Parents Up In Arms Over Tweenage Dora the Explorer

Cafe Society
21

As mentioned, thay are doing “parallel” shows with both outdoorsy kid Dora and an “urban” tween Dora. It’s just being greedy and wanting to grab as many possible market segments as they can.

It would be kinda sad if they bratzify Dora – the whole thing with changing to long hair and skirts kinda looks like they’ll play into the idea of that after a certain point you have to move on to a more standard “cute girl” type.
Just wait a few more years until they decide they need an older-teen Dora to grab THAT market, too, and she’s driving around in a 'tuner and wearing a tramp-stamp tattoo.:smiley:

:stuck_out_tongue: – for those of you unfamiliar, out there on the net in the world of “Rule 34” Toon-Parody pr0n, the theme of this thread has been Old News for years… with AND without “aging” :eek: and the pictured character is the adopted spokes-symbol for fans of that genre

22

I submit “All Grown Up” from the Rugrats franchise into evidence.

All Grown up had what, 2 seasons? (Wiki says 5, but then again, Rugrats proper had 10)

Where is All Grown Up, or Rugrats for that matter, now days?

Any one for a Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy spin-off ? :eek:

23

You can never have too much Borgnine.

24

Actually I’ve noticed many teenage girls who wear Dora the Explorer themed items like backpacks. So maybe Nickelodeon is thinking a Dora closer to high school age will move even more items.

25

Presumably due to the outcry, Nickelodeon has released the full image of Tween Dora early. Not surprisingly, she looks like what you might expect a tween Dora to look like.

26

Wow, calling that cartoon “sexed-up” says more about the parents than it does about the cartoon character.

27

Yeah, that’s pretty harmless. I can see why they released the picture, though; the silhouette DID make it look like she was wearing a miniskirt.

28

And how many of them will read past the headline to find out the story is meant to debunk the notion? But yeah, the concern that the older Dora would be “sexed up” does tell you something about the mindset of the grownups… They should have gone for a full pic earlier.

29

Ahh, but if the released the full pic earlier, then there wouldn’t have been all the hoopla, garnering them free publicity.

Where Nick failed to think ahead is that they’ve now put “New Dora = Bad” into a lot of mom’s heads. Even though the full picture clearly shows there’s no problem with Dora’s reimaging, there will be a ton of parents who will refuse to backtrack.

30

Maybe they’ll have her drink New Coke and drive an Edsel.

31

She won’t be walking very far in those shoes.

32

And pay for things with Susan B. Anthony dollars and play Virtual Boy in her spare time?

33

This is the new, “sexy” Dora everyone was worried about? Sexed up?! Older!Dora looks like a perfectly normal ten-year-old, yet some are worried about her being sexy? :confused: Does this make it the first cartoon marketed to pedophiles, then?

34

No, it was the silhouette linked to in post #2 that people thought looked ‘sexed up’. Did you read the article in the link you quoted? It talks about how the actual image isn’t nearly as bad as the teaser.

The silhouette caused a lot more consternation because it’s easier for people to project their own mental image onto it, and people usually jump to the worst-case scenario.

35

I meant to post in this thread when it was new because I was amazed at CNN’s headline on the controversy: “Dora the Explorer going skank, moms fear.” Classy!

36

The released picture doesn’t match the silhouette, which is wearing something knee-length with ankle-high socks (or shoes with an ankle strap). I wouldn’t be surprised if some quick tweaks were made to quell the potential outrage.

37

Actually, I remember seeing two different silhouettes before the release of the real picture.

Here’s one.
Here’s the other.

38

Right. So Dora will ocassionally switch to a dressier, frillier outfit. Still we note that, objectively, nothing in Silhouette 1 necessarily communicates skanky or slutty look, 10-year-olds do wear knee-length dresses/jumpers and anklets. Seems that indeed it was a serious backfire to let the parents use their imagination 'cause they were already expecting the worst.

Still one wonders if absent the whole silhouette froofraw, there would have been a heated debate about the new image conveying the notion that as a girl enters double digits she’s expected to switch to a, well, “girlier” image, what with the long hair and the less-practical-for-exploring leggings and shoes. (I have the feeling it took them a tenth of a second to dismiss the possibility of going the opposite direction and making tweener Dora an outrigth **tomboy **Dora, can you imagine what agenda the parents would have seen behind THAT?)

39

Definitely. And it’s really not all that sexy when someone as young as ten or so wears stuff like that. Well, unless it’s Scylla’s daughter.