26 Years Ago Today, A Beloved Children's Show Changed Educational Television Forever

On August 14, 2000, Nickelodeon launched "Dora the Explorer," a children's show about a young Latina girl who loved, well, exploring. The show, which aired until 2019, followed Dora Márquez, an anthropomorphic monkey named Boots, and a talking map as they taught preschoolers problem solving skills, numbers, and, most importantly, Spanish! That Spanish-speaking element is one way in which "Dora the Explorer" forever changed the landscape of educational television.

As the first bilingual heroine to star in a children's program, Dora spoke Spanish in every episode and actively encouraged young viewers to parrot phrases back to her. As a result, U.S. parents and educators used her as a tool to introduce basic Spanish words into their kids' vocabularies. Since 2000, "Dora the Explorer" — which has since been translated into 32 languages — has aired in over 150 countries. Non-English speakers even use the show to learn English.

"Dora the Explorer" has also been lauded for its interactive nature. Instead of allowing kids to passively watch stories unfold, Dora's dialogue often included built-in pauses so that viewers could help her solve problems at home. And though her distinct manner of speaking has inspired endless memes and jokes over the years, it also became one of the Nickelodeon show's most valuable educational tools. 

"Dora the Explorer" isn't just educational — it's profitable, too. 26 years and an unconscionable amount of merchandise later, Dora has become a billion dollar brand. But it didn't take 26 years to bring in all that dinero: Due to demand, Nickelodeon was forced to rush its merchandising efforts for the show just eight months after its debut. By 2010, "Dora the Explorer" had made the network $11 billion dollars.

Unsurprisingly, Nickelodeon has since expanded the Dora brand as far as humanly possible. Notable additions include  "Go, Diego, Go!," "Dora and Friends: Into The City," and the Paramount+ series "Dora!" – which is basically a "Dora the Explorer" reboot. Dora has also tapped the live-action market. "Dora and the Lost City of Gold," which reimagines Dora as a 16-year old adventurer, was released in theaters in 2019; the movie made over $120 million at the worldwide box office against a $49 million budget. And in 2025, a second live-action Dora movie, "Dora and the Search for Sol Dorado," premiered on Paramount+ to mark the character's 25th anniversary.