10 Times Bluey Got Real
Since 2018, Australian export Bluey has established itself in the elite echelons of children’s television. One of the key reasons the Heeler family has endeared itself to audiences is the fact that it does not talk down to kids and despite being a show about cartoon dogs Bluey has a certain grounded realness. This has led to the cartoon to gain a fanbase beyond its intended young audience as even a strong number of adults enjoy it. Even I, as a childless man in my 30’s enjoy it. With this being the case, when Bluey tackles a serious topic it does so with an honesty that is both grounded and heartfelt.
1. Death (Copycat): From the first thing in the morning, Bluey decides to play a game of copycat with her father Bandit. It is all a good bit of fun as they joke around and take a walk through the neighborhood. But the fun comes to an abrupt end when the two find an injured budgie on the ground and decide to to the little bird to the vet’s office. As children often do, Bluey grows attached to the budgie in short time meaning it hurts all the worse when the bird passes away. On the car ride back, Bluey and her father have a frank discussion about how some things are out of our hands and all we can do is make the most of a situation where the results are not what we wanted.
2. Aunt Brandy visits (Onesies): In this episode Bluey and Bingo finally get a visit from their often hinted at Aunt Brandy, voiced by the always great Rose Byrne. Like all cool aunts she comes bearing gifts in the form of onesies for the girls. At one point in this episode a naïve Bluey asks Chili why her older sister has not visited before. In a way that is perfectly grasped by children and adults alike, the mother explains how Aunt Brandy wants something more than anything but it is impossible for her to have it, in short she is infertile so seeing her nieces takes a heavy emotional toll that she so far has not been ready to deal with. The moment of Aunt Brandy with her arms outstretched watching Bing, the girl who looks like her, run off and play will hit anyone with a heart. This is a sensitive topic which the writers of Bluey expertly tackle with both care and honesty.
3. Jack is good at playing Army (Army): As someone who deals with ADHD myself, I will not lie this episode hit me a bit harder than most especially considering when it is portrayed in media ADHD is presented as mere destructive hyperactivity. Grappling with with his neurodivergence, Bluey’s friends Jack has all of the recognizable hallmarks: he is incapable of sitting still, seemingly important information flutters away from the brain, and the lingering feeling that others do not like you because of it. In this episode he makes a new friend in Rusty who teaches him how to play army. At one point during the fun, Jack reveals that he thinks there is something wrong with him because of all the ways his ADHD holds him back. Despite this all, Rusty saw firsthand that his new pal is good at the very things he beats himself up over and proudly informs Jack that he is indeed good at playing army.
4. Found toy (Turtleboy): Even in this day and age seeing someone who deals with a disability in media is rarer than it should be. The episode starts like any typical episode as Bandit takes Bingo to the park where they stumble across a toy dubbed Turtleboy. But after the Heelers leave a hearing impaired child and his mother come to the park and have identical adventures with Turtleboy as Bingo and Bandit only they communicate through sign language. On the surface it is another fun and playful episode of Bluey, but the the underlying message of “Turtleboy” is that despite any physical differences we are all the same and if we teach viewers that at a young age it will hopefully resonate with them the rest of their lives.
5. The cycle of life (Flat Pack): When the family gets a new flat pack swing, Bingo and Bandit have plenty of packing material to play with while Bandit assembles the actual swing, without taking advice from a cartoon dog. While playing something interesting happens, as the two girls start as fish and become lizard and eventually play through the entire evolutionary cycle of life on earth. With each new “toy” they receive, Bluey and Bingo adapt in order to survive the new elements. Through a mere eight minutes Bluey takes normally complex science and distills it down for younger viewers in a way they will understand.
6. To the canoe (Grandad): As Chili takes Bluey and Bandit to visit her father, she cautions them that Grandad had just had “heartworm surgery” so he needs to be resting and will not take them on his canoe. However, from the start a stubborn Grandad takes the girls on a whirlwind adventure, but it is obvious he is older and slower often getting gassed and having memory problems. Hot on their trail is a Chili who is terrified that her father will hurt himself while she still needs him in her own life. It culminates with Bluey’s mother and her father having a heart to heart on the dock in a moment that should resonate with any adult dealing with an aging parent.
7. Date night (Fancy Restaurant): It is inevitable in a marriage, especially once kids come along, that the romantic aspect of a relationship ends up taking a backseat. In this episode, Bluey and Bingo decide to set up a fancy restaurant for Bandit and Chili to encourage a “smoochy kiss”. Aside from the fact, a fake restaurant run by two children is not conducive to a romantic atmosphere, it is clear the two adults are rusty in the field of showing love to one another. When the “special” entrée arrives, Bandit is quick to rise up and prove that he still has moves and that sometimes true acts of love have nothing to do with
“smoochy kisses”.
8. Brief friendship (Camping): While on a camping trip, Bluey makes a new friend, the French-Canadian kid Jean Luc. Despite the language barrier the two instantly bond over building a shelter and foraging for food while also tipping their hat to the classic Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Darmok”. This also means that Bluey is oblivious when her new friend tells her that he is heading out the next day leaving the young Heeler heartbroken when Jean Luc is not there anymore. That night, while taking Bingo out to a toilet break, Chili gives her daughter an honest lesson in the fact that sometimes in life we have have people who will impact our lives though they may only be there for fleeting moments. Sometimes it is sad but the moments they spend together will last a lifetime. The episode is capped off with a fast forward where an older Bluey is reunited years later with her childhood friend.
9, Separation anxiety (Sleepytime): On this night in the Heeler household Bingo decides she wants to have a “big girl sleepytime” in her own bed without ending the night in her parent’s room. What follows is a dreamland tour through the solar system that is both expertly animated and wonderfully scored. We see what the young girl is going through in the real world reflected in the dream culminating with an encounter with the sun reminding Bingo in her mother’s voice that she will always be there even if she is unseen. By episode’s end Bingo accomplishes her goal and wakes up in her own room proving that she can accomplish what she sets out to do.
10. Race to milestones (Baby Race): While on the monkey bars with Bingo and Chili, Bluey goes on a brag her superior prowess on the playground equipment sparking a flashback from her mother about how everyone has their own pace they do things at. When Bluey was an infant, Chili was part of a mother’s group and watched with a tinge of jealousy as their babies seemed to be hitting certain aging milestones while Bluey lagged behind. As a new mother Chili is terrified that her daughter is not developing at the pace she should, amplifying this is the implication that her pregnancy before this ended in a miscarriage making the pressure she is putting on herself and Bluey all the greater. In the end some comforting words from a friend, remind Chili that everyone reaches their goals at their own time and the she is “doing great”. The final moments of “Baby Race” sees Bluey finally take her first steps in a truly touching scene.
