Dora and Friends: Into the City!

Did You Know?

• The series aired on TVNZ in New Zealand in 2024.
• In Southeast Asia, the series debuted on March 16, 2015, on Nickelodeon in Singapore.

Premise

Dora, now ten years old, attends school and lives in the city of Playa Verde, California. She has five best friends: Emma, who has a passion for music; Kate, who has a passion for art and theater; Naiya, who is super smart and has a passion for reading; Alana, who has a passion for sports and animals; and Pablo, who has a passion for soccer and having fun. Together, Dora and her best friends work together and go on adventures while discovering the secrets of their city. Dora is the leader of the Explorer Girls. She carries a magical charm bracelet that helps her get through objects in the way and a smartphone with an app version of the previous series' Map. The characters are all bilingual, speaking Spanish in addition to English, with the Spanish curriculum expanded to using simple phrases and commands rather than single words. Season two features the return of characters from the original series such as Boots the Monkey, Benny the Bull, Isa the Iguana, Tico the Squirrel, Swiper the Fox, and Big Red Chicken as guest stars. The reunion special "Return to the Rainforest" involves Dora's return to the rainforest in Mexico to rescue Map and Backpack after they are swiped from Boots by Swiper and carried off by a strong wind. At the end of that episode, Backpack is repaired and redesigned by Kate after being torn apart on Tallest Mountain. The special introduces a young flower named Bud who lives in Isa's garden and ends up sewed onto Backpack, helping her retrieve objects. Map returns later in the season, replacing Dora's map app. In "For the Birds", older versions of Diego, Alicia, Baby Jaguar (now called Jaguar), and the Bobo Brothers from Go, Diego, Go! appear. Guest stars include Megan Hilty and Christina Milian.

Pilot special

On August 7, 2011, a 43-minute pilot called Dora's Explorer Girls: Our First Concert aired. In it, Dora and her friends have five Shakira concert tickets, but after losing them, they must recover them before showtime. Chris Gifford wrote the special, and Henry Lenardin-Madden directed. The voice cast includes Stephanie Joy as Dora's speaking voice, Karina Padura as her singing voice, and Shakira playing herself.

Production

A pilot called Dora's Explorer Girls: Our First Concert first aired on Nick Jr. in the US on August 7, 2011, and in Canada on Treehouse TV a month later. In 2013, Nickelodeon announced a spin-off, Dora and Friends: Into the City!, featuring a 10-year-old Dora exploring a city with new companions. The series, animated with Toon Boom Harmony, was ordered for 20 episodes and premiered on August 18, 2014. A second season of 20 episodes was ordered on October 9, 2014. The show ended on February 5, 2017, after two seasons, with reruns airing on the Nick Jr. Channel.