''Blue's Big City Adventure'', previously titled ''Blue's Broadway Dreams'', is a 2022 live-action animated

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

. It is the second installment of the ''

Blue's Clues ''Blue's Clues'' is an American interactive educational television, educational children's television series created by Traci Paige Johnson, Todd Kessler, and Angela Santomero, Angela C. Santomero. It premiered on Nickelodeon's Nick Jr. block ...

'' film series, and a standalone sequel to ''

Blue's Big Musical Movie ''Blue's Big Musical Movie'', also known as ''Blue's Big Musical'', is a 2000 American live-action animated direct-to-video musical film directed by Todd Kessler, produced by Wendy Harris, and written by Angela C. Santomero and Michael T. Smi ...

'' which itself is based on the

Nick Jr. Channel The Nick Jr. Channel, sometimes shortened to Nick Jr., is an American pay television, pay television channel owned by the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. An offshoot of Nickelodeon ...

television series, ''

'' and the 19th episode of that show's third season, and based on its revival/sequel

television series, ''

Blue's Clues & You! ''Blue's Clues & You!'' is an interactive educational children's television series developed by Traci Paige Johnson and Angela C. Santomero for Nickelodeon. Combining live-action and animation, it is a revival of the 1996–2006 ''Blue's Clu ...

''. Directed by Matt Stawski, the film stars

Traci Paige Johnson Traci Paige Johnson is an American animator, writer, producer, director, and voice actress best known for co-creating the television series ''Blue's Clues'' (1996–2006), its spin-off ''Blue's Room'' (2004–2007), and the reboot series ''Blue ...

as the voice of Blue, alongside

Josh Dela Cruz Joshua Dela Cruz (born March 23, 1989) is an American actor. He plays a fictional version of himself as the host in ''Blue's Clues & You!''. He is the third main host of the franchise, after Steve Burns and Donovan Patton. Early life and educat ...

Donovan Patton Donovan Patton (born March 1, 1978) is an American actor and television host. Patton graduated from the Interlochen Arts Academy and acted in Shakespeare plays such as ''Much Ado About Nothing'' and ''Romeo and Juliet'' before replacing Steve ...

, and

Steve Burns Steven Michael Burns (born October 9, 1973) is an American actor, musician and television host. He portrayed a fictional version of himself as the host of the children's television series ''Blue's Clues'' from 1996 until 2002, for which he was ...

. As the events of the film take place after the original series and during the fourth season of ''Blue's Clues & You!'', the film follows Josh and Blue as they travel to New York City to audition for a

Broadway musical Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), many of the extant or closed Broadway venues use or used the spelling ''Theatr ...

. It was released on

Paramount+ Paramount+ (formerly known as CBS All Access in the United States and 10 All Access in Australia) is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, stream ...

on November 18, 2022, and received positive reviews from critics. The film had its television premiere on Nick Jr. in the United Kingdom on December 5, 2022 and

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

in the United States on May 29, 2023.

Plot

Josh has dreamed of singing in a

since he was a kid. One day, he receives a letter from Rainbow Puppy, a friend of Periwinkle, telling him to come to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

later that day to audition for her new Broadway show, Happiness is Magic. Josh is excited, though also nervous, but then receives encouragement from the others. Mr. Salt puts the address of the theater in Josh’s handy-dandy notebook. Blue and Josh later leave for New York City in a bus called the Skidoo Express. Upon arriving in New York City, Josh decides to look in the handy-dandy notebook to see where the theater is, but realizes it’s missing. Without it, Josh does not know where the theater is. So, Blue decides that they play Blue’s Clues to figure out where Josh’s audition is, with help from the viewer as usual. During their search for clues, they also come across Broadway actor, Ali Stroker, who teaches them that practicing for something makes it less overwhelming. They also encounter singer,

Taboo A taboo is a social group's ban, prohibition or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, offensive, sacred or allowed only for certain people.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...

, who helps them find them music to give them more confidence. They eventually find all three clues: a piano, rainbow curtains, and a stage, and discover they simply need to find a theater with a piano, rainbow curtains, and a stage. Back at the Blue’s Clues house, the others discover Josh’s handy-dandy notebook left at home, so Mr. Salt, Tickety Tock, and Slippery Soap head off to the city in a jet to return the notebook to Josh. They then visit Steve at the Blue Prints Detective Agency for help. They also get help from Joe at the present store to create balloons spelling Josh and Blue’s names as a message to them, informing them they’re searching for them, though the balloons later deflate. Meanwhile, at the theater where the auditions are being held, Rainbow Puppy and the director are unimpressed by most of the acts. After they had figured out Blue’s Clues, Josh and Blue then hitch a ride to the theater in a taxi vehicle, though do not know the exact address to the theater. During the ride, they spot Steve, Joe, Mr. Salt, Tickety Tock, and Slippery Soap, and they join them. Mr. Salt gives Josh his handy-dandy notebook and Mr. Salt tells the address of the theater to the taxi driver: 12345 Broadway. By the time they arrive, however, the auditions have already ended. Josh sings on stage anyway as Mr. Salt had an idea. Rainbow Puppy and the director see Josh singing on the

Jumbotron A jumbotron, sometimes referred to as jumbovision, is a video display using large-screen television technology (video wall). The original technology was developed in the early 1980s by Mitsubishi Electric and Sony, which coined JumboTron as a ...

and return to the theater to tell him they want him to play the lead role in the show. Blue, Josh, and the whole gang perform in the show together, which is praised by the audience. After the show finishes, Josh thanks the viewer for all their help. In a mid-credit scene, as he is getting ready for bed, Josh tells the audience that the movie is over and he and Blue sing the “So Long Song”.

Cast

Voice cast

Live-action cast

Production

On July 12, 2021, it was reported that a movie based on ''

'' will be made to mark the 25th anniversary of the ''

'' franchise. Directed by Matt Stawski and written by

Angela Santomero Angela C. Santomero (born April 26, 1968) is an American television executive producer and co-creator of the Nickelodeon children's television programs ''Blue's Clues'', its spin-off ''Blue's Room'', and its reboot ''Blue's Clues & You!'', as wel ...

and Liz Maccie, the film began production, with Cinematography by Derek McKane, Production Design by Alex M. Calle, and Costume Design by Caitlin Doukas, in summer 2021. On February 15, 2022, the title was revealed as ''Blue's Big City Adventure''.

Soundtrack

The film's soundtrack album was released on digital platforms by

Republic Records Republic Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Based in New York City, it was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially ...

Kids & Family label, on the same day. To promote it, a single version of “On Our Way” was released on October 7, 2022.

Release

The film's trailer was previewed by Josh Dela Cruz at PaleyWKND on October 1, 2022, and later released online on October 3, 2022. ''Blue's Big City Adventure'' was released on

on November 18, 2022. In a promotion for the film sponsored by

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

team

Atlanta Gladiators The Atlanta Gladiators are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Duluth, Georgia. The Gladiators play in the South Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference. They play their home games at Gas South Arena, approximately northeast ...

wore ''Blue's Clues'' jerseys for their match against the

Orlando Solar Bears The Orlando Solar Bears are a professional ice hockey team that plays their home games at Kia Center (formerly Amway Center) in Orlando, Florida. They play in the South Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference and are affiliated with the Tampa ...

on November 4, 2022. The film was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

on March 28, 2023. The movie made its linear premiere on

in the United States on May 29, 2023.

Reception

On the review aggregator site

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, 83% of six critics' reviews have given the film a positive review, with an average rating of 7.3/10. Marco Vito Oddo of ''

Collider A collider is a type of particle accelerator that brings two opposing particle beams together such that the particles collide. Compared to other particle accelerators in which the moving particles collide with a stationary matter target, collid ...

'' gave the film a "B" rating, writing "As a result, ''Blue's Big City Adventure'' is a movie aimed at preschoolers that's also enjoyable for adults, with exciting musical numbers that help break the simple story and explore the street art history of New York City." In a positive review, Calum Marsh of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' praised Dela Cruz's performance, saying he brought "unbridled charisma to a role that is basically a glorified kindergarten teacher". Nate Adams of ''The Only Critic'' wrote, "A harmless, colorful and cheery addition to the ''Blue's Clues'' canon, ''Blue's Big City Adventure'' has something for everyone."

References

External links

* *
Blue's Big City Adventure
' on

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