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Dora's new journey

Fatima Ptacek. Picture: Bonnie Osborne

After just 15 minutes on the phone with the voice behind Dora the Explorer, it's clear Nickelodeon could hardly have found a better match for their wholesome animated adventurer than 14-year-old dynamo Fatima Ptacek.

Polite, well spoken and energetic, the New York City girl gives a better interview than many more famous celebrities triple her age.

"I've always been a big fan of Dora and watched it growing up," say Ptacek, who is of Ecuadorian descent. "Spanish was my first language at home so I learned a lot of English from her as well as school. She was my best friend and a huge role model. She was a huge influence.

"To be voicing that role model now for other kids and to put a smile on their faces is a mind-blowing experience."

The upbeat go-getter has voiced Dora the Explorer in the popular animated children's series for the past four years. Now she also voices a "slightly older and a bit hipper" Dora in the new series Dora and Friends: Into the City.

"Dora is a little bit older now and is living in the city and has a new group of friends," Ptacek explains.

"She's not just speaking to animals anymore. She's speaking to her friends or she's on her smart phone or camera. She does a lot of community service work, whether it's helping a little boy in the hospital who lost his stuffed animal or an ancient Mayan princess who had her precious ring stolen and Dora helps her find it."

The new series sees Dora sport cooler hair and clothes, a new magic charm bracelet and a smart phone that includes Map as an app. It is being made in conjunction with the long- running original show, which won the prestigious Peabody Award in 2003 for "outstanding efforts in making learning a pleasurable experience for pre-schoolers".

"It's a natural progression. She's evolving, like we all do, but she's still the girl everyone loves. She's not speaking some crazy slang or abbreviating everything like LOL, which I'm sure parents will appreciate. There is a balance of reality and fantasy and a revamped look, with brighter colours and a more 3-D look. It's a breath of fresh air."

Ptacek, who tailored the "older" Dora's voice to be "slightly more casual and realistic and emotive", must be one of the more driven, over- achieving 14-year-olds around. A straight-A student, she starred in the Academy Award-winning 2012 short film Curfew, has done more than 70 commercials and modelled on the cover of countless magazines. She's also a competitive gymnast, an equestrian rider and works with several AIDS charities.

Yet she baulks when I ask if she's too young to work so hard.

"It doesn't really feel like a job because it's so much fun! And I'm a perfectly normal 14-year- old kid. It just so happens that I have some interesting extracurricular activities."