The fun thing about being a dad, or not so fun depending on how you look at it, is seeing your child excited over cartoons. My one year old is getting to the stage where she starts to recognize characters, and she gets excited over them. Whether it’s “bob bob” (Spongebob), Elmo, or Dora, these characters makes her stop everything she’s doing when she hears them, and she runs to the TV. Even better, when you have a three year old niece who visits and you need some quiet, just put on a show, or, in this case, pop in the DVD.
It’s been awhile since I’ve seen Dora, and first thing I noticed, hey the intro song changed and she looks a little older. Apparently, she is seven years old now (thanks to my other niece for the information J ). This DVD includes the main episode, “Dora’s Rescue in Mermaid Kingdom,” plus two bonus episodes, “Benny the Castaway” and “Dora’s Moonlight Adventure.”
Dora’s Rescue In Mermaid Kingdom: Nothing like a fun day at the beach, especially as summer is upon us! Well, it wasn’t a fun time when Maribel (a mermaid) is lost, and wants to get back to her Mami in Mermaid Cove. Leave it to Dora and Boots to come to the rescue. Using a special necklace Dora received from a previous mermaid, she is able to turn into a mermaid, and Boots into a sea monkey, and dive into the water to help Maribel. They travel through the Octopus’s garden, ride a whale through some rocks (with the help of Diego), and make it to Mermaid Cove to reunite Maribel with her mami (voiced by Latin singer/actress Thalia).
Seeing this coming into the father’s day weekend was perfect, as the main theme was family. Like all of Dora’s adventures, it’s a great learning time, especially for my three-year-old old niece (since my daughter still doesn’t get it). Stressing the importance of family and sticking together teaches kids, in the times that we live in, to stay by their parents so that they don’t get lost. And maybe it’s just the geek in me, but I did notice the mermaid boy that looked like homage to Aquaman (blond hair, orange shirt), so kudos to them. If your child is a Dora fan, and you have not gotten sick and tired of her yet (let’s face it, some parents have), then this is a good pick up for your DVD collection.
Benny The Castaway: This one wasn’t as fun to watch. Benny the bull gets stranded on an island with dancing coconut trees, who are dropping coconuts all over him. It’s up to Dora and Boots to help him out. With the help of some pirate pigs, they sail off to save him. They get help from a sea lion along the way, and make it to the island in time to save Benny. All in all, it was kind of bleh. I even noticed my niece losing interest in this one, which says a lot, or maybe not: she is just three. But it’s a bonus episode, and besides, it’s not for us anyways.
Dora’s Moonlight Adventure: This was a weird one. It’s basically Dora having a dream in which she must save a cat that she was “cat-sitting.” Mixed in with a bed time story by her dad, it was quite an adventurous dream, but different from other Dora adventures. All and all though, if it teaches one thing, it is the importance of being responsible, especially when “cat-sitting.”
Again, this is a fun DVD to get for any kid that is a huge Dora fan. Especially the main story, and the family aspect of it. Family is something that in this day and age doesn’t seem to be as important as it once was. But we are reminded that family is important, and next to our relationship with Christ, family is the second most important relationship we need to have.
