Paramount Studios presents

Blue's Clues: Classic Clues (2003)

"We are gonna play Blue's Clues,'cause it's a really great game!"- Steve (Steven Burns)

Stars: Steven Burns
Director: Bruce Caines, Alan Zdinak

MPAA Rating: Not RatedRun Time: 01h:36m:41s
Release Date: 2004-01-27
Genre: television

Style Grade	Substance Grade	Image Transfer Grade	Audio Transfer Grade	Extras Grade
B+	B+	B	B-	C

 

DVD Review

It's always nice to make new friends, but nobody knows you quite like your old ones. If the little kids in your house are already prepared to start reminiscing about the old days, they can do so with this disc—what's "classic" about these episodes of Blue's Clues is that they feature our buddy Steve, before he went off to college and passed the baton to his little brother Joe.

The formula is tried and true by now: we and Steve are hunting for three clues, marked by paw prints, and then we've got to use them to figure out the secret. Class is in session in the first episode, as our favorite canine is playing teacher at Blue's School—where will the school bus be taking the whole gang later today? Play along and find out. Next, all the old games and toys seem a little tiresome, so imagination is the order of the day for Something to Do Blue—the order is a little odd on the disc here, actually, as the second episode would lead more logically into the first. Also in these two, you'll see some intimations of Steve and college, no doubt in an effort to alleviate little kids' separation anxiety.

The second two installments are labeled "bonus episodes," but they're pretty much more of the same. It's poetry hour in the first of these, Rhyme Time, as Blue, Steve and the rest of the crew try their hand at some pre-school doggerel, with great success. There's a looser vibe in this episode than in some others; only the most rigid little kids are likely to object to this. Finally, Steve gets his Señor Wences on in Puppets—he's sporting a handsome sock puppet conveniently named Sock Puppet, and he encourages us to play along, even if our hands are sockless, by creating a hand puppet called Handy.

In all, these are just what we've come to expect from the gang at Blue's Clues, and the junior detective squad members in your home won't be disappointed.

Rating for Style: B+
Rating for Substance: B+

 

Image Transfer

	One
Aspect Ratio	1.33:1 - Full Frame
Original Aspect Ratio	yes
Anamorphic	no

Image Transfer Review: Colors are saturated and brassy, and the transfer is a clean one.

Image Transfer Grade: B
 

Audio Transfer

	Language	Remote Access
DS 2.0	English	no

Audio Transfer Review: Some of the audio edits are a little too blatant—you can hear old bits of music track being laid down, and the ambient noise level tends to jump around. But it's all perfectly clear.

Audio Transfer Grade: B- 

Disc Extras

Static menu
Scene Access with 4 cues and remote access
4 Other Trailer(s) featuring Rugrats Go Wild, Dora's Private Adventure, Jimmy Neutron: Sea of Trouble, Charlotte's Web 2
1 Featurette(s)
Packaging: Amaray
Picture Disc
1 Disc
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: single

Extra Extras:

1. Blue's Poetry Class game (see below)

Extras Review: Blue's Poetry Class is a fill-in-the-blanks rhyming game that's over all too quickly; and a featurette (01m:49s) stars Oobi, The Friend Who's Always With You—i.e., a pair of plastic googly eyes to stick between your fingers.

Extras Grade: C
 

Final Comments

Make new friends, and keep the old—Joe is silver and Steve is gold.

Jon Danziger 2004-01-29