Dora and the Search for Sol Dorado

Ten years earlier, Dora and Diego's grandfather used to tell them Incan stories. He told about Sol Dorado, a fallen magical star that has the power to grant a selfless wish. Dora was given the Map, which she believes guides her on adventures, and loves to explore the Amazon rainforest with Diego. She rescued a monkey and named him Boots. Presently, Dora is on another adventure to search for Sol Dorado. Despite being resistant, Diego joins only for the last adventure. Inside a cave, she interprets a quipu leading to an ancient sundial. However, a booby trap sets off a fire in the cave. Diego activates his Rescue Pack to save Dora, who eventually loses her Map in the fire. Heartbroken, Dora assumes she is nothing without the Map, before she is diverted by the Jungle World's new manager, Camila, whom Dora had admired for years. At Jungle World, Dora becomes a guide on the ride with annoyingly scripted puns, where Diego holds the show of his cockatoo, Mango. There, they discover that Camila is searching the Emperor's Bracelet, the key to Sol Dorado. Diego calls this a myth, but Dora sneaks into Tesoro Inca and unlocks a box using the sundial, from which the bracelet binds to her hand and gives her a vision of three entrances toward Sol Dorado. Camila finds the box empty, suspects Dora of theft, and commands her men to stop Dora from escaping, but the bracelet helps Dora avoid them. On the tram, Dora discovers that Diego had a girlfriend, Naiya, who is driving them during the escape and encounter with the henchmen. Eventually, they crash in the middle of the jungle, potentially leaving Camila behind. From her Backpack, Dora gives Diego his Rescue Pack and Naiya a medical kit to continue their adventure. Dora has a vision of the first location, El Gran Valle de la Muerte, and tries leading the way on her own and with the help of Boots. There, after deciphering a quipu, they find a lead into the graves before the walls could crush them. Eventually, they get a clue toward the Macaws of Cinchona, through another vision Dora gets for the second location. At night, Swiper the Fox traces the group and swipes away Dora's Backpack, making the track easier for his owner, Camila. Dora wakes up heartbroken over losing the Backpack, so Diego calls off the mission before the bracelet binds him back. He opens up about his opportunity for an internship that led to his unwillingness to co-explore. Moving on to the location, a math puzzle guides them through a set of quipu swings. While Naiya, a sudoku player, solves the puzzle, Diego swings over spikes below to unlock the bridge leading them to another clue. Dora has an emotional breakdown over not wanting to lose Diego, so he comforts her and gets a vision of the third location, the Temple of Light. Outside, Camila captures the group and follows the tipline, while Dora falls off the cliff during the encounter. Dora regains consciousness under the full moon and discovers she is the actual map herself. She reads the stars to find the exact way, activates the Rescue Pack against Camila's group, and uses the sundial to open the Temple. However, Camila tailgates Dora's group and opens up about her career failure, which led her to selfishly search for Sol Dorado. Inside, Dora and Camila decode the quipu together, leading them to weigh the gold on the scales to open the gateway ahead in return. There was not enough gold for the last scale, so Camila sacrifices herself to open the gateway before the bracelet rescues her. They connect the third clue, and Camila opens the Sol Dorado using the bracelet as the key. Camila and Dora commit to having found their true selves, the Crusader and the Explorer, respectively, so they selflessly use the wish to prevent Diego from losing his internship. Diego and Naiya reconcile during the adventure and vow to stay connected. Diego bids farewell before leaving for New York City. Dora finally sees the green flash as Diego gives her the new Map, prompting another adventure. ==Cast and characters==

• Samantha Lorraine as Dora MárquezWhile the character stops frequently breaking the fourth wall, Lorraine explained her version of Dora to be more "smart" and "quick-witted", who would go through low times in her life and lose her important things, before finding her true inner-self. She does not like to sing much and instead uses catchphrases, unlike previous versions of Dora. • Jacob Rodriguez as Diego MárquezMore involved with Dora, this version of Diego is presented as more nervous and risk-averse. It is, however, changed after she had a satisfactory adventure with Dora's group. • Acston Luca Porto as Sonny, Naiya's younger brother • Gabriel Iglesias voices Boots, Dora's pet monkey • María Cecilia Botero as Dora's Abuela • Valentina Latyna as Sabrina Márquez, Diego's mother • Valentina Acosta as Elena Márquez, Dora's mother • George Slebi as Cole Márquez, Dora's father • Óscar Roda as Nico Márquez, Diego's father The film highlights ayllu, and shares a message to be selfless and not selfish. Dora and Diego have a secret handshake, and they can speak Quechua and interpret quipus, inspired by the ancient Inca mythology. ==Production==

Development The director Alberto Belli had shared a concept about the Incan ayllu with the writer JT Billings. For about two years, they were up to recreating a story in the Dora the Explorer franchise, It draws inspiration from the Indiana Jones franchise, and adds the elements of action sequences within the adventure storyline. which the filmmakers had finalized after conducting auditions in multiple countries for about two months. Jacob Rodriguez was cast as Dora's cousin Diego the following month, making his feature film debut. In May 2025, the roles of Mariana Garzón Toro, Acston Luca Porto, Daniella Pineda, and Gabriel Iglesias were also revealed. Iglesias shared that he was cast only on a direct phone call offer to voice the character of Dora's pet monkey, Boots. Filming Filming began in July 2024 and was held for about four months in several locations in Colombia, The cast and crew were actually in the jungle, Reserva Natural Río Claro, and they had to be careful of the challenges like hot weather, rain, mosquitoes, snakes, and scorpions. A snake handler assisted them throughout as well. A lizard, a snake, and a capybara also appeared in the film, and wranglers from the American Humane Society assisted the cast in handling them. A scene had a live scorpion, real cockroaches, and glued stuffed bugs, including centipedes and beetles. After filming, a container of the bugs was refilled and taken back. The filmmakers had studied and recorded the behaviors of a monkey before creating the character of Boots a complete CGI. A stuffed monkey and a tennis ball were also used as stand-ins on set to portray Boots. which had practically moving parts, portrayed in the film as the fire traps, moving walls, swings, and the weighing scales, and the sets had security emergency exits as well. Lorraine and Rodriguez performed most of the stunts in the film themselves. A tram chase scene required Toro to have a fake drive through the parks, with hundreds of extras behind. Two trams, one for each unit, were remodified and made adjustable after inspiration from a Chinese van, and were used in two parks for filming, Hacienda Nápoles and . The second unit included stunt coordinator Brycen Counts and cinematographer Sebastián Cantillo, and they also used Mōvi Pro steadicam and Inspire 3 drone camera. Adam Bonnett and Jonathan McCoy served as executive producers, along with the creators Chris Gifford and Valerie Walsh Valdes, while Kristin Burr, Benjamin Tappan, and Carolina Arciniegas served as the film producers. while SpinVFX provided the visual effects. Music The soundtrack album consisting of 26 tracks was also released by Republic Records on July 2, 2025, via multiple music streaming services. It was accompanied with a single "View From Here" by Charity Daw, Dora the Explorer theme "Dora y Diego" by Shila Olinda Farahani, and film score. All music is composed by Kenny Wood. ==Release==

The film premiere event was held in Los Angeles, California, on June 25, 2025. and it premiered simultaneously on Nickelodeon. It was released internationally on July 4 by Paramount+ and Nickelodeon Movies. ==Reception==

Critical reception Callie Hanna wrote in FandomWire that the film is "far from perfect, often rushed", but the "charming characters" and "compelling adventure scenes" work out. DeVonne Goode wrote in Parents that with a "more straightforward narrative", the film has "plenty of humor, action, and great displays of teamwork". Brennan Klein wrote in Screen Rant that the film "has some solid merits and a few major faults, but it's mostly a featureless, smooth blob of family entertainment". John Serba of Decider reviews that the film "breaks new ground" with "some modest fun and a handful of laughs, and [ends] up in the black creatively". Cath Clarke of The Guardian called it an "inoffensive adventure story" which has the "action sequences looted from Raiders of the Lost Ark". Jane A. of Absolute Geeks reviewed it as a "blandly competent" and "fast-paced" but "forgettable" film, having enough "to avoid sinking" but not "to shine". ==Notes==