Dora the Explorer

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Dora the Explorer
From L to R: Swiper (in background), Dora, and Boots </small>
Genre	Animated series
Running time	30 minutes
Creator(s)	Chris Gifford Valerie Walsh Eric Weiner
Executive producer(s)	Chris Gifford
Starring	Jake Burbage Harrison Chad Felipe Dieppa Elaine Del Valle Ashley Fleming Eileen Galindo Chris Gifford Kathleen Herles John Leguizamo Ricardo Montalban Esai Morales Amy Principe Irwin Reese Antonia Rey K.J. Sanchez Adam Sietz Sasha Toro Leslie Valdes Marc Weiner Jose Zelaya Explorer Stars voices Christiana Anbri Henry Gifford Katie Gifford Aisha Shickler
Country of origin	USA
Original channel	Nickelodeon
No. of episodes	45

Dora the Explorer is an American animated television series for preschool-age children that is broadcast on Nickelodeon in the United States. A pilot episode for this series aired in 1999. Dora the Explorer became a regular series in 2000. The show was created by Chris Gifford, Valerie Walsh, and Eric Weiner. The series airs on Nick, as well as Noggin, the Nickelodeon-owned channel for preschoolers. The show had aired on CBS until September of 2006.

In the UK, the show airs on CITV and Nick Jr.

Dora the Explorer has been extremely successful commercially, generating over $3 billion in retail sales of associated products since 2000[1], including $1 billion in 2004 alone. [2]. It's currently the most-watched pre-school show in US.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

1 Characters
2 Episode list
- 2.1 Regular episodes
- 2.2 Double-length features
3 Plot
4 Foreign language versions of Dora the Explorer
5 Stage Adaptations
6 Dora the Explorer merchandise
7 Trivia
8 References in popular culture
9 External links

Characters

Dora

Seven-year-old Dora Marquez is voiced by Kathleen Herles in the original English version. Dora's name is taken from the Spanish word Exploradora, which means "female explorer." It is also said that her namesake is Dora Barlaz, a science teacher at New York City's Horace Mann School, who was the fiancée of the show's creator when he was designing it. They did not marry.

In every episode, Dora goes on a quest, usually to help someone in trouble or otherwise do a good deed for someone. Her quests often involve gathering key objects and/or surmounting obstacles, and are usually done in three stages. Dora has a knack for almost anything she tries, but is best at soccer, and is unable to ignore a friend in need. She is very close to her family, particularly her Abuela (grandmother), and is never seen without her flower bracelet given to her by her Abuela. She has a teddy bear she got on her first birthday, which she loves very much (like Boots does his stuffed dinosaur); she even went on an adventure just to find it when she lost it.

She can think of a way out of any trouble she or her friends come across.

Her love for exploring seems to run in the family. Her Abuela was an explorer just like Dora when she was her granddaughter's age, and Dora's mother is an archaeologist. Dora has been shown wanting to teach her baby brother and sister to explore when they're older.

Although she mainly uses English and Spanish, Dora is multilingual and has shown that she knows at least four other languages.

One of the main characteristics of the show is viewer interaction; Dora always asks the viewers at home to help her do things or to tell her things she needs to know. (There is no "fourth wall" in this series.)

Boots

Boots the Monkey is Dora's best friend on the show. 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 is present with Dora on her adventures, and he helps Dora to solve clues and puzzles. He loves bananas. Boots' father, who is variously considered to be an engineer, an architect, or a contractor, is seen in one episode completing an amusement park and another completing a bridge. Boots loves his father, and in the same episode the two share a banana.

Boots has a plush toy dinosaur, which he can't sleep without (as shown in the episode "Boots' Cuddly Dinosaur").

Diego

Some more recently produced episodes have introduced Dora's cousin Diego, voiced by Felipe Dieppa. Diego is an intrepid young animal rescue worker and sometimes partners with Dora in her adventures. He proved to be popular enough for Nickelodeon to introduce a separate Diego series entitled Go, Diego, Go! in 2005. Just like Dora, Diego has a best friend who travels with him: Baby Jaguar, who started to talk in the Go Diego Go! series. He is able to speak to animals.

Swiper

Swiper is a sneaky fox, clad in a purple mask and gloves, who appears in nearly every episode; he's voiced by Marc Weiner. As his name implies, Swiper steals or attempts to steal key items that help Dora on her adventures. Swiper never appears without sufficient notice; an ominous "whisking" sound is heard by both the audience and the characters on screen prior to the moment when items are at risk of theft.

To prevent Swiper from success, Dora would need to repeat the phrase, "Swiper, no swiping!" three times. Usually she prevails, and Swiper slinks away, snapping his fingers and saying, "Ohh, man!" However, sometimes Swiper gets to the item before Dora has a chance to repeat the phrase. He then gloats, "You're too late!" (and frequently "You'll never find it now!"). He never seems to actually want the object he takes, since he almost immediately throws it away to hide it from Dora (prompting her to ask the viewers of the show to help her find it). He seemingly wants only to annoy Dora and keep her from her goal. However, if given the right reason — e.g., the item in question is a present for Dora's puppy — he'll return the item, no matter how much effort he went through to get it. It is also shown that he rarely knows the full importance of what he's taken; e.g. he had no idea the aformentioned gift was for Dora's puppy. He has some kind of New York accent, and lives in a burrow on top of Blueberry Hill (no relation to the song).

Swiper is very fast and agile, and something of a master of disguise. He seems to have a great deal of technical knowledge, as he's built a variety of vehicles and gadgets (including a remote-controlled robot butterfly) to help him swipe things. Most of the time, however, he simply relies on his natural stalking abilities — sometimes with the aid of a costume — to sneak up on Dora. In the early episodes he often "hid" by curling up into a ball, which neither Dora nor Boots ever recognized as Swiper; he apparently doesn't do this anymore. He has only been seen once without his mask (in the episode "Dora's Got a Puppy"), when the robot butterfly he built to swipe from Dora and Boots apparently malfunctioned; after they stopped it, it swiped his mask and kept it from him for a few humorous seconds.

None of Swiper's relatives have ever been seen, but his grandmother has been mentioned in two episodes: "A Letter For Swiper" and "Swiper the Explorer."

Over the course of the series, it's shown that there's more to Swiper's character than an urge to swipe things. In one episode it was revealed that Swiper has a soft spot for puppies, and in another that he likes Cowboy cookies. In the episode "A Letter For Swiper," Dora filled in for a delivery bird who was injured; Dora delivered stickers to Swiper (which were sent by his grandmother), and he thanked her for it without trying to swipe anything. In the episode "Swiper the Explorer," Swiper helps Dora on her quest to help Baby Fox find its mommy, and Swiper carries the baby fox almost all through the episode.

The interaction between Dora and the antagonistic fox also reveals the kindness and grace of Dora's character. In several episodes, Swiper finds himself captured, trapped or in some sort of trouble. Despite his history of mean-spiritedness toward Dora, she considers the fox her friend (which he doesn't find out until "Dora's World Adventure") and will always unquestioningly help Swiper just as she would her other friends, Benny, Isa, Boots and Tico. If Dora needs his help he'll come to her aid in the same manner.

Swiper is far from being unable to feel guilty for his actions. In "Dora's World Adventure," Swiper helps Dora return the friendship bracelets he'd swiped all over the world, and was shown to feel guilty once he discovered the magnitude of what he'd done and what he'd stolen. During this time Swiper gets a taste of his own medicine, so to speak, as each country they visit has its own "Swiper," only of different species, who tries to steal the bracelets; they are Fifi the Skunk in France (the only female), Ying Yang the Weasel in China, Fomkah the Bear in Russia, and Sami the Hyena in Tanzania. All of them act and dress nearly identical to Swiper and are stopped in the same way he is; by saying their name, followed by "no swiping," three times. Then they run off, saying Swiper's catch phrase, "Ohh, man," in the local language; this was also their only line. Their entrances are also preluded by a sound, only with local music; e.g. Ying Yang has a chau gong playing. Strangely, they were the only ones Dora didn't give a friendship bracelet to, even though she gave Swiper one.

Fiesta Trio

Whenever Dora and Boots are successful in a given portion of their quest (quests are usually divided into three portions), 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.

Other characters

Other recurring human characters include:

Dora's mother (Mamí).
Dora's father (Papí).
Dora's grandmother (Abuela).
Dora's cousin (Diego's sister; Daisy).
Dora's baby brother and sister.

There are a number of minor, recurring animal characters such as:

Señor Tucan.
Isa the Iguana (voiced by Ashley Flemming).
Benny the Bull (voiced by Jake Burbage), who loves to eat, and often rides in a hot air balloon.
The Big Red Chicken.
Baby Jaguar, who doesn't speak (in this series) but seems to be just as intelligent as the other characters.
Tico the Squirrel (who's been voiced by Muhammed Cunningham and Jose Zelaya), who only speaks Spanish, wears a colorful striped vest, and is usually seen driving his little yellow car.
The Grumpy Old Troll (pictured).

Additionally, the show features a number of anthropomorphic voice-activated objects, notably:

Dora's purple Backpack (voiced by Sasha Tora), which provides whatever Dora needs to complete her quests. The backpack is a magic satchel, which has been known to produce large items, including multiple ladders, two complete space suits — one each for Dora and Boots — and other items that simply could not fit inside it. It was given to Dora as a present by her mother. To make the Backpack open up, Dora asks the viewers at home to say "Backpack."
The Map (voiced by Marc Weiner), which provides travel guidance and advice. When not being consulted, the rolled-up Map resides in a side pocket on the Backpack; to make the Map come out, Dora asks the viewers at home to say "Map."
Sometimes there are also locomotives, boats, and automobiles with speaking roles. In addition, some episodes include talking trees, gates and walls.

Newer episodes feature flying stars, which Dora and Boots catch and put into the star pocket on Backpack. The stars are always excited about going into the star pocket, which was shown in one episode to have much more space inside that one would think, similar to Backpack herself. Normally among these stars are one or more Explorer Stars, which have special powers that Dora uses to overcome obstacles. In the first episode of the 2003-04 season (the first show to feature the stars), Dora and Boots are navigating a boat across a sea when they encounter a pack of sharks in their path; at which point they use a "springy star" to cause the boat to literally leap over the sharks. [3]

Episode list

Regular episodes

The Big Red Chicken
Lost and Found
Hic-Boom-Ohhh
Beaches
We All Scream for Ice Cream
Choo Choo
Treasure Island
Three Li'l Piggies
Big River
Berry Hunt
Wizzle Wishes
Grandma's House
Surprise
Sticky Tape
Bouncing Ball
Backpack
Fish Out of Water
Bugga, Bugga
Little Star
Dora Saves the Prince
El Coqui
The Chocolate Tree
Te Amo
Pablo's Flute
To The Treehouse
The Search for the City of Lost Toys
Christmas Special
Dora's Backpack Adventure
The Big Storm
Rapido Tico
The Magic Stick
The Missing Piece
Lost Squeaky
Rojo, the Fire Truck
Lost Map
El Dia de las Madres
Golden Explorers
A Present for Santa
Doctor Dora
Pinto, the Pony Express
Leon, the Circus lion
The Festival of the Big Piñata
The Happy Old Troll
Super Map!
A Letter for Swiper
Yes We Can!
El Musico
Hide and Go Seek
Click
Egg Hunt
Super Spies
Dora's Starcatching Adventure
Stuck Truck
Roberto the Robot
The Big Potato
Meet Diego
Save the Puppies
Por Favor!
Baby Dino
To the South Pole
What Happens Next
Rescue, Rescue, Rescue
I've Got a Hole in My Boot
Baseball Boots
Boots' Special Day
BOO
Dora Saves the Ge
Louder!
Journey to the Purple Planet
Boots' Cuddly Dinosaur
The Super Silly Fiesta
Best Friend
ABC Animals
Dora's First Trip
Star Mountain
Super Spies II: The Swiping Machine
La Maestra de Musica
Daisy la Quinceniera
Save Diego
Baby Jaguar's Roar
A Crown for King Juan el Bobo
Dora's Got a Puppy
Big Sister Dora
Boots to the Rescue
Super Babies (part one)
Swiper the Explorer
We're a Team
Mixed-Up Seasons
The Shy Rainbow
Baby Crab
Catch the Babies
School Pet
Whose Birthday is It?
Quack! Quack!
Jobs, Jobs, Jobs
Super Babies (part two)
Dora and Diego to the Rescue!
Dora Had a Little Lamb

Double-length features

Dora's Fairytale Adventure
Dora's Pirate Adventure
Dora's Dance to the Rescue
Dora's World Adventure

Plot

The episodes of Dora the Explorer almost always follow the same never-changing pattern:

Dora has something she wants to do or somewhere she needs to go.
Dora has three places to go, with the third place as the destination.
Dora and Boots meet Swiper somewhere along the way, sometimes succeed at saying 'Swiper no Swiping' three times, sometimes Swiper successfully swipes Dora's item and hides it. Dora and Boots always find the hidden item.
Dora will meet one of her friends at each of the locations detailed by the Map.
Dora always succeeds in passing the obstacles.
In the English version, Dora will ask the viewers to help her by giving advice (jump, run etc.), locating items (especially those stolen by Swiper) and often shouting commands to the characters in Spanish (especially Tico and Sr. Tucan, who can only speak Spanish).
Every character that appeared on the episode sings 'We did it' at the end except for Swiper (unless Swiper has taken some positive role in the episode, such as the episode where he rescues a lost baby fox).
Dora asks viewers what their favorite part was. She (and usually Boots) then proceed to tell the viewer which part of the adventure she most enjoyed. Any other major character can also be included in this section.
During the closing Credits, viewers are either asked to find a character, hiding in a location, or follow instructions to achieve an objective.

Foreign language versions of Dora the Explorer

As with most animated series made in the US, Dora the Explorer has been dubbed into many languages all over the world. The simplicity and repetitious nature of the episodes make this series especially well-suited for learning important phrases in a foreign language.

Dutch. In the Dutch language version, broadcast on Nickelodeon, the bilingualism is Dutch-English.

French. In the French language version, Dora l'exploratrice, broadcast on TF1 in France and VRAK.TV in Canada, the bilingualism is Anglo-French, with Dora and Boots (called Babouche) speaking French and other protagonists speaking and answering in English.

German. In the German language version, broadcast on the recently restarted German branch of Nickelodeon, the bilingualism is Anglo-German, analogous to the French and Japanese Version.

Greek. In the Greek version called "Ντόρα η μικρή εξερευνήτρια" (Dora the little explorer), broadcast on Channel 9, the bilingualism is Greek-English. Dora and Boots (called Botas) speak Greek and other protagonists speak and answer in English.

Hebrew. In the Hebrew version, broadcast on HOP channel, the bilingualism is Hebrew-English. The series is called Megalim Im Dora [מגלים עם דורה] (Discovering with Dora).

Indonesian. The Indonesian language version, formerly broadcast on Lativi, is now broadcast on Global TV.

Irish. In the Irish language version, broadcast on the Irish Language station TG4, the bilingualism is Irish-Spanish, with Dora and Boots speaking in Irish and some other characters speaking Spanish as in the original. This is generally uncommon, as most foreign language versions of Dora have bilingualism between the local language and English.

Italian. In the Italian language version, broadcast on Italia 1, the bilingualism is Italian-English. The series is called Dora l'esploratrice ("Dora the Explorer"). Most characters speak Italian, but some characters and especially Dora's parents and backpack speak English together with Italian.

Japanese. In the Japanese language version, broadcast on Nick Japan, the bilingualism is Anglo-Japanese, with Dora and Boots speaking Japanese and other protagonists speaking and answering in English.

Malay. The Malay language version is broadcast on TV9.

Portuguese. In the Portuguese language versions, Dora a Exploradora, broadcast on RTP2 and Nickelodeon Brasil, Dora and Boots (called Botas in the Portuguese version and called Boots in the Brazilian version) speak Portuguese and the other protagonists speak and answer in English. Some Portuguese episodes are available on DVD.

Russian. In the Russian language version, broadcast on TNT and Nickelodeon, the bilingualism is Russian-English. The series is called Dasha-sledopyt ("Dasha the Explorer"). Dasha is the childrens' name of Daria (Darya).

Spanish. In the Spanish language version, Dora la Exploradora, broadcast on Nickelodeon in Latin America (and until September of 2006 on Telemundo in the USA), Dora and Boots (called Botas) speak Spanish and the other protagonists speak and answer in English. Some Spanish episodes are available to US viewers on VHS, and some DVDs have a Spanish track (including Dora's Egg Hunt). This version is entirely the reverse of the original English version.

Stage Adaptations

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 LiveNation, these productions featured live actors portraying the roles of Dora and her friends, including Boots, Diego, Isa, and the Fiesta Trio. Many of the characters wore elaborate foam costumes designed to resemble the Dora characters. Each production featured a structure similar to an episode of the television series.

City of Lost Toys featured Christina Bianco as Dora, while Dora's Pirate Adventure featured Danay Ferrer in the role, a former member of the all female American pop band innosense. Both productions featured a version of the popular Gloria Estefan song "Get On Your Feet" as the final number of the show.

Both productions were conceived by Chris Gifford, creator of the television show, and directed by Gip Hoppe.

There have been three Dora touring companies. The "City of Lost Toys" company and the "Pirate Adventure" company featured actors and crew that were members of Actor's Equity and IATSE, respectively, the unions for professional actors and stagehands in the United States. The third company performs a reduced version of "Pirate Adventure" and does not employ union personnel. This production is currently touring North America, and scheduled to travel to the United Kingdom and France.