Review: Dora and the Lost City of Gold (2019)
In the first fifteen minutes of Dora and the Lost City of Gold, the titular character will remind audiences of how odd the original cartoon could be —from the bizarre talking objects, which include an all-knowing yet simple map and a bag with zipper mouth; the garrulous boot-wearing monkey, Boots; the wordy songs with nonsensical lyrics; to the oddity of Dora's break-the-fourth-wall trademark. The live-action adaptation begins with comprehensive mockery of such elements—reducing them merely as some products of children's imagination; therefore, those oddities are left behind in this new adventure. Only the carefree yet resourceful, Dora (portrayed enticingly by Isabel Moner), remains the same person as in the cartoon, even when she's grown up.
The live-action gets fast-forwarded to the...