Nickelodeon's Top-Rated Preschool Phenomenon Dora the Explorer Launches New Season Monday, Sept. 15 Introduces Brand-New Voiceover Cast

Nickelodeon's Top-Rated Preschool Phenomenon Dora the Explorer Launches New Season Monday, Sept. 15 Introduces Brand-New Voiceover Cast

Twelve-year-old Caitlin Sanchez Stars as New Voice of Dora

Sanchez Featured in New TV Season and in New DVD-Only Adventure, Dora the Explorer: Dora Saves the Snow Princess, Available Sept. 30

New Dora the Explorer Party Favorites CD Hits Retail Tuesday, Sept. 9

NEW YORK, Sept. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- The world's most beloved Latina heroine is back! Nick Jr. launches season five of the preschool phenomenon Dora the Explorer with a new voiceover cast featured in brand-new episodes from Monday, Sept. 15 through Thursday, Sept. 18, at 10:30 a.m. (ET/PT), and in an original hour-long DVD-only adventure, Dora the Explorer: Dora Saves the Snow Princess. After eight years on the air, Dora the Explorer continues to reign as the number-one-rated preschool series on all of commercial television.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080909/NYTU127 )

"Dora is an international icon and we are so excited to have fresh new talent to carry on her global legacy," said Brown Johnson, President, Animation, Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids and Family Group. "It's our pleasure to welcome Caitlin and the new cast into the Nickelodeon family and we're confident that preschoolers will continue to play, explore and learn with Dora and her friends for years to come."

For the first time since Dora the Explorer premiered in 2000, the internationally acclaimed series will debut a brand-new voiceover cast, with newcomer Caitlin Sanchez stepping into the coveted role of Dora. Born in New Jersey of Cuban-American parents, the acting bug bit early for the precocious and talented 12-year-old, who has appeared in print and on local and national television. Rounding out the new cast is: Regan Mizrahi as Boots, Alexandria Suarez as Backpack, Jean Carlos Celi as Tico, Matthew Gumley as Benny and Lenique Vincent as Isa.

There's a lot of excitement in store this season as preschoolers learn and explore with Dora and her pals. In every new episode, Dora will meet a friend from a different cultural background (French, Mayan, Guatemalan, German, and more) who will teach her a special skill. In the new season, Dora will use more math to help solve problems and will teach preschoolers multi-word phrases in Spanish.

Also, available Sept. 30 on DVD, Dora the Explorer: Dora Saves The Snow Princess features Sanchez and the new cast in an original never-before-seen hour-long adventure. Dora, Boots and the Snowflake Fairy set off to save La Princessa Sabrina and her snowy forest from a mean witch who has locked the princess away in a tower. The trio seeks help from the pirate piggies to get across the icy ocean, and from Paj an Inuit girl whose dog sled carries the group away from a polar bear. When they finally reach the tower, the Snowflake Fairy transforms Dora's clothes into a princess dress to fool the witch into giving back the snow crystal. Dora saves the day by smiling into the crystal just in time to stop the forest from melting. Created by Nickelodeon Home Entertainment and distributed by Paramount Home Entertainment, Dora the Explorer: Dora Saves The Snow Princess also includes two new-to-DVD episodes ("Dora's Jack in the Box" and "Bark, Bark To Play Park") along with the "Snow Maze" game.

Preschoolers and parents can also celebrate Dora this season with the new Dora the Explorer Party Favorites CD available Sept. 9 from Nickelodeon/Sony BMG. On the CD, Dora takes children on a musical adventure while traveling to a fiesta. Dora the Explorer Party Favorites features 16 tracks, including a special party remix of "Dora The Explorer Theme" with "Travel Song," along with updated versions of classic kids' tunes like "Itsy Bitsy Spider," "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and "London Bridge," all sung by Sanchez as Dora. The CD also features a special guest appearance from Dora's cousin Diego and a bonus fold-out activity game, "Pin The Boots On Boots."

An international phenomenon, Dora the Explorer is broadcast all over the world, teaching the majority of her viewers English rather than Spanish. Syndicated to TV broadcasters in 125 markets and translated in 24 languages, Dora the Explorer is among one of the top rated preschool shows in nearly every major television market around the world across broadcast and cable.

Dora the Explorer is a play-along, animated adventure series starring Dora, a seven-year-old Latina heroine whose adventures take place in an imaginative, tropical world filled with jungles, beaches and rainforests. Dora explores her world just as preschoolers do everyday, and the show is designed to actively engage its audience in an interactive quest using a variety of learning techniques.

In every episode, Dora and Boots invite the audience to participate in an exciting adventure, where each step of their journey consists of a problem or puzzle that Dora and the audience must think their way through in order to solve the next problem. Dora is proudly bilingual and uses her knowledge of English and Spanish to communicate with her friends, overcome obstacles and reach her goals. In each episode, Dora teaches a Spanish word or phrase to the viewers and then asks them to use it to solve a problem and forge ahead. Ultimately, Dora and her best friend, Boots, triumph, and the story always ends with a "We Did It!" anthem.

Dora the Explorer was created by Chris Gifford, Valerie Walsh and Eric Weiner. Gifford and Walsh serve as executive producers on the series.

Nick Jr. is a specially designed programming block airing on Nickelodeon weekdays from 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. (ET/PT). Completely dedicated to preschoolers ages 2-5, Nick Jr.'s Emmy, Peabody and Parents' Choice Award-winning programs are curriculum based, fun and commercial free. At Nick Jr., kids play to learn with innovative, original shows created just for them.

Nickelodeon, now in its 29th year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books, magazines and feature films. Nickelodeon's U.S. television network is seen in more than 96 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 14 consecutive years. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NYSE:VIA)(NYSE:VIA.B).

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080909/NYTU127
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: Nickelodeon

CONTACT: Maggie Wang, +1-212-846-6381, Maggie.wang@nick.com, or Heather
Brown, +1-212-846-6240, Heather.brown@nick.com, both of Nickelodeon

Web site: http://www.nick.com/

NOTE TO EDITORS: Art and screeners available upon request.

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