Yes moms, Dora is no longer an explorer. She is an emotional, fashion conscious, bi-lingual, tweenager! So if you found the repetitive, loud-speaking, sing-a-longs annoying, morph her with Hannah Montana, and you've got Mattel's latest product! Apparently puberty transforms a football shaped head and round belly into long, flowing locks and a sleeker figure! "Dora, our heroine has moved to the big city, attends middle school and has a whole new fashionable look", according to Mattel and Nickelodeon's press release.
What I'm wondering is if the new, older Dora will have to deal with "real-life" situations found in junior high. Will her adventures change from Chocolate Mountains to bags of weed? Or will Boots be replaced with a boyfriend who wants to help her cross another type of bridge? Will the map be replaced with the Sex-Ed handbook given out in Health Class? Will her backpack now contain a cell-phone with unlimited texts, the new Jonas Brother's CD, and a fake drivers license?
I don't want my five-year old growing up to fast. Why must Nickelodeon and Mattel want to age a perpetually pre-school aged character? Elmo has remained a 3 1/2 year old red furry staple in the Muppet and Sesame Street line up. He never experienced the voice change or had girl problems. And he is still successful. The Simpson's have not aged in 20 years, and are still popular and relevant. Joan Rivers has surgically stopped the aging process and is now a successful competitor on the Celebrity Apprentice. Why must Dora grow up? I find it very disturbing....
1 comment:
I saw this earlier today on another news show and they were saying how parents were in "outrage" over this (which I find funny- I can think of much more pressing matters to be outraged about). I guess Mattel is trying to find another avenue of marketing- I am sure this has been in the works for years now, and I suppose it is good for them to try and branch out and create new customers. I don't think it will work, though. How many tweens want to be linked to Dora? She's a child toy- I think this will fail. Sorry Mattel.
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