If you have preschool-age children, there's a good chance that in recent days you've been living with anticipation, almost anguish, about the future of a family of cartoon Australian cattle dogs. And if you don't have children, you might as well.
Bluey
is a record-breaking phenomenon. According to Bloomberg, 29% of all content views on Disney+ in the fourth quarter of 2023 were for
Bluey
(excluding movies). Last year, it was the second most watched series in all of
streaming
in the United States. It is estimated that the franchise, which includes video games, applications, books, music albums, immersive experiences, theatrical shows (such as the one that will tour 11 Spanish cities) and products of all kinds, is valued at 2 billion dollars. This Sunday it premiered a special,
The Poster,
28 minutes long (compared to the eight minutes of its usual stories), with which the series dared with another of its usual twists, those that have made it so popular among its followers children and adults alike. The plot of this one included a wedding and a possible move. Hence the anguish.
Bluey
started in 2018. Joe Brumm, its creator, had worked on children's animated series for a decade in the United Kingdom, and upon returning to his native Australia he devised a kind of
Australian-style
Peppa Pig
. Father of two daughters, he decided to show an idealized version of his family, and from there were born the dog Bluey, her younger sister Bingo and the parents, Bandit and Chilli, four anthropomorphic dogs that, with their experiences, extol the enormous value of the family. and to play.
Behind
Bluey
is the Australian Ludo Studio, co-founded by Charlie Aspinwall and Daley Pearson and which was created specifically to launch this animated series. As Pearson tells it in an interview by video call from Brisbane, where the company is based, between 50 and 60 people work to develop the series, which has become national pride for the visibility it has given Australia around the world. “For many it was the first job they had after leaving university. When we started
Bluey,
it wasn't that we didn't wonder if we could make a good series, it's that we wondered if we could make even one episode. “It was a harrowing time,” Pearson recalled last Wednesday. To carry out the more than 150 episodes that make up the three seasons of the series, the team is divided into four groups that work in parallel.
The poster
is the first time the entire studio has worked together on the same episode.
Since its premiere, it became a hit on Australian public television ABC, which was joined shortly after by BBC Studios. Disney later entered the equation, which through Disney Channel and Disney+ has taken the series to more than 60 countries and made it the international success it is today. “In the end,
Bluey
is about family. Despite the accents, despite her location, despite being very, very Australian, at her heart is family. We all know what it's like to be part of a family, it's something you can't escape, you're born there,” Pearson reflects.
In its short chapters, the viewer can find everything. Perhaps that is the key to why it has hooked both the preschool audience and their parents or even adults without children around. An example in his last episode: “Why do stories always have a happy ending?” Bluey asks in class. “I guess because life already gives us many sad endings,” reflects her teacher. Between more or less classic adventures, almost psychedelic episodes about dreams, reflections on depression, infertility, the pressure felt by parents or even a judgment about possible flatulence occasionally sneak in. “We started with very simple stories, and as we have grown and the audience has also grown, we have wanted to risk more. We felt that our audience would go with us to places where children's series had not yet gone.
“Bluey
was always a Trojan horse: under the guise of a series for children was actually a series for parents and children,” says Pearson.
Then more “experimental” episodes emerged, as the producer describes them. Among them,
The Poster,
extra long by the standards of the series. “Very early on, we started talking about how we would like to do three seasons and a movie. “We considered it as a dream.” When it was announced that the third installment would conclude with a special, doubts arose: could this mean that the end of the series was approaching? “There will definitely be more
Bluey
,” the producer clarifies, to clear up doubts.
"Bigger on the inside" you say? ... @bbcdoctorwho 🏠 👀 #Bluey #Ghostbasket pic.twitter.com/91KfUs1s1i
— Official Bluey TV (@OfficialBlueyTV) April 8, 2024
Why, with its pastel colors and 2D animation, does
Bluey
stand out among other current animated series? For Pearson, the key is in the people who make it. Coincidentally, both Brumm, Aspinwall and David McCormack, who voices the father, Bandit, are parents of two daughters. “Those who make the series are living the series. I would say it is an author series. It is not an invention, it is full of very real material,” she says. She also does not hide that there is a bit of idealism behind her representation of fatherhood, especially in the figure of the father, his daughters' regular playmate. “Actually, we're only seeing seven minutes of his days, the seven best minutes,” Pearson laughs when asked about that idealized fatherhood. “Bandit and Chilli are written as aspirational characters. Nobody is like them. It's the best version of us, but they are a dream. In
El cartel,
for example, you see them go through ups and downs.”
In the words of the co-founder of the animation studio, international success has not changed
Bluey
. “If anything, it has increased awareness of the responsibility we have to create the best stories and made us much busier. “We lead an almost monastic life of dedication to the series.” And he tells an anecdote: “I remember that the first review I saw was in
The New York Times.
It said something like 'this series set on a tropical island...'. They talked as if Australia was a fantasy place, as if Brisbane and Australia didn't exist,” he laughs.