Blue's Clues - Blue's Big Musical Movie

BLUE'S CLUES: BLUE'S big musical movie

Blue bounds into her first feature-length film ready to sing. She gets sidetracked along the way, of course, but that's part of the brilliant Blue's Clues formula. Each half-hour TV show presents engaging, easy-to-grasp mini-mysteries that are within toddlers' reach. This time Blue; her huge-eyed, slightly loopy human companion, Steve; and their cadre of talking-object friends are scurrying around, preparing for a backyard music show that day. Everybody picks a number to perform; Blue's is a duet with Tickety Tock, but the clock contracts laryngitis. Who will be Blue's new partner? A game of Blue's Clues reveals the hardly reluctant replacement. The standard discovery of three clues followed by the usual wind-down song would add up to a colossal disappointment in a feature film, so substantial rounding-out is provided. Steve stumbles onto a keyboard inhabited by a note called G-Clef (the unmistakable voice of Ray Charles), who gives a tour of how to make a song. First you pick the notes, then you work on rhythm, then comes tempo, and, last but not least, "you've got to give it soul." This movie's themes include perseverance (Tickety Tock can't sing but finds a way to contribute anyway) and self- empowerment. Blue's Big Musical Movie is a feast for little eyes and ears; the sets are so colorful they hurt grown-up eyes, and the songs-- especially the one that gets the Charles treatment--are all sing-along-with-me winners. --Tammy La Gorce