By: Alex Chu
If you are an adult and have a small child, you are probably excited to watch Bluey, an Australian cartoon about a family of talking dogs called the Heelers. The movie has attracted many people worldwide and won the International Emmy. The show came out in 2018.
The success of this show is rooted in its blending of different senses of humor, like kids’ silliness and parents’ humor. Parents like the show if their children like it. “For a while, people didn’t know if it was Peppa Pig or Family Guy,” says Daley Pearson, executive producer of Bluey and the co-founder and director of Ludo Studio in Brisbane, Australia, where the show is created.
Each episode is about 10 minutes, with three seasons in the movie. Children excitement while watching these movies mini-movies. 6-year-old Bluey and Bingo play enthusiastically with their parents, Bandit and Chilli Heeler. They’re also resourceful, especially when they’re tired.
In a past season, when Bluey asks if they can play a game, Bandit responds, “As long as it’s one where I don’t have to move any part of my body or say anything with my mouth.” The dad, the Bandit, is Dave McCormack; he says that voicing Bandit had been a special unique experience. “There are some episodes where he tries to invent games where he gets to 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, laughing.
Allison Hasser, a mother of two small children who live in Takoma Park, Md., says Bluey is one of the few shows she’ll watch with her kids “because the adults aren’t perfect.” Hasser singles out an episode in which Bingo is dragging her feet on a family outing, complaining that she’s tired and “can’t walk another step.” When Bluey and Bingo get distracted and lose attention to things, mom and dad let her do fun things and then continue.
“That’s when we first started realizing it was catching on a bit,” says Pearson, “families were recreating these games, and that was a huge surprise for us.”