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Dora and the Search for Sol Dorado
2025 American film by Alberto Belli From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Dora and the Search for Sol Dorado[a] is a 2025 American adventure comedy film directed by Alberto Belli and written by JT Billings. Based on the Dora the Explorer franchise created by Chris Gifford, Valerie Walsh Valdes, and Eric Weiner, it stars Samantha Lorraine, Jacob Rodriguez, Daniella Pineda, and Gabriel Iglesias. The film recreates the characters and reboots the story of an explorer named Dora and her cousin Diego, who are in search of an ancient magical fallen star through a jungle, while facing an archaeologist with the similar mission.
After being developed, the filming took place in Colombia through summer and fall of 2024. The film was released simultaneously on Nickelodeon and Paramount+ on July 2, 2025.
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Plot
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Ten years earlier, Dora and Diego's grandfather used to tell them Incan stories. He shared about Sol Dorado,[a] a fallen magical star that has the power to grant a selfless wish. Dora was given the Map, which she believes guides her on adventures, and loves to explore the Amazon rainforest with Diego. She rescued a monkey and named him Boots.
In the present, Dora is on another adventure to search for Sol Dorado. Despite being resistant, Diego joins only for the last adventure. Inside a cave, she interprets a quipu leading toward an artifact. However, the cave sets on fire, a booby trap, before Diego activates his Rescue Pack to save Dora, who eventually loses her Map in the fire. Heartbroken, Dora assumes she is nothing without the Map, before she is diverted by the Jungle World's new manager, Camila, whom Dora had admired for years.
At Jungle World, Dora becomes a guide on the ride with annoyingly scripted puns, where Diego holds the show of his cockatoo, Mango. There, they discover that Camila is finding the Emperor's Bracelet, the key to Sol Dorado. Diego calls this a myth, but Dora sneaks into the forbidden area and unlocks a box using the artifact, from which the bracelet binds to her hand and gives her a vision of three entrances toward Sol Dorado. Camila finds the box empty, suspects Dora of theft, and commands her men to stop Dora from escaping, but the bracelet helps Dora avoid them. On the ride, Dora discovers that Diego had a girlfriend, Naiya, who is driving them during the escape and encounter with the henchmen. Eventually, they crash in the middle of the jungle, potentially leaving Camila behind.
From her Backpack, Dora gives Diego his Rescue Pack and Naiya a medical kit, to continue their adventure. Dora has a vision of the first location, El Gran Valle de la Muerte,[b] and tries to lead the way on her own. There, after deciphering quipu, they find a lead into the graves before the walls could crush them. Eventually, they get a clue to the second location, the Macaws of Cinchona, through Dora's another vision. At night, Swiper the Fox traces the group and swipes away Dora's Backpack, making the track easier for his owner, Camila.
Dora wakes up heartbroken over losing the Backpack, so Diego calls off the mission before the bracelet binds him back. He opens up about his opportunity for an internship that led to his unwillingness to co-explore. Moving on to the location, a math puzzle guides them through the quipu swings. While Naiya, a sudoku player, solves the puzzle, Diego swings over the spikes to unlock the bridge leading them to another clue. Dora has an emotional breakdown over not wanting to lose Diego, so he comforts her and gets a vision of the third location, the Temple of Light. Outside, Camila captures the group and follows the tipline, while Dora falls off the cliff during the encounter.
Dora regains consciousness under the full moon and discovers she is the actual map herself. She reads the stars to find the exact way, activates the Rescue Pack against Camila's group, and opens the Temple using the artifact. However, Camila tailgates Dora's group and opens up about her career failure, which led her to selfishly search for Sol Dorado.
Inside, Dora and Camila decode the quipu together, leading them to weigh the gold on the scales to open the gateway ahead in return. The last scale could not weigh enough, so Camila sacrifices herself to open the gateway before the bracelet rescues her. They connect the third clue, and Camila opens the Sol Dorado using the bracelet as the key. Camila and Dora commit to have found their true selves, the Crusader and the Explorer, respectively, so they selflessly use the wish to prevent Diego from losing his internship.
Diego and Naiya reconcile during the adventure and vow to stay connected. Diego bids farewell before leaving for New York City. Dora finally sees the green flash as Diego gives her the new Map, prompting another adventure.
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Cast and characters
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- Samantha Lorraine as Dora Márquez
While the character stops frequently breaking the fourth wall, Lorraine explains her version of Dora to be more "smart" and "quick-witted", who would go through low times in her life and lose her important things. She does not like to sing much, unlike previous versions of Dora.[4][5][6]- Scarlett Spears as Young Dora[7]
- Jacob Rodriguez as Diego Márquez
This version of character is presented as more nervous and risk calculator, unlike the original character who was braver.[6] The Sol Dorado[a] wish is finally used for him, so he can visit the New York City for an internship in the College of Zoology to pursue his own adventure.[8][9]- Tiago Martinez as Young Diego[7]
- Mariana Garzón Toro as Naiya, Diego's girlfriend[7]
- Acston Luca Porto as Sonny, Naiya's younger brother[7]
- Daniella Pineda as Camila, an archaeologist
She is presented as the star of a former show Camila the Crusader, whom Dora had admired, until realizing her intentions to be in opposition. She had lost her reputation after facing humiliation on live television after failing to locate a treasure. She has now a pet fox, Swiper.[6][9][10] - Gabriel Iglesias voices Boots, Dora's pet monkey[11]
- María Cecilia Botero as Dora's Abuela[c][7]
- J. Santiago Suarez as Dora's Abuelo[d][7]
- Jacqueline Obradors voices Mango[5]
- Christian Gnecco Quintero as Beetle, Camila's henchman[7]
- Valentina Latyna as Sabrina Márquez, Diego's mother[12]
- Valentina Acosta as Elena Márquez, Dora's mother[13]
- George Slebi as Cole Márquez, Dora's father[14]
- Óscar Roda as Nico Márquez, Diego's father[15]
Additionally, the Map, who was characterized as speaking and singing originally, is shown here as only Dora's belief. Similarly, the Backpack and the Rescue pack also do not have the subjective roles. Boots and Swiper cannot speak, to depict the reality of the animals. Only Dora can chatter with Boots in monkey language, which is occasionally translated in English for the audience only.[6][16] Dora used to miss her grandfather after his death, and waits to see the green flash of light at sunset, as she believes that he will send a message through it, until she finally sees it one day.[9] The film highlights ayllu, and shares a message to be selfless and not a selfish.[3][6][8][17] It also pokes fun at Dora's classic dialogues, and she instead uses the catchphrases. Dora and Diego have a secret handshake, and they can speak Quechua and interpret quipus, inspired by the ancient Inca mythology.[2][18][19] The Hacienda Nápoles is depicted in the film as the Jungle World.[20]
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Production
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Development
The director Alberto Belli shared a concept to the writer JT Billings about recreating a story in Dora the Explorer franchise.[21] It is the second film following Dora and the Lost City of Gold (2019), and is termed as a reboot to the original franchise with redefined characters,[13][22] and draws inspiration from the Indiana Jones franchise.[3][4][8][22]
Casting and filming
In May 2024, the film title was revealed as Dora and the Search for Sol Dorado, with Samantha Lorraine in eponymous role,[23] which the filmmakers had finalized after searching in different countries for about two months.[24] She is termed as the sixth Dora of the franchise.[5] Jacob Rodriguez was cast as Dora's cousin Diego the following month,[25] making his feature film debut.[26] Principal photography bagan in July 2024,[27] and took place for about four months at different locations in Colombia,[24][28] including Bogotá, Cundinamarca, Antioquia, Doradal, and Girardot.[20][29] While a few scenes had required her body double,[24] Lorraine performed most of the stunts in the film herself.[21]
The director revealed that they were actually in the jungle. They had to be careful of the challenges like hot weather, rains, mosquitoes, snakes, and scorpions, and so a snake handler assisted them throughout as well.[16][20][24][30] Many other animals, including a lizard, a snake, a capybara, and a group of llamas, also appeared in the film, and wranglers from the American Humane Society assisted the cast on handling them. A scene was also filmed showing a live scorpion, real cockroaches, and glued stuffed bugs including centipedes and beetles. After filming, the container of bugs was taken back.[31]
Federico Cantini served as the cinematographer, and he used Sony VENICE 2 and Sony FX3 cameras. The team had multi-camera setup across the two units, using Steadicam, Rialto, camera dolly, or technocrane. Film speed was kept ISO 800 for the major part, while some scenes required ISO 3200. Each cave in the film was designed and lit up differently by production designer Todd Cherniawsky, gaffer Juan Manuel Barreto, and color grader Walter Volpatto.[20] Adam Bonnett and Jonathan McCoy served as the executive producers, Kristin Burr and Benjamin Tappan as the film producers, and Evan Ahlgren as the film editor,[2] while SpinVFX provided the visual effects.[32]
In May 2025, the roles of Mariana Garzón Toro, Acston Luca Porto, Daniella Pineda, and Gabriel Iglesias were also revealed.[33] Iglesias shared that he was cast only on a direct phone call offer to voice the character of Dora's pet monkey Boots.[11] The filmmakers had studied and recorded the behaviours of an actual monkey as well before creating the character a complete CGI. A stuffed monkey and a tennis ball were also used on set to portray Boots.[5][16][31]
In June and July 2025, the roles of further cast members were also revealed, including María Cecilia Botero, George Slebi, Óscar Rodo, J. Santiago Suarez, Jacqueline Obradors, Christian Gnecco Quintero, Valentina Latyna, Valentina Acosta, Scarlett Spears, and Tiago Martinez.[5][7][13][15]
Soundtrack
The film score is composed by Kenny Wood. An accompanying soundtrack album, consisting 26 tracks, was also released by Republic Records,[34] along with a single "View From Here"[35] by Charity Daw, and "Dora the Explorer Theme" by Shila Olinda Farahani.[36]
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Release
The film premiere event was held in Los Angeles, California, on June 25, 2025.[37] Dora and the Search for Sol Dorado was released in United States simultaneously on Nickelodeon and Paramount+ on July 2, 2025, during the 25th anniversary of the original series.[4][38] It was released internationally on July 4, 2025.[29]
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 7 out of 8 critics' reviews are positive.[39]
Callie Hanna wrote in FandomWire that the film is "far from perfect, often rushed", but the "charming characters" and "compelling adventure scenes" work out.[40] DeVonne Goode wrote in Parents that with a "more straightforward narrative", the film has "plenty of humor, action, and great displays of teamwork".[28] Rosana Maris Arias called the "story and dialogue" as "lighthearted", but noted its inaccurate representation of the Spanish community, in a review at The Nerds of Color.[41] Brennan Klein wrote in Screen Rant that the film "has some solid merits and a few major faults, but it's mostly a featureless, smooth blob of family entertainment".[26] Carlos Aguilar of Variety called it a "flawed family-friendly movie" which might have a "great value beyond its artistic shortcomings".[2] John Serba of Decider reviews that the film "breaks new ground" with "some modest fun and a handful of laughs, and [ends] up in the black creatively".[18]
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Notes
- lit. 'Golden Sun' in Spanish[3]
References
External links
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