Who is that??

 

BEEP!! BEEP!!! A DORA UPDATE!! BEEP!! BEEP!!

Thank you to my friend Amy who sent me this story from yahoo! We can all apparently relax now! Here's what the article on yahoo said:

Mattel and Nickelodeon both say there are two major misconceptions about the new Dora, which is not replacing the "Dora the Explorer" cartoon, but will be a new interactive doll aimed at 5- to 8-year-olds.

"People care so deeply about this brand and this character," Leigh Anne Brodsky, president of Nickelodeon Viacom Consumer Products, says. "The Dora that we all know and love is not going away."

"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. "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."

Part of the confusion stemmed from the silhouette that was released, which made Dora look more like a Britney Spears or Lindsay Lohan than a young girl. For the record, the doll does not wear a short dress, but a tunic and leggings. And while she looks older (she's supposed to be about 10), with longer jewelry and longer hair, she doesn't have makeup and seems pretty much like a 10-year-old girl.

Nickelodeon and Mattel say that as part of unrelated research, they found parents wanted a way to keep Dora in their children's lives and have their daughters move on to a toy that was age appropriate.

"The idea is Dora for more girls," Brodsky says. "The whole point was this was created because moms said help us."

But the new version is a significant switch from the Dora many preschoolers have known, aging her so the kids who tend to drop Dora once they hit kindergarten and first grade remain connected to the new character, who has a new group of girlfriends to go exploring with (Sorry, but Boots, the Map, Swiper and other characters from the show didn't make the transition)."




Since becoming a Mommy, my TV habits have changed. I didn't watch a lot of TV, but i love the History Channel, the Discovery Channel, and of course, my all time fav~The Food Network Channel. Yep, it's like porn to me. :) Give me a Chef baking something or a Food Network Challenge, or better yet, "The Ace of Cakes" show, and i'm in heaven! But since Emma, well, the TV is rarely on and when it is on, it's to watch Dora. I have to be the oldest Dora fan in the history of the Dora Show. I know ALL of the characters (Dora, Boots, Tico, Benny, Isa, Swiper...you get the picture, right?), can sing ALL of the little songs ("SWIPER, NO SWIPING!!" & "I need YOUR help!"), and can sing all of the Spanish parts! Emma and i, well, love the show.

Until i heard the horrible, terrible, upsetting news....they are changing my little Explorer, Dora.

She's apparently growing up....you know, that pre-teen thing? Only, i've never seen a "pre-teen" look like this photo of the "new" Dora. They've not released what Dora will look like...giving us only this shadow photo. I'm heartbroken as Dora now looks like a freakin' Bratz doll. (You know, the hooker-look-alike-doll?) Dora will now live in the dang city, and will still 'explore'. Yeah. Sure. Explore what? The subway system? No word yet on her best bud, Boots, but somehow, wellll, i don't see Boots being a part of this new gig. Which is also very sad....Boots may be unemployed. No word on Tico the squirrel, Benny the Bull, Isa nor Swiper, either. I just don't see how a story line can work with Benny the Bull in the big city.

Why can't they just leave things alone? Apparently, this change is so "Dora can grow up with her friends". If you read between the lines, what the change hopes to accomplish is to get folks to spend MORE money on Dora stuff as she is now suppose to appeal to a larger, preteen audience.

I don't like change. Especially this one.

I'm sad now....good thing we have oh, about a gazzillion (not to be confused with "Trillion" that is the US deficit...) Dora movies to watch over and over....and over again.

Run away, Dora....and take your friends with you! Stay in the country (or is it a jungle??) with your friends and keep being the Explorer!