Bluey's theme song was the first memory that came to mind.
The opener, which features a family of four talking blue and red heeler dogs dancing to Joff Bush's melodica music, has been viewed over 10 million times on the video sharing website.
The number offers a small glimpse into the popularity of Bluey, but it doesn't really tell the whole story. Since its launch in Australia, the show has been the number one children's show in the country. Bluey is a funny, absorbing, and calming series that you could have rolling for hours in the background without ever knowing it.
It's become so popular. I spoke to a number of grownup fans of the show, including the co- host of Bluey, to find out.
Bluey is an Australian kids' TV show that tells the story of a family of dogs and their two young daughters. One story shows Dad taking the girls on a chaotic trip to the swimming pool, while another shows the entire family playing a game on an imaginary bus. Stories can have moral or deeper meanings.
The creative team's own experiences as parents inspired many of the script ideas for the episodes.
You want to make a story about something, but it needs a game. In 'Bike', Joe watched a small boy trying to put on a backpack by himself, and that's Muffin. After getting one arm in, he tried to get the other arm in, but was spinning around and around. Suddenly, you have a story about resilience and not giving up, because you combine that with Bluey trying to ride her bike and Dad encouraging her.
Dad is always getting roped into various games by Bluey and her sister. Credit: BBC Studios
Bluey's quality is the first thing you notice. The animation is amazing. The level of effort goes into it.
A team of 50 to 60 people are needed to make each episode. There's script, storyboarding, voice recording, animatic, background, animation, music, and sound to sync across departments Pearson says it's unusual that Bluey has its own department.
"Bluey" has some seriously high quality animation. Credit: BBC Studios
Each episode has a sound designer who records custom sounds on location for each episode. The effect adds up and gives the show a rich texture.
Kate McMahon, a comms manager who co-hosted a Bluey podcast called "Gotta Be Done with almost 1 million downloads", says she grew up playing music. Joff Bush uses clever composition throughout the show. Children's shows usually have one repetitive theme used throughout. Every episode of Bluey has an original score with different pieces of music.
The response was huge when I asked if anyone wanted to talk to me about Bluey. The responses were unanimous.
"We always start watching Bluey with the children, but they inevitably see something shiny and wander off, leaving us watching it for several episodes," says Catherine France, who has two children. Everyone I talked to agreed with it.
"There have been many occasions where he's wandered off and I've stayed glued to it."
Bethan Moore, who works as a head of sales in the publishing industry, says that she only puts it on for her 16-month-old son, but that he wanders off and she stays riveted to it. My partner and I spend a lot of time discussing our favourite episodes and have been able to get members of the family to watch them.
"Bluey" often revolves around a game. Credit: BBC Studios
What makes Bluey appealing to everyone?
The relatability of the show was one thing that kept coming up. I felt like I was in Bluey's parents' shoes. Bandit appears to be a good father, but he's not perfect. In the "Yoga Ball" episode, Bingo has to tell Bandit he plays too rough during games, and at various points in the show we see how tired he is.
Bluey shows the tough parts of parenting as well as the fun bits, and includes lessons you don't find elsewhere.
"I like that it appeals to the kids and also has asides for the adults, rather like panto but done better and more subtly," actor/director and mum-of-two Emily Howlett says. I enjoy the themes it explores.
"As my husband says, there's not a single bad episode," says the mother of two. The animation is great, the Heeler house is great, and the writing is moving and touching.
Most kids' TV is the same; it's boring and annoying. Bluey feels authentic and real. The parents are trying to juggle work and parenting, they're tired, they get frustrated, and the kids are making friends. It's never patronising to learn something in an episode for adults and children. We would like to have more time to play with our kids.
"There's no show on TV that can make me laugh and cry within seven minutes like 'Bluey' can."
The show comes with a lot of realism despite being about a family of cartoon dogs. There are moments of tension between sisters Bluey and Bingo, and episodes like "Sleepytime" show how draining sleepless nights with young children can be. People connect with the show by being realistic.
Bluey can make me laugh and cry in seven minutes. It has changed the way I raise my children.
Bluey can be watched on Disney+ as well as on CBeebies.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
