Before I was obsessed with Criminal Minds was, I was obsessed with Blues Clues.
That show is the reason I (and every other child between the ages of 3-8 years old) I wanted to be a detective.
To be fair, who wouldn’t want to be a detective if it involved following a blue puppy dog around trying to solve fun clues in a cartoon house?
Part of Blues Clues’ charm was the crappy 2D animations. The show was on Nickelodeon for ten years, from 1996-2006, and the animations stayed the same that entire time. They were flat and grainy and followed a colour scheme that was straight out of our grandmas living room in the 80s.
In hindsight, it was horrible. At the time, it was pure magic.
You know the saying, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” But it seems our dear friends at Nickelodeon missed that memo, because Blues Clues is getting a 21st century reboot this year.
That means the amazing 2D animations I mentioned will also be getting a reboot, because nothing is sacred.
Guess who’s coming back? Blue is coming back! And she’s brought a new friend named Josh. I can’t wait for this reboot and what josh and blue have in store for us this November!???
#BluesClues #BluesCluesandYou pic.twitter.com/NluKgMnvbl
— Jessica McCartney ?️? (@JesslmcJessica) May 27, 2019
I understand we’re in the age of CGI dragons (re. Game of Thrones) and touch screens. I understand reboots are the new normal. I understand people love impressive technology and movie magic. But Blues Clues is the exception to the rule: making the animations prettier will not make the show better, it will make it worse.
How I feel right now.
Sure, the remake, called Blue’s Clues and You, will still feature the iconic Thinking Chair, Handy Dandy Notebook and friends like Tickety Tock, Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper, and Mailbox.
But would Playschool be the same if you got rid of Humpty Dumpty but kept the rest of the toys?
Would Arthur be the same if Arthur was a turtle instead of an aardvark?
No.
If you change the main character of a show, you change the very essence of that show.
So why change Blue in Blues Clues?
The new blues clues looks aight, but my kid’ll be damned if he doesn’t see the original. pic.twitter.com/16BBDJm4J5
— Xavi (@xavi_horne) May 28, 2019
Watching a 3D CGI animated Blue jump across the screen won’t be the same as watching his 2D predecessor. It just won’t be.