Blue's Big City Adventure review

BLUE’S BIG CITY ADVENTURE:

AN ADORABLE, NOSTALGIA-FILLED TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

PARAMOUNT+ AND NICKELODEON MOVIES

Blue, Steve, Josh, and Joe in Blue’s Big City Adventure

 

            Look at that, a film based on a Nick Jr. series I actually have some expertise with for once. Blue the Puppy and her friends escape their Storybook World and end up in New York City in Blue’s Big City Adventure, the new live-action/animated musical based on the beloved Nickelodeon/Nick Jr. TV series Blue’s Clues. 

            I guess, before I dive into this film I should “briefly” discuss my history with Blue’s Clues and the impact it had on me as a little kid. Unlike other Nick Jr. movies I’ve reviewed here like Dora and the Lost City of Gold or PAW Patrol: The Movie where most of my knowledge came from watching random episodes of the TV series with my younger sister (or absolutely zero knowledge whatsoever in PAW Patrol’s case), Blue’s Clues alongside Rugrats were two of the first Nickelodeon shows I ever watched. 

            I used to watch it all the time whether on Nickelodeon or the various home video releases, had a Blue’s CluesCD-ROM game based off the episode Blue’s Birthday that I used to play a lot on PC, and owned quite a bit of toys and merchandise as a kid. I even had the honor of meeting Steve Burns (The original host of the series) at a convention recently and got to share with him just how special that show was to me and my sister growing up. 

            Granted, even though the original run of Blue’s Clues brought so much joy to me as a child and will always have a special place in my heart, I started to step away from the blue puppy around the time the new host at the time, Joe was introduced because I was getting older. I’ve never seen the current series Blue’s Clues and You and I knew about the puppet-themed spin-off show Blue’s Room. 

            Then this movie was announced on Paramount+ which brings all three hosts together and shows the characters leaving the familiar animated Storybook World and venturing through a live-action New York City (Don’t worry, it’s nothing like the Smurfs movies) in a big musical adventure. As someone who grew up with Blue’s Clues, I was intrigued when the trailer dropped online and after watching the film myself…yeah, I found it incredibly charming. 

            The film follows Josh (Josh Dela Cruz) and Blue (voiced by Traci Paige Johnson) traveling to New York City to audition for a Broadway musical. However, when Josh accidentally leaves his Handy-Dandy Notebook behind, it causes him and Blue to become stranded in the mysterious New York streets as the address to the theater holding the auditions was written in the Notebook. 

            Luckily their friends consisting of Mr. Salt (voiced by Nick Balaban), Mrs. Pepper (voiced by Giséle Rousseau), Tickety Tock (voiced by Ava Augustin), and Slippery Soap (voiced by Jacob Soley) come to the rescue with a little help from some familiar faces, Steve (Steve Burns) and Joe (Donovan Patton). 

            The film also stars BD Wong (The Freshman, Jurassic Park franchise, Mulan), Phillipa Soo (The Broken Hearts Gallery, Hamilton, Tick, Tick…Boom!), Ali Stroker (The Glee Project), Taboo, Alex Winter (Bill & Ted trilogy), Steven Pasquale (Rescue Me, Aliens VS Predator: Requiem, Six Feet Under), and features the voices of Joseph Motiki and Cory Doran (South Park, Robot Chicken, Stoked). 

            Overall, Blue’s Big City Adventure is sure to delight young viewers while also providing longtime fans with an adorable, nostalgia-filled trip down memory lane with some old friends. To me, watching this movie felt like I was reconnecting with friends I hadn’t seen in over twenty years and that feeling of excitement and reminiscing of the good old days encounters like that can have. 

            There were a lot of moments in this film that brought me back to my childhood from the opening sequence in the original Blue’s Clues house where I was constantly thinking “OMG, it’s just like how I remembered it!” and seeing all the characters I grew up with to the moment Steve arrives and acknowledges “You? Look how big you’ve gotten!” which really hit the nostalgia hard as well as various easter eggs and references scattered throughout the movie. The best way I can describe it is a feature-length love letter to the Blue’s Clues franchise and it does an excellent job catering to both fans young and old.  

            The songs, while nothing spectacular are incredibly upbeat that perfectly set the tone for the film and the choreography during the musical numbers does make the New York streets come alive (Almost like a kids’ movie version of La La Land…with a blue cartoon puppy running around!). For a musical aimed at little kids, I found some of these songs to be enjoyable with the lively, We’re On Our Way and Happiness is Magic being the catchiest and most memorable to me. 

            The film also plays up the fish out of water narrative often with Josh and Blue interacting in an unfamiliar environment to them which can lead to some good laughs. Most notably gags that somewhat satirize many of the Blue’s Clues tropes such as Josh talking to inanimate objects like salt and pepper shakers, a blue mailbox, and even a coffee cup. 

            Granted, I felt Dora and the Lost City of Gold did a better job with the self-aware humor as that was more of a tongue-in-cheek parody of Dora the Explorer whereas this is much closer in spirit to the source material, but it is funny to see the New Yorkers’ reactions to Josh’s wide-eyed and silly antics. 

            Blue’s Big City Adventure is a musical event worth checking out whether you got kids who love Blue’s Clues or if you, yourself grew up with the series at a young age and now have children of your own. It’s a thoroughly delightful adventure in New York City that is impossible not to be charmed by.