"Indiana Jones meets Mean Girls with an incredible lead performance from Moner"

Dora And The Lost City Of Gold is the latest film from James Bobin, who has seemingly made a career from adapting beloved children’s franchises into feature films, he's had varying levels of success however, The Muppets was a hit, whereas Alice Through the Looking Glass wasn't received as well, that being said, Dora And The Lost City Of Gold is no exception since it is based on the ever popular Dora The Explorer series, and in my opinion it is an awesome mix of Indiana Jones and Mean Girls.

You’d be forgiven in thinking a Dora The Explorer live action film won’t work, however, you’d be wrong, not only does Dora And The Lost City Of Gold have an incredible cast, lead by the wonderful Isabela Moner, but it works incredibly well, and not only because it knows exactly what it is by leaning into the cheesy nature of the series, throwing in references like Dora talking to the audience at home, and the absurdity of Boots the monkey using his tail as a crank to help keep a door open, but all its self referential humour from the supporting cast lead by the hilarious Michael Peña and ageless Eva Longoria as Dora’s Globe hopping parents.

So the story, Dora And The Lost City Of Gold sees Dora (Moner) living off the grid with her explorer parents (Longoria and Peña), Dora is compelled to swap the jungle for the concrete jungle when she has to attend High School with her cousin - Diego (Jeff Wahlberg). Dora is definitely a fish out of water here as she doesn’t understand how High School works, so much so that she attracts the unwanted attention of the School Bullies that anoint her Dorka, kids can be cruel!

When Dora’s parents go missing, and Dora, Diego and a couple of School peers are kidnapped, it is up to Dora to save the day and unlock the mystery of the titular Lost City Of Gold, whilst keeping everyone alive, and making a couple of friends a long the way.

Dora And The Lost City Of Gold has a very impressive cast, it is fun and engaging from the beginning, I must confess that I have never watched Dora The Explorer, it passed me by, so watching Dora And The Lost City Of Gold and seeing that it was Indiana Jones meets Mean Girls with an incredible lead performance from Moner, who is an absolute badass and capable of anything, she has proven that she can turn her hand to whatever the role requires; comedy and drama with Instant Family, adventuring, comedy and a fish out of water story with this, she’s definitely one to watch!

In closing, Dora And The Lost City Of Gold is definitely worth your time, don’t be put off by the fact that it is based on a cheesy show made to keep children occupied, there is enough in here to engage non fans and adults a like, and I’d be keen to see what adventure Dora goes on next.