24 ms·

How Australia’s ‘Bluey’ conquered children’s entertainment

320 points by propter_hoc 3y ago

rfarley04 3y ago
Pay walled but I assume it's "somethingsomething parents actually like watching it too." Since that seems to be everyone's reaction, including mine. My 20 something sister with no kid watches it.
- propter_hoc 3y ago
  Here's an archive link: https://archive.is/ArnbD https://archive.is/ArnbD Pretty much spot on, it has a couple funny quotes like the Bluey episode about a cricket match beating the ratings of the actual cricket match, and how the ABC (Australia's BBC) gave the international rights to the British BBC (which was a rather colossal mistake).
- zellyn 3y ago
  Agreed. It's also just beautiful.
- I_Am_Nous 3y ago
  I love Bluey. I was raised with Heeler dogs so that was major for my initial openness to the show. I may like the show more than my son does even!
- meristohm 3y ago
  That's been my experience; my spouse and I watched three seasons of Bluey, maybe 80% after our child went to bed. It's a visual parenting manual.
  - sheepscreek 3y ago
    > It's a visual parenting manual. Haha - this is what I told someone the other day. Brandon (Bluey’s dad) is a source of inspiration for me. I’ve put his lighthearted parenting tricks to work with much success!
    - lotsofpulp 3y ago
      Bluey’s dad’s name is Bandit.
      - hipadev23 3y ago
        Paul, haha, that’s a person name!
    - imp0cat 3y ago
      Like the game of silence, right? That's pure gold! "Now let's see if you can stay silent until you turn 13." :D
    - unwind 3y ago
      In Sweden he is called Billy, probably because "bandit" means gangster/thug/criminal, kinda. Most other names of main characters are unchanged, I think. We really love Bluey.
greenyoda 3y ago
https://archive.ph/ArnbD https://archive.ph/ArnbD
mensetmanusman 3y ago
So wholesome!
bennyg 3y ago
My only problem with Bluey is actually a problem with the Disney+ app on my Vizio TV. The episodes are all fairly short, but then there’s like 5m of credits before the next episode starts and it’s kind of annoying to manually fast forward through them via remote. I often reach for stuff on Netflix just so the next episode will auto play after a few seconds instead of requiring actual manual intervention to keep the little ones out of my hair while making dinner.
- jojobas 3y ago
  Instant gratification or bust!
- alberth 3y ago
  As a parent I like it. It’s just enough time for my kiddo to learn the value of patience. But not so long, that I need to fast forward.
  - hackernewds 3y ago
    do we assign too much meaning and value to every child interaction?
    - alberth 3y ago
      Do you have kids yourself?
    - JoeAltmaier 3y ago
      Not really possible. Children are sponges, learning everything they will carry into adulthood from childhood say six through twelve. After that, good luck. Any veteran parent can give many examples of early interactions that ended up molding their children forever.
  - bombcar 3y ago
    My four year old already knows how to use the remote to skip commercials and credits, turn the tv on himself, and find what he wants. Hasn’t figured out the voice controlled outlet the TV is plugged into yet.
seized 3y ago
As a parent it's just a genuinely nice show to watch. There is so much complete crap out there now that Bluey is a breath of fresh air. A few others are good fun as well like Grizzy and The Lemmings. But Bluey reigns supreme. Although I wish the phone game didn't have in app purchases. At least the Bluey video game on Steam is good and without in app purchases or micro transaction nonsense.
- JumpCrisscross 3y ago
  > so much complete crap out there now that Bluey is a breath of fresh air Out of curiosity, as a non-parent, what makes it crap?
  - Caligatio 3y ago
    I'm not the OP so I don't know what they define as "crap." However, there is a lot of programming out there that solely exists to keep children's attention while doing nothing with it. The most egregious example that comes to mind is the CoComelon channel on YouTube: literally 1-2 hour videos of nursery rhymes with mediocre animation. It's not some small channel either; one of their 2+ hour videos has 484M views.
    - rich_sasha 3y ago
      Cocomelon is seriously the elite of YouTube. And fine for small kids I think, who wouldn't understand things like Bluey. All the messages are around "be nice", "share", "say please and thank you". There's lots of videos of kids unpacking presents, or having tantrums to get what they want, or weird videos of adults shouting at children... Or videos showing people play computer games for hours on end.
      - AndrewDucker 3y ago
        Yeah, it's fine to distract a two year old with.
        deleted 3y ago
jes5199 3y ago
I love Bluey but my kid won’t actually watch it. I wonder how common that is
- granshaw 3y ago
  Yeah she much prefers cocomelon!
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- derwiki 3y ago
  Blue’s Clues (Steve era) is the top preference for my toddler
- vp8989 3y ago
  Totally common IME. Bluey is for the parents. Kids like it but don't love it.
DanHulton 3y ago
Bluey, I honestly believe, is a show for adults (more specifically parents, but, you know, parents are adults) that kids can also enjoy. Like, traditionally, the "best" kid's media from an adult point of view has been kids shows that are also enjoyable for adults, but Bluey is genuinely the opposite. There are episodes where it feels like the entire point is to get the adults in the room misty-eyed and sniffling, and it all relies on contexts that younger children just absolutely wouldn't have - but they'd still have a good time! And while Bluey and Bingo (the kids on the show) frequently learn lessons, as you'd expect from educational children's media, those lessons are almost always coupled with examples from Bandit and Chilli (the parents) on how to constructively _teach_ those lessons. (Not to mention, a bunch of episodes are just straight-up the parents learning lessons, while the kids are just being kids and having fun.) For me, it fills the niche that Bob's Burgers used to fill - an example of a family that's quirky but genuinely loves one another, and communicates (both their love and in general) to move past situations that could become much more serious without it. (Bob's Burgers has fallen off -- to me -- because the characters feel a lot more like caricatures of their earlier selves and most modern episodes seem to rely on one or more characters carrying the "idiot ball" to make anything happen, but that's a rant for another time.) My wife and I watch an episode every night after dinner to relax after stressful days (two episodes on the really stressful ones) and it's just... Its' very good. We always feel better by the time the credits roll. We've watched a few episodes with kids and they have a good time, but we've also watched a few episodes with other adults, and it's catharsis. It's on another level entirely. I can't imagine what it's going to be like for kids who grew up watching Bluey, to rewatch it as an adult and catch the entire other level it works on. I'm jealous. <3
- JumpCrisscross 3y ago
  > a show for adults (more specifically parents, but, you know, parents are adults) that kids can also enjoy I think this is what gives Disney, and every epic kids’ show, intergenerational momentum.
- hdhfjkrkrme 3y ago
  Since some parents actively control what their kids watch it makes sense to create a show optimized for that niche - you increase parent appeal, but this will decrease kids appeal, so now you have an optimization problem to solve. It would be interesting to see a chart with kids preferences - I bet kids enjoy Bluey far less than other shows since it's not optimized for them, but for parents. When I was a kid it was a free market - I had a bunch of channels with a bunch of cartoons and I chose which ones to watch. If you think about it, kids crack like addiction to cartoons doesn't make sense to adults (there are theories), so that raises questions if adults can pick for kids, and not for what they imagine kids would enjoy.
bobse 3y ago
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jboggan 3y ago
Bluey is a godsend in our household. It's not annoying and the amount of classical and original music woven into each episode is wonderful. There's one particular episode - "Sleepytime" - which I cannot bring myself to watch anymore because I get so emotional. Every parent I talk to with young kids who has seen the episode agrees and knows what I mean. It's really that good, and despite being a fun little show there are a lot of episodes that are actually art. I'll add that although the kids in the show sometimes get up to mischief, they never do anything that I don't mind my own toddler emulating. My child now rings her xylophone, commands the rest of the family to freeze, and we have fun playing along.
- dclowd9901 3y ago
  My wife will run in from the other room to skip “Sleepytime” because she knows she’ll be bawling by the end of it if she even thinks about it. Does me the favor because I will be too. My endorsement of the show is that it feels like one of the great sitcoms like Cheers or Frasier, Golden Girls or Roseanne. The stories are never pandering or simple. You never quite know where they’re going to go with a plot line so when it lands, you’re often delightfully surprised or floored. Most kids shows seem like a low effort afterthought full of contrived vapid nonsense. As far as I’m concerned my kids can watch as much Bluey as they like and I’ll buy the shit out of their merch if it signals to other networks to get off their asses. Forgot to mention the animation in the show is absolutely some of the best I’ve ever seen in a cartoon. I really appreciate the way the show models real physics as things would be in the real world. One of my biggest pet peeves of kids shows is when they show something that is physically impossible (not for comedic purpose, just lazy storytelling). It’s basically just thumbing its nose at kids’ intelligence.
  - hdhfjkrkrme 3y ago
    > Most kids shows seem like a low effort afterthought full of contrived vapid nonsense. Kids brain is not adult brain. You need a different kind of training material.
    - dclowd9901 3y ago
krupan 3y ago
Just watched The Wiggles documentary on Netflix. They were big when my kids were young and they are from Australia. I have heard of Bluey but didn't know it was also from Australia. They know something about kid shows there, apparently.
- guidedlight 3y ago
  The Australian government runs a fully funded free-to-air children's TV channel, called ABC Kids. Without knowing much about what other countries are doing, I can probably assume it one of the best children's content creators of its kind in the world. The channel is required to make a certain percentage of Australian content, and without the need to worry about advertising, subscriber numbers and merchandising revenue, it has become a haven of local creativity. I think Australia also struggles to find global audiences, as in some ways the world is still recovering from Australian craze global audiences had in the 90's (Crocodile Dundee, Crocodile Hunter, Mad Max, etc). So finding a new audience with children is perfect.
  - alephnerd 3y ago
    > Without knowing much about what other countries are doing The US has PBS Kids. They produced plenty of shows like Bluey, such as Arthur, Dragon Tales, Clifford the Big Red Dog and Sesame Street, and a bunch of others. Idk what the lineup is like today though, my experience is from the 90s-2000s. In Canada, CBC also had CBC Kids, but the content was garbage and not young children friendly, so most parents ended up having us watch PBS or Family Channel (what Disney Channel was called in Canada) instead. The UK has CBeebies on BBC which had fairly decent content, and often co-produced with PBS.
29athrowaway 3y ago
The family lives in a mansion and their entire life is about playing and exploring all the time. What a great way to prepare the next generation for a life where most real estate will be beyond reach for most families. And where most parents work all the time and are tired on weekends. The series has a good soundtrack and voice acting. The mobile game is fine. The Nintendo Switch game is disappointing.
- aaronbrethorst 3y ago
  You're right: we should only expose our children to content that makes them appreciate that they will not have to be Dickensian beggars or cutpurses.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- objectivetruth 3y ago
  [dead]
- imp0cat 3y ago
  That's Australia for you. Also, isn't Bandit (Bluey's dad) pretty much the definition of "And where most parents work all the time and are tired on weekends."? Except he's tired pretty much all the time.
laingc 3y ago
As the father of two young daughters, I adore Bluey. Quite apart from how good the episodes are for adults, I really enjoy the following aspects: 1. It portrays wholesome and positive family relationships, particularly between father and daughters. The girls are also good to one another, with occasional conflict kindly and realistically resolved. 2. It tells simple stories without pushing political messages. Unfortunately, children’s television at large has become another victim of the culture wars, with heavy-handed social messages infecting what should be simple cartoons. Bluey is something I can trust. 3. I don’t have to expose my kids to American accents. They’ll have more than enough of that from regular programming when they grow up.
- JumpCrisscross 3y ago
  > children’s television at large has become another victim of the culture wars Out of curiosity, as a non-parent, do any galling examples come to mind?
  - jimbob45 3y ago
    [flagged]
    - rokkamokka 3y ago
      LGBTQ is not a political message... It's a message of acceptance
      - klyrs 3y ago
        As long as acceptance is a political firebomb, I will continue to throw it. And good for Blue's Clues for doing the same.
      - JumpCrisscross 3y ago
        To be fair, there are subtler ways of communicating acceptance. The Bluey way would seem to be having a couple at the playground that the kids maybe ask about. Or maybe they don’t! They just coëxist peacefully because it’s no more remarkable than them having a different skin tone. Different framing from a drag show, which I can see someone preferring without being homophobic.
dexwiz 3y ago
Kids shows teach lessons, but Bluey has all sorts of compassionate parenting lessons. I would love to be as good as a father as Bandit. My favorite scene is him assembling flat pack furniture without reading the instructions, proudly declaring he won’t take advice from a cartoon dog.
- dclowd9901 3y ago
  There’s some really fun “blink and you’ll miss it” jokes in the show. At some point, one of the kids is acting like a dog, and I think Chili asks Bandit “what is she doing?” And he replies “I have no idea.”
  - notaustinpowers 3y ago
    My 2 faves are 1) "Whale Watching" when Bandit and Chili are clearly hungover from an NYE party. and 2) in the episode "Perfect" when Bandit and Fido are talking about getting a vasectomy but Chili wants to keep her options open. It was risque enough that they re-dubbed it for America but the subtitles are still from the original recording.
- tclancy 3y ago
  >I would love to be as good as a father as Bandit. Man, make sure you don't kill yourself trying! I always think the other parents in the neighborhood want him to dial it back so they don't look bad.
timeimp 3y ago
The best part is how people are learning that the Disney+ version is censored. Yes, a childrens show is censored, in current year. Why? Because some jokes don't play well with adults, even though they go right over kids heads. Have a Google for "Bluey censored" to see what I mean!
- grendelt 3y ago
  Quite a few of those drew an eye-roll from me. https://www.fatherly.com/entertainment/banned-censored-bluey-episodes https://www.fatherly.com/entertainment/banned-censored-bluey... A couple of them I can understand (like being safe, not showing kids to slide on a wet tile floor), some I can see parents being appreciative for not having to answer questions about certain topics --- but some "edits" like cutting out farting seems a bit too over the top. My preschooler has just discovered farting and thinks it is _hilarious_ (because it is!). I'm proud as can be, but Mom just rolls her eyes. Proud dad here.
  - timeimp 3y ago
    I find it sad that even showing kids sliding on the wet tile floor is edited for "being safe" - let them learn why its a bad thing to do in the security of home!
  - Rebelgecko 3y ago
    It's ironic that they pulled an episode for using a term that is offensive to indigenous Australians and "fixed" it by releasing a version where the phrase was replaced with a racial slur for Italian people
    - pcthrowaway 3y ago
      Interesting.. I've always associated "ooga booga" with cavemen or proto-humans; didn't realize there were racial connotations
      - defrost 3y ago
lettergram 3y ago
Bluey is just a wholesome show focused on showing good role models. Much of the kids TV today is just trying to distract them, Bluey teaches lessons about family and is entertaining for adults too. Reminds me of shows like Little Bear or Magic School bus. Teaching kids about topics, while entertaining them and modeling good behavior. One other interesting note: all the home schooled families around us (from the hippy commune to survivalists, left & right) rave about Bluey. So it has a very good cross ideological / cultural appeal (given the global audience). Ultimately, I think it’s because it hits on a deep truth about supporting one another - that everyone can connect with and want to pass to the next generation.
stephen_g 3y ago
One thing that I appreciate about Bluey, apart from the other things people have commented on, is that the animation style is very aesthetically pleasing. So many kids shows have the exact same 3D CGI style, and some of them honestly look just uncanny-valley creepy. Another thing that most people wouldn't experience is seeing episodes set in places I might have been in the last couple of weeks. It's obviously stylised and interpretive, but a lot of the buildings and places are very accurately represented!
- TavsiE9s 3y ago
  Absolutely agree with that. Peppa Pig? Can't stand the animations.
- jncfhnb 3y ago
  It’s because it’s cheaper. I don’t think uncanny is the right word. It’s just bad. The depth and lighting is just wrong.
monkeydreams 3y ago
One of favourite Bluey facts is that the Dad is an archaeologist and the Mother works airport security. One digs up bones and the other sniffs for drugs.
- nightowl_games 3y ago
  Never made that connection! Thats hilarious
  - slipperlobster 3y ago
    Strangely enough, there seem to be a lot of hidden references and callbacks in Bluey. Just one source I found: https://www.reddit.com/r/bluey/comments/ipi4ft/a_thread_for_callbacksmulti_episode_storylines/ https://www.reddit.com/r/bluey/comments/ipi4ft/a_thread_for_...
yardstick 3y ago
Anyone else for the longest time thought the opening title sequence[1] was just them farting their names? Turns out it’s them playing stop the music, and each character is called out as they keep dancing. Still, the names are definitely coming from farts… 1. https://youtu.be/8nv1m-aTCZI?si=gXynjB7rJpPr5Ref https://youtu.be/8nv1m-aTCZI?si=gXynjB7rJpPr5Ref
neild 3y ago
Bluey is the only show my kid loved, and never wanted to binge watch. He’d watch one or two episodes and then want to turn the TV off so we could play Silly Hotel or Keepy Uppy or Grannies. Where other shows grabbed his attention longer, Bluey always inspired him to go out and play.
- awilfox 3y ago
  I think this is the real value of imaginative shows like Bluey - it inspires kids to use their imaginations as well.
gambiting 3y ago
I feel like I'm the only parent on planet Earth that really doesn't like Bluey. Every time I watch it(which is often, my son likes it), it just seems to be promoting bad behaviour at the expense of the dad(like many other shows to be fair - looking at you Peppa Pig), including physical violence(one episode the kids decide the dad now has a stomach ache, so they punch him in the gut - and the dad just plays along with it, it's never commented on as a bad thing). And the mum keeps making reductive comments and making fun out of the dad, even though he literally drops everything the second his kids want anything. I don't know, I just don't get it. When people describe it as wholesome to me it feels like the opposite - it shows an unhealthy relationship between the kids and the parents, and I don't feel like it teaches my son any valuable lessons at all.
- awilfox 3y ago
  I don't see how there are unhealthy relationships. I will agree that Bingo's behaviour in Backpackers was unacceptable - I personally would have gently nudged her with a "don't play so rough", which would have been a great way to reverse the lesson from Yoga Ball.
- lotsofpulp 3y ago
  > including physical violence(one episode the kids decide the dad now has a stomach ache, so they punch him in the gut They are pretend playing. There is no indication Bingo meant to actually harm her dad. I pretend fight and let my toddlers beat me up, but I am sure they know only to do that when pretending.
  - gambiting 3y ago
    The core of pretend playing, is pretending. Bluey very clearly punches her dad square in the stomach, he lets out an audible sound of pain, and......nothing happens. I agree that maybe Bluey didn't actually mean to hurt her dad - but the way the scene plays out she clearly does and she isn't told about it, the dad just takes it. Because the dad is portrayed as a (in this episode - literal) punch bag who has to accept everything the kids do. No valuable lesson was shown or taught here. My opinion anyway.
jph00 3y ago
I live in the area where the show is set (the Morton Bay region north of Brisbane) and it’s delightful how many details we recognise in the show. Having lived in the US for 10 years and returning couple of years ago (with my first 30 years in Australia), I feel like Bluey does a great job of showing some key cultural differences between these countries. I’ve seen some American viewers get quite cross by what they see as a totally unrealistic portrayal of life, but things really are pretty fundamentally different over here.
- coenhyde 3y ago
  100%. Said as an Aussie who has been living in the states for a decade
- badcppdev 3y ago
  I got quite excited once because I thought I recognised Mt Beerburrum in the background of one of the Bluey episodes. I hadn't visited that area in decades.
- quink 3y ago
  Moreton Bay? Nah, their home is almost definitely around Ashgrove, Red Hill, Kelvin Grove, Paddington, somewhere around those parts. Suburbs just to the north-west of the CBD, based on having been around those a pile and having seen most of Bluey. And extrapolating from things that are inevitably close, as listed in https://blueypedia.fandom.com/wiki/Real-Life_Locations https://blueypedia.fandom.com/wiki/Real-Life_Locations And the buses aren't Translink livery, they're all blue, white, and yellow, so definitely somewhere within BCC, not Moreton Bay Region (although I shouldn't assume you meant the Moreton Bay council). That said, you could be using Moreton Bay when you really mean SEQLD anywhere north of the Brisbane River, it's been known to happen.
  - LilBytes 3y ago
    I'd say Moreton Bay was a region of Brisbane where Bluey is set, I don't think OP meant 'its from my suburb or street'.
- madeofpalk 3y ago
bitwize 3y ago
Bluey is a fair sight better than Cocomelon or Baby Shark, I'll say that much. I haven't had much chance to see much of it, but what I did see I liked. It's not all happy, singsongy, bright-colored drivel; the characters are well-developed and have struggles and meaningful arcs. It helps that I'm a fan of blue heelers, the real Australian shepherd (though I also love the American breed called "Australian shepherd").
- awilfox 3y ago
  > It's not all happy, singsongy, bright-colored drivel "Oh man, the songs." - Bandit, "Movies".
- defrost 3y ago
  > the real Australian shepherd Technically breed through and through to be cattle dogs. Big difference being shepherd dogs focus outwards and protect, sheep dogs work and move herds on command using eyballs and stalking body language, whereas cattle dogs are "heelers" they get in close and literally bite the heels of massive stubborn cattle that won't budge until nipped. Heelers are great dogs IF you can live with their needs - they seriously live for three to four hours of hard exercise a day, flat out running, herding, chasing, interacting. If you can't do that then don't get a heeler, they're smart and you'll pay for it. If you don't have a herd of cattle at least live 10 km from a beach and make them run after you while you bike, motorcycle, or drive slowly there. Getting a throwing stick that'll travel the lebgth of a football field and|or a tennis ball launcher is a good way to keep them moving, they'll fetch at extreme range for good few hours.
jaimex2 3y ago
Bluey is awesome, the one disappointing thing is hearing US and UK media try and modify it. A few episodes have been butchered because something was found offensive - like the kids playing cavemen and saying Ooga Booga or the parents sighing while weighing themselves on a scale. Come on! Just leave it alone and serve it as is. The creators expressed a few times he's almost had enough of edits over dumb things. They also tried to get re-dubs done to remove the Aussie accents, luckily that was pushed back on.
- cruffle_duffle 3y ago
  > They also tried to get re-dubs done to remove the Aussie accents, luckily that was pushed back on. There seems to have been a period in television where any "hard" english accent had to have an accompanying subtitle under it. Thankfully I don't seem to see this anymore. One of the things I liked about Peppa Pig was my kiddo would start to take a british accent and say things like "Ready, Steady, Go!" or "Mum"
landswipe 3y ago
Bluey is female, blew my mind when I first learnt this after watching a few episodes.
oska 3y ago
Couple of nice attention to local detail things in Bluey : 1. The internal walls of Bluey's house are timber using VJs (vertical joins), typical in Queenslanders (historical style of house in Brisbane & Queensland). 2. The panoramic shots of Bluey's house identifies it to locals as clearly situated somewhere in the city's hilly inner west, with St. Brigid's Church [1] in Red Hill identifiable, as well as Mount Coot-tha in the background. Of course, there's a lot more in the drawings that shows local detail (plants, animals, etc). The above are just two that are particularly nice for Brisbane ppl to see and recognise. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Brigid's_Church,_Red_Hill https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Brigid's_Church,_Red_Hill
awilfox 3y ago
I'm going to be honest here: Bluey means a lot to me, as a 32-year-old childless woman, because this show has really touched me in ways that may not be obvious at first: I've felt more in touch with my own imagination since I started watching Bluey. I've actually been writing music and sketching in my spare time again, which is something I haven't done since before the pandemic. It's actually helped me piece together things that I felt as a child that I never properly dealt with, or even knew how to voice back then. I've been able to find healing and peace, and articulate stuff in therapy a bit better. In general, I just feel a bit happier and a bit better after watching an episode of Bluey. Sometimes I just want to watch something to feel positive emotions without it being overly-happy fluff. There's a realism to Bluey that makes it easier for me to "let my guard down" and feel happiness. I do kind of live vicariously through Chilli, with my hope being that I can be a mum some day. Oh, and my cat now has a nickname: Muffin. Make of that what you will.
- throwaway87651 3y ago
  I hope you get to be a mum. You sound like someone thoughtful and imaginative, which are great qualities for being a parent. Infinite patience would also help - I'm still trying to develop that myself!
  - luqtas 3y ago
    [dead]
- willismichael 3y ago
  > Oh, and my cat now has a nickname: Muffin. Make of that what you will. My daughter sent me a meme with the punchline "When you think your child is Bluey but really your child is Muffin". Make of that what you will :)
  - _justinfunk 3y ago
    Can you share?
mayd 3y ago
For those who want to see quirky Australian children's television programming for older children may I suggest this? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Round_the_Twist https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Round_the_Twist
lmpdev 3y ago
One underrated aspect of the show is the backgrounds being grounded in reality I live in the city (Brisbane) the show is set in Effectively every detailed background is recognisable but tastefully selected (not shoved down the viewer’s throat) If you do ever visit Australia, take the kids to see Brisbane My partner manages front of house for the Live Action Bluey theatre show, she was the first person to put Bluey on my radar (we have no children) The live action show was so popular they’ve recently just put it on for a second session The kids get to watch Bluey inside the QPAC building (a common background in the show, next to the Eye of Brisbane)
bknight1983 3y ago
The beauty of Bluey is that, for me at least, all the games were games we played as kids (keepy uppy, shadowlands, mucking around in the stream). Now my kid wants to play these games (and not be on a screen) and I get to play again. Everyone wins
anotherevan 3y ago
Something else that is kind of awesome is you occasionally get posts on the /r/australia Reddit group along the lines of, "I saw this on Bluey, do you really do that in Australia?" E.g. https://old.reddit.com/r/australia/comments/16a8s6d/clothes_dryers/ https://old.reddit.com/r/australia/comments/16a8s6d/clothes_...
_chu1 3y ago
My niece likes this show and I had never heard of it before. When I was a kid I liked cartoons that were on the air like 5-10 years before because even when I was 5 I found newer cartoons annoying. This one was pretty neat though and I agree it's refreshing after seeing the slop on the screen blasting from iPad kids. One thing I really appreciate is that it's quiet, the characters are soft spoken, stock sounds don't play constantly, there isn't constant music, it's simple and doesn't make my head hurt.
programmertote 3y ago
A bit tangential but also related -- I grew up watching 'Adventures of the Gummi Bears' back in the late 80s and early 90s. Recently, I came across it on Disney+ and re-watched it. I was pleasantly surprised that some of the episodes are teaching kids good (again, subjective) morals and behaviors. The language is never crass even when the characters are upset (meaning it's a good thing to teach kids). I liked it so much that I re-watched all of the six seasons twice. Now that I saw this article and discussion, I'll be trying Bluey next.
mgd 3y ago
The most interesting part for me is the relationship with the parents and children. Compared to what I was brought up with (The Simpsons etc) it's nice that children are not only taught interesting values but also what the values of parents are
- coenhyde 3y ago
  It's cool to see Australian values & parenting techniques propagating into American society. Our conquest will be complete soon :)
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- paradox460 3y ago
  There's a YouTube video essay I watched a month or so back that touched on this. It looked at parental figures throughout the history of television and used them as a reflection for generational ideals of what a parent should be The boomers parents made shows like Father knows best, leave it to beaver, etc, where the father was an almost unimpeachable authority figure. Boomers (and gen x) made shows like the Simpsons and family guy, where the oaf father comes in, and family is mostly viewed as dysfunctional, an obligation rather than something to be enjoyed. Gen x produced shows like Bob's burgers which removes some of the physical violence of the family but maintains the Father as an aloof oafish character. And millennial fathers, as depicted by TV, are like bandit. The oaf is gone, but so is the dictatorial authority figure. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRN5gKC9_CU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRN5gKC9_CU
maztaim 3y ago
As a parent, I love watching all the episodes. My 5 year old also loves watching it. One of the few good children shows that has great entertainment with great values for all. My favorites are always the grannies ("Oh no, my coins!"). My wife loves "Fairytale" because we both grew up in a far off place called the 80s and can relate to all of it.
- mywacaday 3y ago
  The episode where the mother tries to get her father to slow down and take care of himself because she knows he won't be around forever is a hard watch since my mother passed away. Also where the kids jump on the dads groin by accident and all you see is a raised eyebrow and a very slight groan is one all dad's can appreciate. A truly wonderful show.
nightowl_games 3y ago
It's truly a show about parenting. It covers realistic themes about parenting. It's very well written. With childrens shows, it's easy to make a show appeal to kids. Cocomelon is basically loved by every child ever, but its so annoying to parents. Bluey is great because the parents like it.
- larrymyers 3y ago
  It's a great show that demonstrates how to play with your kids. Though I do appreciate the episodes where the parents are exhausted, or must do chores, instead of playing with their kids.
  - drunner 3y ago
    Showing the parents at the end of their ropes is really great to see. I love their pixar style adult only quips that get added from time to time. In the claw episode for example, Bandit (the dad) says `Magic Claw has no children. His days are free and easy` and it always cracks me up.
ceedan 3y ago
Bluey is great and we love it, but I do have to say that it is not as directly beneficial for very young children as something like Daniel Tiger. Daniel Tiger has episodes that directly and clearly address things that young children are going through (little siblings, using the bathroom, managing emotions, etc). Bluey has episodes that address those things but does so in ways that are less direct and comprehensible for a pre-school child. Many Bluey episodes are more for the parents, than the children. Bluey will be with us long after our last Daniel Tiger episode is watched.
- navbaker 3y ago
  I will be singing “if you have to go potty STOP! and go right away” until the day I die.
  - ceedan 3y ago
    Were a "tactical wee" household which is a reference to the Fruit Bat episode of Bluey. The Daniel Tiger potty song & book is gaining traction with our youngest, though
- wharvle 3y ago
  I know it's a little thing, Daniel Tiger's very-heavy autotune on all the singing (and there's a lot of singing) drives me nuts. I'd be shocked if Fred Rogers would have been OK with it. Young kids should hear natural singing voices in media aimed directly at them.
- feoren 3y ago
  Daniel Tiger is so much more difficult to watch as an adult, but I have to give it credit for its potty training episode: that was a huge help when trying to potty train our 2.5-year-old. So I definitely agree that a targeted application of Daniel Tiger can really help, and also easier to digest for a pre-schooler. However, I do think that having complex messages that aren't easy to understand is probably important for young children. "The world is a complicated place" is a lesson I wish even more adults understood. And I've learned that children may show no comprehension of something the first few times they hear it, but it's in there, making connections, shaping the brain as it grows. I can't tell you how many times I've told my daughter something I thought went way over her head (and did, at first), but randomly came out again months later. So by all means go for the simple Daniel Tiger message when it helps them through a problem they're having. But don't underestimate their capacity for deeply integrating ideas from everything they see and hear -- and I love Bluey for being by far the best young kids' show for them to integrate into their brains.
sandworm101 3y ago
Does anyone else note the underlying racial component? All the dog families seem to be purebred. I don't remember seeing any mutts, any mixed-race dogs. And there are a few references to certain breeds of dog being better at certain things. I'm sure it is totally unintentional and probably cuts on dialoged by identifying which kids are from which parents, but it did strike me as odd.
- namdnay 3y ago
  having specific breeds and colours for each family makes it a lot easier to track what's going on. for the same reasons that peppa pig doesn't have 8 different types of big cats
- cruffle_duffle 3y ago
  > And there are a few references to certain breeds of dog being better at certain things. I mean, different dog breeds have different talents. In Bluey, the Sausage Dog has his moment where he can't run very well but he can roll (at least I think that was how it went). All the different dog breeds get get to use their special talents.
  - evan_ 3y ago
    Pomeranians are a small but hardy breed! I don't really think the different breeds of dogs are supposed to be taken as different human ethnicities or whatever, I think it's just a shorthand to show that kids can be different in all kinds of ways and have fun together. Athletic kids, bookworms, social butterflies, introverts, adventurous, and yes different cultures/ethnicities/religions/etc
- evan_ 3y ago
  I mean Bandit and Chili are different (though related) breeds and the kids each have traits from their parents... Bluey has her dad's coloration and mom's spots, and Bingo is orange like her mother but otherwise looks like Bandit.
ashton314 3y ago
Has anyone else noticed that “Camping” is basically the Star Trek TNG episode Darmok? Bluey meets a French dog named Jean-Luc. They construct some shelter together and have to hunt a monster. (I.e. Bandit pretending to be a wild boar.) They find a way to communicate despite speaking different languages. One leaves. Shaka, when the walls fell. In the end, Muffin, her scream echoing—Bluey and Jean-Luc, their tails wagging! (My wife who’s not really an Trekkie pointed this out to me. Also there’s another read about Jean-Luc’s departure as death and an eventual reunion in the afterlife when we will all finally understand each other. Read it as you like it.)
- longwave 3y ago
  I love it when kids shows do things like this. The BBC show Hey Duggee has an episode called The River Badge which is a homage to Apocalypse Now, recreating a number of similar scenes and pieces of dialogue. Other episodes have references to other movies that kids won't know but that are great fun for adults when they notice.
- xyzzy_plugh 3y ago
  Wow. Thanks, I can't unsee this now. Chilli's wisdom definitely hits hard if you have full context. The ending of this episode (and even the book version) nearly brings me to tears every time.
ursuscamp 3y ago
Bluey blew me away when I saw it with my daughter. It's sweet, positive, emotional, well written. It's not the slightest bit cynical, handles every issue with tact, doesn't contain heavy handed messaging and has traditional values. It also has a very positive two parent dynamic. This is an absolute unicorn of a show. Note: my usage of "traditional values" is not meant to evoke anything political or intended to be interpreted from a culture war lens. I just mean it positively portrays a family dynamic that can be universally appreciated.
- KnlnKS 3y ago
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- pylua 3y ago
  It also sets the bar very high for parents.
  - pipes 3y ago
    Is that a bad thing? (I'm a parent and I love it)
  - cfiggers 3y ago
    Yes—in an encouraging way.
    - williamcotton 3y ago
      Eh, well, I dunno. I’ve got kids and I don’t personally let them give me as much crap as Bluey and Bingo do. Like, if they’re running up to the screen at a kids movie I’m taking them home. There’s other people in the theatre to consider. Kids need boundaries along with compassion, and yes, I know that there are the odd Bluey episodes that deal with boundaries, not getting what you want, etc… …but there’s a lot of what seems like the kids just steamrolling their parents. That’s not sustainable for me. Being a parent is like having two full time jobs. It’s hard enough as it is to just get through the day. The bar is set a little too high. But hey, my wife and I agree with this, so y’all do you! I’m sure most of our kids will probably turn out just fine no matter how much we model ourselves after Bandit and Chili. I think it is a wonderful show regardless. Edit: Knowing the average age in this industry, I have the distinct feeling that quite a few people who are not parents are involving themselves in these discussions and moderations. Just wait. I'm offering a realistic viewpoint positioned against a cartoon. And I'm not being a jerk about it.
johnnythunder 3y ago
Also interesting is the strangeness of the theme song time signature and game that goes along with it! https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/people-are-just-noticing-that-the-bluey-theme-song-is-actually-a-secret-game-and-its-blowing-parents-minds/articleshow/99738526.cms https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/people-are... https://eightify.app/summary/music-and-performance/decoding-the-time-signature-of-the-bluey-theme-q-a https://eightify.app/summary/music-and-performance/decoding-...
ramesh31 3y ago
Millenials and Gen Xers (the cohort of which are now raising young children) were raised in a cultural wasteland of sarcasm and irony poisoning, that arose as a response to the perceived "campiness" or naivety of sincere art. And we were force fed it for decades until our "guffaws" and recognition of it were habitual, instinctive, and always expected. Nothing could possibly ever be funny without being hyper self-aware and critical of everything. The reason these new shows are connecting with us now is precisely because of their outright rejection of this. Sometimes things can just be nice, and fun, and good, and there's no smirk to the camera, or higher level joke being made. It just is. Postmodern meta-irony is out. Radical sincerity is in.
- hydrok9 3y ago
  And we thought we were so clever :,)
Arubis 3y ago
I'm also a girl dad (ages 3 and 4) and Bluey is a total favorite in our (mountain west US) household. In utter contrast to the singsongy dreck of CocoMelon and its imitators, our kids actually take away memorable lessons they enjoy (going to bed like a big girl, like Bingo!), and my wife and I regularly comment that we'd watch the show on our own without the kids for its sheer relatability. It's an absolute gem, folks. If you're so inclined, we found a nice cake topper on Etsy for _my own_ birthday this year: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1481048560/inspired-bluey-caketopper-kids-birthday?click_key=5ff4b0b198916700441721c3ec58fb2fecc8ab13%3A1481048560&click_sum=6c23c2ef&ga_search_query=bluey&ref=shop_items_search_1 https://www.etsy.com/listing/1481048560/inspired-bluey-caket... turns out to be easily adapted to read "Turning 40" rather than "Turning 4". Super cute & the girls adored it.
- natpalmer1776 3y ago
  I love the cake topper idea! Saving this for my next birthday :)
eggy 3y ago
Love this show! Although the Dad never seems to work, plays all day, and sets the bar pretty high for me especially on the last 2 of my 5 children. I'm out of steam. I too succumb to the emotional episodes, and I am grateful for every tear I share with my kids! I grew up watching Bugs Bunny, Davy and Goliath, Gumby, and All in the Family as a young kid for a contrast!
- xuther 3y ago
  I love that they even address that in one of the episodes. In Tickle Crabs: Bluey: "You're always at work!" Bandit: "I'm never at work!" What a gem of a show, though yes, it does set the bar pretty high. Though on the plus side I can now burst into a room shout "It's Dad" and my 4 year old will reliably slow clap and then burst into laughter :P
  - drunner 3y ago
    Mine is 'Whats up party people' which he also uses in multiple episodes.
- xyzzy_plugh 3y ago
  You have to read between the lines and pickup the hints but they both work, ostensibly. There are plenty of episodes where the kids are at daycare/with family that imply the parents are working. Many episodes take place on weekends, and I get the impression the mom sometimes works on weekends. I will say that Bandit definitely gives off a vibe of being flexible, but I never got the impression it's deliberate. He cares more about his kids than work. At least, that's my interpretation.
- thepasswordis 3y ago
  There's a whole episode about dad having to working and the kids bothering him while he does!
aetherson 3y ago
Here's a somewhat embarrassing admission: I never appreciated Holst's "The Planets" until I saw it used (particularly "Jupiter") in a Bluey episode.
- feoren 3y ago
  Jupiter is a masterpiece. Mars is fine. Honestly the rest of the Planets Suite is kind of a pass unless you're studying music. Of course Jupiter is the one they remix ("arrange"?) in Bluey.
  - aetherson 3y ago
    Yeah, I think that part of my problem is I often heard people talk about Mars, so I tried to use that as my entrypoint into the suite, and to my ear Jupiter is much better.
contemporary343 3y ago
Bluey is great. For younger ones, Tumble Leaf (sadly now discontinued) is also wonderful - clay-mation, gentle with lovely music and promoting a sense of discovery.
- larrymyers 3y ago
  I had almost forgotten about Tumbleleaf. Such a gem of a show. The submarine episodes really stand out.
jnsie 3y ago
> achieving a level of poignancy alongside its humour This quote about a particular episode sums up Bluey for me. It's tremendously well written - funny to both kids and adults alike, and often hits you in the feels. It's genuinely good TV.
smusamashah 3y ago
We don't let our toddler watch Bluey. You can't show characters fighting verbally or physically and then later explain. You CAN NOT EXPLAIN to kids. If they see something being done, it can be done. So no Bluey for my kid.
- 0xbadcafebee 3y ago
  Because your kid is never going to see humans fighting in real life? Kids don't fight other kids until they see other people fighting first? Play fighting is normal human behavior. In the show they can see the characters resolve their differences and make up. Not so much with the lady in the checkout line screaming, or the dude fighting the other dude outside wal-mart for the last playstation 7. Bluey is probably the last thing in the universe that's going to screw your kid up.
  - smusamashah 3y ago
    My argument against that is that it's too soon for a 2.5yo kid. Play fighting is natural, agreed, but i still believe doing it with the kid yourself or with siblings (no exp with that as of now) is OK, but seeing it on TV I don't expect my kid to understand that its normal play fighting and he can do everything that he is seeing on TV. Glorifying and actually showing bad behaviour in a bad light is already a problem even for adults' TV. I can not expect kids to take the right message from their cartoons. Again, i am only saying this not an appropriate show for a kid this age. When he grows up to age where I can sit and explain/teach him things I'll be OK with a much wider type of media consumption.
    - 0xbadcafebee 3y ago
      > I don't expect my kid to understand that its normal play fighting In Cartoons, characters do all kinds of things that aren't real. They don't watch fighting and then think "oh hey I should be fighting kids", any more than they think "oh hey I should be dropping an anvil on a coyote". Their brains are more complex than that. You are projecting your fears on the kid, but fear isn't rational. I recommend finding out for certain how cartoons have an effect on the psyche of a child. Look up some general psychology and child psychology. Confirm whether these biases and assumptions are real or not. Use knowledge and facts, not fear, to dictate your choices.
jslaby 3y ago
There is a sizable consumer base that buys episodes specifically for their dog. It is one of the few shows my dog will lay down and watch, which I guess is attributed to their use of "dog friendly" colors.
0xbadcafebee 3y ago
tl;dr it's actually a really good show
thepasswordis 3y ago
Our kids absolutely adore this show, and so do my wife and I. It is just about the only thing we'll let them watch. As others have said: it's because the show isn't trying to force any ridiculous cultural progressivism on my children. But also: it doesn't seem to be made by (am I joking?) the same people who would otherwise make slot machines. While other kids shows seem like an outright attack on my children's attention, this show is just happy, wholesome short stories about a family having fun together. We absolutely adore this show in my household. As a sidenote: it's very hopeful to me that a show like this (utterly non-political, just shows a happy family) is as popular as it is. It's culturally dominant for kids. I hope this is a lesson for Disney et al. (Disney+ does carry this show in the US, but it is not produced by them.)
- QuercusMax 3y ago
  Even though it's not political, the right-wingers feel the need to make their own version with "traditional family values". It's called Chip Chilla: https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2023/oct/17/is-new-kids-show-chip-chilla-a-blatant-bluey-knock-off-for-conservatives https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2023/oct/17/is-new-kids-... Seems ridiculous to me; they show "traditional" gender roles in the ripoff show to avoid "indoctrination".
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
calmworm 3y ago
Love the show, all around great characters, stories, problem solving and conflict resolution… One thing I’ve found strange is what items/scenes they choose to change (“censor”) from the AU version to the US version. Could be a Disney decision and the mouse gets what it wants but still…
ilrwbwrkhv 3y ago
The stuff which makes it out of Australia in terms of media, food, and software (hello Sublime Text) is some of the best. What confuses me is why are their politics so messed up when it comes to tech.
dccoolgai 3y ago
"Lucky's Dad" is low-key the best character in the show.
bgmeister 3y ago
Fun fact for the non-Australians, the actor who plays Bandit is part of an awesome indie-rock band named Custard formed in the late 80s. Worth checking out if you're into that sort of thing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Custard_(band) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Custard_(band) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v03j7my0V6c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v03j7my0V6c (relatively recent single)
gnicholas 3y ago
Bluey is entertaining, and my kids like watching it. However, we've noticed that the behavior of the kids (pups) on the show is a bit contagious...and our little one has started mimicking some of the kids' bad behavior/sayings. This is a very big change from her normal personality, so we're yanking Bluey from the rotation in favor of Daniel Tiger and other similar shows. YMMV, of course, but for us the entertainment value is outweighed by the negative impact on behavior.
benr 3y ago
Here’s a podcast with the creator of Bluey about how he ‘Dads’ in real life that I suspect a few of you might enjoy. https://howotherdadsdad.com/episode/how-joe-brumm-dads https://howotherdadsdad.com/episode/how-joe-brumm-dads
gnicholas 3y ago
One thing we've been unable to figure out: is the phrase "for real life" (seemingly a portmanteau of "for real" and "in real life") a phrase that is used in Australia, or is it a Bluey-specific neologism? Hopefully some HNers down under can enlighten us!
- axolttl88 3y ago
  ‘For real’ is definitely an Australian-ism (pretty old fashioned, usually inflected up as an incredulous question ‘fa REAL?’, but I’ve not really heard ‘For real life’. Could be a kid thing.
  - gnicholas 3y ago
    Interesting! We say “for real” here in the US also, but I’d never been able to pin down the full expression from Bluey.
robbomacrae 3y ago
Bluey is #1 but I haven't seen Wild Kratt's mentioned anywhere yet. It's given my son a great introduction to the animal kingdom and given him a lot of ammunition for the animal guessing game.
ssss11 3y ago
Bluey is an absolute master piece.
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mech4bg 3y ago
I saw some people wondering if there will be more shows - my kids use the iView app and a VPN to watch Bluey (which has been handy to get access early to new episodes!) and they've been advertising they'll be doing a long-form 28 minute episode this year.
hilbert42 3y ago
When I was a kid one of my dogs was a Blue Heeler Australian cattle dog. Wonderfully faithful, energetic and powerful, and always inquisitive. I miss him terribly.
gusbremm 3y ago
Bluey is adorable, so is "Trash Truck" available on netflix.

320 points by propter_hoc 3y ago

Pay walled but I assume it's "somethingsomething parents actually like watching it too." Since that seems to be everyone's reaction, including mine. My 20 something sister with no kid watches it.

propter_hoc 3y ago
Here's an archive link: https://archive.is/ArnbD https://archive.is/ArnbD Pretty much spot on, it has a couple funny quotes like the Bluey episode about a cricket match beating the ratings of the actual cricket match, and how the ABC (Australia's BBC) gave the international rights to the British BBC (which was a rather colossal mistake).
zellyn 3y ago
Agreed. It's also just beautiful.
I_Am_Nous 3y ago
I love Bluey. I was raised with Heeler dogs so that was major for my initial openness to the show. I may like the show more than my son does even!
meristohm 3y ago
That's been my experience; my spouse and I watched three seasons of Bluey, maybe 80% after our child went to bed. It's a visual parenting manual.
- sheepscreek 3y ago
  > It's a visual parenting manual. Haha - this is what I told someone the other day. Brandon (Bluey’s dad) is a source of inspiration for me. I’ve put his lighthearted parenting tricks to work with much success!
  - lotsofpulp 3y ago
    Bluey’s dad’s name is Bandit.
    - hipadev23 3y ago
      Paul, haha, that’s a person name!
  - imp0cat 3y ago
    Like the game of silence, right? That's pure gold! "Now let's see if you can stay silent until you turn 13." :D
  - unwind 3y ago
    In Sweden he is called Billy, probably because "bandit" means gangster/thug/criminal, kinda. Most other names of main characters are unchanged, I think. We really love Bluey.

greenyoda 3y ago

https://archive.ph/ArnbD https://archive.ph/ArnbD

mensetmanusman 3y ago

So wholesome!

bennyg 3y ago

My only problem with Bluey is actually a problem with the Disney+ app on my Vizio TV. The episodes are all fairly short, but then there’s like 5m of credits before the next episode starts and it’s kind of annoying to manually fast forward through them via remote. I often reach for stuff on Netflix just so the next episode will auto play after a few seconds instead of requiring actual manual intervention to keep the little ones out of my hair while making dinner.

jojobas 3y ago
Instant gratification or bust!
alberth 3y ago
As a parent I like it. It’s just enough time for my kiddo to learn the value of patience. But not so long, that I need to fast forward.
- hackernewds 3y ago
  do we assign too much meaning and value to every child interaction?
  - alberth 3y ago
    Do you have kids yourself?
  - JoeAltmaier 3y ago
    Not really possible. Children are sponges, learning everything they will carry into adulthood from childhood say six through twelve. After that, good luck. Any veteran parent can give many examples of early interactions that ended up molding their children forever.
- bombcar 3y ago
  My four year old already knows how to use the remote to skip commercials and credits, turn the tv on himself, and find what he wants. Hasn’t figured out the voice controlled outlet the TV is plugged into yet.

seized 3y ago

As a parent it's just a genuinely nice show to watch. There is so much complete crap out there now that Bluey is a breath of fresh air. A few others are good fun as well like Grizzy and The Lemmings. But Bluey reigns supreme. Although I wish the phone game didn't have in app purchases. At least the Bluey video game on Steam is good and without in app purchases or micro transaction nonsense.

JumpCrisscross 3y ago
> so much complete crap out there now that Bluey is a breath of fresh air Out of curiosity, as a non-parent, what makes it crap?
- Caligatio 3y ago
  I'm not the OP so I don't know what they define as "crap." However, there is a lot of programming out there that solely exists to keep children's attention while doing nothing with it. The most egregious example that comes to mind is the CoComelon channel on YouTube: literally 1-2 hour videos of nursery rhymes with mediocre animation. It's not some small channel either; one of their 2+ hour videos has 484M views.
  - rich_sasha 3y ago
    Cocomelon is seriously the elite of YouTube. And fine for small kids I think, who wouldn't understand things like Bluey. All the messages are around "be nice", "share", "say please and thank you". There's lots of videos of kids unpacking presents, or having tantrums to get what they want, or weird videos of adults shouting at children... Or videos showing people play computer games for hours on end.
    - AndrewDucker 3y ago
      Yeah, it's fine to distract a two year old with.
      - deleted 3y ago

jes5199 3y ago

I love Bluey but my kid won’t actually watch it. I wonder how common that is

granshaw 3y ago
Yeah she much prefers cocomelon!
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derwiki 3y ago
Blue’s Clues (Steve era) is the top preference for my toddler
vp8989 3y ago
Totally common IME. Bluey is for the parents. Kids like it but don't love it.

DanHulton 3y ago

Bluey, I honestly believe, is a show for adults (more specifically parents, but, you know, parents are adults) that kids can also enjoy. Like, traditionally, the "best" kid's media from an adult point of view has been kids shows that are also enjoyable for adults, but Bluey is genuinely the opposite. There are episodes where it feels like the entire point is to get the adults in the room misty-eyed and sniffling, and it all relies on contexts that younger children just absolutely wouldn't have - but they'd still have a good time! And while Bluey and Bingo (the kids on the show) frequently learn lessons, as you'd expect from educational children's media, those lessons are almost always coupled with examples from Bandit and Chilli (the parents) on how to constructively _teach_ those lessons. (Not to mention, a bunch of episodes are just straight-up the parents learning lessons, while the kids are just being kids and having fun.) For me, it fills the niche that Bob's Burgers used to fill - an example of a family that's quirky but genuinely loves one another, and communicates (both their love and in general) to move past situations that could become much more serious without it. (Bob's Burgers has fallen off -- to me -- because the characters feel a lot more like caricatures of their earlier selves and most modern episodes seem to rely on one or more characters carrying the "idiot ball" to make anything happen, but that's a rant for another time.) My wife and I watch an episode every night after dinner to relax after stressful days (two episodes on the really stressful ones) and it's just... Its' very good. We always feel better by the time the credits roll. We've watched a few episodes with kids and they have a good time, but we've also watched a few episodes with other adults, and it's catharsis. It's on another level entirely. I can't imagine what it's going to be like for kids who grew up watching Bluey, to rewatch it as an adult and catch the entire other level it works on. I'm jealous. <3

JumpCrisscross 3y ago
> a show for adults (more specifically parents, but, you know, parents are adults) that kids can also enjoy I think this is what gives Disney, and every epic kids’ show, intergenerational momentum.
hdhfjkrkrme 3y ago
Since some parents actively control what their kids watch it makes sense to create a show optimized for that niche - you increase parent appeal, but this will decrease kids appeal, so now you have an optimization problem to solve. It would be interesting to see a chart with kids preferences - I bet kids enjoy Bluey far less than other shows since it's not optimized for them, but for parents. When I was a kid it was a free market - I had a bunch of channels with a bunch of cartoons and I chose which ones to watch. If you think about it, kids crack like addiction to cartoons doesn't make sense to adults (there are theories), so that raises questions if adults can pick for kids, and not for what they imagine kids would enjoy.

bobse 3y ago

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jboggan 3y ago

Bluey is a godsend in our household. It's not annoying and the amount of classical and original music woven into each episode is wonderful. There's one particular episode - "Sleepytime" - which I cannot bring myself to watch anymore because I get so emotional. Every parent I talk to with young kids who has seen the episode agrees and knows what I mean. It's really that good, and despite being a fun little show there are a lot of episodes that are actually art. I'll add that although the kids in the show sometimes get up to mischief, they never do anything that I don't mind my own toddler emulating. My child now rings her xylophone, commands the rest of the family to freeze, and we have fun playing along.

dclowd9901 3y ago
My wife will run in from the other room to skip “Sleepytime” because she knows she’ll be bawling by the end of it if she even thinks about it. Does me the favor because I will be too. My endorsement of the show is that it feels like one of the great sitcoms like Cheers or Frasier, Golden Girls or Roseanne. The stories are never pandering or simple. You never quite know where they’re going to go with a plot line so when it lands, you’re often delightfully surprised or floored. Most kids shows seem like a low effort afterthought full of contrived vapid nonsense. As far as I’m concerned my kids can watch as much Bluey as they like and I’ll buy the shit out of their merch if it signals to other networks to get off their asses. Forgot to mention the animation in the show is absolutely some of the best I’ve ever seen in a cartoon. I really appreciate the way the show models real physics as things would be in the real world. One of my biggest pet peeves of kids shows is when they show something that is physically impossible (not for comedic purpose, just lazy storytelling). It’s basically just thumbing its nose at kids’ intelligence.
- hdhfjkrkrme 3y ago
  > Most kids shows seem like a low effort afterthought full of contrived vapid nonsense. Kids brain is not adult brain. You need a different kind of training material.
  - dclowd9901 3y ago

krupan 3y ago

Just watched The Wiggles documentary on Netflix. They were big when my kids were young and they are from Australia. I have heard of Bluey but didn't know it was also from Australia. They know something about kid shows there, apparently.

guidedlight 3y ago
The Australian government runs a fully funded free-to-air children's TV channel, called ABC Kids. Without knowing much about what other countries are doing, I can probably assume it one of the best children's content creators of its kind in the world. The channel is required to make a certain percentage of Australian content, and without the need to worry about advertising, subscriber numbers and merchandising revenue, it has become a haven of local creativity. I think Australia also struggles to find global audiences, as in some ways the world is still recovering from Australian craze global audiences had in the 90's (Crocodile Dundee, Crocodile Hunter, Mad Max, etc). So finding a new audience with children is perfect.
- alephnerd 3y ago
  > Without knowing much about what other countries are doing The US has PBS Kids. They produced plenty of shows like Bluey, such as Arthur, Dragon Tales, Clifford the Big Red Dog and Sesame Street, and a bunch of others. Idk what the lineup is like today though, my experience is from the 90s-2000s. In Canada, CBC also had CBC Kids, but the content was garbage and not young children friendly, so most parents ended up having us watch PBS or Family Channel (what Disney Channel was called in Canada) instead. The UK has CBeebies on BBC which had fairly decent content, and often co-produced with PBS.

29athrowaway 3y ago

The family lives in a mansion and their entire life is about playing and exploring all the time. What a great way to prepare the next generation for a life where most real estate will be beyond reach for most families. And where most parents work all the time and are tired on weekends. The series has a good soundtrack and voice acting. The mobile game is fine. The Nintendo Switch game is disappointing.

aaronbrethorst 3y ago
You're right: we should only expose our children to content that makes them appreciate that they will not have to be Dickensian beggars or cutpurses.
deleted 3y ago
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objectivetruth 3y ago
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imp0cat 3y ago
That's Australia for you. Also, isn't Bandit (Bluey's dad) pretty much the definition of "And where most parents work all the time and are tired on weekends."? Except he's tired pretty much all the time.

laingc 3y ago

As the father of two young daughters, I adore Bluey. Quite apart from how good the episodes are for adults, I really enjoy the following aspects: 1. It portrays wholesome and positive family relationships, particularly between father and daughters. The girls are also good to one another, with occasional conflict kindly and realistically resolved. 2. It tells simple stories without pushing political messages. Unfortunately, children’s television at large has become another victim of the culture wars, with heavy-handed social messages infecting what should be simple cartoons. Bluey is something I can trust. 3. I don’t have to expose my kids to American accents. They’ll have more than enough of that from regular programming when they grow up.

JumpCrisscross 3y ago
> children’s television at large has become another victim of the culture wars Out of curiosity, as a non-parent, do any galling examples come to mind?
- jimbob45 3y ago
  [flagged]
  - rokkamokka 3y ago
    LGBTQ is not a political message... It's a message of acceptance
    - klyrs 3y ago
      As long as acceptance is a political firebomb, I will continue to throw it. And good for Blue's Clues for doing the same.
    - JumpCrisscross 3y ago
      To be fair, there are subtler ways of communicating acceptance. The Bluey way would seem to be having a couple at the playground that the kids maybe ask about. Or maybe they don’t! They just coëxist peacefully because it’s no more remarkable than them having a different skin tone. Different framing from a drag show, which I can see someone preferring without being homophobic.

dexwiz 3y ago

Kids shows teach lessons, but Bluey has all sorts of compassionate parenting lessons. I would love to be as good as a father as Bandit. My favorite scene is him assembling flat pack furniture without reading the instructions, proudly declaring he won’t take advice from a cartoon dog.

dclowd9901 3y ago
There’s some really fun “blink and you’ll miss it” jokes in the show. At some point, one of the kids is acting like a dog, and I think Chili asks Bandit “what is she doing?” And he replies “I have no idea.”
- notaustinpowers 3y ago
  My 2 faves are 1) "Whale Watching" when Bandit and Chili are clearly hungover from an NYE party. and 2) in the episode "Perfect" when Bandit and Fido are talking about getting a vasectomy but Chili wants to keep her options open. It was risque enough that they re-dubbed it for America but the subtitles are still from the original recording.
tclancy 3y ago
>I would love to be as good as a father as Bandit. Man, make sure you don't kill yourself trying! I always think the other parents in the neighborhood want him to dial it back so they don't look bad.

timeimp 3y ago

The best part is how people are learning that the Disney+ version is censored. Yes, a childrens show is censored, in current year. Why? Because some jokes don't play well with adults, even though they go right over kids heads. Have a Google for "Bluey censored" to see what I mean!

grendelt 3y ago
Quite a few of those drew an eye-roll from me. https://www.fatherly.com/entertainment/banned-censored-bluey-episodes https://www.fatherly.com/entertainment/banned-censored-bluey... A couple of them I can understand (like being safe, not showing kids to slide on a wet tile floor), some I can see parents being appreciative for not having to answer questions about certain topics --- but some "edits" like cutting out farting seems a bit too over the top. My preschooler has just discovered farting and thinks it is _hilarious_ (because it is!). I'm proud as can be, but Mom just rolls her eyes. Proud dad here.
- timeimp 3y ago
  I find it sad that even showing kids sliding on the wet tile floor is edited for "being safe" - let them learn why its a bad thing to do in the security of home!
- Rebelgecko 3y ago
  It's ironic that they pulled an episode for using a term that is offensive to indigenous Australians and "fixed" it by releasing a version where the phrase was replaced with a racial slur for Italian people
  - pcthrowaway 3y ago
    Interesting.. I've always associated "ooga booga" with cavemen or proto-humans; didn't realize there were racial connotations
    - defrost 3y ago

lettergram 3y ago

Bluey is just a wholesome show focused on showing good role models. Much of the kids TV today is just trying to distract them, Bluey teaches lessons about family and is entertaining for adults too. Reminds me of shows like Little Bear or Magic School bus. Teaching kids about topics, while entertaining them and modeling good behavior. One other interesting note: all the home schooled families around us (from the hippy commune to survivalists, left & right) rave about Bluey. So it has a very good cross ideological / cultural appeal (given the global audience). Ultimately, I think it’s because it hits on a deep truth about supporting one another - that everyone can connect with and want to pass to the next generation.

stephen_g 3y ago

One thing that I appreciate about Bluey, apart from the other things people have commented on, is that the animation style is very aesthetically pleasing. So many kids shows have the exact same 3D CGI style, and some of them honestly look just uncanny-valley creepy. Another thing that most people wouldn't experience is seeing episodes set in places I might have been in the last couple of weeks. It's obviously stylised and interpretive, but a lot of the buildings and places are very accurately represented!

TavsiE9s 3y ago
Absolutely agree with that. Peppa Pig? Can't stand the animations.
jncfhnb 3y ago
It’s because it’s cheaper. I don’t think uncanny is the right word. It’s just bad. The depth and lighting is just wrong.

monkeydreams 3y ago

One of favourite Bluey facts is that the Dad is an archaeologist and the Mother works airport security. One digs up bones and the other sniffs for drugs.

nightowl_games 3y ago
Never made that connection! Thats hilarious
- slipperlobster 3y ago
  Strangely enough, there seem to be a lot of hidden references and callbacks in Bluey. Just one source I found: https://www.reddit.com/r/bluey/comments/ipi4ft/a_thread_for_callbacksmulti_episode_storylines/ https://www.reddit.com/r/bluey/comments/ipi4ft/a_thread_for_...

yardstick 3y ago

Anyone else for the longest time thought the opening title sequence[1] was just them farting their names? Turns out it’s them playing stop the music, and each character is called out as they keep dancing. Still, the names are definitely coming from farts… 1. https://youtu.be/8nv1m-aTCZI?si=gXynjB7rJpPr5Ref https://youtu.be/8nv1m-aTCZI?si=gXynjB7rJpPr5Ref

neild 3y ago

Bluey is the only show my kid loved, and never wanted to binge watch. He’d watch one or two episodes and then want to turn the TV off so we could play Silly Hotel or Keepy Uppy or Grannies. Where other shows grabbed his attention longer, Bluey always inspired him to go out and play.

awilfox 3y ago
I think this is the real value of imaginative shows like Bluey - it inspires kids to use their imaginations as well.

gambiting 3y ago

I feel like I'm the only parent on planet Earth that really doesn't like Bluey. Every time I watch it(which is often, my son likes it), it just seems to be promoting bad behaviour at the expense of the dad(like many other shows to be fair - looking at you Peppa Pig), including physical violence(one episode the kids decide the dad now has a stomach ache, so they punch him in the gut - and the dad just plays along with it, it's never commented on as a bad thing). And the mum keeps making reductive comments and making fun out of the dad, even though he literally drops everything the second his kids want anything. I don't know, I just don't get it. When people describe it as wholesome to me it feels like the opposite - it shows an unhealthy relationship between the kids and the parents, and I don't feel like it teaches my son any valuable lessons at all.

awilfox 3y ago
I don't see how there are unhealthy relationships. I will agree that Bingo's behaviour in Backpackers was unacceptable - I personally would have gently nudged her with a "don't play so rough", which would have been a great way to reverse the lesson from Yoga Ball.
lotsofpulp 3y ago
> including physical violence(one episode the kids decide the dad now has a stomach ache, so they punch him in the gut They are pretend playing. There is no indication Bingo meant to actually harm her dad. I pretend fight and let my toddlers beat me up, but I am sure they know only to do that when pretending.
- gambiting 3y ago
  The core of pretend playing, is pretending. Bluey very clearly punches her dad square in the stomach, he lets out an audible sound of pain, and......nothing happens. I agree that maybe Bluey didn't actually mean to hurt her dad - but the way the scene plays out she clearly does and she isn't told about it, the dad just takes it. Because the dad is portrayed as a (in this episode - literal) punch bag who has to accept everything the kids do. No valuable lesson was shown or taught here. My opinion anyway.

jph00 3y ago

I live in the area where the show is set (the Morton Bay region north of Brisbane) and it’s delightful how many details we recognise in the show. Having lived in the US for 10 years and returning couple of years ago (with my first 30 years in Australia), I feel like Bluey does a great job of showing some key cultural differences between these countries. I’ve seen some American viewers get quite cross by what they see as a totally unrealistic portrayal of life, but things really are pretty fundamentally different over here.

coenhyde 3y ago
100%. Said as an Aussie who has been living in the states for a decade
badcppdev 3y ago
I got quite excited once because I thought I recognised Mt Beerburrum in the background of one of the Bluey episodes. I hadn't visited that area in decades.
quink 3y ago
Moreton Bay? Nah, their home is almost definitely around Ashgrove, Red Hill, Kelvin Grove, Paddington, somewhere around those parts. Suburbs just to the north-west of the CBD, based on having been around those a pile and having seen most of Bluey. And extrapolating from things that are inevitably close, as listed in https://blueypedia.fandom.com/wiki/Real-Life_Locations https://blueypedia.fandom.com/wiki/Real-Life_Locations And the buses aren't Translink livery, they're all blue, white, and yellow, so definitely somewhere within BCC, not Moreton Bay Region (although I shouldn't assume you meant the Moreton Bay council). That said, you could be using Moreton Bay when you really mean SEQLD anywhere north of the Brisbane River, it's been known to happen.
- LilBytes 3y ago
  I'd say Moreton Bay was a region of Brisbane where Bluey is set, I don't think OP meant 'its from my suburb or street'.
madeofpalk 3y ago

bitwize 3y ago

Bluey is a fair sight better than Cocomelon or Baby Shark, I'll say that much. I haven't had much chance to see much of it, but what I did see I liked. It's not all happy, singsongy, bright-colored drivel; the characters are well-developed and have struggles and meaningful arcs. It helps that I'm a fan of blue heelers, the real Australian shepherd (though I also love the American breed called "Australian shepherd").

awilfox 3y ago
> It's not all happy, singsongy, bright-colored drivel "Oh man, the songs." - Bandit, "Movies".
defrost 3y ago
> the real Australian shepherd Technically breed through and through to be cattle dogs. Big difference being shepherd dogs focus outwards and protect, sheep dogs work and move herds on command using eyballs and stalking body language, whereas cattle dogs are "heelers" they get in close and literally bite the heels of massive stubborn cattle that won't budge until nipped. Heelers are great dogs IF you can live with their needs - they seriously live for three to four hours of hard exercise a day, flat out running, herding, chasing, interacting. If you can't do that then don't get a heeler, they're smart and you'll pay for it. If you don't have a herd of cattle at least live 10 km from a beach and make them run after you while you bike, motorcycle, or drive slowly there. Getting a throwing stick that'll travel the lebgth of a football field and|or a tennis ball launcher is a good way to keep them moving, they'll fetch at extreme range for good few hours.

jaimex2 3y ago

Bluey is awesome, the one disappointing thing is hearing US and UK media try and modify it. A few episodes have been butchered because something was found offensive - like the kids playing cavemen and saying Ooga Booga or the parents sighing while weighing themselves on a scale. Come on! Just leave it alone and serve it as is. The creators expressed a few times he's almost had enough of edits over dumb things. They also tried to get re-dubs done to remove the Aussie accents, luckily that was pushed back on.

cruffle_duffle 3y ago
> They also tried to get re-dubs done to remove the Aussie accents, luckily that was pushed back on. There seems to have been a period in television where any "hard" english accent had to have an accompanying subtitle under it. Thankfully I don't seem to see this anymore. One of the things I liked about Peppa Pig was my kiddo would start to take a british accent and say things like "Ready, Steady, Go!" or "Mum"

landswipe 3y ago

Bluey is female, blew my mind when I first learnt this after watching a few episodes.

oska 3y ago

Couple of nice attention to local detail things in Bluey : 1. The internal walls of Bluey's house are timber using VJs (vertical joins), typical in Queenslanders (historical style of house in Brisbane & Queensland). 2. The panoramic shots of Bluey's house identifies it to locals as clearly situated somewhere in the city's hilly inner west, with St. Brigid's Church [1] in Red Hill identifiable, as well as Mount Coot-tha in the background. Of course, there's a lot more in the drawings that shows local detail (plants, animals, etc). The above are just two that are particularly nice for Brisbane ppl to see and recognise. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Brigid's_Church,_Red_Hill https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Brigid's_Church,_Red_Hill

awilfox 3y ago

I'm going to be honest here: Bluey means a lot to me, as a 32-year-old childless woman, because this show has really touched me in ways that may not be obvious at first: I've felt more in touch with my own imagination since I started watching Bluey. I've actually been writing music and sketching in my spare time again, which is something I haven't done since before the pandemic. It's actually helped me piece together things that I felt as a child that I never properly dealt with, or even knew how to voice back then. I've been able to find healing and peace, and articulate stuff in therapy a bit better. In general, I just feel a bit happier and a bit better after watching an episode of Bluey. Sometimes I just want to watch something to feel positive emotions without it being overly-happy fluff. There's a realism to Bluey that makes it easier for me to "let my guard down" and feel happiness. I do kind of live vicariously through Chilli, with my hope being that I can be a mum some day. Oh, and my cat now has a nickname: Muffin. Make of that what you will.

throwaway87651 3y ago
I hope you get to be a mum. You sound like someone thoughtful and imaginative, which are great qualities for being a parent. Infinite patience would also help - I'm still trying to develop that myself!
- luqtas 3y ago
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willismichael 3y ago
> Oh, and my cat now has a nickname: Muffin. Make of that what you will. My daughter sent me a meme with the punchline "When you think your child is Bluey but really your child is Muffin". Make of that what you will :)
- _justinfunk 3y ago
  Can you share?

mayd 3y ago

For those who want to see quirky Australian children's television programming for older children may I suggest this? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Round_the_Twist https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Round_the_Twist

lmpdev 3y ago

One underrated aspect of the show is the backgrounds being grounded in reality I live in the city (Brisbane) the show is set in Effectively every detailed background is recognisable but tastefully selected (not shoved down the viewer’s throat) If you do ever visit Australia, take the kids to see Brisbane My partner manages front of house for the Live Action Bluey theatre show, she was the first person to put Bluey on my radar (we have no children) The live action show was so popular they’ve recently just put it on for a second session The kids get to watch Bluey inside the QPAC building (a common background in the show, next to the Eye of Brisbane)

bknight1983 3y ago

The beauty of Bluey is that, for me at least, all the games were games we played as kids (keepy uppy, shadowlands, mucking around in the stream). Now my kid wants to play these games (and not be on a screen) and I get to play again. Everyone wins

anotherevan 3y ago

Something else that is kind of awesome is you occasionally get posts on the /r/australia Reddit group along the lines of, "I saw this on Bluey, do you really do that in Australia?" E.g. https://old.reddit.com/r/australia/comments/16a8s6d/clothes_dryers/ https://old.reddit.com/r/australia/comments/16a8s6d/clothes_...

_chu1 3y ago

My niece likes this show and I had never heard of it before. When I was a kid I liked cartoons that were on the air like 5-10 years before because even when I was 5 I found newer cartoons annoying. This one was pretty neat though and I agree it's refreshing after seeing the slop on the screen blasting from iPad kids. One thing I really appreciate is that it's quiet, the characters are soft spoken, stock sounds don't play constantly, there isn't constant music, it's simple and doesn't make my head hurt.

programmertote 3y ago

A bit tangential but also related -- I grew up watching 'Adventures of the Gummi Bears' back in the late 80s and early 90s. Recently, I came across it on Disney+ and re-watched it. I was pleasantly surprised that some of the episodes are teaching kids good (again, subjective) morals and behaviors. The language is never crass even when the characters are upset (meaning it's a good thing to teach kids). I liked it so much that I re-watched all of the six seasons twice. Now that I saw this article and discussion, I'll be trying Bluey next.

mgd 3y ago

The most interesting part for me is the relationship with the parents and children. Compared to what I was brought up with (The Simpsons etc) it's nice that children are not only taught interesting values but also what the values of parents are

coenhyde 3y ago
It's cool to see Australian values & parenting techniques propagating into American society. Our conquest will be complete soon :)
deleted 3y ago
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paradox460 3y ago
There's a YouTube video essay I watched a month or so back that touched on this. It looked at parental figures throughout the history of television and used them as a reflection for generational ideals of what a parent should be The boomers parents made shows like Father knows best, leave it to beaver, etc, where the father was an almost unimpeachable authority figure. Boomers (and gen x) made shows like the Simpsons and family guy, where the oaf father comes in, and family is mostly viewed as dysfunctional, an obligation rather than something to be enjoyed. Gen x produced shows like Bob's burgers which removes some of the physical violence of the family but maintains the Father as an aloof oafish character. And millennial fathers, as depicted by TV, are like bandit. The oaf is gone, but so is the dictatorial authority figure. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRN5gKC9_CU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRN5gKC9_CU

maztaim 3y ago

As a parent, I love watching all the episodes. My 5 year old also loves watching it. One of the few good children shows that has great entertainment with great values for all. My favorites are always the grannies ("Oh no, my coins!"). My wife loves "Fairytale" because we both grew up in a far off place called the 80s and can relate to all of it.

mywacaday 3y ago
The episode where the mother tries to get her father to slow down and take care of himself because she knows he won't be around forever is a hard watch since my mother passed away. Also where the kids jump on the dads groin by accident and all you see is a raised eyebrow and a very slight groan is one all dad's can appreciate. A truly wonderful show.

nightowl_games 3y ago

It's truly a show about parenting. It covers realistic themes about parenting. It's very well written. With childrens shows, it's easy to make a show appeal to kids. Cocomelon is basically loved by every child ever, but its so annoying to parents. Bluey is great because the parents like it.

larrymyers 3y ago
It's a great show that demonstrates how to play with your kids. Though I do appreciate the episodes where the parents are exhausted, or must do chores, instead of playing with their kids.
- drunner 3y ago
  Showing the parents at the end of their ropes is really great to see. I love their pixar style adult only quips that get added from time to time. In the claw episode for example, Bandit (the dad) says `Magic Claw has no children. His days are free and easy` and it always cracks me up.

ceedan 3y ago

Bluey is great and we love it, but I do have to say that it is not as directly beneficial for very young children as something like Daniel Tiger. Daniel Tiger has episodes that directly and clearly address things that young children are going through (little siblings, using the bathroom, managing emotions, etc). Bluey has episodes that address those things but does so in ways that are less direct and comprehensible for a pre-school child. Many Bluey episodes are more for the parents, than the children. Bluey will be with us long after our last Daniel Tiger episode is watched.

navbaker 3y ago
I will be singing “if you have to go potty STOP! and go right away” until the day I die.
- ceedan 3y ago
  Were a "tactical wee" household which is a reference to the Fruit Bat episode of Bluey. The Daniel Tiger potty song & book is gaining traction with our youngest, though
wharvle 3y ago
I know it's a little thing, Daniel Tiger's very-heavy autotune on all the singing (and there's a lot of singing) drives me nuts. I'd be shocked if Fred Rogers would have been OK with it. Young kids should hear natural singing voices in media aimed directly at them.
feoren 3y ago
Daniel Tiger is so much more difficult to watch as an adult, but I have to give it credit for its potty training episode: that was a huge help when trying to potty train our 2.5-year-old. So I definitely agree that a targeted application of Daniel Tiger can really help, and also easier to digest for a pre-schooler. However, I do think that having complex messages that aren't easy to understand is probably important for young children. "The world is a complicated place" is a lesson I wish even more adults understood. And I've learned that children may show no comprehension of something the first few times they hear it, but it's in there, making connections, shaping the brain as it grows. I can't tell you how many times I've told my daughter something I thought went way over her head (and did, at first), but randomly came out again months later. So by all means go for the simple Daniel Tiger message when it helps them through a problem they're having. But don't underestimate their capacity for deeply integrating ideas from everything they see and hear -- and I love Bluey for being by far the best young kids' show for them to integrate into their brains.

sandworm101 3y ago

Does anyone else note the underlying racial component? All the dog families seem to be purebred. I don't remember seeing any mutts, any mixed-race dogs. And there are a few references to certain breeds of dog being better at certain things. I'm sure it is totally unintentional and probably cuts on dialoged by identifying which kids are from which parents, but it did strike me as odd.

namdnay 3y ago
having specific breeds and colours for each family makes it a lot easier to track what's going on. for the same reasons that peppa pig doesn't have 8 different types of big cats
cruffle_duffle 3y ago
> And there are a few references to certain breeds of dog being better at certain things. I mean, different dog breeds have different talents. In Bluey, the Sausage Dog has his moment where he can't run very well but he can roll (at least I think that was how it went). All the different dog breeds get get to use their special talents.
- evan_ 3y ago
  Pomeranians are a small but hardy breed! I don't really think the different breeds of dogs are supposed to be taken as different human ethnicities or whatever, I think it's just a shorthand to show that kids can be different in all kinds of ways and have fun together. Athletic kids, bookworms, social butterflies, introverts, adventurous, and yes different cultures/ethnicities/religions/etc
evan_ 3y ago
I mean Bandit and Chili are different (though related) breeds and the kids each have traits from their parents... Bluey has her dad's coloration and mom's spots, and Bingo is orange like her mother but otherwise looks like Bandit.

ashton314 3y ago

Has anyone else noticed that “Camping” is basically the Star Trek TNG episode Darmok? Bluey meets a French dog named Jean-Luc. They construct some shelter together and have to hunt a monster. (I.e. Bandit pretending to be a wild boar.) They find a way to communicate despite speaking different languages. One leaves. Shaka, when the walls fell. In the end, Muffin, her scream echoing—Bluey and Jean-Luc, their tails wagging! (My wife who’s not really an Trekkie pointed this out to me. Also there’s another read about Jean-Luc’s departure as death and an eventual reunion in the afterlife when we will all finally understand each other. Read it as you like it.)

longwave 3y ago
I love it when kids shows do things like this. The BBC show Hey Duggee has an episode called The River Badge which is a homage to Apocalypse Now, recreating a number of similar scenes and pieces of dialogue. Other episodes have references to other movies that kids won't know but that are great fun for adults when they notice.
xyzzy_plugh 3y ago
Wow. Thanks, I can't unsee this now. Chilli's wisdom definitely hits hard if you have full context. The ending of this episode (and even the book version) nearly brings me to tears every time.

ursuscamp 3y ago

Bluey blew me away when I saw it with my daughter. It's sweet, positive, emotional, well written. It's not the slightest bit cynical, handles every issue with tact, doesn't contain heavy handed messaging and has traditional values. It also has a very positive two parent dynamic. This is an absolute unicorn of a show. Note: my usage of "traditional values" is not meant to evoke anything political or intended to be interpreted from a culture war lens. I just mean it positively portrays a family dynamic that can be universally appreciated.

KnlnKS 3y ago
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pylua 3y ago
It also sets the bar very high for parents.
- pipes 3y ago
  Is that a bad thing? (I'm a parent and I love it)
- cfiggers 3y ago
  Yes—in an encouraging way.
  - williamcotton 3y ago
    Eh, well, I dunno. I’ve got kids and I don’t personally let them give me as much crap as Bluey and Bingo do. Like, if they’re running up to the screen at a kids movie I’m taking them home. There’s other people in the theatre to consider. Kids need boundaries along with compassion, and yes, I know that there are the odd Bluey episodes that deal with boundaries, not getting what you want, etc… …but there’s a lot of what seems like the kids just steamrolling their parents. That’s not sustainable for me. Being a parent is like having two full time jobs. It’s hard enough as it is to just get through the day. The bar is set a little too high. But hey, my wife and I agree with this, so y’all do you! I’m sure most of our kids will probably turn out just fine no matter how much we model ourselves after Bandit and Chili. I think it is a wonderful show regardless. Edit: Knowing the average age in this industry, I have the distinct feeling that quite a few people who are not parents are involving themselves in these discussions and moderations. Just wait. I'm offering a realistic viewpoint positioned against a cartoon. And I'm not being a jerk about it.

johnnythunder 3y ago

Also interesting is the strangeness of the theme song time signature and game that goes along with it! https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/people-are-just-noticing-that-the-bluey-theme-song-is-actually-a-secret-game-and-its-blowing-parents-minds/articleshow/99738526.cms https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/people-are... https://eightify.app/summary/music-and-performance/decoding-the-time-signature-of-the-bluey-theme-q-a https://eightify.app/summary/music-and-performance/decoding-...

ramesh31 3y ago

Millenials and Gen Xers (the cohort of which are now raising young children) were raised in a cultural wasteland of sarcasm and irony poisoning, that arose as a response to the perceived "campiness" or naivety of sincere art. And we were force fed it for decades until our "guffaws" and recognition of it were habitual, instinctive, and always expected. Nothing could possibly ever be funny without being hyper self-aware and critical of everything. The reason these new shows are connecting with us now is precisely because of their outright rejection of this. Sometimes things can just be nice, and fun, and good, and there's no smirk to the camera, or higher level joke being made. It just is. Postmodern meta-irony is out. Radical sincerity is in.

hydrok9 3y ago
And we thought we were so clever :,)

Arubis 3y ago

I'm also a girl dad (ages 3 and 4) and Bluey is a total favorite in our (mountain west US) household. In utter contrast to the singsongy dreck of CocoMelon and its imitators, our kids actually take away memorable lessons they enjoy (going to bed like a big girl, like Bingo!), and my wife and I regularly comment that we'd watch the show on our own without the kids for its sheer relatability. It's an absolute gem, folks. If you're so inclined, we found a nice cake topper on Etsy for _my own_ birthday this year: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1481048560/inspired-bluey-caketopper-kids-birthday?click_key=5ff4b0b198916700441721c3ec58fb2fecc8ab13%3A1481048560&click_sum=6c23c2ef&ga_search_query=bluey&ref=shop_items_search_1 https://www.etsy.com/listing/1481048560/inspired-bluey-caket... turns out to be easily adapted to read "Turning 40" rather than "Turning 4". Super cute & the girls adored it.

natpalmer1776 3y ago
I love the cake topper idea! Saving this for my next birthday :)

eggy 3y ago

Love this show! Although the Dad never seems to work, plays all day, and sets the bar pretty high for me especially on the last 2 of my 5 children. I'm out of steam. I too succumb to the emotional episodes, and I am grateful for every tear I share with my kids! I grew up watching Bugs Bunny, Davy and Goliath, Gumby, and All in the Family as a young kid for a contrast!

xuther 3y ago
I love that they even address that in one of the episodes. In Tickle Crabs: Bluey: "You're always at work!" Bandit: "I'm never at work!" What a gem of a show, though yes, it does set the bar pretty high. Though on the plus side I can now burst into a room shout "It's Dad" and my 4 year old will reliably slow clap and then burst into laughter :P
- drunner 3y ago
  Mine is 'Whats up party people' which he also uses in multiple episodes.
xyzzy_plugh 3y ago
You have to read between the lines and pickup the hints but they both work, ostensibly. There are plenty of episodes where the kids are at daycare/with family that imply the parents are working. Many episodes take place on weekends, and I get the impression the mom sometimes works on weekends. I will say that Bandit definitely gives off a vibe of being flexible, but I never got the impression it's deliberate. He cares more about his kids than work. At least, that's my interpretation.
thepasswordis 3y ago
There's a whole episode about dad having to working and the kids bothering him while he does!

aetherson 3y ago

Here's a somewhat embarrassing admission: I never appreciated Holst's "The Planets" until I saw it used (particularly "Jupiter") in a Bluey episode.

feoren 3y ago
Jupiter is a masterpiece. Mars is fine. Honestly the rest of the Planets Suite is kind of a pass unless you're studying music. Of course Jupiter is the one they remix ("arrange"?) in Bluey.
- aetherson 3y ago
  Yeah, I think that part of my problem is I often heard people talk about Mars, so I tried to use that as my entrypoint into the suite, and to my ear Jupiter is much better.

contemporary343 3y ago

Bluey is great. For younger ones, Tumble Leaf (sadly now discontinued) is also wonderful - clay-mation, gentle with lovely music and promoting a sense of discovery.

larrymyers 3y ago
I had almost forgotten about Tumbleleaf. Such a gem of a show. The submarine episodes really stand out.

jnsie 3y ago

> achieving a level of poignancy alongside its humour This quote about a particular episode sums up Bluey for me. It's tremendously well written - funny to both kids and adults alike, and often hits you in the feels. It's genuinely good TV.

smusamashah 3y ago

We don't let our toddler watch Bluey. You can't show characters fighting verbally or physically and then later explain. You CAN NOT EXPLAIN to kids. If they see something being done, it can be done. So no Bluey for my kid.

0xbadcafebee 3y ago
Because your kid is never going to see humans fighting in real life? Kids don't fight other kids until they see other people fighting first? Play fighting is normal human behavior. In the show they can see the characters resolve their differences and make up. Not so much with the lady in the checkout line screaming, or the dude fighting the other dude outside wal-mart for the last playstation 7. Bluey is probably the last thing in the universe that's going to screw your kid up.
- smusamashah 3y ago
  My argument against that is that it's too soon for a 2.5yo kid. Play fighting is natural, agreed, but i still believe doing it with the kid yourself or with siblings (no exp with that as of now) is OK, but seeing it on TV I don't expect my kid to understand that its normal play fighting and he can do everything that he is seeing on TV. Glorifying and actually showing bad behaviour in a bad light is already a problem even for adults' TV. I can not expect kids to take the right message from their cartoons. Again, i am only saying this not an appropriate show for a kid this age. When he grows up to age where I can sit and explain/teach him things I'll be OK with a much wider type of media consumption.
  - 0xbadcafebee 3y ago
    > I don't expect my kid to understand that its normal play fighting In Cartoons, characters do all kinds of things that aren't real. They don't watch fighting and then think "oh hey I should be fighting kids", any more than they think "oh hey I should be dropping an anvil on a coyote". Their brains are more complex than that. You are projecting your fears on the kid, but fear isn't rational. I recommend finding out for certain how cartoons have an effect on the psyche of a child. Look up some general psychology and child psychology. Confirm whether these biases and assumptions are real or not. Use knowledge and facts, not fear, to dictate your choices.

jslaby 3y ago

There is a sizable consumer base that buys episodes specifically for their dog. It is one of the few shows my dog will lay down and watch, which I guess is attributed to their use of "dog friendly" colors.

0xbadcafebee 3y ago

tl;dr it's actually a really good show

thepasswordis 3y ago

Our kids absolutely adore this show, and so do my wife and I. It is just about the only thing we'll let them watch. As others have said: it's because the show isn't trying to force any ridiculous cultural progressivism on my children. But also: it doesn't seem to be made by (am I joking?) the same people who would otherwise make slot machines. While other kids shows seem like an outright attack on my children's attention, this show is just happy, wholesome short stories about a family having fun together. We absolutely adore this show in my household. As a sidenote: it's very hopeful to me that a show like this (utterly non-political, just shows a happy family) is as popular as it is. It's culturally dominant for kids. I hope this is a lesson for Disney et al. (Disney+ does carry this show in the US, but it is not produced by them.)

QuercusMax 3y ago
Even though it's not political, the right-wingers feel the need to make their own version with "traditional family values". It's called Chip Chilla: https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2023/oct/17/is-new-kids-show-chip-chilla-a-blatant-bluey-knock-off-for-conservatives https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2023/oct/17/is-new-kids-... Seems ridiculous to me; they show "traditional" gender roles in the ripoff show to avoid "indoctrination".
- deleted 3y ago
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calmworm 3y ago

Love the show, all around great characters, stories, problem solving and conflict resolution… One thing I’ve found strange is what items/scenes they choose to change (“censor”) from the AU version to the US version. Could be a Disney decision and the mouse gets what it wants but still…

ilrwbwrkhv 3y ago

The stuff which makes it out of Australia in terms of media, food, and software (hello Sublime Text) is some of the best. What confuses me is why are their politics so messed up when it comes to tech.

dccoolgai 3y ago

"Lucky's Dad" is low-key the best character in the show.

bgmeister 3y ago

Fun fact for the non-Australians, the actor who plays Bandit is part of an awesome indie-rock band named Custard formed in the late 80s. Worth checking out if you're into that sort of thing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Custard_(band) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Custard_(band) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v03j7my0V6c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v03j7my0V6c (relatively recent single)

gnicholas 3y ago

Bluey is entertaining, and my kids like watching it. However, we've noticed that the behavior of the kids (pups) on the show is a bit contagious...and our little one has started mimicking some of the kids' bad behavior/sayings. This is a very big change from her normal personality, so we're yanking Bluey from the rotation in favor of Daniel Tiger and other similar shows. YMMV, of course, but for us the entertainment value is outweighed by the negative impact on behavior.

benr 3y ago

Here’s a podcast with the creator of Bluey about how he ‘Dads’ in real life that I suspect a few of you might enjoy. https://howotherdadsdad.com/episode/how-joe-brumm-dads https://howotherdadsdad.com/episode/how-joe-brumm-dads

gnicholas 3y ago

One thing we've been unable to figure out: is the phrase "for real life" (seemingly a portmanteau of "for real" and "in real life") a phrase that is used in Australia, or is it a Bluey-specific neologism? Hopefully some HNers down under can enlighten us!

axolttl88 3y ago
‘For real’ is definitely an Australian-ism (pretty old fashioned, usually inflected up as an incredulous question ‘fa REAL?’, but I’ve not really heard ‘For real life’. Could be a kid thing.
- gnicholas 3y ago
  Interesting! We say “for real” here in the US also, but I’d never been able to pin down the full expression from Bluey.

robbomacrae 3y ago

Bluey is #1 but I haven't seen Wild Kratt's mentioned anywhere yet. It's given my son a great introduction to the animal kingdom and given him a lot of ammunition for the animal guessing game.

ssss11 3y ago

Bluey is an absolute master piece.

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mech4bg 3y ago

I saw some people wondering if there will be more shows - my kids use the iView app and a VPN to watch Bluey (which has been handy to get access early to new episodes!) and they've been advertising they'll be doing a long-form 28 minute episode this year.

hilbert42 3y ago

When I was a kid one of my dogs was a Blue Heeler Australian cattle dog. Wonderfully faithful, energetic and powerful, and always inquisitive. I miss him terribly.

gusbremm 3y ago

Bluey is adorable, so is "Trash Truck" available on netflix.