understand basic Spanish words…and some of them are even able to use complete simple sentences correctly!
Of course, Dora is not alone during her adventures. The show features many other characters, the most important of them being a talking monkey named Boots. Her name comes from the red boots he likes to wear and, being Dora’s best friend, he joins her on every adventure he embarks on.
In every episode of Dora the Explorer, a cunning masked fox named Swiper tries to steal an item from Dora or her friend Boots, which usually jeopardizes the successful completion of the day’s quest, so Dora and her friends end up having to retrieve the stolen item in order to finish the mission. Sometimes the recovery of the stolen object is the search itself.
The only way Dora and Boots can stop Swiper from stealing something is by repeating the phrase “Swiper, No Swiping”. three times. If they don’t repeat this phrase three times, then the evil fox will steal the item and tell Dora and her best friend “you’re late”, throwing the item away.
Other characters in the Dora the Explorer Show are Dora’s parents, “Papi” (dad in Spanish?) and “Mami” (mom in Spanish), and also her “abuela” (“grandmother”). They both speak Spanish. and English, of course. Another cool character is Diego, who is Dora’s cousin. Diego is a boy who rescues animals that are in danger and often accompanies Dora on her adventures. Diego’s character became so popular that he even got his own show on it, called “Go, Diego. Let’s go.”
A group of bilingual animals, such as “Señor Toucan” and “Isa, the Iguana”; and some talking items, like Dora’s Backpack, complete the list of characters.
Dora the Explorer is a show that encourages viewer participation: Dora often asks the audience if they’ve seen Swiper or asks them to count the numbers with her. This is perhaps what makes Dora the Explorer such a great educational show, allowing young children to learn the basics of math (mainly counting), recognize different types of music, and use simple but useful Spanish words at a very young age. .
The Dora the Explorer Show became a regular series on Nickelodeon in 2000 and is still in production. The show is broadcast not only for the US, but also for many countries around the world. So far, Dora the Explorer has been translated into Spanish, Japanese, French, German, Dutch, and many other languages.
Copyright © Jared Winston, 2006. All rights reserved.