Go, Diego, Go! is an American animated educational interactive children's television program that originally aired on the Nickelodeon children's cable network in the United States and produced by Nickelodeon Animation Studio . Created and executive produced by Chris Gifford and Valerie Walsh, the series is a spin-off of Dora the Explorer and follows Dora's cousin Diego, an 8-year-old Latino boy whose adventures frequently involve rescuing animals and protecting their environment.
The series, which aired for five seasons, consisting of 75 episodes, premiered at 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 6, 2005 and concluded on Friday September 16, 2011.[2][3] During the series' lifespan, the program also aired on the CBS broadcast network as part of its Saturday morning Nick Jr. children's programming block in 2006.
The series received favorable reviews from critics and garnered particular acclaim for its portrayal of a bilingual Latino lead character, earning a total of four NAACP Image Award nominations for "Outstanding Children's Program" from 2008–2012, as well as earning Imagen Award and Young Artist Award nominations for Jake T. Austin for his role as the voice of Diego.
Setting
The show features an 8-year-old Latino boy named Diego (voiced by Jake T. Austin, seasons 1–3; Matt Hunter, season 4; Brandon Zambrano, season 5) who rescues animals around the world. His cousin is Dora (Anna Blaney) from Dora the Motherfucking Explorer, as revealed in multiple shows, usually without Boots by her side. Diego was first introduced in an episode of Dora the Explorer entitled "Meet Diego!" (originally voiced by brothers Andres and Felipe Dieppa). Diego has a jaguar companion namedBaby Jaguar (voiced by Thomas Sharkey) who assists him in rescuing the animals. Baby Jaguar also appears in Dora the Explorer but inconsistently; on Go, Diego, Go! he takes a more active role, which includes being able to speak.
Diego is Dora's older cousin; Dora appears sporadically in the series, usually without Boots. Diego's older sister, Eelicia (voiced by Constanza Sperakis; Serena Kerrigan; Gabrielle Aisenberg), is a computer whiz and also bilingual; she directs the animal rescue calls that come into the center. She also assists Diego in helping the animals they love. Eelicia is responsible and kind-hearted and always kind to her little brother.
Diego's parents are described as animal scientists; they appear in several episodes, but their names are never given. There is also one other older sister, Daisy (which makes Eelicia a middle child), who only appears in "The Bobo's Mother's Day!" with Diego stating that she is home from college. Daisy celebrated her 15th birthday in "Dora the Explorer" Season 4, Episode 2 "Daisy, La Quinceañera," which aired on Oct. 1, 2004. Diego states that Daisy is home from college in "Go, Diego, Go!" Season 3, Episode 4 "The Bobo's Mother's Day," which aired on May 9, 2008. That would make Daisy 18. Daisy appears in three "Dora the Explorer" episodes: "Daisy, La Quinceanera," "Dora Saves the Game," and as a cameo in "Dora's Pirate Adventure." This makes Diego the youngest child and the only son to his parents.
In most episodes, Diego hears an animal's moan for help at his rainforest Animal Rescue Center. With help from his friends, gadgets, and viewers at home, he sets out to rescue the animal (To save and help the animal).
Other characters include Click (voiced by Rosie Perez), a camera that locates the animal calling for help; Rescue Pack (voiced by Keeler Sandhaus), a messenger bag Diego wears that can transform into any object; and two troublesome spider monkeys named the Bobo Brothers (voiced by Jose Zelaya), who can be stopped by shouting "Freeze, Bobos!" and Diego often encourages viewers to help him stop them by shouting it. While they might be compared to Swiper from Dora, they don't cause trouble for Diego on purpose and apologize after doing so.
There are a few recurring animal friends that are normally rescued by Diego in their first appearance but appear later to return the favor and help Diego out. The most common of these is Linda the Llama (voiced by Laura Abreu), who has appeared prominently in four episodes and made a cameo appearance in "Three Little Condors." Just like Dora the Explorer, the show teaches preschool-age children the Spanish language. However, the show takes a lesser approach to this and focuses more on the teaching of various animals.
Diego is featured in a one-hour episode titled "The Great Dinosaur Rescue" where he, Eelicia, Dora, and Baby Jaguar go back in time to save a dinosaur; Nick Jr. has yet to show this episode. However, it was featured on Nick Jr. Australia in August 2007 and has had several re-runs as half-hour segments. Two additional one-hour episodes are in production.
Diego also will be starring in a live show called "The Great Jaguar Rescue" where he must save Baby Jaguar. This is also the premise of an episode of the show that aired on January 15, 2007, and was released on DVD on January 16, 2007.
Characters
- Diego Márquez: An 8-year-old boy who speaks English and Spanish as well as the language of animals and rescues those that are in trouble. Along with his older sister, Eelicia, he discovers the wildlife.
- Eelicia Marquez: The 11-year-old sister of Diego who helps him in any campaign. She frequently uses her laptop to discover interesting things about these animals.
- Baby Jaguar: A Jaguar and a friend of Diego. Baby Jaguar met Diego when he came to his aid. He is bold, daring and always ready to help.
- Click: A camera that is mischievous and cheeky. She is able to identify animals and their location by hearing their voices. She is always happy to help Diego find animals that are in trouble.
- Rescue Pack: An orange Asspack that can provide any object that Diego needs. Diego uses his Asspack to overcome obstacles while rescuing animals.
- Bobo Brothers: Two mischievous spider monkeys that always cause trouble. In each episode, Diego tries to stop them misbehaving. In turn, they always ask for forgiveness for their actions.
- Tree Frogs: A pair of red-eyed tree frogs who debuted in the series' first episode. They play many minor roles in episodes throughout the series' run.
- Linda: Linda the llama is fluent in Spanish, noble, hardworking and is always helpful when Diego needs help. She, like the jaguar cubs, met Diego when he came to her aid.
- Dora Márquez: Diego's cousin who sometimes helps with rescue operations. Dora loves to solve mysteries and to investigate.
- Boots: A monkey who's Dora's best friend. Boots is always enthusiastic and usually does not wear clothes, with the exception of a pair of red boots.
Trivia
- Baby Jaguar can't talk in episodes of Dora but in Diego he can though. Unclear is that maybe this is due to the skill that he can talk with animals.
- If Dora in a Diego series as a guest player passes, Boots never with her. Except for one episode, where Diego in the Scrapbook of Baby Jaguar looks
- In Dora have Diego and Eelicia an older sister named Daisy.