Mattel gives Dora the Explorer a trampy make-over?

Nickelodeon and Mattel, makers of Barbie, are putting a new spin on the Dora the Explorer consumer products. The “problem” with the Dora franchise is that its geared towards preschoolers. This usually means that by around age 8, children lose interest entirely. Mattel, in an effort to extend the character’s shelf life, have decided age Dora in some consumer products to re-capture the girls from 8 to tweens. The new Dora will only exist in the toy-line and not on television, but the new look still has parents outraged.

Bloggers on the Huffington Post are calling the new Dora a “tramp” based the teaser silhouette of the character released last week. The silhouette left parents to believe that Dora’s long top would be a mini-skirt. After yesterday’s big reveal (she has leggings), many parents have calmed down, yet, still remained concerned. The president of Nickelodeon Viacom consumer products, Leigh Anne Brodsky, even spoke to the press to reassure the public that Dora isn’t going to change. The new look is for an interactive doll that plugs into your computer and aimed at tweens (think Teddy Ruxpin 2.0).

The concept of having an animated character grow-up is still highly contested. A few series have successfully pulled it off, but typically as a last ditch effort to save a long-running franchise. The Dora character began airing on Nickelodeon in 2000 and has since had a massive follow for toddlers. Many members on the series are now as old as the new Dora doll is supposed to be (age 10).

Now that the public relations nightmare has settled, the question is if any of the mothers that protested the make-over will be buying the new doll for their children. After the release of the image, its safe to say that Dora’s new look isn’t that bad, but definitely has a Barbie influence. Will Dora devolve into everyone’s favorite plastic busty blonde or continue her nomad ways?

Photo: Mattel/Nickelodeon

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