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One thing I really appreciate about the show is the music - so many of the best episodes are extended musical variations on great themes from classical music, a
by jboggan 2y ago
One thing I really appreciate about the show is the music - so many of the best episodes are extended musical variations on great themes from classical music, and done so skillfully that you don't realize you're listening to Mozart's "Rondo Alla Turca" or Saint-Saens' "Organ Symphony" until you're at the emotional climax of the episode when the entire piece is restated, which has been priming you for a big theme or breakthrough in the story.
This is strongest in the "Sleepytime" episode which is based on the "Jupiter" movement of Holst's "The Planets" . . . honestly I have to skip this episode when it comes up because it makes me tear up so much, and most parents I know who also watch the show have similar reactions. "Sleepytime" is really art.
- phillmv 2y agooh wow we watched this episode a few days ago; i missed the Holst connection, and yes I also felt tears in my eyes at the denouement. definitely hugged my kids harder after that one.
- danielvaughn 2y agoI’ve seen the episode a few times with my infant daughter, and honestly it might be my favorite tv episode of any show, ever.
- simonsquiff 2y agoOh yes the music is amazing. ‘Rain’ is a particularly lovely original composition. The soundtracks are on Spotify etc and well worth a listen
- thefreeman 2y agorain is my favorite episode. it so perfectly encapsulates the curiosity and innocence of childhood and the music is incredible. so much emotion for an episode with basically no dialogue.
- NoNotTheDuo 2y agoI'm particularly fond of 'Sleepytime', but 'Rain' is probably the episode that I've thought of more often than any other. Because of that 7 minute cartoon episode, I have found myself _actively_ changing my behavior/decisions with my kiddo - letting them do something that will be a bit more work for me later on (extra laundry or whatever), but something that sparks their curiosity or gives them a new experience or similar.
- TeMPOraL 2y agoSame here. After watching it and then looping the "Boldly in the Pretend" (official song to "Rain" music), my attitude to parenting and many specific behaviors changed pretty much overnight. (For one, I realized we're both too harsh about kiddos getting dirty and making a mess. The other big thing was, it made me decide to make playground after kindergarten a priority more important than work.) Beyond parenting, that story and song connected me with my own inner child, and had me realize I might be taking this "adulting" thing way too seriously. Work, play, it's still the same game - we're still just "racing those boats down the road to the end". Can't think of anything else in my life that managed to break me down and put back together differently so quickly.
- amarcheschi 2y agoThere was a similar cartoon about ~2 decades ago, that had classical pieces. Little Einsteins. I loved that
- jvanderbot 2y agoSleepy time is amazing television. Kudos for the callout and I hope people don't pass Bluey on their way to the brainrot. It's amazing stuff.
- sklargh 2y ago“Sleepytime” is right up there with BSG’s “33”, Veep’s “Testimony” or The American’s “S.T.A.R.T” - it’s truly excellent television.
- myko 2y agoCan I add Bojack Horseman's "Fish Out of Water" to this list?
- stronglikedan 2y agoDamn I wish I slept as good as any of them did! I can totally relate to the milling around the house in the middle of the night part.
- bombcar 2y agoI appreciate that the subtitles, at least on the DVDs we have, often tell you the name of the music.
- NotYourLawyer 2y agoThey don’t on streaming. I’m always having to google it.
- xattt 2y agoChili’s line is perfectly delivered. It sums up a parent’s love so concisely. I make sure my kids hear it every so often, knowing that one day it will click on an emotional level and they realize what I truly mean.
- Paul_Clayton 2y agoFor some reason — I am musically incompetent — "The Beach" really felt like the soundtrack was very emotive in a way that fit the story. The stately feel in "Sleepytime" may have fit the solar system motif and provided contrast to the earthy elements of the story. I liked "Sleepytime" in part from the expression of letting go while being faithful. Bingo's letting her rabbit go did not mean a complete separation but an expansion (as a few additional rabbits came to help later) similar to a parent allowing a child to grow up and leave while affirming that the child is loved. Bluey also has some similarity to Calvin and Hobbes in that some fantastic elements are not explained. E.g., in "Sleepytime", do Bluey and Bingo have a psychic connection such that they shared part of the dream or is there imagination/unreliable narration or some third option?
- danielvaughn 2y agoThe music really is top-notch. I’m no aficionado, but I remember watching a video breakdown of Stayin Alive by The Bee Gees. If I had guessed, I would’ve said that there were maybe 3-4 instruments in that song. But actually there are like 15 things going on simultaneously. The video showed how critical each one was, and how the mixing produced that distinct sound. Now I can hear things a bit better, and Bluey’s music makes me think of that video every time. There’s so much going on melodically and yet they blend it so well that you don’t really notice. It’s amazing.
- atonse 2y agoThis is what stuck out to me when I first watched it. Sleepytime is a masterpiece not only for the music but the whole episode. Everything about it is perfect. The pacing, the feelings, the moments, even the humor (Jupiter's giant spot). It gets me every single time. Many bluey episodes are like this. But Sleepytime especially stands out.
- prismatic 2y agoAgreed. My three-year-old's favorite episode, by far. Realizing how artistically ambitious and just plain good Bluey is has been an interesting lesson in how kids actually do have good taste/interesting preferences as long as you don't bombard them with the Cocomelons of the world. My daughter likes to say "that makes me happy... and sad!" at the end of a particularly artistic episode, like Sleepytime, the wordless one where it rains, or the final episode ("The Sign" - the Citizen Kane of children's television).
- peanutz454 2y agoRain and Rainbow... the best music ever, even among all of Bluey episodes. That episodes takes me back to my childhood. Just listen to these: Rain - https://youtu.be/U7Pvxqe2JvM https://youtu.be/U7Pvxqe2JvM Rainbow - https://youtu.be/j1E8C_qLjbk https://youtu.be/j1E8C_qLjbk
- atonse 2y agoWhen I watched The Sign for the first time, my wife said “you’re going to be crying at the end of it” And sure enough, she was 100% right. It was like peak Pixar, entertaining for the little ones but very deep and full of incredible depth and emotion for the adults.
- _pastel 2y agoBike is the one that gets me - when the full Ode to Joy hits I tear up every time.
- ToucanLoucan 2y ago"Sometimes, special people come into our lives, stay for a bit, and then they have to go" As a kid who grew up poor and moved around a lot as mom tried to make ends meet, this episode fucking obliterated me. Goddamn 36 year old watching a neighbor's kids having to explain that I'm fine, don't worry, to a couple of very confused littles.
- jsmeaton 2y agoThe “hello Bluey” at the end gets me every time.
- ToucanLoucan 2y agoGod my eyes are hot just thinking about it!
- lproven 2y agoIt's lovely, isn't it? My daughter's amazement that I can translate the French bits of dialogue from Jean-Luc were a joy, too. :-) But that made me appreciate the scriptwriting more -- because almost everything Jean-Luc says, Bluey _also_ says, independently, so it works if -- like my wife and kid -- you don't know a word of French.
- SkittlesNTwix 2y agoYou're a survivor. I hope things are easier and more stable for you these days.
- SkittlesNTwix 2y agoIt's a beautiful and special show. As a parent, this one will always resonate with me. I Know a Place (The Creek Song) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2zfr21Yumo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2zfr21Yumo
- base698 2y agoThanks for the recommendation. Watched that before bedtime with my 3 year old. Somehow we had not seen that one. Love the music in Beach and Fruit Bat as well.
- billti 2y agoThe sound designer goes over their use of this type of music in this excellent podcast. You'd really enjoy it. (Available Apple Podcasts, which is where I listened to it, but linking directly here). The next one about the voices is excellent too, so linking both. The care they put into both the show and the people involved is almost as touching as the show itself. https://www.20k.org/episodes/thesoundofbluey https://www.20k.org/episodes/thesoundofbluey https://www.20k.org/episodes/thevoicesofbluey https://www.20k.org/episodes/thevoicesofbluey
- eru 2y ago> One thing I really appreciate about the show is the music [...] The music is great but many shows have great music. What makes Bluey stand out for me is their commitment to 'avant-garde' formal constraints. Some examples: - In the episode 'Faceytalk' they never once break from the perspective of the iPad. - In 'Rain' there's not a single word of audible dialog. - In 'Turtle Boy' there's lots of sign language. Remember, characters in Bluey only have four fingers. The people making the show rose to the challenge of creating proper dialogue using only signs you can make with four fingers. I imagine that's about equivalent to writing English text without the latter 'e'. (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Void https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Void)
- prismatic 2y agoLove this comment. Had never thought about Bluey and Oulipo in the same sentence before, but you're definitely on to something.
- eru 2y agoI only noticed the brilliance of Faceytalk when I looked over the shoulder of my daughter watching a recreation of the episode someone had done with merch dolls and put up on YouTube Kids. The recreation sadly broke the strict rule of 'singe take / no cuts, iPad view only', but that drove home to me how great the original was.
- disillusioned 2y agoThe behind the scenes of Rain shows just how many effects shots they animated, and just how laborious the process was: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GYwru8RdGQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GYwru8RdGQ They also break the 4th wall specifically by showing the animator's point of view in a really fun sequence at the end of Puppets, and it's just... such a treat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhvVl0CW670 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhvVl0CW670
- eru 2y agoThanks!
- ksynwa 2y agoTheir original musical is top notch too. I am not an expert on music but I was watching the music video for Rain and it hit home how much talent and effort they put in it.
- rasjani 2y agoTwenty Thousand Hertz (sound design podcast) had episode about Bluey with its sound designer Dan Brumm last year. https://www.20k.org/episodes/thesoundofbluey https://www.20k.org/episodes/thesoundofbluey
- dvsfish 2y agoI remember one of the bluey episodes (something to do with monkey bars?) used ode to joy a few times throughout, and in the credits simply had "music by Ludwig". A very cute nod.
- iab 2y agoSleepytime is the best episode of any show I’ve ever seen
- TravisPeacock 2y agoJust a little Easter egg: The guy that does the music for Bluey plays the musician.
- montroser 2y agoYes, "Sleepytime" is one of the greatest few minutes of television the world has ever seen. It exhibits such deep empathy and understanding of what it is to be a parent of small children, what it is to be a child, a sibling, a member of a family, to dream, to tire, to need. And "The Planets", a beautiful work of art in its own right, fits so well it must be itself an inspiration for the story on the screen.
- SecretDreams 2y agoSleepytime is a beautiful episode!
- sandworm101 2y agoThe first episode I ever sat down to watch caught my attention because it used 'In the Hall of the Mountain King' throughout. That isnt typical of kids entertainment.
- codeduck 2y agoBluey learning to ride her bike to the slow building of the Ode to Joy was a moment of profound and innocent joy for me.