News

Maybe one of her new adventures will be to find the perfect outfit at the mall.

The companies behind Dora the Explorer, the tomboyish cartoon character wildly popular with toddlers, have announced they're creating a new, older version of Dora to appeal to girls ages 5 and up. But the pending changes have sparked a backlash among parents and academics who say the company is turning an adventurous role model for young girls into a fashion-focused generic stereotype.

The new product line, called Dora's Explorer Girls, will feature Dora and a new group of girlfriends as preteen fashion dolls.

The original Dora the Explorer earned accolades for its portrayal of an adventurous girl who travels the world and helps others solve problems using items in her backpack. She spends most of her time outdoors with her friends in the animal kingdom.

The premise behind the changes is that Dora has grown up, moved to the city and now attends middle school.

The original Dora the Explorer TV show and products won't change. But since most girls outgrow Dora by about age 4, the company is launching the additional Dora's Explorer Girls line to appeal to girls ages 5 to 8.

The updated Dora won't have a new TV show, but has a complete online world girls can access by plugging their doll into a computer. In Dora's new online world, girls can change their doll's physical appearance by selecting a different hair length, eye colour or type of jewellery. When changes are selected onscreen, the physical doll changes as well.

The company is also creating a wide range of fashion accessories and other items that can be purchased separately "to expand traditional offline fashion doll play as well as to expand the online experience," says a press release issued last month by Mattel Inc. and Nickelodeon & Viacom Consumer Products.

A growing number of parents and experts in child psychology are blasting the changes online, saying the new emphasis on Dora's appearance and fashion send the wrong message to young girls.

"Younger and younger girls are given toy and play materials that introduce them to this phony teen lifestyle," said Sharon Lamb, professor of psychology at St. Michael's College in Vermont and co-author of P ackaging Girlhood: Rescuing Our Daughters from Marketers' Schemes.

Ms. Lamb and Lyn Mikel Brown, who co-authored the book, have launched a petition to try to stop the changes from taking effect.

"We know that if the original Dora grew up, she wouldn't be a fashion icon or a shopaholic," the online petition says. "She'd develop her map reading skills and imagine the places she could go. She'd capitalize on those problem-solving skills to design new ways to bring fresh water to communities in need around the world."

As of yesterday afternoon, the petition had more than 2,300 signatures.

The new doll won't be released until October, but many have pointed to a silhouette released by the companies involved that depicts a slim, long-legged girl wearing a short skirt and long hair that reaches her waist.

Gina Sirard, Mattel's vice-president of marketing, said the silhouette is just artwork and doesn't accurately represent Dora's new look. Preteen Dora will sport a flowery tunic, leggings and sandals. Ms. Sirard likened the new Dora to Nancy Drew, and said she will spend her time solving mysteries with her friends while doing charitable work in the community, such as a campaign to save the dolphins.

"She looks like a tweenager. She dresses very modestly," Ms. Sirard said. "She's just a really nice, safe, fabulous alternative for the child of 5 to 6 to 7 to 8 to continue into the Dora character and franchise."

But critics aren't buying that explanation. Even if the new Dora dresses and looks like a preteen girl, the fact she will be transformed from an adventurous globetrotter clad in a T-shirt, shorts and backpack into a fashion doll is a major step in the wrong direction, Ms. Lamb said.

"I don't care how wholesome it is, she's not who she is any more," Ms. Lamb said. "They're trying to make her into a stereotype of girlhood."