'Dora the Explorer' takes kids on new — and bilingual — adventures

“Dora the Explorer” has been taking young viewers on adventures for almost a quarter of a century. And while the animation has upgraded to 3D and the episodes are shorter, the actor who voiced Dora for the first time 24 years ago says that the new season —kicking off Friday on Paramount+ — will be as friendly and exciting as always.

“Dora’s still going on these adventures — and including the viewer, including everyone to join her,” said Kathleen Herles in an interview with NBC News. “If she brings you with her, and she’s teaching you or helping you problem-solve, teaching you a new Spanish word, teaching you about who she is, showing you her culture, I think any adventure would be great.”

Dora Márquez, known more intimately by her young viewers as Dora the Explorer, started off as a 7-year-old Latina on Nickelodeon in August 2000.

Each episode focuses on an adventure. And Dora habitually breaks the fourth wall of the show, which is to say that she speaks to her viewers directly as if they were all joining her on her quests. Her travel companions include a bilingual purple backpack that speaks Spanish and English, and an anthropomorphic monkey named Boots.

While the creators of Dora want to preserve her personality as open and fun, her identity has become more defined.

“Dora didn’t really have a specific culture, she just kind of represented all Latino people,” said Diana Zermeño, the new voice actor for Dora. “Now she has more specific cultures — her mom is Peruvian and her dad is Mexican and Cuban.”

Herles, the original Dora, said that this identity shift reflects the multicultural reality of many young viewers today.

“We’re all older, we’re starting families, we’re getting married, we have kids, and those kids now come from a multicultural background,” she said, reflecting on the evolution of the young viewers who were fans of the show when she voiced the character. “I think you can see those cultural changes within our society, and within the Latino community. And I think that’s why it’s really smart too, because it speaks to that.”

Herles was born in the U.S. to parents who immigrated from Peru, while Zermeño was born in the U.S. to parents who had immigrated from Mexico.

Looking ahead at the legacy of the animated series, both voice actors believe that the defining characteristics of Dora are her friendliness and excitement, which she uses to invite viewers to her bilingual Spanish-English story.

When asked which Spanish words they like to say with Dora, Zermeño prefers the basics: “gracias” (“thank you”), “de nada” (“you are welcome”), and “por favor” (“please”).

Herles, on the other hand, really likes one word: “hola” (“hello”), which she describes as an invitation to all viewers, akin to saying welcome to my world.

Herles describes fans connecting through a cycle of experiences that revolve around the show, which gets passed down from parents to children, and uncles and aunts to nephews and nieces.

Zermeño prefers to take inspiration from Marvel and DC superhero comics to show how old and young generations of fans can connect in a “Dora multiverse.”

“There have been so many different voices of Dora, that it would be funny if they all had their own little world,” she said, “and if Dora could explore those different worlds.”

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