Blue's Big Musical Movie

Blue's Big Musical Movie (also known as Blue's Big Musical and Blue's Clues: The Movie) is a 2000 American direct-to-video animated film based on the Blue's Clues television series and acted as the first and only full-length musical film for the character of Blue the Dog. It was released on VHS and DVD on October 3, 2000. A video game based on the movie was released for the original PlayStation around the same time, making it the only Blue's Clues video game on a home console other than the V.Smile. It aired on television on January 13, 2002.

Plot
At the start of the movie, a cardboard sign appears reading written in crayon, and Blue barks, "Blue's Big Musical." Blue welcomes the viewer to the house where Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper are preparing to have a big music show until they hear snoring. Steve is still asleep, so Blue goes into the bedroom and helps Tickety Tock wake him up. When Steve wakes up, he needs help to get everything ready for the "You Can Be Anything You Wanna Be" show. Steve and the rest of his friends go into the kitchen to have breakfast. Periwinkle hears about a magic show as he heads off to practice his magic trick. Blue gives Steve a list of things to do. Steve makes up a plan about what Slippery Soap, Shovel and Pail, Mailbox, Tickety and Blue are going to sing about in the big music show. Tickety said Blue would be her duet and sing about being a classroom teacher.

Tickety loses her voice before the show, but she can ring her bells. The game Blue's Clues is played to decide who should be Blue's singing partner. Steve adds three clues to his list of things to do. But then Steve hears Sidetable Drawer singing. Sidetable tries to say something when Steve runs into the kitchen to help Mr. Salt find flour to make some chocolate chip cookies for the neighbors' snack. After helping him, Sidetable gives Steve the handy-dandy notebook.

Steve runs into the backyard, where Mailbox was putting up the posters to tell everyone about the show. Meanwhile, Steve finds the first clue on the handy-dandy notebook. After trying to figure out who should be Blue's singing partner, Steve realizes his clipboard is missing. Periwinkle shows his magic trick as he says the magic words: "Perry-pokus-okus-crokus". Then he heads off looking for Steve. Steve finds his list as Slippery tries to let him help find the hats. Sidetable is trying to ask Steve if she can sing in the show.

Slippery and Steve have a part that is perfect for Sidetable. She knows how sometimes she would hold all the hats on top of her table. Tickety, Pail, Mailbox, Slippery and Shovel are asking Steve what to do with all the stuff. Blue has an idea while helping Shovel and Pail make a doctor's costume. After putting things together, Steve and Blue help their friends make a house and put a curtain together to build the stage. When they are all finished, Steve checks the costumes and the stage off his list. Then he walks back to the house, where Periwinkle is trying to show him his magic trick. Mr. Salt is in the kitchen trying to find the chocolate chips so he can make the cookies. While Steve was in the kitchen, Periwinkle shows the viewers another magic trick. Periwinkle was going to make a green knob disappear. He does so by moving it behind him with his tail. He then leaves, uncovering a clue on a different knob.

Steve appears and is disappointed that he hadn't found it himself. There's still one left, though, so he figures that maybe he'll find that one. Periwinkle, meanwhile, returns to find that Steve had left. He sadly comments that he's sure Steve would like his tricks, if only he had a chance to show him. After Mr. Salt delivers cookies, Steve checks snacks off the list and then notices that they still need to finish their song. So, Blue skidoos into a music sheet. There, Steve meets an anthropomorphic G-Clef (voiced by Ray Charles), who offers to help him write a song. While in the music sheet, Steve learns about notes. Some notes are high, and some notes are low (as shown on a staff). The notes then sing in unison from different pitches about putting the notes together. Steve also learns about rhythm & tempo. Steve then comes up with a song, consisting of the words beep bop bay. However, he feels his song is incomplete, even with rhythm and tempo. G-Clef tells him that music comes from inside. Soon, Steve develops a complete song and now there's only one thing left to do on the checklist and that's to find the last clue.

As Steve searches around for it, Periwinkle shows up for the third time to show Steve a magic trick. However, just as Periwinkle left to get the trick ready, Steve is called to Tickety and Blue to help Slippery. Steve had to help Slippery and walks away. As Periwinkle came back, the viewers told Periwinkle that Steve left again to help somebody. He complains that with Steve being so busy, he'll never get to see his magic tricks. Meanwhile, Slippery is having trouble rehearsing his act. He is afraid he will slip on stage. Steve tells him not to give up, but to go on. After hearing this, Slippery feels better. Upon returning to the real world, Sidetable tries to tell Steve her desires again, but once again fails. Steve then has her collect tickets.

After that, Steve tries to find the third clue himself, to little avail. He begins to think that he might never find it, but his friends tell him what he told Slippery, "Don't give up, just go on". Steve returns to finding the clue, and runs into a stack of boxes. A cardboard drawer lands in his hands, which is revealed to be only the final clue, but Steve's very first clue! Steve was very triumphant and victorious. Steve happily gets out his notebook. Steve draws it and goes to the Thinking Chair. It is revealed that Blue wants Sidetable as her new partner. Steve goes to tell Sidetable, but Steve remembered that Sidetable was collecting tickets, Steve and his friends look for Sidetable by the end of the fence post.

When they got there, they didn't see her, so everybody split up to look for her. Periwinkle appears again, asking Steve if he'll watch his trick. Steve, instead, assigns Periwinkle and to the viewers to look for Sidetable in the backyard. They find her. It turns out that she was hiding and was sad because she believes she's not going to be in the big music show. She sings her song again, and after Periwinkle compliments her, she becomes happy again and is ready to tell Steve about her desires, yet again. Periwinkle then comes up with an idea to do for a magic trick. Periwinkle tells Sidetable that he will make her appear for everyone to see. He hides her under his cape and yells Everybody come here. Steve & his friends saw Periwinkle and he tells them to say the magic words which was "Peri-pocus-hocus-crocus". The trick works and Sidetable tells Steve she wanted to sing in the music show and Steve told Sidetable that they were looking for her because Blue wanted to be her singing partner in the music show.

However, Periwinkle was confused, as he thought it was a magic show. Everybody tells him that it wasn't a magic show, it was a music show, where they can do various things, like make up songs, do dances, tell jokes, and wear costumes, including singing. This, however, does not make him happy because singing isn't his strong suit, magic is. Disappointed, he hides under his cape. Tickety goes to Periwinkle and tells him not to give up and she offers that Periwinkle could do something else in the show. Purple Kangaroo then tells the group that the crowd is getting impatient and restless. However, nobody is ready yet: Mailbox forgot his jokes, Slippery doesn't have his costume, Sidetable and Blue need more practice, Shovel and Pail search for the animals, and Tickety tells Steve that they need more time. Steve has them go practice, and tells Periwinkle to perform his magic to entertain the audience to keep them busy, while they get ready for the show.

As everyone prepares backstage, the audience is delighted by Periwinkle's tricks, until finally everyone's ready to start the show and he performs his final trick, "Peri pocus, ocus crocus, gotta gocus". When everybody is ready, Slippery goes onstage, and slips, just like he was worried about. Everybody tells him to not give up and go on. Slippery picks himself up and continues. After Shovel and Pail's doctor act, Mailbox joins in the show with a joke, getting stuck at first, but they help him to get free. After this, Blue and Sidetable both go on and sing. Steve then goes up and sings his song, overcoming his nervousness and finally everyone joins in for a reprise of the main number. The curtain closes, and opens revealing everyone. They thank the viewers for their help with a group singing the slower version of the "So Long Song" and Steve tells us to "Take a bow" after the song as the movie ends. At the start of the end credits, a cardboard sign appears reading, "Thanks for coming to Blue's Big Musical." The credits roll showing on pieces of cardboard signs after the song was over. At the end of the movie, the last credit says, "Bye-bye" on it, and Blue barks, "Bye-bye", and she barks and waves goodbye to the audience.

Cast

 * Steven Burns as Steve

Voices

 * Traci Paige Johnson as Blue
 * Nick Balaban as Mr. Salt
 * Spencer Kayden as Mrs. Pepper
 * Jenna Marie Castle and Aleisha LaNaé Allen as Paprika
 * Kelly Nigh as Tickety Tock
 * Cody Ross Pitts and Evan Dorfman as Slippery Soap
 * Seth O'Hickory as Mailbox
 * Olivia Zaro as Pail
 * Jonathan Press as Shovel
 * Cameron Bowen as Periwinkle
 * Aleisha Allen as Sidetable Drawer
 * Adam Peltzman as Green Puppy
 * Koyalee Chanda as Magenta
 * Alexander Claffy as Purple Kangaroo

Guest stars

 * Ray Charles as G-Clef
 * Jimmy Hayes, Jerry Lawson, Joe Russell, and Jayotis Washington (The Persuasions) as the Notes

Reception
Hartford Courant wrote that while the film teaches children "sharing and working together", it also teaches "self-expression and friendship" through "the smooth tones of Ray Charles" as the voice of G-Clef, and remarked that it was "an excellent segment".

Digitally Obsessed wrote the film was a "mixture of Pee-wee's Playhouse and Peanuts with a touch of Where's Waldo thrown in that is probably a lot of fun for kids and teaches while requiring the kids to think."

Chicago Sun-Times noted that as being centered in the world of the "most watched pre-school television show", the video will prove popular with parents of young children.

Time stated that direct to video no longer means "not good enough for theaters" where children's films are concerned and noted that Blue's Big Musical Movie spun the popular children's television series into a "full-length extravaganza".

In Doug Pratt's DVD: Movies, Television, Music, Art, Adult, and More!, author Pratt observes that even though designed for toddlers, Steven Burns, as the only human in the cast, delivered a "remarkable and consistent performance" while speaking directly to the camera in addressing his young viewers, speaking slowly and clearly without being condescending or patronizing.

Review Corner wrote that the film was "complete with all the charm and learning that makes the television series outstanding, and then some." They offered that while the "feature-film debut follows basically the same tried-and-true format of the television series, it contains longer (mostly musical) interludes and plenty of mini-stories and adventures along the way," as well as introducing a new character, Periwinkle the cat.

Awards and nominations

 * 2001, Nominated for Young Artist Award for Best Family Feature Film – Animation

Song List (Soundtrack Version) Musical Numbers

 * 1) Today's The Big Day
 * 2) At The Show
 * 3) The Breakfast Song
 * 4) Clipboard Shuffle
 * 5) Sidetable's Lament
 * 6) Blue's Clues Theme Song
 * 7) Silly Hat
 * 8) Putting It Together
 * 9) Notes
 * 10) Rhythm
 * 11) Tempo
 * 12) Dynamics
 * 13) There It Is
 * 14) As Smart As You
 * 15) Sing
 * 16) The Magic Of Theater
 * 17) I Can Be Anything That I Want To Be
 * 18) So Long Song