Dora and the Lost City of Gold (2019)

Dora and the Lost City of Gold (2019) 🍃

“I am a grown man watching Dora… and somehow also Indiana Jones?”

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Let’s start by showing y’all the trailers shall we?

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🎬 Non-Spoiler Plot Overview

So this movie is basically Dora the Explorer mixed with Indiana Jones mixed with The Mummy, and I’m just sitting there like… what am I watching.

It’s your standard adventure movie. Jungle, treasure, ancient ruins, bad guy chasing something important. You’ve seen this plot a thousand times before, and that’s kind of the problem.

Because this movie is very generic.

Like yeah, it’s not the worst thing ever, but it’s also not doing anything new. It’s just going through the motions. And I can’t believe I’m saying this, but it somehow manages to be both bizarre and boring at the same time.

By the way, why is it grown a** man watching a Dora the explorer movie? Because I got bored one day and heard many things about this movie like many many things I saw.It was on paramount plus and I was like, you know what, I’ll watch it. Let’s see if those things are true. And once I watch, I was like, yep, those things are definitely true. Oh boy they are.

Also, what was it with this time period where hollywood reimagined classic kid shows? First it was

Dora The Explorer

Then it was

Tom and Jerry

Then it was

Clifford The Big Red Dog

Can we please end this trend? I mean, what’s next a blues clues movie?

Also, the whole joke of this movie is would it be funny if fedora was an unpopular kid and popular kids kind of don’t like her? Because she’s weird! Yeah ha ha!

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👥 Character Rundown

Let’s talk Dora first.

She’s still Dora. So yeah, she’s annoying. But I’ll give credit where it’s due—the actress actually brings some charm to her. Not a lot, but enough where I wasn’t completely checked out.

Now Diego… what did they do to this man.

Why does he have a buzz cut? Why is he just a generic teen? This is not Diego. This is “we needed a normal guy for the audience.”

Michael Peña (yeah I probably butchered that name) as the dad… why is he in this movie?

They’re clearly trying to make him funny, and then you get that scene—you KNOW the one—where he’s explaining college parties. And it just keeps going and going and going. The whole joke is basically “haha he sounds weird,” and I’m just sitting there like… I wasn’t laughing the first time. So stretching it out doesn’t make it funnier, it just makes it awkward and dragged out.

The villain? I barely remember anything about him. I remember he tricks Dora, says he knows her parents, and wants some artifact. What artifact? I don’t know. That’s how forgettable he is.

Oh and you got the forgettable teens hello, don’t like dora. That’s a long with the ride. Because they’re forced in the situation, cause they all got kidnapped!

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⏱ Pacing / Flow

This is where the movie really shows its biggest flaw.

It just feels like one thing happens, then the next thing happens, then the next. No weight, no buildup, just “okay now we’re here.” It’s an adventure movie by the book, and because of that, it’s completely predictable.

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👍 Pros

There are moments where the movie actually works, and it’s mostly when it leans into how weird Dora is.

Because Dora herself acts like she’s still in the cartoon. Talking directly to people, explaining obvious things, being way too upbeat while everyone else is stressed. And the humor becomes everyone reacting to her like she’s insane.

That’s where it actually lands.

Not clever humor, more like awkward “this shouldn’t exist in real life” humor. And sometimes, it works.

There’s only one good joke in the movie early on where the film adresses Dora looking at the audience and talking to them, it happens during the dinner scene and Micheal Peña looks around confused and says, she’ll grow out of it. Okay, that is the gymnastic funny because for many decades.I’ve also come to the realization. I think she might be a tad bit looney, because shes talking at nobody.

Hey, film you got one laugh out of me and that’s it.

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👎 Cons

This movie is just… forgettable.

Like I had to sit here and think, what even happened in this movie? And the answer is generic jungle adventure.

And then you’ve got the identity crisis. Why does this feel like Indiana Jones, The Mummy, and Dora the Explorer all mashed together?

And then the stuff that just breaks my brain.

Why is Swiper, an anthropomorphic fox, working with what feels like a military group?

Why is there a monkey with boots and everyone’s acting like this is normal?

Why is ANY of this happening in what’s supposed to be a semi-real world?

Pick a lane.

Awesome so just this joke where Micheal Peña character is trying to explain to Dora what irs gonna be like being at a party and it lasts for 56 seconds!

Laughing yet? Because I am not.

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🎯 Final Thoughts

This movie isn’t terrible.

But it’s also not good.

It’s just there.

It’s one of those movies where you finish it and go, “okay… that happened.” And honestly, the fact I barely remember it says everything.

Because if your adventure movie isn’t memorable… what are we doing here?

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⭐ Rating

5/10

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⚠️ Spoiler Warning

Alright… let’s talk about the stuff that actually happens, because this is where the movie almost figures itself out—and then immediately forgets.

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🚨 Spoilers

So as the movie goes on, it starts leaning more into its weirdness, and for a brief moment, it actually works.

The best example of that is the mushroom scene. They’re in the jungle, they eat these mushrooms, and out of nowhere the movie just flips. Not in a subtle way either—it just goes full cartoon. They start hallucinating and see each other as their animated versions, like straight up classic Dora the Explorer style.

And I remember sitting there thinking, okay, THIS is actually funny. Because for once, the movie stops pretending it’s Indiana Jones and just fully embraces what it is. It leans into the weirdness, it leans into the cartoon logic, and it actually becomes memorable.

But then it immediately backs away from that.

Like it’s scared of committing to its own idea.

And we’re right back to a standard jungle adventure like nothing happened.

That’s what makes it frustrating, because that one scene proves the movie could’ve been way more creative if it just committed.

Then you’ve got the villain, and this is where the movie becomes painfully predictable. He tricks Dora into thinking he knows her parents, and the entire time I’m watching this thinking… yeah, no you don’t. And of course, he doesn’t. There’s no real twist, no surprise, nothing that makes you go “oh wow.” It just plays out exactly how you expect it to.

And honestly, by the time they get to the treasure, it barely even matters. Whatever they were looking for doesn’t leave any kind of impression. It’s just another thing to chase in a movie that already feels like it’s been done a hundred times before.

The humor follows that same pattern. Sometimes it works when it’s quick and awkward, like Dora being completely out of place in a real-world setting. But then you get scenes like the college party explanation, where it just drags on way too long, waiting for a punchline that never really lands. It feels like the movie thinks repeating the joke will make it funnier, but it just makes it more awkward.

And then there’s Swiper.

I’m sorry, I still don’t understand this.

You’ve got a talking fox, who in the original show is basically just a cartoon nuisance, and now he’s involved with actual human villains. And the more you think about it, the less sense it makes. Why is he here? Why is he part of this plot? Why are we just accepting this like it’s normal?

It’s one of those things where if you don’t think about it, fine. But the second you do, the whole thing starts to fall apart.

And that’s kind of the problem with the entire movie.

The more you think about it…

the less there is there.

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🎬 Final Final Thought

This movie had a wild idea: Dora the Explorer meets Indiana Jones.

And instead of fully committing to that chaos…

it plays it safe.

Which somehow makes it even weirder.

Because this should have been completely insane.

Instead, it’s just a very average adventure movie that I barely remember.

And honestly?

That might be the worst thing it could be.