Dora Turns 25!

Can you believe Dora the Explorer just turned 25? Yep, our favorite bilingual adventurer has officially reached the age where she can rent a car. Not bad for someone who still hangs out with a talking backpack.

Here’s the wild part: Dora almost wasn’t Dora. In early sketches, she was a bunny. Or a cat. Or even a red-headed girl named Tess with a mouse in her pocket. Imagine asking a rabbit to yell “Swiper, no swiping!” That just doesn’t hit the same.

Thankfully, Nickelodeon leaned in and made Dora Latina, giving millions of kids their first bilingual TV buddy. With her trusty Backpack (“¡Mochila, mochila!”), her singing Map (“I’m the Map!”), and her monkey Boots, she turned snack time into a full-on geography lesson. And let’s be real, Dora’s Map was the original GPS, way before Siri started telling us to “recalculate.”

In interviews, co-creator Valerie Walsh Valdes said Dora’s secret sauce was her curiosity and problem-solving. But let’s be honest, it was also the fact that she asked us questions, then stared into the camera waiting for us to answer, basically inventing interactive TV for preschoolers.

Now, Dora’s legacy lives on in reboots and movies. The original voice actress, Kathleen Herle,s even came back as Dora’s mom. Talk about a family reunion.

So happy 25th, Dora. Thanks for teaching us Spanish, geography, and how to yell at foxes. If you ever need directions to your own party—don’t worry, the Map’s got you.

Feliz 25 cumpleaños!

Doug O’Brien