Dora Sings Her Way Through The Backpack Parade

My sons and I recently watched the new My sons and I recently watched the new Dora the Explorer episode “The Backpack Parade”. Now, we are quite the Dora aficionados, so we were especially excited to do this review. Dora the Explorer episode, “The Backpack Parade.” Now, we are quite the Dora aficionados, so we were especially excited to do this review. It is, formula-wise, the same as all the other Dora episodes. Dora, Boots and Backpack have to get to the Backpack Parade so that Backpack can lead the parade and sing her special song. On the way they have to cross Hiccup Bridge and go through Snoring Forest, and that’s how they get to The Backpack Parade.

What’s new is that for the first time since Dora the Explorer premiered in 2000, there is a brand-new voice over cast. I thought (and I’ll only give my opinions on this part since my sons didn’t seem to notice the new voices or they just didn’t care one way) that Caitlin Sanchez did a great job sounding like Kathleen Herles, the original Dora. The only problem I had with Caitlin’s performance was that she said the Spanish words a little too quickly and I had to keep clarifying them for my sons. It’s kind of like when you were in High School Spanish class - it was easier to learn Spanish from the Anglo Spanish teacher because she had a tendency to speak more slowly and annunciate more clearly. A totally unrelated observation is that the Dora cartoon character this season has slimmed up and is losing her baby fat. Perhaps we’ll see Dora the Middle-Schooler next season.

Also new this season is that in every episode Dora will meet a friend from a different cultural background who will teach her a special skill. In this episode she met a boy from Peru who taught her to play different flutes.

Something that I appreciated in this episode was that after stopping Swiper from swiping Boots’ backpack (did I spoil it for you?), instead of just sending him on his way, Dora and Boots helped Swiper to find his very own backpack. Dora fans should eagerly anticipate the new season. From this episode it would appear that we have the same Dora quality and fun that we’ve come to expect.

Written by Christine, who is mom to two wild-and-crazy little guys and wife to one pretty spectacular dude. When she isn’t reading the same books over and over and over, playing cars, having a snack or blowing bubbles, she is trying to make her house and the products her family uses a little more people- and Earth-friendly.