Movie Review

You know things are bad when the only full length movie you've seen in a month (not counting TWILIGHT... sigh) is Dora Saves the Snow Princess. I've watched it a couple of times while doing Tae Bo (yes, I'm super-talented). And I'd like to review it, since I have a good knowledge of Dora's body of work.

Overall, the music is a big disappointment. There's only one catchy tune in the whole show, which might be an accomplishment if I weren't so familiar with Dora's Pirate Adventure. Now THAT'S good a good musical. I could sing you any of the songs right now. "Isa turn the wheel? Turn the wheel Isa!" How about those silly songs they sing with the bridge? Awesome. Why not hire a decent songwriter to work with them. If we adults have to listen to this stuff day in and day out, why not make it palatable?

Another problem I have is that the actor playing Boots has been changed. Oz can't hear anything (tubes going in on the 30th), but everyone else in the family has noticed. If they're going to get a new Boots, why not go in a totally different direction? They kid they're using now KIND OF sounds like Boots, except his voice is fuzzy and he can't sing well. He must have been playing Backpack, too, because that voice is sub-par as well. Such a disappointment. I feel as robbed as I did when the voice of Barney changed. Or when Steve left Blue's Clues and we had to endure that Joe yahoo. What's with these people? Can't anyone make a commitment to a show anymore?

It's obvious to me that more than just Boots' voice has changed. His whole personality has gone downhill. [Spoiler ahead] At one point, Dora switches places with the Snow Princess, and so at the end of the show she's wearing a fancy-pants dress. Boots looks over at her, sadly, and says, "I wish I was wearing fancy clothes like YOU are, Dora" and the Snow Fairy works his magic and gives Dora and Boots both clothing upgrades. Um, excuse me? Since when does Boots even wear clothes? Or want fancy clothes, for that matter. Do we really want to encourage babies and toddlers to worry about what they're wearing? Mark my words, this new Boots is going to be the downfall of Dora and the rest of the gang. Next thing you know, Benny the bull is going to be prancing around in Prada. I can't wait for my son to tell me (if he ever learns to talk) that he can't be caught dead in anything from Old Navy. 

On the note of fancy wear, Dora looks totally wonky in both ball gowns. If you're going to draw a character with a head the size of Texas, you can't give her a thin body when she's in formal wear. It just doesn't work. Can't the animators see that her thin body would snap like a stick if it was really supporting that massive noggin? I miss the old Dora, with her belly sticking out of her pink shirt. Perhaps she was a tad immodest, but at least her chubby stomach matched her head size.

My last problem with this show is that after Dora and Boots get their new outfits, the Snow Princess awards everyone with medals. First of all, how did she get these medals? She's been stuck in a tower for the entire episode. Are we supposed to believe they were just laying around somewhere? Secondly, I'm not saying Dora and Boots and the Snow Fairy didn't deserve some recognition for all their hard work, but since when does Dora get ANYTHING for helping people? She's always been satisfied to just have them say thank you and be happy. The Snow princess is setting her up for disappointment from here on out. Then, after she gives Dora the medal, the Snow Princess gives her the crystal she was wearing around her neck. So what, now Dora is going to be the new Snow Princess? She doesn't have the time. Is she supposed to give up her exploring adventures to stay in the snowy forrest? And is she supposed to wear that crystal around her neck WITH the medal? Come on. She's going to look like Michael Phelps.

So there you go. I would NOT recommend this particular Dora DVD, even though my son has watched it every day (sometimes twice a day) for the past week. If you want to get a good Dora adventure, my first choice would be Dora Saves the Mermaids. Now that's a show I can get behind... they clean up the ocean and even teach a mean octopus to recycle. Plus you can sing that clean up song over and over, and your 6 and 8 year old might even join in and start cleaning with you. And nothing beats the joy of Superbabies, the all time best episode of Dora. You'll find yourself humming the tune all over town.