Bluey
The Heeler Family from ‘Bluey’. Ludo Studio (2018).
By C.A. Ramirez
The Greatest Show Ever
Bluey is a masterclass in a how children’s show made with absolute love for the character, story, and audience will engage even the most jaded parent. Watching cartoons with your kids used to be a chore, but Bluey has changed the game.
Created by Joseph Brumm in (2018), Bluey follows the daily life of an anthropomorphic Australian Cattle Dog family, the Heelers, as pictured below.
Dad, Mum, Bluey, and Bingo. Ludo Studio (2018).
Created by Joe Brumm in 2018, Bluey keeps the premise simple, but every episode will make you laugh and cry in the span of about 10 minutes with characters who will win over even the most jaded parents. Brumm has revolutionized children’s shows by writing from the heart, basing many of the shows characters on his own family members and childhood memories. These dogs are relatable.
The episode “Camping” is a stellar example of how Brumm’s series can affect children and their parents so differently. Bluey befriends Jean-Luc on the other side of the campground. The two get along, playing together regardless of their language barrier. Bluey wakes up excited to see him every day, until one day Jean-Luc is gone. Bluey is devastated. She made and lost a friend in such short time that it really upsets him. Even though they could not talk to each other they shared a connection. Mum and Dad reassure Bluey that it is a part of life, people come and they go, and we don’t always have a say in the outcome.
Bluey and Jean-Luc planted a seed before he left, and the episode closes with a montage of that seed growing from a sprout into a beautiful tree. The episode ends with a grown-up Bluey walking to the same tree on a camping trip years later. She sits down against it and reads a book only to be interrupted by an older Jean-Luc who says “Hi bluey”. The two long lost friends have been reunited and their tails wag happily as the episode fades to credits.
Bluey beats the stuffing out of any annoying episode of Cailou and does so with great writing and storytelling. Mum and Dad are always there, ready to explain that life is a mixed bag of emotions, a series of ups and downs that none of us can control. Children watching will smile that Bluey and Jean-Luc reconnected while it leaves parents running for the tissue box. Kids haven’t lived through the heartbreak where the Jean-Luc of their lives never does return, but parents have, and its this kind of emotional vibration Joe Brumm has grafted to nearly every episode. He has managed to entertain your children while enlightening the parents who may be watching, and each episode is a reassurance to both audiences that everything will be ok.
Bingo and Bluey. Ludo Studio (2018).
Brumm has done for Australia what Nick Park did for England with Wallace and Gromit. Bluey makes you look at real estate listing in Brisbane on cold winter nights. The show ensnares the imagination of your children while liberating the adult mind of worries and woes. Sesame Street was geared for children, a kind of televised surrogate guardian that any child could understand. Adults were also entertained but always aware that Sesame Street was not for them. Bluey balances both worlds by linking them with heartfelt subject matter. It has the power to encourage your child’s curiosity to explore the trials and tribulations of life while strengthening a parent’s resolve to explain delicate subject matter.
Life, death, love, and loss are hard to explain to any child who is old enough to face them. Brumm’s show manages to insert light-hearted scenarios with a strong sense of self-reflection and none of it ever seems ham-handed or blunt. Bluey delivers lovable characters and organic storytelling, resulting in one of the best animated series that just happens to be geared for children. Screenwriters (looking at you Disney Star Wars) should watch one season of Bluey in order to understand how to successfully marry natural story telling with believable characters.
Bluey and her sister Bingo draw out your inner child, and Mum and Dad resemble the parents you wish you had and immediately want to emulate. Bluey can be summed up with two words: wonder and wholesome. Joe Brumm has created a series that has escaped the drudgery of modern kids shows. There are so many series, animated, live, drama, comedy, thriller, or action that seem to hire competent writers who understand how to tell an engaging story. Bluey has raised the bar for every show out there with an immutable approach; respect your characters by including them in a story they belong in.
This show is an international treasure that will prompt parents to embrace their own children with new found love, respect, and admiration. Parenting is not easy, but Bluey is ready and waiting to help guide even the most lackluster among us. Joe Brumm has created the greatest kids shows in decades, and my kids and I can’t wait for Season 4. Pass the pavlova, Bluey is magic!
Clockwise from center: Bluey, Bingo, Chole, Coco, and Snickers.