Dora the Explorer is one of the most popular children’s educational animated series on Nickelodeon. It was co-created by Chris Gilford, Valerie Walsh Valdes, and Eric Weiner. It has been aired on Nickelodeon since 2000 and has been aired on CBS since 2006. There is also a Spanish dubbed version of the series. So far, there have been 144 episodes of this series aired, making it one of the longest standing series on Nick Jr.
The series is about a seven-year-old Latina girl called Dora who partakes in quests to visit different places or to complete different challenges. She is accompanied by Boots, her anthropomorphic monkey companion who is so-called because of his love for his red boots. Along the way, they face many obstacles which they must overcome. At the end of each episode, Dora and Boots sing the show’s iconic ‘We Did It!’ song. This is the same theme song to which each episode opens.
The theme song for ‘Dora the Explorer’ was co-composed by Joshua Sitron and Billy Straus. These men are both composers who have worked predominantly in the children’s television and music industries. Joshua Sitron is also known as the composer of the theme song for ‘Super Silly Fiesta!’. The children’s music albums he has composed include ‘Funkey Monkeys!’ and ‘Jewish Funkey Monkeys!’.
Billy Straus is a music producer and songwriter who is well-known for his work in children’s television. In addition to co-writing the ‘Dora the Explorer’ theme tune, he has also written the theme tunes for ‘Little Einsteins’ and ‘Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego’. For the latter, he won an Emmy Award. Furthermore, he also wrote the original Broadway cast albums for ‘Dirty Rotten Scoundrels’ and ‘The Full Monty’.
The theme song composed by Sitron and Straus for ‘Dora the Explorer’ is catchy yet simple. This is because the series is aimed at toddlers and children of primary school age. Therefore, the lyrics must be simple enough for them to understand and learn.
The choruses in the song are just a repetition of ‘Do-do-do-do-Dora!’ four times, which is easy enough for young children to sing along to while watching the series on their television. The rest of the lyrics are encouraging Dora and Boots to grab their backpacks and to get ready for exploring or describing them as super cool explorers. The simple phrasing and repetition mean that this song sticks in children’s memories and the theme tune is an important part of the ‘Dora the Explorer’ brand recognition.
In addition to the regular episodes in the series, there are additional episodes that were shown as specials. The theme tune is also an important part of these special episodes. ‘Dora the Explorer’ has expanded beyond the television series and into a franchise that produces a range of merchandise, including toys, games, DVDs, video games, and books. The theme tune is a key element to many of these items. Furthermore, there has also been a stage version of ‘Dora the Explorer’ and this too includes the ‘We Did It!’ theme tune.
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