Bluey: How a kids’ show about anthropomorphic Blue Heelers changed my life

It was a random day when I had TweetDeck up, as I always do. I saw a tweet from fellow Millersville alum Dan Good about this groundbreakingly popular kids show in Australia called Bluey. Why did I click that story? I have no idea. I did anyway.

It told the tale of a family of Blue Heeler dogs that live a typical Australian lifestyle in Brisbane, and that’s about it. That, and it was for kids. There’s no reason it should appeal to a 30-year-old single guy. And yet, something about the animation style reeled me in. I watched a preview of The Weekend and I was immediately hooked.

I never expected a show to deal with bathroom business so fully and completely, that’s for sure. Nor did I expect the word “reprobates” out of a dad in a kids’ cartoon, but I appreciated it. I grew to love these characters like they were my own family.

My first full episode was Keepy Uppy. And then I was immediately entranced. There was something so absolutely organic about this family. It seemed so real, and not ham fisted, or made like a “where’s the thing? there’s the thing!” call and response kind of thing. It was beautiful. It was made for everyone.

Bluey, adventurous and playful, yet bossy. Bingo, eccentric and imaginative, yet shy. Bandit, tremendous and bombastic, yet flawed. Chilli, caring and tender, yet incomplete. The other episodes, Magic Xylophone and Shadowlands completely capture what it is to live from a kid’s standpoint and an adult’s standpoint: NO ONE HAS THE ANSWERS. And that’s okay.

My therapist and I talked about this show at my last session. “It makes you feel safe, doesn’t it?” As someone who was bullied for being different, I find I put my eggs in the basket of Bingo. I was the little sibling. I followed my brother’s lead. I was bullied for being different at school (a plot point we see come up in an episode called Bin Night, which we’ll get to). I was shy. I never wanted to take the lead. I never had the confidence.

This show has legitimately changed my life and I can’t shut up about it. Seriously. I can’t. Everyone knows I adore this show, its characters, its themes, its lore, its everything. A lot of the protagonists of the shows back in my day on Nick Jr. were just one-dimensional. I don’t remember a lot of character depth to Steve on Blue’s Clues, or Rupert from…Rupert.

Yet every character on Bluey has motivation. Heart. And most importantly, weakness. Every one of them is seen failing even in the best of intentions, young or old. It keeps harkening back to the point that no one has the answers, and we make the most of what we have.

Bluey and Bingo’s cousin, Muffin, for example, is a complete terror. She’s a three year old with big feelings. Like, really big feelings.

She’s just trying to process how to be. It teaches the kids how to compromise, and the parents how to handle shaping those feelings more constructively. In the episode Library, she is told by her father, Stripe, that she is the most special kid in the world. So, Muffin decides to ignore all of the rules and completely piss off her cousins.

Bluey loses her mind on Muffin, and that doesn’t help. Dejected, the kids turn to the parents, and realize there needs to be a compromise, but it had to come from Stripe himself. He had to tell Muffin a harsh truth…

“You’re special to me and your mum. We love you more than anything. But you’re probably not special to everyone else. So you have to follow the same rules as everyone, okay?” They were able to sort out the problem, and all grow together. It’s a beautiful moment.

Would you ever expect PAW Patrol or Gullah Gullah Island to talk about humility so blatantly? Not in a million years!

Bluey has changed my life. It opened up my heart to recognize that we’ll all stumble, no matter our age, and we’ll all get up and go. Like Chilli says in The Show, have a little cry, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and keep going. The show must go on. It showed me the value of communication on a strong, emotional level, and remaining present.

The deconstruction of moments such as the tear-inducing Camping moment (Bluey fans know the one)…the lesson being, you may never see someone special to you ever again, but remember the moments that they were there were special, and those made you happy. Recognizing the value of what you had was worth it. I’ve had many goodbyes and see-you-laters in my career, moving from place to place, and I don’t know when I’ll see the people I care about, but that episode spoke to me.

Most importantly, let’s talk about two episodes in particular: Bin Night, and easily the best episode in the series, Sleepytime.

On its face, Bin Night seems super simple. Kids help dad take the trash out and talk about their day. To me, it’s the detail in this episode that sticks out. Over time, the little plant on the Heelers’ patio keeps growing. The moon’s phases shift. Bluey gets a little bit better at the recorder. Bingo gets guidance from her teacher. Bluey gets her yellow belt at karate. And, it culminates in one moment that hit me. Hard.

Bingo is being made fun of at school for her appearance by a new classmate and one of her friends. Bandit takes a knee, listens to her, and pulls her in for a hug, in the rain. I feel it in my chest every time I see this hug. Poor Bingo.

An episode about what seems to be such a trivial task turns into a lesson on how to care…how to listen. It’s about the carousel of progress. We all try to get better one step at a time. We learn from each other. We feed off of each other’s strengths and build each other up. It’s a masterclass.

The show’s best moments come out in Sleepytime. It is, bar none, the best episode of an animated series I’ve ever seen in my life. What Ludo Studios packed into seven minutes is beyond incredible. The simple mission of sleeping in your own bed is turned into a planetary adventure, to the tune of Gustav Holst’s “Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity.”

Bingo, after losing her stuffed bunny, Floppy, who wanted to join its own kind as the rings of Saturn, cries out in loneliness. Mum, who has been displaced from her bed thanks to Bluey, is now in Bluey’s bed. She hears Bingo crying across the room, and immediately comforts her with a big hug.

In Bingo’s dream world, she is is shot forward on a comet, in cinematography reminiscent of 2001: A Space Odyssey’s “Star Gate” scene. She hurtles towards the sun, and scampers up the side of Mercury. The violins stir. And then the episode hits you with an emotional haymaker you don’t see coming. Chilli’s voice echoes from the ether, and says…

“Remember, I’ll always be here for you. Even if you can’t see me. Because I love you.”

I cried. I’m not afraid to say that I did. It is an absolutely beautiful, tender moment that is the inflection point of an already incredible episode. If I ever have the privilege of being a parent someday, I can only hope that I can show my love this way.

I never intend to stop watching this show. Yes, I get made fun of for it, clearly. I’m not in its target demo. There is so much more I want to say, but I’d drone on forever. The music is dynamite. It’s funny. It’s heartwarming. It was named one of the top 100 sitcoms of all freaking time by Rolling Stone magazine. Let that sink in. This is a show meant for kids.

Bluey changed my life. I hope it will change yours too, if you give it a chance. You can watch it on the Disney Channel, or on Disney+ in the United States.