GoKawiilAs I sit in a theater at the Anaheim Convention Center, a tear rolls down my cheek. The creators and voice cast of Bluey have been talking about the Australian animated show that’s famous for its ability to not only make kids laugh, but also parents cry. It turns out that even talking about the show will make a parent cry.
Fresh off revealing the teaser for the highly anticipated movie on Friday night during Disney’s D23 fan convention, Bluey creator Joe Brumm and fellow writer Richard Jeffery showed off the original pilot of Bluey for the first time, as well as exclusive details about the development of the upcoming movie.
The original pilot — shown during a panel hosted by Nancy Cartwright, the voice of Bart Simpson, on Saturday morning — shows dad Bandit pushing Bluey on a swing while he focuses on playing a Fruit Ninja-like game on his phone, as Bluey asks to be pushed higher and higher. Rusty and Mackenzie show up and dance as they watch Bluey’s swing fly over the top. The absent-minded Bandit then realizes he can’t see Bluey anymore — until he gets hit from behind by the young pup’s swing coming back around.
The hall was filled with laughter as the Bluey pilot ended. But what Brumm eventually went with for a show that became an instant worldwide phenomenon was a far more present and engaged father — exactly what Millennial parents want to see as we muddle our way through the challenges and privileges of having young kids.
“I didn’t want the show to be preachy,” Brumm said. “It felt more important to present a problem … and say, ‘yeah, I’ve got that problem, too, and it’s tough work, good luck with it.'”
Bluey was designed to draw in all age groups and let parents know they’re not alone. Every episode has a different writing process, but it always comes from observation and the feelings associated with real events, Brumm said.
“The first part is me writing from that feeling, the second part is adding the wider perspective on what you learned,” he explained, adding that when he started writing episodes, he suddenly had producers calling him, crying.
Fan-favorite episode Baby Race came from Brumm observing his wife struggling with adapting to motherhood — he said she found the script he had written and cried for 15 minutes after reading it.
“That’s Bluey — every inch of my life that I’ve been able to pull out of myself,” he said.
Making the show a co-viewable experience for 4-year-olds and 40-year-olds alike meant the scripts are “incredibly difficult to write,” he said. Lessons for all age groups and shared laughter are at the core of every single episode: In Faceytalk, Muffin is learning how to share a tablet with Socks, while their parents, Stripe and Trixie, are learning to share parenting, he said. In Onesies, Bluey is learning she can’t get the cheetah costume she wants, while Aunt Brandy is learning how to cope with infertility.
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