Go, Diego, Go! is an American animated interactivefourth wallchildren's television program that premiered on Nickelodeon on September 6, 2005 and ended on September 16, 2011 in the United States. Created and executive produced by Chris Gifford and Valerie Walsh Valdes, the series is a spin-off show of Dora the Explorer and follows Dora's cousin Diego, an 8-year-old boy whose adventures frequently involve rescuing animals and protecting their environment.[1][2]
The series which aired for five seasons consisting of 80 episodes premiered in primetime on Nickelodeon on Tuesday, September 6, 2005 at 8:00 p.m.[2][3] The show aired in reruns on "Nick Jr. on CBS" for 11 months and 3 weeks from September 17, 2005 to September 9, 2006.[4][5]
The series received favorable reviews from critics and garnered particular acclaim for its portrayal of a bilingualLatino lead character, earning a total of four NAACP Image Award nominations for "Outstanding Children's Program" from 2008 to 2012,[6][7][8][9] as well as earning Imagen Award and Young Artist Award nominations for Jake T. Austin for his role as the voice of Diego.[10][11]
Premise
Diego and Baby Jaguar
The program features 8-year-old Diego (voiced by Jake T. Austin, Seasons 1–3,[12]Matt Hunter, singing voice in Seasons 4–5,[13] Brandon Zambrano, speaking voice in Seasons 4–5) who helps animals in danger, mainly in the rainforest. His cousin is Dora (voiced by Kathleen Herles) from Dora the Explorer, as revealed in multiple episodes. Diego was first introduced in a 2003 episode of Dora the Explorer entitled "Meet Diego!" (originally voiced by brothers Andres and Felipe Dieppa in Season 3 and Gabriel Alvarez in Season 4). Dora makes several appearances throughout the series, usually without Boots by her side.
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 save and help the animal. Sometimes Diego and his friends fix windows in neighborhoods. Just like Dora the Explorer, the show teaches preschool-age children the Spanish language. In addition, there are several songs and uses of Spanish vocabulary. However, the show takes a lesser approach to this and focuses more on the teaching of various animals.
Diego's sister, Alicia (voiced by Constanza Sperakis, Seasons 1–2; Serena Kerrigan, Season 3; Gabriela Aisenberg, Seasons 4–5), 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. Alicia is responsible and kindhearted and always kind to her brother. Though she is described as eleven-years-old, she is often seen performing tasks (most obviously driving a motor vehicle) that could only be done by a person several years older. Diego also has a jaguar companion named Baby Jaguar (voiced by Thomas Sharkey (who also provided the singing voice as Austin from The Backyardigans and Shovel from the sixth and final season of Blue's Clues) and Dylan Clark Marshall) who assists him in rescuing the animals. Baby Jaguar also appears in Dora the Explorer along with Diego, but inconsistently; on Go, Diego, Go! he takes on a more active role, and is able to speak.
Diego's parents are described as animal scientists; they appear in several episodes, but their names are never given. He also has another older sister, Daisy, voiced by Iliana Friedson-Trujillo, who appears in "The Bobo's Mother's Day!" with Diego stating that she is home from college. Daisy previously appeared in four "Dora the Explorer" episodes: most prominently in "Dora Saves the Game" and "Daisy, La Quinceanera,” as well as silent cameos in "Dora's Pirate Adventure" and "Dora’s First Trip.” This makes Alicia the middle child and Diego the youngest child and the only son to his parents.
Other characters include Click (voiced by Rosie Perez), a camera that locates the animal calling for help; Rescue Pack (voiced by Keeler Sandhaus and Kyle Brenn), a messenger bag Diego wears that can transform into any object; and two troublesome spider monkeys named the Bobo Brothers (voiced by Jose Zelaya and Andres Felipe Aristizabal), 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 the Explorer, they don't cause trouble for Diego on purpose and they apologize after doing so. And on some occasions, just like Swiper, the Bobos would reveal their "good side" and be nice.
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."
Whenever a carnivorouspredator (such as anacondas) is featured on the show, its diet is not mentioned, unlike when herbivores are shown (such as marmosets). Notable exceptions to this are when an octopus helping Diego is explicitly shown and discussed eating live crabs, when a baby river dolphin who had tickled Diego eats the crabs heading toward a waterfall,[14] when Tuga (Leatherback Sea Turtle) eats jellyfish and when Jorge (little Hawk) eats grasshoppers, however, these prey are not anthropomorphised in the same way that other creatures typically are in the series. Whenever a featured animal is threatened with being eaten by a predator, the prey is described as being "afraid" of the predator. Diego's diet is also not mentioned, however, in at least one episode it is suggested that he is not a vegetarian[15] an issue as the majority of animals in the series are portrayed as anthropomorphic.
In addition to Rosie Perez as a regular, several guest voices appeared throughout the program. Olga Merediz voiced Diego's mother in her first appearance, but was replaced by KJ Sanchez afterwards. Kelly Ripa, and her son, Michael Consuelos both guest star as Mommy Maned Wolf and her pup in two episodes: "Diego’s Wolf Pup Rescue" and "Diego the Hero.” In the episode, "Egyptian Camel Adventure,” actor and singer, Adam Alexi-Malle, guest stars as Jamal the Camel. Héctor Elizondo (star of Chicago Hope and Last Man Standing) appears in "Diego Rescues Prince Vicuña" as both Victor Vicuña and King Vicuña.
Diego Márquez is an 8-year-old Latino boy who speaks English and Spanish. He rescues and cares for all animals that are in trouble.
Alicia Márquez is Diego's 11-year-old sister. She frequently uses her laptop computer to discover interesting things about animals.
Sabrina Márquez (voiced by Olga Merediz) is Diego's mother.
Nico or Tio Márquez (voiced by Sebastian Arcelus) is Diego's father.
Baby Jaguar is a jaguar and friend of Diego. Baby Jaguar met Diego when he came to his aid. He is bold, daring and always ready to help animals in trouble.
Click is a camera who identifies animals and their location by hearing their voices. She is always happy to help Diego find animals in trouble.
Rescue Pack is an orange backpack that can transform into any object Diego needs. Diego uses his backpack to overcome obstacles while rescuing animals.
The Bobo Brothers are two mischievous spider monkeys that always cause trouble. In most episodes, Diego tries to stop them misbehaving. In turn, they always ask for forgiveness for their actions.
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 is Diego's cousin who sometimes helps with rescue missions. Dora loves to solve mysteries and to investigate. She is a recurring character in this series.
Boots is a monkey who's Dora's best friend. Boots is always enthusiastic and usually has no clothes, but he wears a pair of red boots. He only appears in two episodes: "Journey to Jaguar Mountain" (cameo in picture) and "Linda the Llama Saves Carnival".
Backpack is Dora's purple backpack. She goes wherever Dora goes, and carries a large amount of objects that Dora and Diego may need.
Map is Dora's map. He lives inside Backpack's side pocket. He helps out by showing Dora and Diego where they need to go.
A live show called "The Great Jaguar Rescue" is about Diego saving Baby Jaguar's growl. This is also the premise of an episode of the series that aired on January 15, 2007. A touring live version of the series was staged in 2007, starring Richard J. Portela as the role of Diego.[135][136]
^Matt Engstrom (Director), Jorge Aguirre (writer), Enrico Vilbar Santana, Kuni Tomita, and Ysty Veluz (storyboard) (3 October 2006). "Diego Saves Baby River Dolphin". Go, Diego, Go!. Season 2. Episode 2(22). Nickelodeon.
^Allan Jacobsen (Director), Jorge Aguirre (writer), Bismarck "Butch" Datuin, Jose Silverio, and Ysty Veluz, (storyboard) (22 April 2010). "Ocean Animal Rescuer". Go, Diego, Go!. Season 4. Episode 12(67). Event occurs at 9:15. Nickelodeon. ¡Hola Diego it's time for dinner! [Action: Señor Marquez (Papí) holding up a plate of food with a chicken leg on it.]
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