Interview: Dora and Diego from ‘Dora Live!’

Posted on March 31, 2009 at 10:44 am

dora live.jpg
Children and their families are lining up across the country to see “Dora Live,” an interactive adventure that leads Dora the Explorer, her cousin Diego, Boots the monkey, and all their friends on a fun-filled journey in “Search for the City of Lost Toys.” As it prepares to open in my home town of Washington D.C., I was able to interview the performers who portray both Dora and Diego, who told me how much they enjoy appearing in a show that has such an enthusiastic audience.
Susan Oliveras plays Dora, the curious and adventuresome young explorer.
Tell me about what you were doing before Dora.
I am a Brooklyn native, born and raised, and I went to the performing arts high school, the “Fame” school. I got my bachelor’s in music from Five Towns College. After I graduated I started auditioning for any show and I’ve been on the road ever since. I did a couple of seasons with “Sesame Street Live” and got to tour the world, then I did Royal Caribbean cruises as a singer-dancer. Then I came home and start auditioning for other things.
Was the audition for Dora different from others?
Yes! It was a lot of fun because you get to play around at the audition and a different tone because of the nature of the show. So everyone was just very very friendly and playful. I would go in and sing pop songs, and then they asked me to sing a selection from the show. They played it for me a couple of times, and I sang it on the spot and then I did a dance audition and then I had to come back and do it for the director, and then come back again and do it for the producer and director.
Is this a show with a story and songs?
In some ways it is exactly like a musical that any adult would see. It has a story line told with characters and music. Dora has lost her teddy bear, her favorite toy, and she goes on a journey to find it through the number pyramid, the mixed-up jungle, and then the City of Lost Toys, which has every toy ever lost by any child, so that’s like the golden city. And she has her friends, Boots the monkey, her best friend and cousin Diego, and of course her map and backpack.
What does Dora’s famous backpack look like in the show?
It’s taller than me! It is a huge prop with someone inside operating it, making the mouth and eye movement and an actor doing the voice.
What is the audience reaction like to the show?
I don’t need a career as a rock star because I feel like I’ve had that! They’re screaming — of course in delight, calling Dora’s name as soon as I step on stage. They know all the songs and sing along. They come in their Dora gear, t-shirts and sometimes dressed like the characters. In Chicago I looked in the audience and someone was dressed in a Boots costume. It was adorable!
Is that distracting?
The show thrives on audience participation. The story could not move on if the children don’t respond to the questions we are asking. We encourage them to shout it out — this is a place where you don’t have to raise your hand and be called on. I can really hear their answers and respond to them and react to them.

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High School Musical 3: Senior Year

Posted on February 16, 2009 at 6:00 am

B+

Lowest Recommended Age:	All Ages
MPAA Rating:	G
Profanity:	None
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	None
Diversity Issues:	Diverse characters
Date Released to Theaters:	October 24, 2008
Date Released to DVD:	February 17, 2009
Amazon.com ASIN:	B001NE80P4

Sometimes “nice” can be very high praise, and that is the way I mean it when I say that the utterly snark-free “High School Musical 3: Senior Year” is as nice as it gets. With a gossamer-weight plot line that makes Archie Comics look like Dostoyevksy but all the heart, spirit, and sweetness and fun its fans are hoping for, this is a resoundingly satisfying conclusion to the record-breaking trilogy. I admit it — I smiled, I tapped my feet, and I even wiped away a tear.

One thing I especially loved about the movie is the way it avoided the usual misunderstandings and hurt feelings. Troy (Zac Efron) and Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens), who met singing a karaoke duet in the original HSM are thoughtful, kind, and committed throughout this film. The overall tone of the movie is sugary, but they are much more authentic than most movie couples in the way they trust and support one another. It is such a relief to see them so solidly together as they try to address their problems. There is no silliness about their relationship, which is supported by everyone around them. That means that when they are not singing or worrying there is not much for them to do but smile their dazzling smiles at each other, but the singing and dancing is great, the smiles are indeed dazzling, and they do have one breathtakingly romantic moment that is surprisingly touching because it is utterly pure and simple and lovely.

Like all high school seniors, Gabriella and Troy feel that everything is moving too fast. They are excited about college but wish they could hold on to everything they have loved at East High. They are trying to figure out how to understand what is right for them, which may not be what their parents want. And they have counted the miles between the schools they are planning to attend and are not looking forward to being so far away from each other. Everyone is just too busy and distracted to be in another musical show this year but somehow Gabriella once again brings them all together for what they know will be their last chance.

But Mean Girl Sharpay (Ashley Tisdale vamping like a cross between Paris Hilton, Christina Aguilera, and Cruella deVil) wants to be the star of the show. With her twin brother Ryan (Lucas Grabeel), the show choreographer, she dreams of having it all in a sensational dance number in the school cafeteria that is a throwback to the all-out show-stoppers of the classic MGM musicals. Sharpay has a car with a “Fabulous” license plate, a personal assistant with a British accent, some truly impressive hair, a double locker with a padded interior and a make-up mirror, and an endless series of tiny miniskirts. Her entrance is sensational — as all of the kids are in bright red in tribute to the championship basketball team, she comes in the door in flaming hot pink.

The musical numbers are sheer delight, especially Efron’s athletic romp in a junkyard with pal Chad (Corbin Bleu) and his Fred Astaire-inspired, literally off-the-wall solo in the school late at night. Troy and Gabriella just might bring back the waltz with their lovely pas de deux in the school’s rooftop garden. They might bring back the idea of sweet, tender romance where one special kiss means everything, too.

Star Trek ‘Training Film’ (and the Trailer for the new one!)

Posted on November 19, 2008 at 12:00 pm

This adorable film was made on the Bryan O’Connell family’s visit to Universal Studios and posted on YouTube:

And be sure to check out the new trailer for the J.J. Abrams 2009 “Star Trek” movie.

The Incredible Hulk

Posted on October 22, 2008 at 8:00 am

It begins with a zippy credit sequence that dispatches with the backstory Ang Lee’s lumbering 2003 version took more than an hour to slog through. And we’re off! Who cares what kind of gamma rays turned Bruce Banner into the Hulk? We just want to see stuff blow up and crash!

You need to know that while I am a Comic-Con-attending fangirl, Hulk never did much for me, so keep that in mind when I tell you this is only a pretty good superhero movie. I like a superhero who is smart as well as strong. David Banner is a scientific genius, but when the Hulk is hulkified he’s too beasty. On the other side he mostly fights a lot of soldiers with a lot of guns and artillery, not as interesting as one worthy adversary.

There’s the obligatory cameo by Stan Lee. There are the obligatory cameos from former Hulk portrayers Bill Bixby (glimpsed on television in “The Courtship of Eddie’s Father”) and Lou Ferrigno and a cheeky variation on Hulk’s signature line. As always, Hulk has to deal with the bursting seams problem and find some stretchy pants. And as often happens with Marvel heroes, a cure seems within reach just as a greater evil based on the same transformative power requires him to get his Hulk on.

In movies like these there is usually a moment where the hero and heroine have to consult some scientist and Tim Blake Nelson is terrific as the professor who is “more curious than cautious.” Edward Norton is fine as Banner, who must plot and run while keeping his heart rate down to avoid an untimely Hulkization. Liv Tyler is lovely as the love interest but as is customary in these films she has little to do. There are some terrific action sequences. I particularly liked it when the Hulk used a car broken in two as boxing gloves. But it all seems a little antiseptic and over-CGI’d. There are echoes of current events — a reference to Homeland Security, some anti-government talk, and echoes of stories like “King Kong” and “Beauty and the Beast,” but they seem derivative and uninspired. Overall, it’s a forgettable popcorn flick with a too-brief appearance by Robert Downey, Jr. as a reminder of what a great superhero movie feels like.

Parents should know that the film has a lot of action violence, crashes and explosions, firing of weapons, bombs, brief non-sexual nudity (side view in shower), a brief non-explicit sexual situation, and some strong language.

Family discussion: What are the advantages and disadvantages of being “more curious than cautious?” Should Banner allow himself to be “cured?”

If you like this, try: Iron Man and the Spider-Man trilogy. And the Hulk always makes me think of the classic anger rampage scene from Woody Allen’s Stardust Memories:

Speed Racer

Posted on September 16, 2008 at 8:00 am

Andy and Larry Wachowski, the folks behind the Matrix trilogy, have taken the iconic but decidedly low-tech 1960’s Japanese cartoon character and put the pedal to the metal with dazzling effects and electrifying action. Do what Speed Racer does — put on your red socks and GO!

Even as a child, Speed Racer could only think of one thing, making cars go as fast as possible. Not surprising — he was surrounded by racing. The family business was race cars. His father (John Goodman) built them and his older brother drove them. When his brother is killed in a crash, Speed (Emile Hirsch) takes over. On and off the race track he battles the competition, even when they do not fight fairly. By his side are his parents, his little brother, his and his girlfriend Trixie (Christina Ricci, looking like a real-life version of an anime heroine with her enormous eyes).

The plot is pretty much the same as the cartoon series, meaning light-weight and a little incoherent. Basically, evil forces are trying to stop Speed from winning the race. The sections with the kid brother and his chimp are slow points for everyone over age 9 but it is all great fun, with a hero to believe in and visuals that are both reassuringly retro and stunningly innovative. Every wallpaper and fabric, each car, helmet, and racetrack is meticulously designed to evoke a mash-up between Speed’s Norman Rockwell-style, solidly heartland home and the souped-up super space age world outside. The Wachowskis re-invent the color wheel with reds and yellows that make fire engines and school buses seem pale.

The dialogue is pared down to essentials: “You think you can drive a car and change the world? It doesn’t work like that!” “Maybe not, but it’s the only thing I know how to do and I gotta do something.” The plot is no more significant (or confusing) than in the cartoon originals. All we need to know is that in the world of Speed Racer you can drive a car and change the world — if you drive it very, very fast.