Paramount Players’ live-action Dora the Explorer film has signed Eva Longoria to star as the mother of Isabela Moner’s title character.
In the cartoons, Dora’s mother’s name is Elena, and the voiceover role was originated by Eileen Galindo. However, there has been no significant news as to how closely the script, written by Danielle Sanchez-Witzel and Nicholas Stoller, will hew to the Nickelodeon show.
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Director James Bobin has started assembling a dynamic cast for the adaptation in recent months, adding Eugenio Derbez as a villain, Micke Moreno as Diego and Nicholas Coombe as a love interest. Despite these recent additions and a first look at Moner in costume, casting Longoria is a huge get, as she is the first big name for the American-made film.
Nickelodeon’s original cartoon Dora the Explorer was created by Chris Gifford, Valerie Walsh and Eric Weiner as a way to entertain children while also teaching basic Spanish. Accompanied by her pals Boots the monkey and Map the talking map, Dora travels across the land and goes on adventures, until she’s stopped by the evil Swiper, a mischievous fox. The show eventually added Diego, a male explorer, who found popularity and his own spinoff.
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Executive producer and voice actor in the film Eugenio Derbez was named Variety’s most influential Latino star in 2014, and he’s since been making a name in Hollywood over the past few years with family comedies like How to be a Latin Lover and the remake of Overboard.
Directed by James Bobin from a script by Danielle Sanchez-Witzel and Nicholas Stoller, Dora the Explorer stars Isabela Moner, Eugenio Derbez, Micke Moreno, Adriana Barraza and Nicholas Coombe. It will be released Aug. 2, 2019.
Via Variety