By: Annie Huang
On October 1st, 2018, children’s television series, “Bluey” was released. The Australian cartoon is about a family of talking dogs named the Heelers. The series instantly became a hit, winning an International Emmy, which attracted millions of views around the world and even inspired podcasts, upcoming musicals, and merchandise.
The television series shows six-year-old Bluey and, her little sister, Bingo, and their rock star parents known as Bandit and Chilli Heeler. The parents are shown playing with their kids, letting them climb all over them and partaking in plenty of activities.
Many people think the reason to the success of “Bluey” might just be because of its blend of knowing parental humor, preschool silliness and deep humanity.
Daley Pearson, executive producer of Bluey and the co-founder and director of Ludo Studio in Brisbane, Australia, where the show is created, told local news reporters, “For a while, people didn’t know if it was Peppa Pig or Family Guy.”
Dave McCormack, who voices Bandit, sees a lot of himself in the character. “There’s some episodes where he tries to invent games where he gets to just lie on the couch and read the newspaper or watch cricket or something. I find in real life as a dad, I try and invent games that involve me lying on the couch and watching TV as well,” he says.
Allison Hasser, a mother of two children who lives in Takoma Park, Maryland, says Bluey is one of the few shows she’ll watch with her kids, “because the adults aren’t perfect.”
Hasser presents an episode in which Bingo is dragging her feet on a family outing, complaining that she’s tired and “can’t walk another step,” so Bandit and Chilli instruct her to do fun things like race her sister or return a dropped pacifier to a baby’s mom. Bingo instantly goes from sulking to perky with each new task.
“I’m basically taking notes, like next time we take a walk, I’m going to use this, too.” Hasser says.
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