98 Fun Facts About Dora the Explorer

What kind of animal is Dora's best friend Boots?

A monkey with a name he earned: Boots is called that for the beloved red boots he is rarely seen without.

What kind of animal is Swiper?

A fox in a blue mask and gloves, Swiper creeps up on Dora to swipe whatever she needs most for the trip.

What must Dora and Boots say three times to stop Swiper?

"Swiper, no swiping!" has to come in time. When Swiper gets there first, he makes off with the prize and viewers must help Dora and Boots find where he hid it.

What colour is Dora's talking Backpack?

Purple and far from silent, Backpack sings her own song and hands over whatever the adventure calls for.

Which character in the original series refuses to let Dora pass until she solves a riddle?

The Grumpy Old Troll pops out from under his bridge singing his own song, then blocks the way until Dora, Boots and the viewers solve his riddle.

What song do Dora and Boots sing at the end of every adventure?

'We Did It!' outlived the TV series: the 2019 live-action film ends with Dora and her friends dancing to a new, extended version of it over the credits.

On which channel did Dora the Explorer premiere in August 2000?

Nickelodeon went looking for her: already scoring with preschool shows that got children answering back, its executives asked for another one.

After the closing song of each Dora the Explorer episode, what does Dora ask viewers?

"What was your favorite part?" comes with a pause for the answer, and then Dora says she liked that too before she and Boots share their own picks.

Which language does Dora teach viewers of the English-language series?

Spanish came with the character: a network executive, back from a conference on how rarely Latinos appeared on children's TV, told the creators to make their lead a Spanish-speaking Latina.

Before Dora the Explorer starred a girl, her creators planned a show led by which animal?

A rabbit led the woodland animals of an early version; the creators then dropped the animals for a little girl, briefly called Nina before she became Dora.

Which of Dora's friends is a squirrel?

Tico is the squirrel, the littlest of Dora's friends, and unlike the rest of them he hardly ever speaks English.

Dora's habit of pausing to ask viewers questions was borrowed from which earlier preschool show?

Blue's Clues supplied the questions and Little Bear the storytelling: Dora's creators set out to make one show that was interactive like the first and story-driven like the second.

What does Swiper say as he slinks away when Dora and Boots stop him in time?

"Oh, man!" is all Swiper can manage when he is stopped; on the days he gets there first, he gloats "You're too late!" instead.

Who was the original voice of Dora from 2000 to 2007?

Kathleen Herles voiced Dora from the 2000 premiere until 2007, then came back to the franchise in the 2024 reboot as the voice of Dora's mother.

Who voiced Dora in the final years of the original series, until 2019?

Fátima Ptacek fitted Dora around her lessons: the young New Yorker raced from class to a Manhattan studio to record both the series and its spin-off, Dora and Friends.

Which comedian voiced Swiper, Map and the Fiesta Trio in Dora the Explorer?

Marc Weiner, a comedian and puppeteer, gave all of them their voices, and nearly two decades on he returned as Map in the 2019 live-action film.

In Dora and the Search for Sol Dorado, what is the legendary Sol Dorado said to grant?

A single wish is what the ancient treasure is said to grant, which is why teenage Dora and Diego trek through the jungle racing a rival archaeologist to it.

How is Diego related to Dora?

He is her cousin: Diego first turned up as a guest on Dora's adventures, then got a series of his own, Go, Diego, Go!, in 2005.

What is the name of the talking camera that finds animals in trouble in Go, Diego, Go!?

Click is the camera Diego calls on first: she picks out which animal is in trouble, and where, by listening for its voice.

Which animal is Diego's best friend and sidekick?

Baby Jaguar began as a rescue himself: in the Dora episode that introduced Diego, the cub is stranded on a rock at the top of a cascade until Diego and Dora reach him.

What is special about Diego's orange Rescue Pack?

It transforms into any object he needs once Diego gives the word, where Dora's Backpack can only carry things.

What is the name of Diego's computer-savvy older sister?

Alicia is the brains at base: she takes the calls for help that come into the center, points her brother to the animal in trouble and sometimes joins the mission herself.

Which troublemaking pair of spider monkeys does Diego stop by shouting 'Freeze!'?

The Bobo Brothers are two mischievous spider monkeys who unwittingly cause trouble for the animals; Diego and viewers stop them by shouting 'Freeze, Bobos!'

What magical item does the older Dora wear to get past obstacles in Dora and Friends?

A charm bracelet is her new toolkit: Dora names a charm, adds the word mágica, and it turns into the real object she needs.

What is the name of the city Dora lives in during Dora and Friends?

Playa Verde, which means green beach, is where the older Dora goes to school, having swapped the rainforest for city life and a circle of human friends.

What replaces the talking Map in Dora and Friends?

A Map app on her smartphone guides the older Dora around the city, and it keeps the old Map's voice: the same actor plays both.

Which of these is one of Dora's five friends in Dora and Friends?

Naiya is the group's bookworm, the one who knows the history and old stories of their city and its pyramids when an adventure needs them.

Who played Dora in the 2019 live-action film Dora and the Lost City of Gold?

Isabela Merced played the teenage Dora in Dora and the Lost City of Gold (2019); she was credited as Isabela Moner and adopted her late grandmother's name, Merced, that October.

In Dora and the Lost City of Gold, jungle flower spores make Dora and Diego hallucinate that they are what?

Cartoon characters, drawn in the style of the original series: for one scene the live-action film turns back into the animated show it came from.

Which two actors play Dora's parents in the 2019 film?

Eva Longoria and Michael Peña play Elena and Cole, explorers who send their daughter away to the city while they hunt for a lost Inca city, then need her to come and rescue them.

Which Oscar winner voiced Swiper in Dora and the Lost City of Gold?

Benicio del Toro voices a Swiper who has thrown in with the villains: he snatches Dora's map for the mercenaries hunting the lost city.

Who voiced Boots in Dora and the Lost City of Gold?

Danny Trejo, the tough-guy star of Machete, broke the news himself in March 2019 that he would be the voice of Dora's little sidekick.

In Dora and the Lost City of Gold, what is the lost Inca city called?

Parapata is the lost Inca city of gold Dora's parents seek in the film; it turns out to be inhabited, its people guarding the treasure from outsiders.

Which country stood in for the Peruvian jungle in Dora and the Lost City of Gold?

Australia hosted almost the whole shoot: the production was based at a studio on Queensland's Gold Coast, with the state government backing it.

On which streaming service did the CGI reboot Dora premiere on April 12, 2024?

Paramount+ moved fast: just 12 days after the reboot arrived, the service renewed it for a second season.

Who voices Dora in the 2024 reboot?

Diana Zermeño voices Dora in the 2024 reboot, with Asher Colton Spence as Boots; the original Dora actress plays Dora's mother in the same series.

Who plays Dora in the 2025 live-action film Dora and the Search for Sol Dorado?

Samantha Lorraine, fresh from You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah, plays a 16-year-old Dora in the film made to mark the franchise's 25th anniversary.

Dora and the Search for Sol Dorado (2025) was filmed in which country?

Colombia hosted the shoot, with the Río Claro nature reserve standing in for the Amazon rainforest of the story.

In Dora and the Lost City of Gold, where are Dora and Diego when mercenaries kidnap them?

A museum visit ends with Dora, Diego and two other teenagers in Peru, flown there by treasure hunters who are after the lost city her parents are seeking.

In Dora and the Lost City of Gold, teenage Dora is sent to live with Diego's family in which city?

Los Angeles is where Dora's parents park her while they chase the lost city, and where the girl who can handle any jungle finds she has no idea how to fit in.

In the 2019 live-action Dora film, what is the correct answer to the temple's final test?

Water is the offering the last puzzle wants, the thing the Inca prized most; Alejandro offers gold instead, and the floor opens beneath him.

Which toy company released four Dora sets in 2004, including Dora's Treasure Island?

Lego made them for preschool hands: the four sets came out under Explore, the name its chunky Duplo bricks carried at the time.

In Dora and the Lost City of Gold, Dora wins over the lost city's queen by speaking which language?

Quechua is what Dora speaks to the lost city's queen, assuring her the teenagers came only for her parents and to learn, and the guardians let them go.

Which Mexican actor plays the professor Alejandro in Dora and the Lost City of Gold?

Eugenio Derbez plays him as a friend of Dora's parents who frees the teenagers from their kidnappers, then is unmasked as the kidnappers' real leader.

Which future Disney Channel star voiced Diego in the first seasons of Go, Diego, Go!?

Jake T. Austin voiced Diego for the spin-off's first three seasons before viewers knew him as Max Russo, the youngest sibling in Wizards of Waverly Place.

Who plays Diego in Dora and the Lost City of Gold?

Jeff Wahlberg, a nephew of Mark and Donnie Wahlberg, plays Diego in the 2019 film; he replaced Micke Moreno, who had originally been cast in the role.

Which future Big Brother houseguest played Boots in the touring show Dora's Pirate Adventure?

Frankie Grande began his professional career inside the Boots costume on the 2007 national tour, years before reality television made him famous in his own right.

What does the film Dora and the Lost City of Gold bill as teenage Dora's most dangerous adventure yet?

High school is the joke at the heart of the film: a girl who can outwit any jungle is sent to the city and finds teenagers far harder to read than quicksand.

What kind of animal is Isa, Dora the Explorer's shy green friend who loves growing flowers?

An iguana, Isa blends into her garden so well that she is a natural at hide and seek.

Benny, the accident-prone friend of Dora the Explorer who lives in a big barn, is what kind of animal?

A bull with a huge appetite and a love of knock-knock jokes, Benny is so clumsy that he usually ends up needing Dora's help himself.

Swiper, the sneaky thief of Dora the Explorer, is recognised by a mask and gloves of which colour?

Blue is the colour of the mask and gloves Swiper is almost never seen without. A robot butterfly he built once snatched them from him for a few seconds.

In the original Dora the Explorer, Dora pairs her pink T-shirt with shorts of which colour?

Orange shorts complete the outfit Dora wears on nearly every adventure, with yellow socks and white shoes, and the 2024 reboot kept the look almost unchanged.

Where does Map, the rolled-up guide of Dora the Explorer, live when he is not showing the way?

In Backpack's side pocket is where Map waits until Dora calls for him, popping out of the right-hand side in early episodes and the left in later ones.

Each episode of Dora the Explorer is presented in the style of which kind of entertainment?

A computer game was the model: each episode plays like an adventure on a CD-ROM, with Dora pausing so that viewers can choose for her.

In Dora's Fairytale Adventure, what must Dora become to break a witch's spell and wake Sleeping Boots?

A true princess is the only one whose hug can wake him, so Dora earns the title by passing four tests, from finding a dragon's ring to bringing the moon to a king and queen.

In the special Dora's Explorer Girls: Our First Concert, the girls lose their tickets to see which singer?

Shakira voiced herself in the 2011 special, which served as the pilot for the older-Dora series Dora and Friends: Into the City!

James Bobin, director of Dora and the Lost City of Gold, had earlier made two films starring which puppet troupe?

The Muppets (2011) and Muppets Most Wanted came before Dora for Bobin, who had earlier co-created the comedy series Flight of the Conchords.

Val, who pops up in Dora the Explorer as a lifeguard and ice cream seller, is what kind of sea creature?

An octopus with arms to spare, Val also works as a librarian, a cashier and a mail-truck driver.

The Fiesta Trio, the tiny band that cheers each step of Dora's journeys, is a frog, a snail and which insect?

A grasshopper plays the accordion in the trio, but the 2024 reboot replaced him and the snail with a marmoset and an armadillo.

In Dora's Pirate Adventure, the Pirate Piggies sail off with a chest that actually holds what?

Costumes for the pirate play that Dora and her friends are staging fill the chest, which the piggies grabbed believing it was full of gold.

In Dora Saves the Mermaids, which lost item must Mariana get back to clear the garbage from her kingdom?

A magic crown lets Mariana make the garbage vanish, but a huge wave carried it off, so Dora sets out to return it after finding it on the beach.

In Dora's World Adventure, Dora and Swiper return gifts to France, Tanzania, Russia and which other country?

China is the last stop, at the Great Wall, where Dora's friend Mei is waiting, and every country on the trip turns out to have a local Swiper of its own.

In Dora's Christmas Carol Adventure, Swiper lands on Santa's naughty list for trying to swipe what?

The star from the tree is what he grabs at Dora's Nochebuena party, so Santa sends him through his past, present and future to learn the spirit of the season.

In Dora's Super Soccer Showdown, Dora travels to which country to face a team of monsters in the Big Cup?

Brazil hosts the Big Cup in the special, which first aired one week before the real 2014 World Cup kicked off there.

In Dora's Dance to the Rescue, a dancing elf tricks Swiper into getting trapped inside what?

A bottle had held the elf himself until Swiper opened it, and Dora must win a dance contest at a king's castle to set her old rival free.

In Dora Saves the Crystal Kingdom, what drains away from the land after a greedy king hides its four crystals?

Its colours fade because the crystals power them, so Dora and a girl named Allie hunt for the hidden crystals inside four different stories.

In Dora's Royal Rescue, Lady Knight Dora rides out to free which hero of a classic novel from a wizard?

Don Quixote is held prisoner in a library by the wizard Malambruno, and Dora is helped by the old knight's horse Rocinante and the donkey Dapple.

Which singer and actress voiced Jessica the Ice Witch in the special Dora's Ice Skating Spectacular?

Hilary Duff voiced the witch, who takes everyone's ice skates and will only hand them back if somebody can beat her in a skating contest.

Which child lead of Disney Channel's Jessie also voiced Isa in the final seasons of Dora the Explorer?

Skai Jackson voiced the garden-loving Isa from 2012, in the same years that she was playing Zuri Ross on Jessie.

Which veteran comedy film-maker voiced the Mad Hatter in the 2014 special Dora in Wonderland?

Mel Brooks joined a starry guest cast that also had the singer Jewel as the Cheshire Cat and Sara Ramirez as the Queen of Hearts.

Which Oscar-nominated actress voiced the talking camera that helps Diego find animals in Go, Diego, Go!?

Rosie Perez, nominated for an Academy Award for the 1993 film Fearless, voiced the gadget, which tracks creatures down by listening for their calls.

In Go, Diego, Go!, Diego usually picks up a creature's call for help while at which rainforest base?

The Animal Rescue Center is a family affair: Diego's parents are scientists who study wildlife, and his older sister directs the calls that come in.

Linda, who became a regular in Go, Diego, Go! after Diego came to her aid, is what kind of animal?

A llama, Linda went on to headline episodes of her own, including Linda the Librarian and one in which she saves Carnival.

The actress who plays Dora in the 2019 live-action film had earlier voiced which pal in Dora and Friends?

Kate, the group's art and theatre lover, was her role from 2014, five years before she stepped in front of the camera as Dora herself.

The actress who first voiced Dora in 2000 returned in the 2024 reboot Dora in which role?

Mami, Dora's mother, is her part in the reboot, more than two decades after she became the first voice of Dora as a child.

Which stand-up comedian voices Boots in the 2025 live-action film Dora and the Search for Sol Dorado?

Gabriel Iglesias, the comedian nicknamed Fluffy, voices a photoreal Boots who answers Dora with sassy wisecracks.

In Dora and the Search for Sol Dorado, Diego hosts a theme-park show with his pet bird of which fruity name?

Mango headlines Diego's bird show at Jungle World, the park where Dora takes a job as a ride guide after losing her beloved Map in a fire.

Boots, Dora's best friend in Dora the Explorer, is named after his beloved footwear of which colour?

Red boots mean so much to him that, in the show's backstory, he and Dora became best friends when she saved them from being swiped.

Dora becomes a big sister in the original Dora the Explorer when which pair of twins is born?

Guillermo and Isabella arrive in the episode Big Sister Dora, though the babies were not given their names on screen until a later season.

What family name do cast lists for the series and the live-action films give Dora, the heroine of Dora the Explorer?

Márquez is the surname, and it comes with a deliberately broad background: the creators made Dora pan-Latina rather than tying her to one country.

Swiper's home in Dora the Explorer is a burrow hidden at which landmark of Dora's world?

Blueberry Hill hides the burrow, and its entrance gate, which guards the whole hill, opens only when a visitor asks in the language Dora teaches.

In Dora Saves the Snow Princess, where has a mean witch locked up the princess of the snowy forest?

In a tower is where the witch keeps her, and the forest begins to melt because the witch frowned into the princess's stolen snow crystal.

Which soccer fan is the only boy among Dora's five best pals in Dora and Friends: Into the City!?

Pablo plays on the same soccer team as Dora and Alana, and he joined a circle that had been all girls in the earlier Explorer Girls special.

The 2023 short Dora and the Fantastical Creatures played in cinemas ahead of which animated feature?

PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie carried the short as a preview of the 2024 reboot, with Dora chasing Swiper through a dreamland of folk-art creatures.

What happened to the original Dora the Explorer series on the very day the 2019 live-action film opened?

Its final episode aired that day, 9 August 2019, closing a run that began in 2000. The last six episodes had sat unshown in the United States for years.

At the end of Dora and the Search for Sol Dorado, Diego leaves the jungle for an internship in which city?

New York is where a zoology internship awaits him, and his parting gift to Dora is a brand-new Map for her next adventure.

Caitlin Sanchez took over as the voice of Dora in 2008 because the original actress had left to do what?

To go to college was her reason for leaving, and about 600 girls auditioned for the part before the 12-year-old Sanchez won it.

Which toy giant announced a controversial tween makeover of Dora the Explorer in 2009?

Mattel planned an older, tween-aged Dora, and after a brief controversy the new look was revealed months ahead of schedule.

Both touring Dora the Explorer stage shows ended with a version of which Gloria Estefan hit?

Get on Your Feet closed both City of Lost Toys and Dora's Pirate Adventure, shows in which actors played Dora's animal friends in elaborate foam suits.

Before the heroine of Dora the Explorer became Dora, a pilot was made with her under which name?

Nina starred in a pilot called Nina's Pop-up Puzzle, and she was first written as a girl of Irish descent before the makers reimagined her as Latina.

In the Russian version of Dora the Explorer, the heroine and the show are renamed after which girl's name?

Dasha, a pet form of Daria, gives the Russian dub both its heroine's name and the first word of its title.

Which blockbuster director's company was first announced as producer of the live-action Dora film but never took part?

Michael Bay and his company Platinum Dunes were named as producers when the project was announced in 2017, but neither had any part in the finished film.

In Dora and the Search for Sol Dorado, Dora decodes several quipus, Inca records made of what?

Knotted cords let the Incas store numbers without writing, by tying the knots in a decimal system, and one quipu could hold thousands of cords.

Dora and the Fantastical Creatures takes place in a dreamland of which Mexican creatures?

Alebrijes shaped the look of the whole short: because the figures are often carved from wood, the animators aimed for a handmade feel.

Which daytime talk-show host guest-starred as Mommy Maned Wolf in an episode of Go, Diego, Go!?

Kelly Ripa voiced a mother maned wolf, a long-legged South American canine that, despite its name, is not really a wolf.

Which co-creator of Dora the Explorer also gave the Big Red Chicken his voice on the show?

Chris Gifford gave himself several other parts as well, and he conceived both of the touring Dora stage shows.

In the French version of Dora the Explorer, Dora's best friend Boots goes by which name?

Babouche and Dora speak French in that dub, which is broadcast in both France and Quebec under the title Dora l'exploratrice.

Which Ice Age voice actor played the boss of the Pirate Piggies in Dora's Pirate Adventure?

John Leguizamo, the voice of Sid, sang much of the part, because most of the special's dialogue is performed in the style of an operetta.