Blue's Clues

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Toys made in Blue and Periwinkle's image

Blue's Clues is a daytime children's show which airs on Nickelodeon and now appears on several "On Demand" channels. It features live action superimposed on paper-cutout animation similar to that of South Park. The series follows a blue dog named Blue through her everyday life, providing small children with educational entertainment.

Contents

1 The Show
2 Characters

2.1 Hosts
2.2 Animated Characters

3 Cinema Movies
4 External links

The Show

From 1996 to 2002, Blue's owner was Steve, a non-animated character played by Steven Burns. When Burns chose to leave the show, the character Steve went off to college and his younger brother Joe (played by Donovan Patton) moved in to take care of Blue.

The game of Blue's Clues begins near the beginning of the episode, when the host asks Blue some sort of question. Blue responds by jumping at the screen and marking it with a blue pawprint. The host, with the help of the audience (who are constantly spoken to and asked questions by the clueless host), then searches the house for Blue's three clues. Along the way, the host speaks with other residents of the house, often characters based on inanimate objects such as a side-table drawer, a shaker of salt, and a mailbox. After all three have been found, the host sits in his "thinking chair" and puts the three clues together to form a central image. This image is the answer to the host's original question, which goes along the lines of "What does Blue want to do today?" Blue's Clues also has lots of songs about every event, like "We Just Got a Letter".

Blue's Clues was created by a creative team led by Todd Kessler -- who was at the time a writer-director -- and producer at Nickelodeon and researcher Angela Santomero. Kessler and Santomero hired cut-out animator Traci Paige Johnson to collaborate on the pilot. (Johnson would eventually provide Blue's voice.) The show uses phrase repetition and a minimum of editing in an attempt to avoid confusing its young audience.[link] Blue's Clues was extensively analyzed by Malcolm Gladwell in his bestselling book The Tipping Point. According to Gladwell, the show was carefully designed, using methods pioneered by Sesame Street, to encourage its educational messages to "stick" in a child's mind.

A UK version of Blue's Clues also exists, with Kevin Duala as the host. The original show, dubbed in German, appears on German TV under the title Blau und Schlau, literally "blue and smartly". German, Italian, and Latin American versions are in the works.[link] Humongous Entertainment has released several PC/Mac games featuring Blue's Clues characters.

In a 2004 Blue's Clues episode, "The Legend of the Blue Puppy", Blue talks as a puppet in a segment called "Blue's Room". "Blue's Room" has become a regular segment of the show, with several direct-to-video DVDs made based around the concept.

Characters

Hosts

Steve (Steven Burns):

Up until 2002, was the host of show. His motivation for leaving was his wish to continue on with College.

Joe (Donovan Patton):

Joe is Steve's younger brother. He took over as the new host in 2002 after Steve left for college.

Kevin (Kevin Duala):

Kevin is in the U.K. version.

Animated Characters

Blue - a female blue dog
Mailbox - a male mailbox who delivers Steve's mail after Steve sings
Side Table Drawer - a talking female drawer who holds the notebook
Slippery Soap - a talking male bar of soap
Tickety Tock - a talking pink female alarm clock
Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper - salt and pepper shakers
Paprika (female) and Cinnamon (male) - Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper's children
Pail (female) and Shovel (male)
Magenta - Blue's best friend, a female pink dog
Periwinkle - the next-door neighbor, a talking male cat
Miss Marigold - Blue's teacher
Green Puppy - Blue's female friend and classmate, was once a bully in one earlier episode
Orange Kitten - Blue's female friend and classmate, can talk
Purple Kangaroo - Blue's male friend and classmate, can talk
Turquoise - Blue's pet turtle, which Steve bought for Blue on her birthday.
Polka Dots - Blue's small, male, stuffed green dog-toy with pink polka-dots
The Felt Friends - characters who live in a world of colored felt shapes

Cinema Movies

Blue and Baby Bear (2006)

External links

[Blue's Clues on Nick Jr. site]
[Blue's World] (A Blue's Clues fan/information site)
[Teachers College-Columbia University news story on Blues Clues]

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