Dora and the Search for Sol Dorado Cast Talk Joining The Dora Legacy, Magic, and Doing Their Own Stunts
The new live-action film Dora and the Search for Sol Dorado kicks off “The Great Dora Fiesta,” a Nickelodeon anniversary marking 25 historic years of the Dora the Explorer franchise. In the Paramount+ adventure, 16-year-old explorer Dora and her cousin Diego go on a jungle quest for an ancient treasure that grants the finder a magical wish. Pop Culture Planet’s Kristen Maldonado spoke with the cast about joining the iconic Latino legacy of Dora, magic, and doing their own stunts.
“It’s such an honor,” Mariana Garzón Toro told me about being cast as Naiya in the film. “Not only because I'm getting to act, but because I'm getting to be part of this legacy. To be in a cast of Latin people and in a crew and shoot in Colombia, it really just felt like this camaraderie amongst all of us. It felt like a family.”
Samantha Lorraine, who takes up the mantle as Dora, agreed. “Shooting in Colombia with a bunch of Latin people, that is the reason we do it. Having all these things release, you know, the trailer and the first look pictures and seeing my little cousins react to it, it gets me emotional. It makes me so proud of what we did because I know that they're going to grow up watching this Dora,” she gushed. “It means the world to me just knowing that I have my Latin community and my family, mi familia, appreciating this beautiful piece of art that we all put so much work into making. It makes it all worth it.”
“Getting to call yourself ‘Go Diego Go’ is a special feeling,” said Jacob Rodriguez who plays Dora’s best friend and cousin Diego. “It's something cool to share with all the people I grew up with — all my family, all my little nieces and nephews — because everyone knows about this IP, about this Dora franchise. When I'm say I'm Diego in the new Dora movie, they're automatically so happy. Like, they're flipping out. They're like, ‘Oh my gosh, I'm so glad they're making another one. I'm so glad you're Diego.’ It's just so cool to see how much these characters still affect young ones now. We were in Colombia on a set full of families, like parents with their kids, and I could just see people looking at Sam in her Dora costume and just absolutely losing their minds because they think she is the coolest person, which she is, by the way. It's so special to see that we get to be a part of a project that means that much to that many people. Truly, you don't get that in a lot of films.”
The original Dora the Explorer played with magical realism with talking backpacks and maps, but Dora and the Search for Sol Dorado takes the magic to the next level. There’s ancient bracelets, magic wishes, and even That’s So Raven-style visions. “I was a dancer for most of my life, so being able to do back bends and stuff was so exciting for me. Whenever I would get a vision, it would be like, ‘Okay, maybe don't do it that much. Don't go far back into a back bend. That's a little bit too much.’ It was so exciting!” laughed Lorraine. “Who thought that Dora and a magical bracelet and this golden sun… it really is magical surrealism and I think it's pretty epic.”
“It is pretty fun the way that bracelet just moves everyone around. That bracelet takes us for a ride and there's so many cool scenes like you're trying to break through and the bracelet is stopping you a little bit,” said Rodriguez, with the on-screen primos joking that Lorraine was working out her biceps in the gym every night for that scene.
Lorraine continued: “Even with the more practical stuff, that felt like real magic too. Like the walls closing in, the fire coming out from the walls. It was so daunting, but in the best way possible because it was like this feels real. The bracelet felt real. The golden sun felt real.”
The stunts? Also very real! “I was lucky enough to do basically all of my own stunts and it was kind of cool wearing Benedict Cumberbatch's harness and working with the whole Marvel stunt team,” enthused Rodriguez. “I'm going to say that till I die. That was so cool. And like just being able to do all these cool movements and make us look like true heroes. It's epic. It's probably an experience that I may never get to experience again and I’m so grateful that I got the opportunity.”
Dora and Diego’s bond is tested in the film, as Dora is so focused on her jungle quest that she doesn’t realize Diego has his own internship dreams outside of that. “Obviously, they're used to their routine,” said Lorraine. “For him to drop that bomb on her, I think was a little bit shocking for her to realize. When I was reading the script, I was like, ‘Oh, wow. This is such an interesting take on their relationship.’ At first she's a little bit hesitant and she doesn't really love the idea, but I think slowly she realizes that it's not the importance of physically being there and going on adventures together, but it's the fact that they have such a close relationship and such a special bond. No matter where you are in the world, we are still together. You know what I mean? We are still best friends for life. Ayllu.”
“It’s kind of a fun thing to play with though, like the frustration that Diego gets more and more throughout the movie and the more […] he realizes he might not be able to do what he wants to do,” shared Rodriguez. “[He has this] realization that there is nothing more important than Dora. There's nothing that he wouldn't do for his cousin and truly he’s always going to be there for for her no matter what. Whether he likes it or not, whether he wants to or not, he's never going to give up on this girl and I think that was a fun thing to do. And then, hey, Diego still may get what he wants. Who knows?”
Another big theme in Dora and the Search for Sol Dorado is identity, which Dora struggles with after losing the map her late abuelo gave her. As the film goes on, she learns that she never needed a piece of paper to show her the way. She is the map. “The overall message […] I took away is that you are who you are and things on the outside that surround you, your ecosystem, does not change that. You have your foundations and you have your morals and that's all you need to make it in life. When I read it in the script and when we did our table read, I truly cried a little bit because I thought, ‘Wow, this is such a powerful and profound message for kids to know,’” explained Lorraine. “We always say be who you are, but in actuality, sometimes it's difficult to be that. When you lose map and when you lose backpack and when you lose Diego and your new friends, that that can change someone, for worse or for better. For Dora, it took a turn for the better. I'm so glad that she went through that because she just came out of it even stronger and better than ever.”
Even as they go deeper with Dora’s story, there are still classic moments you won’t want to miss that connect the film back to the OG animated show. From Boots to Swiper to breaking the fourth wall and even soundtrack moments, that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Easter eggs. “That whole tram scene is where I feel like I got to be the most like OG Dora, if that makes sense,” explained Lorraine. “Everything else was my interpretation, but, when it came to the tram scene, I'm like, I have to ask the dead pan question and I have to get that ‘Lo hicimos!’ It’s super important.”
Dora and the Search for Sol Dorado is streaming on Paramount+.
