Common Sense Media Review
By Sierra Filucci
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Dora works her friendly, bilingual magic in cheerful tales.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 3+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
What's the Story?
This DVD contains one longer feature and two shorts. The title feature involves a story about a greedy king who steals the crystals that keep the kingdom colorful. Dora and her friends enter into the tale, and set off on four mini-adventures (or chapters) to retrieve the crystals and teach the king a lesson about sharing. In one chapter, Dora and friends gain butterfly wings and must flap them (along with the viewer) to reach their destination and save a crystal. The shorter features are similar to each other and involve reaching three distinct steps to solve a problem. The first one finds Dora walking Boots and Tico to their first day of school and encountering obstacles (like a river to cross) along the way. They use their English and Spanish to help them get to school. The second one involves too many bananas and a magical "wishing machine" that helps keep Boots' desires in check.
Is It Any Good?
The familiar and charming Dora elements are ever-present in this offering, and kids will be delighted, as usual. Dora and her friends have captivated preschool audiences by being incessantly upbeat and cultivating interaction between kids and the screen. Parents, on the other hand, may tire of the semi-shrill voices of Dora and the others, as well as the constant repetition encouraged by the show, which kids might continue long after the TV is off.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about wanting things for oneself. Why did the king want the color crystals all for himself? Are there toys or things that you want to keep all to yourself? When is it OK to keep things for yourself and when is it important to share? Can you remember times when it was hard for you to share?
Talk about learning languages. What words in Spanish or English did you learn from watching? Do you know words in any other languages?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : September 22, 2009
- Cast : Caitlin Sanchez
- Director : Katie McWane
- Inclusion Information : Latino Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Nickelodeon
- Genre : Family and Kids
- Run time : 92 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : November 15, 2019
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate