In no time, the live-action adaptation of Dora the Explorer is about to hit the big screen, as its stars have graced the red carpet world premiere of Dora and the Lost City of Gold. Isabela Moner leads the films as the fearless explorer young woman who wears a backpack wherever she goes.
The film has a touch of Indiana Jones theme to show Dora's fun adventures. Here, Dora has to go to the United States to go to high school with her cousin, Diego (Jeff Wahlberg), as his archeologist parents, (Eva Longoria and Michael Peña), have to go to a mission to look for a city made of gold, per ScreenRant.
A group of thugs kidnapped Dora, Diego, and their two classmates to get some lead about the archeologists' whereabouts. So, Dora will use her "explorer" abilities to keep everyone safe as they find the Lost City of Gold.
"It was amazing," Moner said about her role in Dora and the Lost City of Gold, via Variety. "I'm half Peruvian, so the opportunity to be able to represent at this level is unheard of."
Moner continued to say Peru has never been put in the mainstream unless it is about the hippies that go to Machu Picchu. So, being a part of the movie and representing her country feel insane for her.
The 18-year-old star even learned the indigenous Peruvian language, Quechua, while preparing for her role as Dora. She is now excited to see how the Latin American audience will receive the movie, especially the Peruvian community.
Moner continued to say she wanted to have a Dora and the Lost City of Gold premiere in Peru. If people behind the film have no plans to do it, she would surely push for it and do her event. As she is about to work with UNICEF soon around the time the film will come out; she will make it work out.
Aside from having a Latina lead star, the movie almost has an all-Latin cast. Hence, it is now being praised for promoting representation among blockbuster released.
Peña said there is a reason to do this kind of film. One is it is going to be a fun movie, and people will surely love it. Two featuring a Latin cast in an international movie only happened now after 24 years since he started his career.
At the time, Peña said there was no big-budget film that featured any Latin cast. So, it is refreshing to know that it is just normal today to have Latin stars in Hollywood movies. "It's especially satisfying," he said.
Dora and the Lost City of Gold also stars Benicio del Toro, Eugenio Derbez, and Danny Trejo as the voice of Dora's pet monkey, Boots. The film is set to be out on Aug. 9 in the U.S.
