A film reviewer at respected industry publication The Hollywood Reporter has come under fire for a "creepy" review of the upcoming children's movie Dora and the Lost City of Gold.
The first big-screen adaptation of the popular Dora the Explorer cartoon TV series has 18-year-old actress Isabela Moner playing the young titular heroine. Aimed squarely at children, though, the film is very much G-rated in nature — something that seemed to bother The Hollywood Reporter's Todd McCarthy, reports news.com.au.
"There's a palpable gap you can't help but notice between the essentially innocent, borderline-pubescent nature of the leading characters and the film itself and the more confident and mature vibes emanating from the leading actors," McCarthy writes.
"The director seems to be trying to keep the hormones at bay, but there are some things you just can't disguise, perhaps human nature first and foremost. Dora seems committed to projecting a pre-sexualised version of youth, while throbbing unacknowledged beneath the surface is something a bit more real, its presence rigorously ignored."
