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Working on Dora and the Search for Sol Dorado presented the Spin team with the exciting challenge of reimagining beloved characters from our childhood for a new generation. From photoreal fur, features, and feathers to heartfelt performances, this project pushed our artistry and technical precision to new heights as we balanced realism with humour and personality.

Having contributed to over 680 shots across the film, the project was an ambitious blend of character work, complex environments, and intricate effects all guided by the creative vision of Director Alberto Belli, and supported by the collaboration and trust of Executive Producers Adam Bonnett and Jonathan McCoy, alongside our incredible partners at Paramount, including Don Dunn (Executive Producer), Shawn Kostanian (SVP, Post Production), and Kelley Cauthen (VP, Post Production).

As our VFX Supervisor Bert Poole rightly said, “Dora and the Search for Sol Dorado is a testament to Spin’s creativity and collaboration as every department played a key role in making it come alive on screen.”

“The animals needed to feel completely believable in a live-action world but still connect with the younger audiences,” recalls our Creative Director, Mahsa Ghorbankarimi. “We studied hours of real monkey, fox, and macaw footage to build anatomically accurate skeletons. From there, our rigging and animation teams developed dual blendshape systems for facial performance and speech, enabling Boots and Macaw to speak expressively while maintaining authentic animal motion.”

“We tried to stay authentic to the story where Boots, a normal monkey who emotes and brings comedic relief with his dialogues,” explains Peter Giliberti, Head of Animation. 

Precision was vital, with every interaction between Boots, Dora, and the environment carefully aligned to live-action performances and camera movement, even down to hands, feet, and eye lines, supported by a custom CG backpack for key moments. The photoreal Macaw presented a different challenge, requiring intricate feather layering and natural responses to wind, light, and motion. “Macaws are visually stunning creatures. We wanted every feather to feel like a living brushstroke,” shares our R&D Director, Justin Goran. “Our team studied real footage to recreate how light scatters through the feathers’ blues and reds, capturing that unique shimmer in flight.”

The film also featured CG environments, including dense jungles, waterfalls, and dynamic matte paintings, all meticulously integrated with live-action plates.

We couldn’t be more proud of what the team achieved together, crafting creatures that feel real enough to believe, yet expressive enough to love.

Watch some of our key team members talk more in detail about the creative process in the video below and catch Dora and the Search for Sol Dorado on Paramount+