For a roundup of all the stories on the new tween Dora, including information on the new Dora Links doll and a chance to share your thoughts, click here.
When Nickelodeon and Viacom Consumer Products announced plans to expand the brand line of preschool favorite Dora the Explorer, it seemed everyone had an opinion -- much of it decidedly negative.
In response to growing anger and concern regarding the silhouette that accompanied the announcement of Dora's new look, today the groups have released a statement and a complete image of what 10-year-old Dora will look like. Parents, take a deep sigh of a relief.
"People care so deeply about this brand and this character," Leigh Anne Brodsky, president of Nickelodeon Viacom Consumer Products, said to the AP. "The Dora that we all know and love is not going away."
As you can see from the image at left, the new Dora does not wear a short dress or skirt, but a tunic and leggings. To be honest, she looks like, well a 10-year-old girl.
"I think there was just a misconception in terms of where we were going with this," Gina Sirard, vice president of marketing at Mattel, says in the report. "Pretty much the moms who are petitioning aging Dora up certainly don't understand. . . . I think they're going to be pleasantly happy once this is available in October, and once they understand this certainly isn't what they are conjuring up."
I think by releasing the photo early, Nickelodeon and Viacom did themselves a big service. Rather than face any backlash and potentially alienating parents, they took care of the situation immediately before it got too out of hand.
What do you think of this new photo of Dora? Are you relieved?
More on Dora:
Dora the Explorer Grows Up! | Tween Dora Picture Released! | The New Dora Revealed!
Image © Mattel/Nickelodeon
I just showed this to my 5-year-old (who just today said she was tired of Dora) and she is excited. She said she is pretty and looks like she will have fun. I am glad they updated her.
The new Dora is adorable and really does look like what a little girl should look like…sweet!
My daughters are only three but LOVE Dora and when I showed them the new Dora, both were excited and said that she is nice.
Great! Exactly what a little girl should look like! Thanks!
I guess it goes without saying…don’t judge a book by it’s…silhouette. Really it is silly to think that if they are going to age a children friendly character that they are going to make her skanky…especially depicting a 10 year old! Come on people change is good…deal with it!!! I think Dora will reconnect with her aging public and is cute in her little outfit to boot!
I think she looks great. When my daughter was two she LOVED Dora and I actually enjoyed watching the show with her. She had all the Dora dolls and accessories. Well, she is 5 now and all that Dora stuff has gone to her little cousin. I showed my girl what the olwer Dora looked like and now she wants the Doll with a matching outfit *Sigh*. Lol. So I am glad they have updated it. Now Dora can grow with my daughter and keep her young for a little bit longer.
Looks like their attempt at “mystery” backfired. They should have just released the full image from the get go. First impressions and all.
The new Dora looks beautiful!!! My 5yr old daughter loved her! Can’t wait to see the new shows and buy the new doll. It’s about time they realize that our kids grow up and now they can grow up with their favorite character!!
When i first heard of the dora change i was upset. I was told she looked like a trampy brat doll. However when I looked her up thats not the case. I think she is very appropriate. My daughter is six and has moved on from the dora faze but when I showed her the new dora she was pleased sayin how pretty she is (i agree) its about time she grew into that big head lol jk. seriously though i think its a great idea for her to grow with our children great idea mattel. Also its not like they are going to banish all of her old cartoons, so kids can still see her back packingxand teaching our younger children things.
My 8 year old is super excited about this new Dora!
I just talked to my 7 year old about the new Dora and she is SO excited!!! I showed her the picture and she said “She Beautiful”
BRAVO Dora , She looks like a cute tweenager .
Very innocent not developed at all she looks like a 10 -12 year old .
She,ll have a bigger following as of now she pretty much cut off at 6-7 year olds
so tell me exactly what the episodes will be like now. and where the hell is boots and backpack and map as well. they havent appeared yet. what did she switch out her backpack for a gucci purse and boots for a toy poodle and how about map. a seventeen magazine?
I’m sad to see tomboy Dora go, quite frankly. It was the one show where a girl was all about being true to her sense of adventure, and not worrying about breaking a nail or something. I really hope her sense of adventure stays put. I would be devastated if they started making her worry about makeup and boys and such.
But I do hope they change her voice to a less annoying yell…
And a quote from another comment on here:
“Really it is silly to think that if they are going to age a children friendly character that they are going to make her skanky…especially depicting a 10 year old!”
I’m just wondering if you have seen the Bratz babies, My scene, or twinx dolls? Because they do indeed skank up child figures…
My 6 1/2 year old daughter outgrew Dora around the age of 5. I am thrilled that there will be an alternative to her watching the more grown up shows like Hannah Montana. There doesn’t seem to be enough shows for the younger school children. They all seem to be targeted at the preschoolers and the young teen audiences.
I really don t like. What the kids like is Dora being a kid and everything she do is because she is small girl.I don t think how well they going to connect everything that dora in her childhood do with now her 10 year.
She looks okay I guess. I think I would have liked her with long pants but what the heck. Well I am okay with the change for the older viewers, however I have a 2 year old and I would like to have the “Original” Dora stay on TV for her sake and other younger kids. Will the new Dora be as interactive as the original?
i think it shouldnt matter how dora looks it matter that she is still dora and older kids love her instead of babies babies kan love her bt since she is older maybe older kids will watch her show more
I think she is cute and a good addition to her character.
Dora looks so cute!!!!
im 13 and when i was little i watched dora. and i think the new one is not bad. shes not wearing a mini skirt. and if she was big deal. all girls wear mini skirts. i think that if you loved dora when you were little then seeing the new dora will be okay. becuz its for tweens. its fine. the new dora did nothing wrong to you. and if you dont like the new dora then dont let your children watch her. and she is not that big of a deal! read about it, think about it, and move on!. thanks! bye!
My 4-year-old loves “old” Dora! She finds her beautiful and funny. She definitely wants the “old” Dora.
My older daugther on the other hand loves the “new” Dora. Her only concern is Boots. What will happen to him? Is he going to be ditched in the forest?
My daughter just turned 7 yrs old 2 wks ago, and although she loves the old daughter, she’s very excited about her growing up. It makes her seem more real because she knows that she’s herself is growing up so why shouldn’t Dora? I am wondering what’s going to happen to Boots. Does he grow up along with her? She suppose to be cousins with Diego so is he also getting age enhanced?
I don’t think they should change Dora. If they want to put out this new older image then it can be someone else on a different show.
im just curious as to the dora babys her little twin brother and sister…. what will they look like… what about boots and backpack i mean will backpack now be a handbag or something?? just showing one part of such a huge series isnt really fair i want to see what everyone will look like grown up! also does this now mean dieago will now grow up to cant really have one grown an the other still young!!!!!!
dora is awesome!!!!!!!
Someone please tell me what is wrong with the new dora? NOTHING ! Everyone is saying she is to grown up. She just looks like an older version thats all. Her clothes and hair are very appropriate !
My little sister was always a Dora fan but now cause she 6 she she dont even like dora that much. but now this new dora she loves it.And new dora is great she is so pretty
i ued to hate dora but now i love her and i hope she has a real brain this time i mean, listen: “tunnle, forest, party. we went thro the tunnle, thro the forest, were do we go next?” I mean really, YOU JUST WENT THRO THE FOREST LIKE 1 SEC AGO!!!!!!! We’ll i hope she improves. and i hope she dose not have animals for friends. well…bye…
The new Dora is actually prettier,
But What Happens to all the little kids who still like the *old* dora???
And last,what is going to happen to boots???
Is he gonna turn into a big gorilla or something???
in response to comment # 20 by “Sorry_Im_Only_13″, i beg to differ.not all girls wear miniskirts – as this is against some people’s religions. Not the miniskirt itself, rather the concept of showing too much body, especially to the opposite gender… no offense intended, just wanted to make a correction.
I want to address a few issues:
First, thank you Moko for your response to the mini skirt issue. “Everybody” does not do any one thing. This is where prejudices come from. They take root in the concept that “everyone” does or thinks the same way as any one individual. The reality is that they don’t. I would not have allowed my child to have the toys if there had been a mini skirt on the doll. It is against my religious beliefs for me or my children to wear revealing clothing. Our religion places it as a requirement on teens and adults but we have placed the same requirements on our young children in order to teach them the proper standards rather than just expecting them to be willing to follow it during a child’s most rebellious period without the instruction as why when they are younger. I am a Latter Day Saint.
Second, every parent that expressed concerns about the look of the new Dora had a right and obligation to look out for their children’s best interest. However, a word of caution to the Knee-Jerk community, If they had skanked Dora out you would not have changed their minds because you would have been seen as a bunch of malcontent conservatives. The only reason there was a positive response and the release of the photo was because they did not skank her out. Reactionary tactics are not usually effective with people that don’t care about your reaction and if they had skanked her out I can promise you that your conservative opinion would not have mattered to them. The key here would have been to wait on the actual release of the photo rather than taking the Knee-Jerk reaction to a silhouette.
Oh, I hope they keep her voice the same. The kids will be able to tell if she sounds different. My 7yr old still likes dora and my 3 yr old LOVES her, so I’m hoping they can still enjoy watching after the change. I REALLY hope they keep the general idea of going on adventures the same- with map and boots I hope. Does this mean Diego is going to get older too?
ummmmmmmmmm not to be rude or anything but….
the hippie style is comming back i mean look at dora she looks… very peaceful! and i am very positive that she wont be wearing a mini skirt…i mean when dora came out she was all about teaching the kids something…and Mattel (hopefully) doesnt want to teach the kids how to be whores…
and also…im tired of my little sister trying to be all grown up saying ohh dora’s for babys (when i wore my dora bookbag to school)… so probably Mattel just wants to have other older kids watching dora i still like her…and i always will
i think this is crap i mean i am a preteen and i have zits and she looks to perfect to be a teen i am girl to and i have so many zits and so do my friends and what in crap is she wearing what kid would wear that i should know i am a kid
peace,love,smiley — not everyone’s hormones are the same. I’m 14 and I’ve never gotten zits or acne. And to your comment, “She looks to perfect to be a teen” she’s not a teen. She’s ten. 10. Like, the age after nine. As in, before kids are taught about puberty. Oh, and on your last comment: She’s wearing a tunic and leggings. I personally love them, and have a grey and purple one. The fashion is very nice and loose and relaxed — it doesn’t reveal much, either. In fact, I wish more kids her age (and my step-sister’s age) dressed in stuff like that. It’s pseudo-chic and adorable!
I actually think it’s kind of nice. I liked Dora when I was little, and I watch it when I have to stay home sick. I think this’ll actually be a very good thing for my little 8-year-old step sister to watch instead of ‘Hannah Montana’ or ‘Wizards of Waverly Place’ and ‘Camp Rock’ and ‘High School Musical’ and ‘Twilight.’ I mean, some of that stuff is just not aimed at her age group and she may be getting the wrong messages.
I, too am worried about Boots! And Backpack and Map — and Swiper, too! I mean, what are they gonna do with him? He’s my favorite!
Wisely,
J.D. Devereux
no more watermelon head
they should put her on tv.
I just did my 3 year old’s room, “young Dora” and now what!! She’s not going to want any of that stuff once she sees the “New older Dora”. She’s going to say “Mommy, Dora’s bigger now, I need big girl Dora!!!” Great, all that money wasted… Why couldn’t they have just left her the way she was? They should’ve created a new show with a new character to target the older kids? Dora has always been for ‘little’ girls and it should stay that way.
i just showed my 6yrld the new dora and she was soooo happy she said she looks very nice and that she thinks that is time for her to grow up…i think is a nice idia to update dora….she dont look bad and her cloth is not bad at all for a 10yro….ty..
Finally they got her looking like a pre-teen at least (not a kindergartener). As an anime fan I like the fact that now she looks like an anime girl from fairly mainstream anime (like Cardcaptors) instead of just some kiddie anime (yeah she always had an “anime look” about her, but always before was ridiculously young, to the point I’d look silly watching it even as an anime fan/otaku, as it obviously was meant for very little kids, and I’m 26). Thankfully now they made her look like an age that is more likely found in the main character of a more mainstream anime show. However I don’t know what channel and time it is on now with her new version
so I can’t watch it until I find out. By the way I get Direct TV, so I wonder which channel the new Dora is on. Anyone know?