Dora The Explorer–New Revamp turning her into a Tramp?

**Originally posted March 20, 2009**

A few weeks ago, Mattel and Nickelodeon announced that Dora the Explorer was set to receive a new, grown up looking. When a silhouette was released, it did not take long for the “you know what” to hit the fan. Based on what the picture “showed”, parents wasted no time in hitting the media with their outrage that Mattel and Nickelodeon were planning to turn Dora into another “Barbie or Bratz” wannabe, with her long hair, fashionable new wardrobe and her move to “the big city”.

Gina Sirard, vice president of marketing for Mattel, says:

“Girls really identify with Dora and we knew that girls would love to have their friend Dora grow up with them, and experience the new things that they were going through themselves.”

Okay…that makes sense to me…in a way…and it doesn’t hurt that along with the new look, there will be a new online world where girls can explore, play games, customize, and solve mysteries with Dora and her friends. It’s almost inevitable that girls will jump at the chance to have their very own new Dora, but how much is too much? The firestorm that has happened since the unveiling of the silhouette photo only was somewhat surprising, but then again not really either. It has been suggested by a number of people, that based on what the silhouette “looks” like, that Dora has matured in a way that will encourage young girls to feel the need to wear trashy clothes or whatever.

Following the uproar, Mattel and/or Nickelodeon made the decision to reveal the new Dora look now, rather than wait until this Fall. The outcome? Dora looks no more like a tramp or a bad influence than a Care Bear, and apparently I’m not the only one who thinks that the whole story was overblown. People have stated that, yes perhaps parents jumped to the wrong conclusions before actually seeing the final product. Honestly, I think that Mattel and Nickelodeon handled the outrage pretty well…instead of allowing the madness to continue, they made the decision to reveal the new look sooner..perhaps to appease the parents convinced that Dora had gone tramp.

What do you think of the new Dora?