- Content: “Accepting God’s Plan”
| None | Light | Moderate | Heavy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Language | ||||
| Violence | ||||
| Sex | ||||
| Nudity |
Watch:
What You Need To Know:
These episodes are not only well animated but have top notch storytelling. The characters are all relatable by both children and adults. The entire purpose of each episode is to teach important life lessons for every person. “Ghostbasket” shows how the elderly should be treated. “The Sign” is about trusting in a divine plan even when life doesn’t go your way. Thus, both episodes have strong moral worldviews. “Ghostbasket” and “The Sign” are a delight for children of all ages, including parents and grandparents.
Content:
Strong moral worldview in both episodes, “Ghostbasket” shows compassion to the elderly which directly connects with the Golden Rule, “The Sign” has many moral lessons in it, the first and main one is trusting in a divine plan even when things don’t go your way, Bluey spends the whole episode running into situations where “luck” seems to flipflop between good and bad luck based on one’s perspective, but every action has unexpected and good consequences in the end, Bandit and Chili also spend the episode in the moral conundrum of being parents providing the best life for their children, they parents struggle between uprooting their family for a better paying job so they can provide more for the future or staying in a place where their children and adults are happy, Bandit ultimately chooses his family’s wellbeing over a better paying job, prioritizing being a good father and husband over his job, plus there are some light Christian elements such as a wedding takes place and is treated like a sacrament, and Frisky is referred to as a Godmother;
No foul language;
Frisky kicks a gnome in anger in the episode “The Sign”;
No sex;
No nudity;
In “The Sign,” there are a few moments of alcohol being used in the wedding, and where there seems to be characters getting drunk or having alcohol in the wedding including Uncle Rad, Aunt Frisky, Uncle Stripe, and Grandpa Bob, plus Uncle Stripe even appears out of a bush the next day after drinking too much;
No smoking or drugs; and,
There is a moment where a single mom, Terriers’ mom, and a divorced dad, Winton’s dad, are shown moving in together although the nature of the relationship is not explained.
More Detail:
In “Ghostbasket,” Bandit pretends to be a realtor to sell the Heeler home, and Chilli pretends to be a buyer. Bandit in this game has been trying to sell the house for weeks but is constantly thwarted by THE GRANNIES! The Grannies are Bluey and Bingo’s pretend personas of old ladies, which appear in many episodes previously. Bingo becomes Rita who’s hard of hearing and the slower of the two. Bluey becomes Janet, a more direct and gentler nanny who has a tendency to nap in random places. In this episode, the grannies are trying to prevent their house from being sold by pretending that the house is haunted by a ghost basket. However, Chilli discovers it and buys the Grannies’ house. Bandit rejoices until he feels bad for the old ladies, so he scares the customer away. The Grannies thank him, but he says, “I can’t do this forever.” The game seems to end. Then, a FOR SALE sign appears in front of the Heeler’s home, indicating that, outside of the game, Bluey and Bingo’s parents are planning to move.
At 28 minutes, “The Sign” is the longest Bluey episode to date (most episodes are seven minutes long). “The Sign” has two main stories. The first story is Bluey and the rest of her family adjusting to the idea of moving, and the second is the wedding of Rad and Frisky, Bluey’s uncle and godmother, respectively.
In the beginning, Bandit reveals he got a job offer that would pay significantly more but to get it he would have to move his family out of Queensland. Bluey doesn’t take the news well, and she expresses her feelings to her classmates and teacher, Calypso. Calypso tells her a story called “The Farmer,” which has the lesson that everything will turn out how it’s supposed to, a lesson that gets referenced throughout the episode.
At the same time, Frisky, the children’s godmother, is setting up her wedding in Bluey’s Backyard. Bluey is sitting on the porch because she knows that her house just got sold. Muffin, her cousin, tells her if they get rid of the For Sale sign, then the house won’t be for sale. The four Heeler cousins try to get the sign out with the help of Frisky until Frisky gets news that her fiancé, Bluey’s Uncle Rad, was planning on having them move after the wedding, without talking to her. Frisky then declares the wedding off as she drives angrily away.
Bluey tells her mom what happened, and her mom decides to go on a quest to find Frisky, bringing along Bluey, Bingo, and their cousins Muffin and Socks. This leads to a series of misadventures, which eventually leads to Frisky and a reveal that Chilli doesn’t want to move either. At this point, Bluey comes to terms with life and that things will work out the way they are supposed to do.
One of the most satisfying parts of these episodes, especially “The Sign,” is the satisfaction and easter eggs of other previous episodes. For example, there is the return of the children’s grandfather Bob after he seemed to be missing. Chilli’s sister, Brandy, returns, and she is pregnant despite the implication in the episode “Onesies,” that she would not likely have children. Bluey’s friends Winton and the Terriers end up as a family when Winton’s dad and the Terriers’ mom get together. These and a whole bunch more references to earlier episodes happen.
“Ghostbalset” and “The Sign” are well animated, with some of the best background music in a television series. However, what makes the show iconic is the emotional depth that the show is willing to go to while still being appropriate for children.
The two new episodes both teach moral lessons. “Ghostbasket” highlights the treatment of people’s homes and how the elderly should be treated. “The Sign,” however, is all about trusting that things will work out the way for good, that all the decisions everyone makes have unseen consequences both seeming to be good and bad at the same time of happening. This is almost a direct connection to the Christian concept of trusting in God’s plan.
“Ghostbasket” and “The Sign” are a delight for children of all ages, including parents and grandparents.
