‘Dora The Explorer’ Movie Casts Eva Longoria, Michael Peña And Other Latin Stars

The beloved Nickelodeon kiddie-animated TV series “Dora The Explorer” will come to life on the big screen with a live-action movie adaptation titled “Dora And The Lost City Of Gold.”

Set to be released in August 2019, the American adventure film by James Bobin stars 17-year-old Peruvian-American actress Isabela Moner (100 Things To Do Before High School) as Dora.

With Spanish as her first language, Moner fits the bill as the short-haired Latina Dora. Moner’s mother, Katherine, hails from Lima, Peru, and Moner considers herself more Peruvian than American. For this movie, the actress even learned Quechua, an indigenous Peruvian language.

As everyone watching TV since the early 2000 knows, Dora is a seven-year-old Latina schoolgirl who loves to travel and embark on quests. She is accompanied by her anthropomorphic monkey, Boots; a singing map; and a talking well-stocked purple backpack while teaching children basic Spanish and moral lessons. The bilingual show’s popularity has made “Dora The Explorer” one of the longest-running shows on Nick Jr., and after eight seasons and 172 episodes, the series ended on June 5, 2014.

In the live-action adaptation, die-hard “Dora” fans might be shocked to face a high-school-aged Dora — and wielding a knife. That’s right, she’s no kid anymore but a teener who has just moved to an American city from the jungle and goes on an adventure to solve the mystery of a vanished Inca civilization.

As revealed by People, Eugenio Derbez, one of Mexico’s biggest stars, will join the cast as Alejandro, a mysterious teenage jungle inhabitant trying to protect Dora and her pals. Hollywood stars Michael Peña, Eva Longoria and Academy Award winner Benicio del Torro will also grace the screen in the highly anticipated movie adaptation. Peña stars as Dora’s dad and del Toro as the voice of the villain, Swiper.

Meanwhile, Longoria, as reported by Extra, is thrilled to play Dora’s mother. “When it was announced, all my friends, Serena Williams texted me, Victoria [Beckham] texted me, everyone was like, ‘Oh, my gosh!’” the 44-year-old actress told Extra.

“It was such a global thing. I thought it was a Latina thing. Everybody knows her. To play her mother and to bring this animated, one-dimensional character to life was exhilarating and thrilling,” she added.