The film follows Josh and Blue on their trip to New York City and their plans to find Rainbow Puppy's theater so Josh can audition for her musical, which has been his dream since childhood, with only one problem, Josh forgot his Handy-Dandy Notebook! Which has his phone and the address of the theater where the audition would take place. We play Blue's Clues to find out where the audition would be. Meanwhile Mr. Salt, Tickety Tock and Slippery Soap venture into NYC in search of Steve and Joe, the two former hosts, so they will be able to find Josh and give him his lost notebook. As they sing, dance, make new friends and spread magic across the city with their music, we look for clues to find out if Josh will finally became a star and finally reach his happy ending
Previews: Trailer
Blue's Big City Adventure contains examples of:
- Advertised Extra: Tickety doesn't exactly have a role in the movie other than accompanying Mr. Salt with Slippery, but she appears in the films' promotional artwork more than Slippery does.
- And Starring: Steve Burns as Steve.
- Animation Bump: As expected for a feature-length film, Blue has an updated fur texture, and all other characters in Storybook World (aside from Josh, Steve and Joe) are in 3D.
- Answer Cut: Mr. Salt wonders to Mrs. Pepper what Josh and Blue are doing in New York. Mrs. Pepper replies, "Probably eating a New York pretzel". Cut to Josh and Blue doing exactly that.
- Arc Symbol: Swirls have been in the series since the beginning, being symbols made to represent skidoo and the Storybook World in general, although originally they were mainly decorative they gradually became more and more prevalent especially for Josh who left little blue swirls behind when he skidooed. Come the this movie and it's revealed that the swirls didn't just represent skidoo, but also when magic is manifested in general, appearing whenever Josh unconsciously used his reality warping ability
- As Themselves:
- Ali Stroker sings "Planets Song" with Josh and helps him practice.
- Taboo helps Josh find his rhythm, leading into "That's My Song".
- Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Deconstructed. Josh, like in the show, has a painfully short attention span, but unlike the show here it's not Played for Laughs, Josh gets lost in the city, forgets his notebook and almost loses a job opportunity with his distractions, and he himself recognizes this. As Taxi Cab points out, Josh misses and will likely continue to miss a lot of important things (literally and figuratively) if he doesn't start paying attention to the world around him.
- Bait-and-Switch: Whenever a clue is found, it looks as though offscreen kids are telling Josh where to find each clue. Then, someone approaches Josh to help him find the clue.
- Balloonacy: Mr. Salt and Slippery float as they're grabbing balloons meant for Josh and Blue to see.
- Bar Slide: At the New York present store, Joe gives Steve a glass of cocoa this way.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: The Trashcan, the coffee cup and the NYC Mailbox become eternally loyal to Josh after he accidentally brings them to life by being nice to them. Following him all over New York City for the sole purpose of thanking him for it.
- Big Applesauce: The vast majority of the movie takes place in New York City.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: As is tradition for Blue's Clues, Josh, Steve, and Joe all talk to the audience in various points.
- The Cameo: Aside from Stroker and Taboo, the film also features cameos from Alex Winter (as a taxicab driver), Phillipa Soo (as an auditioner), and Steven Pasquale (as a janitor).
- Casting Gag: Alex Winter plays a taxicab driver who sings a rock version of the Blue's Clues & You! theme song. His best-known role happens to be associated with rock.
- Cloudcuckoolander's Minder:
- Joe tries to be that for Steve, but is ineffective due to being literally as silly as he is.
- Taxi Cab is that for Josh, gently explaining to Josh what he did wrong and giving advice in a friendly way to improve his situation.
- Clueless Detective: Steve is not the brightest detective ever and needs pretzels to help him think, much to the annoyance of Mr. Salt and later Joe.
- Continuity Nod:
- The Blue's Clues episode "Blue Wants to Play a Game" is referenced when Steve relates to Joe about how the latter was unable to figure out the answer to Blue's Clues: a duck, a duck, and a goose; Joe points out that that was Steve.
- The quote on Mr. Coffee Cup reads "I can be anything that I want to be", a reference to a song in Blue's Big Musical Movie.
- Cosmic Motifs: Stars to Josh. Mr Salt tells him that he is a star. In Blue's Big City Adventure, he reprises the song from the original series “Planets” about the solar system and later has people spinning around him while he dances, imitating the translation movement that planets make around a star during "That's My Song". Moreover, his magic that brings objects to life is surrounded by shimmering stars.
- Creating Life Is Unforeseen: Josh is revealed here to have the inexplicable ability to bring objects to life by interacting with them when he is in the "real world", but it only works after he realizes that the objects are in fact inanimate.
- Deadpan Snarker: Joe of all people doesn't miss the opportunity to roast Steve, being most visible the moment Steve stops at the pretzel cart:Steve: It helps me think, it's complex carbs. Please respect the process.Joe: The carbs could not be simpler.
- Despair Event Horizon: Josh goes through one when he finds out that Rainbow Puppy had just left, and he missed his chance to sing in a Broadway musical. Luckily, he gets better once Mr. Salt encourages him to sing.
- Does Not Know His Own Strength: It is revealed in here that Josh possesses reality warping abilities when in the "Real World" although he doesn't seem able to control it or even be aware that he can do it
- Drives Like Crazy: Skidoo Express. Hilariously despite being a talking bus his safe driving capabilities are questionable at best. Not only does he jump into the middle of the road making Josh scream, he also drives at high speed towards a dead end without informing Josh of how things work and lands out of control, knocking over several things in Times Square making some people run away in panic.
- Dutch Angle: Used at one point as Steve gets a glass of cocoa from Joe.
- Facepalm: Mr. Salt does this three times: as Joe has difficulty figuring out what Steve is trying to say, and both times when Steve stops at a pretzel cart to eat pretzels to help him think.
- Fairytale Motifs: The film seems to have some inspirations on The Wizard of Oz with some elements inverted. Josh particularly seems to be inspired by protagonist Dorothy Gale, being is The Ingenue one who is associated with the color blue wears red shoes and is taken by a "swirl" (in this case a Skidoo instead of a tornado) to a new world accompanied by his puppy where his mean of transport makes a bad landing creating confusion. In this new world he needs to find a person who came from the same world as him to complete his objective and along the way he makes new friends who advise him about courage (Ali Stroker), heart (Taboo) and wisdom (The Cabbie), following by a golden place (the NYC Thinking Chair) and learning that what he needed was already with him. With the role that belonged to the witches being replaced by Josh's own anxiety.
- Fish out of Water: Josh mentions feeling this way in New York City, as it is completely different from anything Josh has ever experienced in Storybook World. It is much noisier than the rural environment he is used to, his eccentric behavior was seen as crazy rather than friendly like at home and objects are not naturally animated so talking to them is seen as strange, luckily Blue is there with him, to prevent him from panicking.
- Forgotten First Meeting: The Taxi cab apparently recognizes Steve and Joe from somewhere, but he doesn't seem to remember where and neither do they.
- For Happiness: Josh's happiness is in fact magic. Everything he does seems to intentionally or unintentionally make the world a happier place whether by literal magic coming from his charisma or simply by making new friends with his kindness.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus:
- Several advertisements for parodies of theater shows can be seen in the background. These include "Spice Rack Story", "Mama Magenta!", "The Puppy Queen", "Les Mailbox", and "Avenue Blue".
- At Joe's New York City present store, he has a Thinking Chair and a picture frame like the one in the Blue's Clues House. Additionally, posters of Boris, Joe's stuffed duck, and Mr. Sock Puppet, Steve's puppet can be seen on the walls.
- Blue Note's signs mention "Skidoo Big Band with Salt and Pepper Jazz Duo", "Mail Time Band with Special Guest Magenta", "Side Table and Friends Jazz Comedy Special", "Rainbow Jazz Trio with Special Guests", "Tickety Tock and the Hickory Dickory Docs", "Joe's Kazoo Group Extravaganza", and "Pail's Beach Jazz Brunch".
- Gold-Colored Superiority: The Skidoo Express has gold exterior details as well as his interior, as golden is the color associated with skidoo and skidoo portals.
- Hope Spot: As Rainbow Puppy and the director exit the theater, Josh, Blue and the others walk inside, enthused at seeing the piano, rainbow curtains, and stage. Josh asks when he can audition... only for a janitor to tell him that Rainbow Puppy had already left.
- I'm Your Biggest Fan: Mr. Salt who is not content with just being Josh's first and most excited fan, but also wants to become his hero.
- Jump Rope Blunders: After Steve manages to pass a jump rope, Mr. Salt, Slippery, and Tickety do the same. The former two manage to pass through, while Tickety trips over.
- The Klutz: The Skidoo Express. His landing skills leave a lot to be desired. He almost causes an accident and leaves many people scared when he lands in New York City.
- Left the Background Music On: Played for Laughs. Steve questions where the saxophone riff is coming from whenever he says "a mystery". He looks over his shoulder to reveal that it's Snail.
- Let Me Get This Straight...: Josh tells the taxi driver he needs to get the theater, but he doesn't know where he is, explaining his situation. "Let me get this straight..." asks the cab driver, saying that Josh and Blue came to New York City from Storybook World and now Josh is following his dream to his Broadway audition, but he doesn't know where the theater is.Driver: Well, alright, sometimes you just need to have a little patience.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: Although Josh definitely demonstrates magical powers throughout the film, it is unclear how much of the behavior of the citizens he interacts with is really how they usually act and how much is the influence of Josh magic
- Mistaken Identity: The inanimate salt and pepper shakers that Josh momentarily believes are Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper. Funny enough immediately after Josh realizes they aren't his friends they become NYC versions of them.
- Mythology Gag:
- The sign for Blue Prints Detective Agency (itself a nod to the 1995 pilot, Blue Prints) has "Est. 1996" on it, 1996 being the year the original Blue's Clues premiered.
- Fred from Blue's Room makes a cameo as a puppet in Central Park during "That's My Song". The puppet theater is also named "The Frederica Puppet Theater", after Fred's full name.
- The taxi cab advertisement for "Avenue Blue" has a review quote attributed to Sprinkles, another Blue's Room character.
- No Antagonist: As usual for the Blue's Clues franchise, there is no villain. The main conflict is Josh and Blue trying to get to the audition in time.
- No Name Given: Neither the Taxi Cab, the Pretzel Girl or the Musical director have their names revealed despite being relatively important.
- Not Hyperbole: "Happiness is Magic" may seem like a slightly corny phrase to represent optimism, but it is revealed to be literally where Josh's magic comes from, with Steve and Joe looking genuinely shocked when this is revealed to be the case.
- Not in Kansas Anymore: Josh says "We are definitely not at Storybook World anymore" to Blue when they arrive at Times Square and Josh gets overwhelmed by all the different people there.
- Performance Anxiety: Despite being a fantastic musician, Josh has a crippling fear of singing in front of people he is unfamiliar with.
- Sarcasm-Blind: Steve's response to Joe's "you do you"? "Oh. Thank you. I think I will".
- Sensory Overload: Josh has one during the beginning of the film, as New York City is much noisier than he is used to, he overcomes this by rearranging the sounds to form a musical rhythm.
- Small Role, Big Impact: Aly Stroke, Taboo and the Cabbie were only on screen for a few minutes, but their advices were part of what helps pull Josh out of his Heroic BSoD during the last few moments of the movie.
- Snark-to-Snark Combat: Steve and Joe's dynamic, Steve is quick to make passive aggressive remarks about his younger brother Joe, while Joe is quick to respond with the same warmth as he points out that Steve was the only one to have botched a game of Blue's Clue, which Steve recognizes as correct.
- So Proud of You: Both Steve and Joe tell Josh that they're so proud of him before he heads in for his audition with Rainbow Puppy.
- Spontaneous Generation: Josh talks to inanimate objects in New York throughout the movie, which later come to life after he leaves. Though it's implied that the people around him don't notice this, and just think he's crazy. In the third act, it's revealed that Josh's charisma is what imbues life into the objects.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: While the game of Blue's Clues is useful in the small rural neighborhood they live in, it is practically useless here, not only because the size of the city makes searching for clues very difficult, but also because Blue herself doesn't have an exact answer. Blue is smart but doesn't have all the answers, in this case all she could do was give a generic answer about a rainbow curtains theater, rather than an exact address.
- The Stinger: Between the main credits and the credit roll, Josh tells the audience it's time to leave and sings the "So Long Song" with Blue.
- Studio Audience: Subverted. As expected for Blue's Clues, children will point out found clues, though they appear onscreen once Josh sees the clues with the second one being thanks to a woman showing up to help Josh.
- Transformation Sequence: Downplayed. During "We're on our way" Josh has a transformation sequence where the city temporarily turns dark and an aura of blue swirls surrounds him as his clothes change to something more appropriate to the environment.
- Unusually Uninteresting Sight: While Josh is treated like crazy for interacting with such objects before they become sentient, they don't seem to draw any attention walking around town, the same thing for Blue, Rainbow Puppy and Josh's magic demonstrations which are treated naturally.
- Vague Age: The Viewer, while they are represented by childish voices, Steve and Joe appear to be able to see and interact with older viewers (who watched their eras), which Josh doesn't seem to be able to do.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: While the NYC Mailbox, the Coffee Cup and the Trashcan are shown fairly frequently throughout the film and Madame Mustard is shown with her owner in the scene where Steve and Joe discuss, the salt and pepper shakers are never shown again nor are recognized as existing by any of the characters
- Whip Pan: Used three times: the first time is when the pretzel cart is revealed, the second is when the scene transitions from Josh and Blue about to look for the theater to Steve, Joe and co. dejectedly walking away with the deflated balloons, and the third is when the camera pans from Steve eating a pretzel to Joe reacting with exasperation.
- Wise Tree: In this version of New York City, the Central Park is full of happy animated trees that remind Josh that he needs to find his last clue for his audition.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Mr. Salt gives such a speech to Josh after he seemingly gives up on his dream, saying that he can't just give up on everything just because something went wrong.
