Movie Review

Dora and the Lost City of Gold plays like Indiana Jones for kids

If you find yourself laughing more than you thought you would at Dora and the Lost City of Gold, you can thank the skills of filmmakers like director James Bobin and writer Nicholas Stoller. The two comedy veterans breathe life into a movie, based on the Nickelodeon animated show Dora the Explorer, that might have otherwise been a throwaway, end-of-summer kids movie.

The gist of the plot is that Dora (Isabela Moner), now a teenager, has been sent to live in Los Angeles by her explorer parents (Eva Longoria and Michael Peña) while they go in search for the titular lost city of gold. She’s not there long, however, before a rival group kidnaps her, her cousin Diego (Jeff Wahlberg), and her friends Sammy (Madeleine Madden) and Randy (Nicholas Coombe) in an attempt to blackmail her parents into giving up information on the city’s location.

Once in South America, Dora and friends are rescued by Alejandro (Eugenio Derbez), who promises to help lead them back to her parents. With the rival group hot on their heels, Dora uses her many skills to help the group through a variety of obstacles that the jungle has to offer.

If it had been done the easy, cheap way, the film simply would have recycled the familiar elements from the TV show that would prove entertaining for small kids and excruciating for almost anyone else. Fortunately, Bobin, Stoller, and co-writer Matthew Robinson dispense with the expected jokes early on and, understanding that kids are only half the audience, do a lot to entertain parents, as well.

They treat Dora and her friends as actual characters instead of caricatures, giving them motivations outside of that which is convenient for the plot. Lots of clever wordplay serves to deliver funny jokes and allows Dora to talk like an actual person. And Benicio Del Toro and Danny Trejo were somehow convinced to give voice to Swiper and Boots, respectively, a funny notion before they even say a word.

Of course, this is not high art. There are fart jokes and telegraphed twists you can see coming a mile away. But the low-brow stuff is kept to a relative minimum, and the rest of the film, which plays like Indiana Jones for kids, is so enjoyable that you won’t notice most of it anyway.

Moner, who was seen onstage in North Texas as Wendy in the Dallas Theater Center production of Fly in 2013, is near-perfect as Dora. She’s bright, bubbly, and charming, with a face so cherubic that you can’t imagine her ever doing anything wrong. Wahlberg, Madden, and Coombe make for a fun, if not all that memorable, friend group. The adults in the film are almost beside the point, but Longoria and Peña elevate their scenes, unlike Derbez, who is an acquired taste at best.

It’s always a pleasant surprise when noticeable effort is put into a film that didn’t necessarily need that support. Dora and the Lost City of Gold is a family film that has plenty to offer for anyone in the audience.

Isabela Moner in Dora and the Lost City of Gold.

Isabela Moner in Dora and the Lost City of Gold

Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Isabela Moner in Dora and the Lost City of Gold.

Weekend Event Planner

These are the 11 best things to do in Fort Worth this weekend

GM Financial Parade of Lights Fort Worth

Photo courtesy of Parade of Lights

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The weekend before Thanksgiving is when the holiday season really kicks into high gear, and this year features a Broadway musical, multiple local festivals, and a big parade. Other non-holiday choices include screenings of an acclaimed new film, three country concerts, a great comedian, an opera, the opening of a new art exhibition, and a small-scale symphony concert.

GM Financial Parade of Lights Fort Worth

Photo courtesy of Parade of Lights

The annual GM Financial Parade of Lights takes place in Downtown Fort Worth on November 24.

Below are the best ways to spend your free time this weekend. Want more options? Lucky for you, we have a much longer list of the city's best events.

Thursday, November 21

Performing Arts Fort Worth presents Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical
Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical features the hit songs "You're A Mean One Mr. Grinch" and "Welcome Christmas” from the original animated series. Max the Dog narrates the action as the mean and scheming Grinch, whose heart is "two sizes too small," decides to steal Christmas away from the Holiday-loving Whos. The production runs through Sunday at Bass Performance Hall.

Friday, November 22

Holiday events
In addition to the special one-off holiday performances, the Fort Worth area will have several holiday festival-style events start their run this weekend. They include Texas Christkindl Market at Texas Live in Arlington (running through December 23), Coca-Cola’s Classic Christmas at Choctaw Stadium in Arlington (through December 29), and Lightscape at Fort Worth Botanic Garden (through January 5).

Magnolia at the Modern: Blitz
Sir Steve McQueen’s Blitz follows the epic journey of George (Elliott Heffernan), a 9-year-old boy in World War II London whose mother Rita (Saoirse Ronan) sends him to safety in the English countryside. George, defiant and determined to return home to his mother and grandfather (Paul Weller) in East London, embarks on an adventure, only to find himself in immense peril. Meanwhile, a distraught Rita searches for her missing son. The film will screen seven times through Sunday at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.

Little Big Town in concert with Sugarland
Country group Little Big Town and country duo Sugarland have a long history together, first collaborating on the song "Life in a Northern Town" in 2008. Sixteen years later, they teamed up again for the new song "Take Me Home," after which this tour is named. Little Big Town has released 10 albums in their career, most recently Mr. Sunin 2022, while Sugarland has released six albums in their career, most recently Bigger in 2018. They'll play at Dickies Arena.

Big Laugh Comedy Club presents Dulce Sloan
Comedian Dulcé Sloan was most recently a correspondent on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, and has been hailed by Variety, Rolling Stone, and Timeout LA as a Top Comedian to Watch. She has also been honored as the NBC Stand UpShowcase Winner, a Montreal Just For Laughs New Face, and as a Comedian to Watch on The Steve Harvey Show. She'll perform four times through Saturday at Big Laugh Comedy Club.

Fort Worth Opera presents Little Women
Mark Adamo’s operatic adaptation of Little Women brings Louisa May Alcott’s classic coming-of-age novel to life in a fresh and powerful way. The American opera is celebrated for its emotional depth and resonant themes of family, sisterhood, growing up, and coming home. Adamo captures the internal conflict of iconic central character, Jo March, who fears that growing up inevitably means growing apart from her family and her sisters, Meg, Beth, and Amy. There will be performances on Friday and Sunday at Arts Fort Worth.

Randall King in concert
A throwback to classic country, Randall King formed an Americana group in college called the Randall King Band, which released an album called Old Dirt Road before splitting. He then debuted as a solo artist in 2016 with the EP Another Bullet before releasing his first self-titled album in 2018 and his second album, Shot Glass in 2022. He'll play once again at Billy Bob's Texas.

Saturday, November 23

Dylan Wheeler in concert
A native of the East Texas town of Edgewood, Dylan Wheeler has made a name for himself on the Texas country music scene. The success of his debut EP, Tell Me I'm Wrong, in 2018 convinced him to quit his job in the oil & gas industry and pursue music full-time. He released his debut album, Times Are Changing, in 2022, and now he returns again to play at Billy Bob's Texas.

Sunday, November 24

Amon Carter Museum of American Art presents Rufino Tamayo: "Innovation and Experimentation"
Exploring more than 60 years of Rufino Tamayo’s prints, "Innovation and Experimentation" showcases the artist’s extensive engagement with prints and his ambitions to add volume and texture to a traditionally two-dimensional medium. In these works, Tamayo's depictions and abstractions of the human figure are highlighted as fertile ground for formal experimentation. A selection of Mesoamerican sculpture complements the prints on view, examining an important source of inspiration for the artist. The exhibition will remain on display through April 20, 2025.

Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra presents Chamber Series: "Mozart, Schulhoff, and Korngold"
The composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold is remembered best for his film scores to silver-screen classics like The Adventures of Robin Hood and Captain Blood, but his concert works are also a testament to his prodigious talent. In this first FWSO Chamber Program featuring members of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Korngold’s music appears alongside Mozart’s Serenade in C minor and a Divertissement by Schulhoff, whose music was buried by the Nazis but has been reemerging in recent years. The performance takes place at Kimbell Art Museum.

GM Financial Parade of Lights
The annual GM Financial Parade of Lights will brighten up the streets of Downtown Fort Worth for its 42nd year, marking the City of Fort Worth’s official kickoff to the holiday season. The parade features the Texas Rangers baseball team as Grand Marshal, along with floats, vintage cars, horse-drawn carriages, marching bands, carolers, and Santa Claus along the 1.59-mile route.

theater music holidays festivals kids families movies concerts comedy opera galleries symphony event-planner

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