Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Blue’s Big City Adventure’ on Paramount+, in Which Josh and His Buddy Blue Search for Clues in New York City

This week in Hey Look I’m Sitting Through Preschooler Crud is Blue’s Big City Adventure (now on Paramount+), the absolutely historic first-ever Blue’s Clues feature-length film. To be more precise, it’s an almost-feature-length (75 minutes) movieish thing spinning off from Nickelodeon’s Blue’s Clues and You!, the reboot of Blue’s Clues (which ran from 1996-2006). Notably, BBCA pushes the franchise into freshly annoying territory: It’s a musical! But will your three-year-old’s MIND be BLOWN? Let’s find out.

BLUE’S BIG CITY ADVENTURE: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: A saltshaker, an alarm clock, a bar of soap and a pail and shovel are singing. They live in Storybook World, which might be the very elaborate delusion of a fellow named Josh (Joshua Dela Cruz), since he’s live-action, and everything else is animated. He’s singing too. “Today’s the day!” they all sing, because Josh has an audition for a Broadway play starring Rainbow Puppy (voice of Brianna Bryan), who’s apparently a superstar celeb in this loony universe. How loony is this universe? They still use snail mail. Oh, and Josh has a best pal named Blue (Traci Paige Johnson), a dog who speaks in an approximation of Baby Yodese, because what comes from her mouth is just a bunch of cute murmurs and burbles.

How, pray tell you, will Josh get to Broadway from here? A talking cartoon bus that flies into a billboard depicting New York City, DUH. And that NYC is a live-action reality where Blue looks a bit funny, being animated and all. “We’re definitely not in Storybook World anymore!” Josh says with an exclamation point, because everything he says ends in an exclamation point, even the questions. Ah, Storybook World. That’s what it’s called. Kind of a reverse-Roger Rabbit thing going on there. And now that Josh is in a New York with non-talking cabs and mailboxes, he’s in a reverse-reverse–Roger Rabbit kind of thing. Josh sings and dances throughout the city and suddenly it’s nighttime, which might be a problem because we know his audition is at 3:30 (the talking clock said so), but then it’s daytime again so apparently it’s not a problem. Continuity is not an issue in a universe where Storybook World is just a talking-bus ride through a billboard away.

No, the real problem is, Josh doesn’t know where he’s going. He wrote the theater address in his notebook, but left it behind. He starts asking New Yorkers where the theater is, and they kindly tell him there are hundreds of the things in town. Uh oh. We got ourselves some culture shock here. He tries to talk to a mailbox and a mustard bottle and they don’t talk back – until he walks off, and they suddenly become anthropomorphs. CURIOUS. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Slippery Soap (voice of Jacob Soley), Mr. Salt (voice of Brad Adamson) and Tickety Tock (voice of Ava Augustin) find the notebook and decide to schlep to NYC to find Josh and get him his notebook before he misses his audition. Will they find him in time? Or will Josh and Blue continue to infect New York City with cartoonism until it’s too late?

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: As far as Nickelodeon shows-turned-movies go, BBCA is no Dora and the Lost City of Gold, although it’s about as scintillating as Paw Patrol: The Movie.

Performance Worth Watching: I dunno man. I guess this is as good a place as any to say: Watch out for cameos by BD Wong, Alex Winter, Ali Stroker, Taboo and a few other recognizable faces, some of whom might get old-school Blue’s Cluesers all fired up.

Memorable Dialogue: Josh: “Blue’s Clues in New York City! This is epic!”

Sex and Skin: None.

Our Take: BUT, you’re no doubt wondering, DO THEY PLAY BLUE’S CLUES? Yes! In New York City! What a crazy day! Let it be known, however, that the film features far more song-and-dance sequences than sequences in which Blue tries to find clues. Is this a crass violation of tradition or much-needed progress for a long-running franchise? Reader, I pose the question, but have no answers. I report what I see for fans and experts to ponder. My Blue’s Clues knowledge has its limits. But I will say I never got a compelling sense of Josh’s yearnful dream of being a Broadway star. His one-note ebullient charisma seems better suited for brief TV episodes. I’m more interested in knowing the origins of his life in Storybook World. Was he born there? Did Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper adopt him like Mowgli or something? Is he really that cheerful, or is he just madly projecting? SO MANY QUESTIONS.

Which is a way of saying BBCA has limited crossover appeal. Perhaps aging Millennials with young children will be drawn in by the movie’s easter eggs and surprise guest stars (no spoilers!). Beyond that, this is six-and-under city, baby: Talking inanimate objects, an abundance of hot pretzels from a New York City cart that the vendor never asks Josh to pay for, silly antics, simple and colorful animation, a watery hip-hop number appropriate for pre-tweens, and maybe not enough Blue, considering her name’s the first thing in the title. I can’t help but wonder if a 2-D dog that murmurs nonsense just isn’t suited to carry her own film. Then again, Shaun the Sheep has done it twice, with more personality, and he’s funnier and more whimsical. Maybe watch those movies instead?

Our Call: Like the TV series, Blue’s Big City Adventure is FTO: For Tots Only. I ain’t gonna criticize innocent preschooler fare, so STREAM IT if you’re a fan, although if you’re a fan, you might not be able to read this yet. As for the rest of us, Shaun the Sheep: Farmageddon awaits.

John Serba is a freelance writer and film critic based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Read more of his work at johnserbaatlarge.com.