Dora The Explorer

Dora the Explorer is an American animated television series that is carried on the Nickelodeon cable television network. A pilot episode for the series aired in 1999, and Dora the Explorer became a regular series in 2000. The show was created by Chris Gifford, Valerie Walsh, and Eric Weiner. The series also airs on Noggin. The show aired on CBS until September 2006. A Spanish-dubbed version first aired as part of a Nick en español block on NBC Universal-owned Telemundo through September 2006; since April of 2008, this version of the program airs on Univision as part of the Planeta U block.

Dora the Explorer has been extremely successful, including $1 billion in sales in 2004 alone.

Dora

In almost every episode, Dora goes on an exploring trip to find something or help somebody. Dora always asks the viewers at home to help her find new ways to get to the places with the help of Map. Dora also teaches children Spanish.

She sees everyone equally and mainly good no matter who the character, this noted at her not holding a grudge against Swiper for all the items he's swiped from her party. She acts against villains only when innocence sakes' depend on it and compromise is mostly impossible or unless she is somewhat strictly required to, but even still, she has yet to hold any true accounts of actual anger. Dora is very kind and will always give others a chance to try their hands at certain task for the simple thrill of seeing them excel in the skill even when/if she herself could have possibly fulfill the task faster and/or more accurately.

Though Dora spends very little time indoors, she still best values her family and its background and all who reside at her house. She seems to always want to influence her traditions and customs to those who have yet to know but still she is very subtle in doing so and wouldn't force her beliefs on others.

Dora openly loves her family. She loves Boots too. He is also her best friend since she saved his beloved red boots from being swiped by Swiper.

Dora enjoys sports. She was on a baseball team with her best friend Boots and her other friends and was coached by her father (his employment status was never changed after that). She loves soccer and is very good at it. Dora also speaks Spanish, teaching small words and phrases to the viewers.

Dora is also quite the musician shown mostly as having skill in playing the wooden flute.

The character is voiced by Kathleen Herles in all seasons so far.

Boots the Monkey

Boots the Monkey is Dora's best friend on the show, whom she met one day in the forest. He is voiced by Harrison Chad in the original English version (voiced by regan Mizrahi as of season five). Boots is friendly and enthusiastic, and usually wears nothing but his beloved red boots, hence his name, Boots. He is gray with a yellow stomach. His mommy and daddy are designed in the same way with variations in eyes, height, clothing, and fur formation.

Boots is present with Dora on most of her adventures, and he helps Dora to solve clues and puzzles. He also loves baseball and is on a team with Dora as shown in one episode. He loves to ride Rojo the fire truck.

Boots is very athletic and can be just as hyper and energetic. Due to his animal species he is naturally experienced to execute frontflips, backflips, somersaults, and cartwheels, performing a selection of each along the way to the predetermined destination. His light weight also makes him quite easy to carry, even for Dora.

Boots and Dora also seem to apply a do's and don'ts theme to teaching viewers featuring Dora often as the voice of reason and/or maturity of what to do in situations requiring "deep thought" and Boots as the one who takes steps to leap before he looks if not properly supervised. Without guidance from Dora, the viewer, or another character, Boots is quick to take his own, often dangerous or dead-ended, route.

Boots also "loves" many things. In one episode, he would say many times "I love riddles. Call me 'Mr. Riddles'" or "I love nuts, I love chocolate, I love my ball, and I love, love, love...". Most importantly, however, Boots loves Dora and Dora loves him back, as both expressed verbally and physically in numerous episodes though mainly by Dora. His devotion and love always has Boots more than willing to drop whatever he's doing at the moment and make space in his random mental schedule for Dora. He has even engaged in his own single adventures assisted by the viewers all on her account.

Boots' language field is limited but steadily increasing. Dora is currently teaching him Spanish through memorable songs and phrases. He usually aspires with soaring colors or a bit over as averagely as the normal child viewer.

Swiper the Fox

Swiper is a sneaky fox in a blue mask and gloves, who appears in nearly every episode. He is voiced by Marc Weiner. As his name implies, Swiper steals or attempts to steal key items that help Dora on her adventures. Clever as he is, Swiper never manages to take Dora completely by surprise; an ominous "whisking" sound is always audible just prior to his appearances.

To prevent Swiper from success, Dora must repeat the phrase, "Swiper, no swiping!" three times. Usually she prevails, and Swiper slinks away, snapping his fingers and saying, "Oh, mannn!"; sometimes, however, Swiper gets to the item before Dora has a chance to repeat the phrase. He then gloats, "You're too late!" (and frequently "You'll never find it now! Ha, ha, ha!!").

Swiper's motive for theft is patently childish; he never seems actually to want the object he takes, since he almost immediately throws it away to hide it from Dora (prompting her to ask the audience to help her find it). Until recently, it was unclear if he swipes merely for the joy of swiping, or from a desire to annoy and frustrate Dora. Compounding the confusion is the fact that, given the right reason - e.g., that the item in question is a present for Dora's puppy - he'll return items he has taken, no matter how much effort he went through to get them. It is also shown that he rarely knows the full importance of what he's taken; e.g. he had no idea the aforementioned gift was for Dora's puppy. In the episode "Dora Saves the Mermaids", he revealed that he "liked swiping." He has some kind of New York accent, and lives in a burrow on top of Blueberry Hill (no relation to the song).

Swiper is very fast and agile, and something of a master of disguise. He seems to have a great deal of technical knowledge, as he's built a variety of vehicles and gadgets (including a remote-controlled robot butterfly) to help him swipe things. Most of the time, however, he simply relies on his natural stalking abilities - sometimes with the aid of a costume - to sneak up on Dora. In the early episodes he often "hid" by curling up into a ball, which neither Dora nor Boots ever recognized as Swiper; he apparently doesn't do this anymore.

He has only been seen once without his mask, when the robot butterfly he built to swipe from Dora and Boots (in the episode "Dora's Got a Puppy") apparently malfunctioned; after they stopped it, it swiped his mask and gloves and kept them from him for a few humorous seconds.

None of Swiper's relatives has ever been seen, but his grandmother has been mentioned in two episodes: "A Letter For Swiper" and "Swiper the Explorer."

Over the course of the series, it's shown that there's more to Swiper's character than an urge to swipe things. In one episode it was revealed that Swiper has a soft spot for puppies, and in another that he likes Cowboy cookies. In a few episodes, he expresses feelings of joy with a fox-like cry of, "Yip-yip-yippee!" In the episode "A Letter For Swiper," Dora filled in for a delivery bird whose glasses were broken; Dora delivered stickers to Swiper (which were sent by his grandmother), and he thanked her for it without trying to swipe anything. In the episode "Swiper the Explorer," Swiper helps Dora on her quest to help Baby Fox find its mommy, and Swiper carries the baby fox almost all through the episode. Also in this episode, it's revealed that Swiper doesn't speak Spanish, and wishes that he did.

The interaction between Dora and the antagonistic fox also reveals the kindness and grace of Dora's character. In one unusual episode, "Dora's Dance to the Rescue," Swiper took pity on a Dancing Elf who was caught in a magic bottle, similar to a genie. The elf tricked the sympathetic Swiper into removing the bottle's cork, thereby releasing the elf and his talking cane. Unfortunately, the wily fox was thereby entrapped in his place. Stuck and desperate, Swiper called out to Dora and Boots. The remainder of the episode chronicled an epic adventure involving most of the land's creatures, eventually ending with the release of Swiper after a dance contest. The episode was atypical as it involved many dances and songs, demonstrated a close, unconflicted relationship between Swiper and the other creatures, and had Dora refer to the elf in an uncharacteristically judgmental way ("mean Elf").

In this and several other episodes, Swiper finds himself captured, trapped, or in some sort of trouble. Despite his history of mean-spiritedness toward Dora, she demonstrates that the fox is her friend (which he doesn't find out until "Dora's World Adventure") and will always unquestioningly help Swiper just as she would her other friends, Benny, Isa, Boots, and Tico. If Dora needs his help he will come to her aid in the same manner.

Swiper is far from being unable to feel guilty for his actions. In "A Present For Santa", Swiper returns the present that he swiped, upon discovering that it was for Santa. In "Dora's World Adventure," Swiper helps Dora return the friendship bracelets he had swiped all over the world, and was shown to feel guilty once he discovered the magnitude of what he'd done and what he had stolen. During this time Swiper gets a taste of his own medicine, so to speak, as each country they visit has its own "Swiper," only of different species, who tries to steal the bracelets: Fifi the skunk in France, Sami the hyena in Tanzania, Fomkah the bear in Russia, and Ying Ying the weasel in China. All of them act and dress nearly identically to Swiper and are stopped in the same way he is: by saying their name, followed by "no swiping" three times. Then they run off, saying Swiper's catch phrase, "Ohh, maann" (their only line) in the local language. Their entrances are also preluded by a sound, only with local music; e.g. Ying Ying has a chau gong playing.

Fiesta Trio

Whenever Dora and Boots are successful in a given portion of their quest (quests are usually divided into three portions), the Fiesta Trio appears from seemingly nowhere to congratulate Dora and celebrate for a brief few seconds with music. The Fiesta Trio is a group of three small animals: a grasshopper, a snail, and a frog.

Backpack

Dora's purple Backpack mochila (voiced by Sasha Tora; voiced by Alexandria Suarez beginning with the fifth season.[2]) provides whatever Dora needs to complete her quests. The backpack is a magic satchel, which has been known to produce large items, including multiple ladders, two complete space suits - one each for Dora and Boots - and other items that simply could not fit inside it. Backpack seems to have a lot of extra space within her fabric to be held in such a small area. It was given to Dora as a present by her mother and father. To make the Backpack open up, Dora asks the viewers at home to say "Backpack". The Backpack then sings a little introduction and asks the viewers at home to choose what Dora needs from among the Backpack's contents. Afterwards, the remaining contents go back into Backpack, who says, "Yum yum yum yum yum, ¡delicioso!" ("Delicious!")

Map

The Map (voiced by Marc Weiner) provides travel guidance and advice. When not being consulted, the rolled-up Map resides in a side pocket on the Backpack; to make the Map come out, Dora asks the viewers at home to say "Map." This is the Map's cue to introduce himself to the audience with a repetitive song, which is short in some episodes and longer in others, and describe the path Dora has to take on her quest.

Usually the Map doesn't do anything more than the actions described above, but in a few episodes he plays a more active role, especially in the episode "Super Map"; the Map finds a small red cape that gives him Superman-like powers, and he uses them to help Dora on her current quest.

Isa the Iguana

Isa the Iguana is an very close friend of Dora's and an even closer friend of Boots. Isa is a skilled gardener and loves to grow mainly flowers of all kinds. She even presents her mom with a bouquet of flowers she grew herself as a Mother's Day gift.

At times, her problem solving prowess prove to be invaluable for her friends and even herself made all the more disposal by her naturally acquired ability to blend into surroundings at will.

Isa also seems to have a bit of a crush on Boots, whom she knew long before she ever met Dora. She treats Both Dora and Boots equally but Isa always greets Boots more shyly than Dora. She is voiced by Ashley Flemming.

Tico the Squirrel

Tico the Squirrel (who's been voiced by Muhammed Cunningham and Jose Zelaya) is a friend of Dora's who lives in the forest and who only speaks Spanish (although there was one occasion when he said "You're welcome" in English). He wears a colorful striped vest, and is usually seen driving his little yellow car, although he has been known to travel in a variety of vehicles, from helicopters to boats. He has purple fur, a round body, and small triangular stumps for arms and legs.

Tico's function on the show is to help Dora teach the audience words and phrases in Spanish; Dora has to tell Tico something in Spanish, such as "Faster" or "Look out," and she asks the viewers at home to say it along with her. In some episodes, a different Spanish-speaking character (such as Señor Tucán) appears instead of Tico. In the Spanish-language version of the show, Tico only speaks English, so that Dora can teach the viewers English words and phrases.

In the episode "Dora's First Trip," it was established that Boots had been friends with Tico before Dora met either of them, despite the fact that Boots and Tico speak two different languages.

Benny the Bull

Benny the Bull (voiced by Jake Burbage) is a friend of Dora's who lives in a barn, loves to eat, and often rides in a hot air balloon. He's mostly blue with little yellow horns, stands on his hind legs, is a little taller than Dora, and wears a blue bandanna with white polka dots around his neck.

Benny sometimes provides Dora with something that she needs on her current quest. In the episode "Swiper the Explorer," Dora needed something for the Baby Fox to drink, and Benny's picnic basket just happened to contain a carton of milk and a baby bottle ("Now, why did I pack that?"). In "Dance to the Rescue," Dora and Boots needed fancy clothes to be allowed into King Bobo's castle, and Benny happened to have a gown and a bow tie in the basket of his balloon.

In the episode "Boots' Cuddly Dinosaur," Benny said that he can't sleep without nine dolls which he calls his "guys."

Despite having the same name, this character is not the same as the mascot of the Chicago Bulls.

Dora the Explorer Series

1. Dora's Backpack (ISBN 978-0689847202)
2. Little Star (ISBN 978-0689847219)
3. Happy Mother's Day Mami! (ISBN 978-0689852336)
4. Meet Diego! (ISBN 978-0689859939)
5. Dora's Thanksgiving (ISBN 978-0689858420)
6. Dora Loves Boots (ISBN 978-0689863738)
7. Dora's Book of Manners (ISBN 978-0689865336)
8. Dora Goes to School (ISBN 978-0689864940)
9. Dora's Fairy-Tale Adventure (ISBN 978-0689870125)
10. Dora's Chilly Day (ISBN 978-0689867958)
11. Show Me Your Smile! (ISBN 978-0689871696)
12. Dora's Pirate Adventure (ISBN 978-0689875830)
13. Big Sister Dora! (ISBN 978-0689878466)
14. At the Carnival (ISBN 978-0689858413)
15. Dora's Costume Party! (ISBN 978-1416900108)
16. Dance to the Rescue (ISBN 978-1416902164)
17. Dora's Starry Christmas (ISBN 978-1416902492)
18. Super babies (ISBN 978-1416914853)
19. The Birthday Dance Party (ISBN 978-1416913030)
20. Dora's World Adventure (ISBN 978-1416924470)
21. Dora Climbs Star Mountain (ISBN 978-1416940593)
22. It's Sharing Day! (ISBN 978-1416915751)
23. Dora Had a Little Lamb (ISBN 978-1416933687)
24. Dora Saves Mermaid Kingdom! (ISBN 978-1416938415)
25. Dora and the Stuck Truck (ISBN 978-1416947998)

Ready To Read Series - Level 1

1. Dora's Picnic (ISBN 978-0689852381)
2. Follow Those Feet! (ISBN 978-0689852398)
3. Dora in the Deep Sea (ISBN 978-0689858451)
4. I Love My Papi! (ISBN 978-0689864957)
5. Say "Cheese!" (ISBN 978-0689864964)
6. The Halloween Cat (ISBN 978-0689867996)
7. Eggs for Everyone! (ISBN 978-0689871764)
8. Just Like Dora! (ISBN 978-0689876752)
9. I Love My Mami! (ISBN 978-1416906506)
10. Puppy Takes a Bath (ISBN 978-1416914839)
11. Around the World! (ISBN 978-1416924784)
12. Dora's Sleepover (ISBN 978-1416915089)
13. Dora Helps Diego! (ISBN 978-1416915096)
14. Dora's Perfect Pumpkin (ISBN 978-1416934387)
15. Dora's Mystery of the Missing Shoes (ISBN 978-1416938248)

A Lift-the-Flap Story

* Good Night, Dora!: A Lift-the-Flap Story (ISBN 978-0689847745)
* Where Is Boots?: A Lift-the-Flap Story (ISBN 978-0689847752)
* Let's Play Sports!: A Lift-the-Flap Story (ISBN 978-1416933502)
* All Dressed Up!: A Lift-the-Flap Book (ISBN 978-0689877186)

Treasury books and collection books

* Dora's Ready-to-Read Adventures (ISBN 978-0689878152)

Contains: Dora's picnic, Follow those feet, Dora in the deep sea, I love my Papi!, Say "Cheese"

* Dora's Storytime Collection (ISBN 978-0689866234)

Contains: Dora's Backpack, Little Star, Happy Birthday, Mami!, Meet Diego!, Dora Saves the Prince, Dora's Treasure Hunt, Good Night, Dora!

* Dora's Big Book of Stories (ISBN 978-1416907084)

Contains: Dora's Book of Manners, Dora Goes to School, Dora's Fairy-Tale Adventure, Dora's Chilly Day, Show Me Your Smile!, Dora's Pirate Adventure, Big Sister Dora!

Sticker Books

* Dora's Magic Watering Can (ISBN 978-1416947721)

You can have your child(ren) go to the Nick Jr or noggin websites and play Dora games.

Here is the link: Dora Games at nickjr.com

Noggin's Dora games and fun