Get ready for adventure! Dora’s back with a new movie and animated season 3. We chat with the cast about stunts, fan love, and Dora’s enduring legacy!
The beloved explorer is back with a double dose of adventure! Fans of Dora the Explorer have much to celebrate with the highly anticipated release of Dora and the Search for Sol Dorado which premieres on July 2, 2025, on Paramount+ and Nickelodeon. This new live-action film promises thrilling escapades as Dora embarks on a dangerous quest through the Amazon jungle. Adding to the excitement, the animated series is also returning with its third season, which also debuted on July 2, 2025, on Paramount+, ensuring that Dora’s adventures continue for a new generation of viewers.
Mama’s Geeky recently had the incredible opportunity to sit down with some of the talented individuals who bring the world of Dora to life. We caught up with Maria Canals-Barrera, the voice of Abuela in the animated series, and Kathleen Herles, who not only voices Dora’s mom in the new animated series but also famously voiced Dora herself!
We also spoke with the exciting new cast of Dora and the Search for Sol Dorado: Samantha Lorraine (Dora), Jacob Rodriguez (Diego), Mariana Garzón Toro (Naiya), and Acton Luca Porto (Sonny).
We delved into what makes Dora such an enduring and resonant character across generations, with Kathleen sharing her memorable experiences returning to the franchise and a heartwarming fan interaction. The new cast discussed the wild stunts they performed and Samantha’s unique conversations with previous actresses who portrayed Dora.
The Enduring Appeal of Dora
Mama’s Geeky: What do you think it is about Dora that has allowed her to stand the test of time and resonate with so many for so long?
Samantha Lorraine: She’s so iconic and she’s so beloved. She’s so important in the Latin community and not just Latin community. She’s important for most cultures around the world. I mean, she’s for everybody worldwide. She’s just such a symbol of hope and positivity and that yearning for adventure and curiosity, and I think it’s so important that we instill that in children, and this movie does a great job at doing that.
Maria Canals-Barrera: Her opening line is “Hola, soy Dora.” She puts herself out there, and she’s not too cool for school. She’s friendly, she’s real, she’s authentic. She’s a great friend. She’s got traditional qualities. She’s an explorer, which is kind of cool for a girl. She’s got everything, and she’s bilingual, which is a fun, important thing that people can really get on board with since so many of us speak two languages. She helps you learn if you want to learn, and she’s just a terrifically created character. I think that’s the secret to her longevity.
Kathleen Herles: The writers and the creators really stuck to those core values that Dora represents, and you can see that with the new show and all of these new things that are coming up in the Dora universe. It’s amazing because you could still feel that nostalgia for everyone who grew up with the original show. They are introduced to this new show, and then now they could share this with their kids or little ones in their families, and they can still relate to the show and be familiar with a lot of aspects that they grew up with.
Diving into the Wild Stunts
Mama’s Geeky: How fun was it to just dive into all the stunts and crazy action sequences for Dora and the Search for Sol Dorado?
Samantha Lorraine: So much fun! You’d think you’d put yourself into a pickle or something, but it’s not even. They make everything so easy.
Mariana Garzón Toro: My biggest flex is that I got to fake drive, and I got to have like this crazy chase and have things thrown at my face. It was so much fun.
Jacob Rodriguez: It was physically taxing almost doing those stunts. I’ve never done stunts before, never had that experience. I grew up with an athletic background, so I thought I’d be amazing at this, but sure enough, the stunt team is incredible. They make it so easy on all of us. But there’s some hard stuff. There was a moment where something latches on to me and drags me around, all real, all happening. Then I’m bumping into a tree, and sure enough, it’s a real tree. It’s not padded or anything. I did that at least like 20, 25 times. My shoulder was all messed up. I had to fall to the ground on my own body weight. There was no padding on the floor. I also got to hang on some vines with my own body weight and be like Tarzan, almost like swinging like Spider-Man. It was nuts. That was probably some of my most fun moments on set, performing those stunts.
Becoming an Introduction to Dora
Mama’s Geeky: What does it mean to you that you could be the introduction for some people to Dora?
Mariana Garzón Toro: Honestly, today is like the first day that that has kind of settled into my brain. I didn’t really register that like, oh, there’s kids growing up now who have never experienced Dora before, and Sam is going to be their Dora. And you know, we’re going to be a part of that, and that’s so special. It’s so special to have people kind of look up to you in a certain way and find someone who looks like them on screen and someone they can relate to on screen. It’s beautiful.
Samantha Lorraine: Seeing my little cousins and my family so engaged when they were watching the trailer, when they saw the pictures, it’s just like, we did that. And it’s engaging, and it’s fun, and it’s adventurous, and it’s crazy. It’s out of this world, honestly. And I cannot believe that we made it, and people are going to see it now. It’s surreal.
Jacob Rodriguez: We had a day where we had 300 extras, and it was a whole bunch of parents and their kids, and I see people look at Sam in her costume and just be in awe, like freaking out that she is Dora. That’s so special that a character like this could impact a generation that, still to this day, came out 25 years ago.
Introducing More of Dora’s Family
Mama’s Geeky: With the animated series expanding to introduce more of Dora’s family, what has it meant to you to be a part of broadening this universe?
Maria Canals-Barrera: I was thrilled to get the part, to be welcomed into something such an already existing iconic show and to be her grandmother, such a sweet role. I always joke that I’m practicing for when I’m a grandmother. Beautifully written, and I draw upon my own grandmother, whose name was Dora, by the way. My grandmother and my older sister are named Dora because she was named after my grandmother, so I love that. She is traditional, and it’s not skewed as, “oh, you know, I don’t cook.” She cooks. Cooking is such a beautiful thing. There’s nothing more loving than to make somebody a meal, and she teaches the kids ingredients. She cooks, she sings, and she’s a mountain climber and an adventurer, and that’s where Dora gets it from: her explorer grandmother and even further back. I love personally that so much that Kathleen, who voiced Dora, plays her mom now. That’s just such a sweet thing to me. Having been a mom whose kids watch the show, I love that. I was thrilled to get it, and I’m having a great time. I get to sing, I get to speak English, I get to speak Spanish. I dance, but not really me. I enjoy watching the animation. It’s incredible.
Kathleen Herles: First of all, I can’t believe it’s been 25 years. I feel like that part of my life feels like a different lifetime, but it’s just so cool to see it grow, and especially for me to now play her mom is weird in a sense, like I grew up to play my own mom, but I know so much about my daughter that I get to tap into that and into this new role of mommy, and it’s just so fun to explore that.
Be sure to watch our full interviews with the Dora the Explorer casts to learn more behind-the-scenes details.