Bluey (2018 TV series)

''Bluey'' is an Australian animated television series aimed at preschool children, created by Joe Brumm and produced by Ludo Studio from Queensland. It was commissioned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the British Broadcasting Corporation, with BBC Studios holding global distribution and merchandising rights. ''Bluey'' premiered on ABC Kids on 1 October 2018. It subsequently made its international debut on Disney Junior in the United States and is available for streaming on Disney+.

The show follows Bluey, an anthropomorphic six-year-old (later seven-year-old) Blue Heeler puppy who is full of energy, imagination and curiosity about the world. She lives with her father, Bandit; mother, Chilli; and younger sister, Bingo, who regularly joins Bluey on adventures as the pair embark on imaginative play together. Other characters featured each represent a different dog breed. Overarching themes include family life, growing up, and Australian culture. Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, inspires the show's setting.

''Bluey'' has received consistently high viewership in Australia on both broadcast television and video-on-demand services. It has influenced the development of merchandise, a stage show featuring its characters, and a feature film in development for a 2027 release. The program has won three Logie Awards for Most Outstanding Children's Program, an International Emmy Kids Award in 2019, and a Peabody Award in 2024. Critics have praised the show for its modern and positive depiction of family life, constructive parenting messages, and the role of Bandit as a positive father figure.

Premise

Bluey Heeler, the titular character, is a six-year-old (later seven-year-old) Blue Heeler puppy who is curious and energetic. She lives with her archaeologist father, Bandit (voiced by David McCormack), her mother Chilli (voiced by Melanie Zanetti), who works part-time in airport security, and her four-year-old (later five-year-old) sister, Bingo. All four members of the family engage in imaginative play together, occasionally involving their neighbors, Labrador Retriever Pat (voiced by Brad Elliot) and his sons Lucky and Chucky, and Chow Chow Wendy (voiced by Beth Durack and Emily Taheny) and her daughter Judo.

Bandit's younger brother Stripe (voiced by Dan Brumm) lives with his wife Trixie (voiced by Myf Warhurst) and their two daughters, opinionated three-year-old Muffin and her baby sister Socks, who over time learns to talk and walk on two legs. The extended Heeler family also includes Bandit and Stripe's older brother Radley (voiced by Patrick Brammall) and his love interest and later wife Frisky (voiced by Claudia O'Doherty), their mother Chris (voiced by Chris Brumm), and their father Bob (voiced by Ian McFadyen and Sam Simmons). Chilli's extended family includes her father Mort (voiced by Laurie Newman) and her sister Brandy (voiced by Rose Byrne).

Bluey's friends and classmates include Coco (a pink Poodle), Chloe (a Dalmatian), Honey (a Beagle), Indy (an Afghan Hound), Mackenzie (a Border Collie), Rusty (an Australian Kelpie), Snickers (a Dachshund), and Winton (an English Bulldog). The children explore the world around them through creative roleplay, overseen by the kind and caring Australian Shepherd teacher Calypso (voiced by Megan Washington). The child characters of ''Bluey'' are voiced by children of the program's production crew and are not credited on screen as voice actors.

Development

Conception

In July 2017, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) co-commissioned ''Bluey'' as an animated series for preschool children to be developed by Queensland production company Ludo Studio. The production received funding from Screen Australia and Screen Queensland, with the setting of the series drawing upon the unique semi-tropical Queensland climate. Joe Brumm is the show's creator. He conceived the idea for the show while working on '' Charlie and Lola'' with Mark Paterson (who would later create the character design for the pilot). The series was inspired by his experience in raising two daughters. Brumm wanted to portray the importance of children participating in imaginative play, creating the title character Bluey as a Cattle Dog to give the series an Australian voice. Brumm had previously worked on children's programs in the United Kingdom as a freelance animator and decided to create ''Bluey'' as a replica of the program ''Peppa Pig'' for an Australian audience. He conceived the idea independently in 2016, and produced a one-minute pilot through his company Studio Joho, with a small team in their spare time. Brumm approached Ludo Studio to develop the series; co-founders Charlie Aspinwall and Daley Pearson pitched the pilot at conferences such as MIPCOM in France. Brumm stated that the first pilot contained some "dangerous" character behaviours which drew the attention of studio executives; this included Bandit pushing Bluey on a swing in an unsafe way. Pearson expressed that it was difficult to pitch the series as it was not high-concept; but rather "just a show about family and games". Brumm had considered making ''Bluey'' an adult-rated version of ''Peppa Pig'' featuring the challenges of breastfeeding, but decided to return to the original concept of a children's show after learning about ''The Letdown'' (2017–2019).

The studio developed a five-minute animation sample that was pitched at the Asian Animation Summit in Brisbane in 2016, and was thereby noticed by ABC and BBC executives. Michael Carrington of the ABC viewed the presentation and secured $20,000 of funding for the studio to produce a refined, seven-minute pilot. The new pilot was presented at the Asian Animation Summit in late 2017, which would be reworked as " The Weekend" (Series 1 Episode 6). The two networks officially ordered 52 seven-minute episodes of ''Bluey'', with the BBC investing 30 percent of the funding and acquiring the global rights for distribution and merchandising. The series was largely produced in Australia by a local team, many of whom were first-time animators from Brisbane, while animator Mark Patterson worked remotely from Auckland, New Zealand. The program was announced to premiere in Australia on ABC Kids, followed by CBeebies.

Production

Writing

The stories featured in ''Bluey'' depict Bluey and Bingo engaging in imaginative play. Brumm wanted to show that self-directed and unstructured play is natural in shaping children and allowing them to develop. He consulted research based on socio-dramatic play, reading the works of Sara Smilansky and Vivian Paley, who both had backgrounds in early childhood education. The episodes show the parents as guides for their children, who allow them to explore their immediate surroundings independently, giving them opportunities to practise adult roles. Brumm drew inspiration for scripts from his own experiences in watching his daughters play, which he described was "as natural to them as breathing". The program's scripts show how children can use gameplay to learn lessons and integrate the world of adults into their own; Brumm noticed how his children would recreate interactions such as visits to the doctor, through roleplay. Pearson stated that gameplay represents children's first experiences of collaboration, cooperation, responsibility and emotions such as jealousy. Brumm discovered the importance of play-based learning after his daughter struggled with formal education, which led him to exclude elements of literacy and numeracy in ''Bluey'' and focus on the depiction of life skills. Brumm stated that he wanted the series to depict his experience as a parent rather than aim for children to be explicitly taught something. His creative aims were to make children laugh, and show parents what children can learn while engaged in play.

The characters of ''Bluey'' each represent a particular dog breed, some of which are drawn from Brumm's personal life. Brumm had a Blue Heeler named Bluey throughout his childhood, in addition to a Dalmatian named Chloe and an Australian Red Kelpie named Rusty, who was the title character of the series in its early development. Bandit is based on a Blue Heeler belonging to his father's friend. Bandit's career as an archaeologist was inspired by Brumm's older sibling Adam.

Brumm writes the majority of episode scripts, with Aspinwall labelling the series as an "observational" show, depicting Brumm's family life, and producer Sam Moor describing it as " rumm'slife on screen"; when producing the pilot, Brumm's daughters were aged between four and six, like Bluey and Bingo. Brumm's process for writing sometimes begins with making notes about his family's experiences; including games his children play and the conflict that arises between them. For this reason, Brumm has described the process as a challenge for other writers on the series. Moor stated that there are few writers besides Brumm, mostly animators already working on the series. The program was designed to be a co-viewing experience for parents and their children to enjoy together. Brumm described the process of writing each episode as "a chance to make a short film". The conflict and humour in the episodes stems from Bandit's relationship with his daughters. Bluey has been described as "rough and tumble" by Pearson, with both her and Bingo being seen to subvert the stereotypes of female characters, but rather have the characteristics of real puppies. This has led to uninformed viewers questioning if the characters are boys or girls. Pearson has credited the decision of Bluey and Bingo being girls to resemble the real families of Brumm, Aspinwall and McCormack. In relation to the humour of the series, Brumm has stated there is a lot of physical activity and "craziness".

Storyboarding and animation

''Bluey'' is animated in-house at Ludo Studio in Brisbane, in Fortitude Valley, where approximately 50 people work on the program. Costa Kassab serves as one of the art directors of the series, who has been credited with drawing the locations of the series which are based on real places in Brisbane, including parks and shopping centres. Locations featured in the series have included Queen Street Mall and South Bank, as well as landmarks such as The Big Pelican on the Noosa River. Brumm determines the specific locations which are to be included. Post-production of the series takes place externally in South Brisbane.

Approximately fifteen episodes of the series are developed by the studio at any one time across a range of production stages. After story ideas are conceived, the script-writing process takes place for up to two months. The episodes are then storyboarded by artists, who produce 500 to 800 drawings over three weeks while consulting the writer's script. After the storyboard is finished, a black and white animatic is produced, to which the dialogue recorded independently by voice artists is added. The episodes are then worked on for four weeks by animators, background artists, designers, and layout teams. The entire production team views a near-completed episode of ''Bluey'' on a Friday. Pearson stated that over time, the viewings developed into test screenings where members of production would bring their family, friends, and children to watch the episode. The complete production process for an episode takes three to four months. Moor described the program's colour palette as "a vibrant pastel". ''Bluey'' is animated using CelAction2D.

During the lockdown period of the COVID-19 pandemic, the production staff of 50 were required to work on the episodes remotely from home. A skeleton crew of three remained working on the series at the studio. After restrictions eased in May 2020, this number increased to 10 and later 20. By 2024, work at the studio returned to normal. A few extra people were hired for "The Sign"—a 28-minute long episode towards the end of Series 3.

Casting

The series features David McCormack, from the band Custard, as the voice of Bluey's father, Bandit. He was initially approached to read what he assumed would only be "a couple of lines", but ended up voicing Bandit for the entire pilot. McCormack performs his voice work for the series remotely in Sydney, which is then sent to the production company in Brisbane. He stated that he does not hear any other voice actors or view footage while recording, and that he does not alter his own voice to produce Bandit's dialogue. Melanie Zanetti provides the voice of Bluey's mother, Chilli; she became interested in the series after reading the script for the pilot.

Brumm's mother, Chris Brumm, voices Nana Heeler, while his younger brother, Dan Brumm, voices Uncle Stripe, as well as working as a sound designer on the series. The child characters of the series, including Bluey and Bingo, are voiced by children of the program's production crew and are not credited on screen as voice actors.

Music

Joff Bush serves as the primary composer of ''Bluey'', writing half of the soundtrack himself and leading a group of additional composers, including David Barber. Bush graduated from the Queensland Conservatorium, where he met Pearson, and before ''Bluey'' worked on series such as ''The Family Law'' and '' Australian Survivor''. Bush has stated that each episode has its own unique musical style, and he likes to become involved in the episodes as they are scripted. Live instruments are regularly played for the recordings. Every episode of ''Bluey'' is individually scored, a decision made by Brumm, who was inspired by the original compositions for '' Charlie and Lola'' while working on the series in the United Kingdom. Classical music is used as part of the underscore, with pieces such as Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" and Mozart's " Rondo Alla Turca (from Sonata No. 11)" being interpreted by composers. A movement from ''The Planets'' by Gustav Holst is prominently featured in " Sleepytime" (Series 2 Episode 26). Megan Washington, who voices Calypso, re-recorded her song " Lazarus Drug" from the album '' Batflowers'' (2020) to feature prominently in the ending scene of " The Sign" (Series 3 Episode 49).

Bush composed the theme song for ''Bluey'', and he has been nominated for several APRA Screen Music Awards, in 2019 for the soundtrack of "Teasing" (Series 1 Episode 48) and in 2020 for " Flat Pack" (Series 2 Episode 24). He was nominated for the APRA Award for Most Performed Screen Composer – Overseas in 2022, and won the award in 2023. The show's score won Best Music for Children's Programming in 2021 and in 2024, the latter for the episode "The Sign". The music for ''Bluey'' is licensed by Universal Music Publishing on behalf of BBC Worldwide Music Publishing. The first soundtrack for the series by Bush, '' Bluey: The Album'', was released on 22 January 2021. It debuted at number one on the ARIA Albums Chart, and became the first children's album to reach the top of the charts in Australia. It won Best Children's Album at the 2021 ARIA Music Awards, and won the 2021 APRA Award for Best Soundtrack Album. The second soundtrack, '' Dance Mode!'', was released on 21 April 2023, and the third soundtrack, '' Rug Island'', was released on 25 October 2024. A ''Burger Dog'' single was made available on 12 April 2025 as part of Record Store Day.

Future

Production on the third series concluded in April 2022. In July 2023, Pearson stated that the production team were taking a short break from making episodes. He denied that the program would end after the third series, but explained that there were no immediate plans for a fourth series. Brumm indicated that the audience response to the long-form episode "The Sign" could influence the future of the series. A collection of shorts titled "Minisodes" were produced before the break in production; the first collection of these one-to-three minute episodes began airing on ABC Kids on 16 June 2024, and were released on Disney+ on 3 July. The second set of shorts were released in October, and the final group of shorts were released in December. In December 2024, Brumm announced that he would be taking a hiatus from writing for the show in order to focus on the upcoming feature film.

Themes

A central theme of the series is the influence of a supportive family; this is reflected in the relationships between Bluey, Bingo, Bandit and Chilli. The Heeler family are presented as a nuclear family. Brumm was eager to reflect contemporary parenting practices, with both adults shown to be working parents; Bandit as an archaeologist and Chilli working part-time in airport security. Bethany Hiatt of ''The West Australian'' explains that the series depicts the realities of modern-day fatherhood, with Bandit seen regularly doing housework and engaging in imaginative play with his children. Chilli's role as a mother is explored as she balances both work and family life. Her struggles with newborn motherhood and encounters of competitiveness in a parenting group are depicted through flashbacks of Bluey experiencing significant developmental milestones. Both parents are shown to acknowledge and validate the emotions of their children, such as Bluey's distress after the death of a bird. Bluey and Bingo are shown to navigate their sibling relationship throughout the episodes, learning how to work together, compromise, and resolve conflicts. Episodes detail the family's contemporary domestic lifestyle, with Philippa Chandler of ''The Guardian'' describing the series as "social realism".

The series also depicts Australian contemporary culture, and is set in semi-tropical Queensland. The animation of Australian architecture in the series is designed to reflect the typical Queenslander residential designs of Brisbane; high-set suburban dwellings with characteristic verandas, against representations of Brisbane skylines. The characters speak with Australian accents in local and international airings. The series has a focus on the Australian sense of humour with dry wit frequently expressed through the dialogue. Several episodes detail the exploration of Australia's climate and nature, with characters encountering Australian wildlife such as fruit bats, wallabies, kookaburras and ibises. Flora of Australia are also depicted in the series, including Poinciana trees and Jacaranda trees. The series explores Australian sport through the inclusion of rugby league; the Maroons and the Blues are featured in a depiction of the State of Origin series. However, Brumm has expressed that he did not want to exaggerate the stereotypes of Australia.

The series advocates the importance of play throughout childhood. Bluey and Bingo are the vehicle used to display this theme; the episode "Trampoline" features Bandit imploring Bluey to continue creating new games to play. The siblings engage in imaginative play during "mundane" activities such as visiting the doctor or going to the supermarket. The parents are shown to engage in the play with their children. Bluey and Bingo also engage in imaginative play with their friends, learning lessons such as the importance of following the rules. The characters also learn lessons such as the influence of technology, the economy and personal finance through their gameplay. Pearson has stated that the characters experience emotions such as jealousy and regret through their gameplay. He commented that, while there is no antagonist in the series, these emotions form the central conflicts of the program.

The character of Jack is shown to have attention deficit issues; he states that he "can't sit still or remember anything". Upon the online character announcement, parents praised the representation of children with attention deficit issues. Dougie was introduced as a profoundly deaf character who uses Auslan to communicate with his mother in the episode "Turtleboy"; the character is shown signing but it is not the focus of the episode's story. Consultants were involved to authentically animate the Auslan signs, and viewers praised the representation. The episode "Onesies" alludes to the fact that Chilli's sister Brandy cannot have children, addressing the topic of fertility without specifically labelling the reason why. It was also reported that "The Show" subtly approaches pregnancy loss.

Episodes

The first series premiered in Australia on ABC Kids on 1 October 2018, with 26 episodes airing daily throughout October. The following 25 episodes of the series began airing on 1 April 2019. The final episode of the first series, a Christmas special, aired on 12 December 2019. It was reported in March 2019 that production had begun on a second series of 52 episodes; the order was officially announced in May. The second series premiered on 17 March 2020, with the first 26 episodes airing daily, through April. The remaining episodes began airing on 25 October 2020, and were followed by a Christmas special which aired on 1 December 2020, and an Easter special airing on 4 April 2021. Preliminary discussions for the third series had begun by April 2020; the series order was made official in October. The third series began airing on 5 September 2021 with a Father's Day-themed special, followed by further episode blocks from 22 November 2021, and 13 June 2022. The series was moved to weekly episodes beginning 9 April 2023; episodes aired Sundays through June. The final episode block of the third series aired on Sundays throughout April 2024, and included a special 28-minute episode titled " The Sign".

Release

Broadcast

The Walt Disney Company holds the international broadcasting rights to ''Bluey'' for both linear television and streaming, having acquired the rights in 2019. The series premiered on the Disney Junior television network in the United States on 9 September 2019 and was later distributed on Disney+ on 22 January 2020 and in the United Kingdom on 1 October 2020. Cartoon Network executives tried but failed to acquire the rights to the series. Despite airing the show overseas, the producers have declined requests to replace the Australian accents of their characters in order to maintain the authenticity of the show. Disney's test audience of American children liked the accents and understood the humour. As Jane Gould, who was responsible for content strategy at Disney, explained to ''The New York Times'', "Our kids live in a much more global community than the adults do" thanks to the Internet, making it unnecessary to replace the accents when aired in another English-speaking country. The second series debuted on Disney Channel in the United States on 10 July 2020. The distribution deal with Disney originally encompassed the first two series of the program; the third series was acquired in May 2021. The first half of the third series debuted on Disney+ in licensed territories on 10 August 2022 and later premiered on Disney's television networks; another group of episodes first aired on 12 July 2023, and further episodes were released on 12 January 2024. " Ghostbasket" (Series 3 Episode 48), " The Sign" (Episode 49) and " Surprise!" (Episode 50) debuted on Disney+ on the same day as their respective Australian premieres in April 2024.

In October 2019, ''Bluey'' debuted in New Zealand, airing on TVNZ 2 and streaming on TVNZ OnDemand. The first series made its Australian pay-TV premiere on CBeebies on 4 May 2020. It made its free-to-air television debut on CBeebies in April 2021 in the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Malaysia. The series debuted in the Philippines on TV5, dubbed in Tagalog, in April 2024. Supplementing its availability on the Japanese version of Disney+, the first two seasons of ''Bluey'' made their terrestrial network debuts in Japan in October 2024, airing on TV Tokyo

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