Dora The Explorer Toys

Dora the explorer toys are inspired by the lead character in an American animated television series that is shown on the children's TV cable channel Nickelodeon. The series debuted on Nickelodeon in 2000. Plucky little Dora is of Hispanic descent and is accompanied on her adventures by her constant companion; a monkey called Boots and her magic satchel or backpack which is equipped with a 'Map'. Dora charts out her journeys with the help of this 'Map' and her young viewers at home. Dora also has other friends who feature on her adventures some of these include Swiper, the Fox, Isa, the Iguana and the Fiesta trio.

Dora is a problem solver and the series episodes always feature her wild adventures which take place all over the world. She leads children on exciting journeys which are peppered with many new discoveries and she also teaches them many of life's values along the way. Little Dora also helps children improve their English and Spanish language skills.

The character of Dora the Explorer has proven to be a run away hit for the TV channel which has syndicated the show world wide and the series has now been translated into a number of languages like Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, Tamil, and Malay etc. The simple appeal of the main character has made it easy for the channel to dub the series in various other languages apart from English and Spanish. Nickelodeon has recently announced that they are in the process of creating a made for television movie featuring Dora which would be mixed media feature. The movie will feature computer animation as well as live characters. The movie is scheduled to be released in 2010.

Ever since the series debuted Little Dora has danced her way into the hearts of little girls every where who want to buy up all kinds of merchandise which bears the brand 'Dora the Explorer.' Available on the market today are a plethora of Dora the Explorer toys like Dora the Explorer Dolls, Playhut Tents, Plush Dolls, and Playsets like Dora's Talking House Collection, Adventure Playsets, Mega Bloks, and Take along Dora Toys.

Apart from toys, the Dora brand has inspired a whole host of other merchandise including Dora the Explorer apparel and accessories, bedding, books and DVDs. In the year 2004 alone Dora the Explorer merchandise achieved sales of over $1 billion. Such has been the popularity of the brand, that big retailers like Wal-Mart and Target in the USA devote a whole aisle to Dora the Explorer branded merchandise.

All the leading toy companies like Mattel, Fisher Price, Hasbro retail Dora the Explorer toys but in 2007, the lead paint used by a contract toy manufacturer in China led Mattel to call back more than a million Dora the Explorer toys. This then prompted Nickelodeon to create 'third party monitoring' for all manufacturers of products that bear its brands.