April 10 - 16, 2011 Issue 16

The episodes of Dora the Explorer almost always follow a regular pattern, breaking the fourth wall:Dora has something she wants to do or somewhere she needs to go.Dora and Boots meet Swiper somewhere along the way, sometimes succeed at saying ‘Swiper no Swiping’ three times; sometimes Swiper successfully swipes Dora’s item

and hides it. Dora and Boots always find the hidden item.Dora will meet one of her friends at each of the locations detailed by the

Map.Dora always succeeds in passing the obstacles.In the English version, Dora will ask the viewers to help her by giv-ing advice (jump, run etc.), locating items (especially those stolen by Swiper) and often shouting commands to the characters in Spanish (especially Tico and Sr. Tucan, who can only speak Spanish).Every character that appeared on the episode sings ‘We did it’ at the end except for Swiper (unless Swiper has taken some positive

role in the episode, such as the episode where he rescues a lost baby fox).

Dora, the main character, is a young

seven year old girl who embarks on a trip in every episode in order to find something or help somebody. She asks the viewers at home to help her find new ways to reach

places with the help of Map. She also teaches viewers Spanish, introducing them to short words and phrases.

Dora has a positive view of the characters she meets, failing even to hold a grudge against the mischievous fox, Swiper, who

continually attempts to steal items from her party. She acts against villains only when it seems that compromise

is impossible, and even in these cases, fails to display actual anger. Dora values her family, whom she

loves openly, though she spends little time

indoors at home with them.

Let’s explore the world with

Dora

2

3

6

7

8