Dora the Explorer, she's great
Dora the Explorer is an American animated television series on the Nickelodeon cable television network. Dora the Explorer became a regular series in 2000 after its pilot episode in 1999. Dora the Explorer show has captured the hearts of small children across the world. Dora the Explorer show has the perfect blend of music, adventure, and education to keep kids always interested and waiting to see what happens next. The first thing about the Dora the Explorer show that appeals to the audience is the cast of characters.
Interesting Facts:
- The show was created by Chris Gifford, Valerie Walsh, Rick Velleu and Eric Weiner.
- A Spanish dubbed version first aired as part of a Nick en español block on NBC Universal owned Telemundo through September 2006
- Dora the Explorer has been extremely successful, including $1 billion in sales in 2004 alone and by 2007, sales increased by 17 percent.
- Two stage versions of Dora the Explorer toured North America, the first being "City of Lost Toys," and the second being "Dora's Pirate Adventure." Produced by Nickelodeon and Live Nation, these productions featured live actors portraying the roles of Dora and her friends, including Boots, Diego, Isa, and the Fiesta Trio.
- There are many action figures and play sets available in many markets, along with DVDs, cosmetics, hygiene products, ride-ons, books, board games, plush dolls, apparel, handbags, play tents, play kitchens and more.
- Dora the Explorer toys are a perfect birthday gift for a fan. Dora the Explorer party supplies like paper plates, napkins and cups are a nice way to complete a Dora the Explorer theme party.
Characters of Dora:
Dora Marquez: Dora is the heart of what every child wants in a hero. She is brave, loyal, and kind to everyone. Inspite of small age, she faces every adventures enthusiastically, and follows her curiosity to explore the world around her. She is somewhat unique in American children's television, as she is bilingual.
Boots the Monkey: Boots the Monkey is Dora's best friend on the show, whom she met one day in the forest. He is voiced by Harrison Chad in the original English version. Boots is friendly and enthusiastic, and usually wears nothing but his beloved red boots, hence his name, Boots. He is gray with a yellow stomach. His mommy and daddy are designed in the same way with variations in eyes, height, clothing, and fur formation.
Fiesta Trio: Whenever Dora and Boots are successful in a given portion of their quest, the Fiesta Trio appears from seemingly nowhere to congratulate Dora and celebrate for a brief few seconds with music. The Fiesta Trio is a group of three small animals: a grasshopper, a snail, and a frog.
Backpack: Dora's purple Backpack mochila provides whatever Dora needs to complete her quests. Backpack seems to have a lot of extra space within her fabric to be held in such a small area.
Map: The Map is voiced by Marc Weiner that provides travel guidance and advice. Map introduces himself to the audience with a repetitive song, which is short in some episodes and longer in others, and describes the path Dora has to take on her quest. Usually the Map doesn't do anything more than the actions described above, but in a few episodes he plays a more active role, especially in the episode "Super Map".
Tico the Squirrel: Tico the Squirrel is a friend of Dora's who lives in the forest and who speaks Spanish and very rarely English. Tico's function on the show is to help Dora teach the audience words and phrases in Spanish.
Benny the Bull: Benny the Bull is voiced by Jake Burbage. He is a friend of Dora's who lives in a barn, loves to eat, and often rides in a hot air balloon.
The second secret to the success of the Dora the Explorer show is the interactive element. At various points during every episode, Dora will ask the children in the audience for help in some task. It makes children feel that they are really a part of the Dora the Explorer show, which is a large part of what keeps them coming back for more.
(Sources: absoluteastronomy.com, partysupplieshut.com, searchwarp.com)
