BLUEY: Season One

BLUEY: Season One is an episodic children’s animation show depicting an Australian cattle dog puppy’s life with her family and friends, where she experiences child-like wonders as she uses her wild imagination to play games. Season One of BLUEY is a high quality, entertaining production with bright colors and a moral worldview promoting family, kindness and other valuable lessons such as sharing and growing up. BLUEY: Season One captures an authentic depiction of sisters and early childhood friendships as Bluey learns valuable life lessons.

Though episodic, BLUEY is still consistent in its characters and themes. Most episodes follow Bluey, and her sister Bingo, playing around with their Dad, letting their imaginations run wild. More often than not, Bluey gets too involved in the games they’re playing, so much so that Bingo will get frustrated. At the end of each episode, Bluey would learn her mistakes, compromise with Bingo and find a way to make the games they play fun not just for herself, but everyone involved.

When Bluey isn’t having fun at home, she is out and about playing games with her friends and cousins. These episodes follow the same structure of those between Bluey and Bingo, as Bluey, at the end of each episode, learns to compromise and make sacrifices so that everyone can have fun alongside her.

Bingo and Bluey’s relationship, which is one of the biggest focuses of the show, delightfully captures the dynamic and struggles between siblings. Bluey, being the older sister, gets first say in almost everything they do. She gets first dibs on the toys they use, or be the one to define the rules. Many episodes consist in Bluey ignoring Bingo’s requests to take charge with their toys and/or games. At the end of each of these episodes, Bluey will sympathize with Bingo and allow her to take charge and lead their games.

Bluey’s father is a stay-at-home Dad. He has a strong presence in the show, with a good number of episodes depicting the time he spends with Bluey and Bingo, playing games. He often lets their imaginations run wild, letting them experiment on him as they take up the roles of doctors, or as he acts like a robot. Bluey’s relationship with her father is incredibly strong. Her father is playful, though he will scold Bluey if she takes things a bit too far. However, he’s never aggressive with Bluey.

On the opposite end, Bluey and Bingo’s mom doesn’t have as much screentime in the show as compared to their father. She’s depicted as busier, either running off for work, cooking or simply socializing. There are moments where she does get involved with the fun between Bluey and Bingo and teases them, alongside their father.

At the end of each episode, Bluey succeeds in sharing important life lessons. There are episodes where Bluey learns to share, taking turns, or be tidier. Yet, as mentioned, the show is episodic, so there’s no sense of growth in Bluey’s character. Some of the episodes reinforce a theme used in previous episodes, but this is still good, so that children viewing the show can valuable lessons from multiple episodes instead of it being a one and done deal.

In the end, BLUEY: Season One depicts a surprisingly authentic depiction of a young children and their mannerisms, especially when interacting with friends and siblings. The show displays beautiful and healthy relationship within the family, as both mom and dad take the time to have fun with their children. The parents are never too aggressive when teaching their children lessons, which could be valuable for parents themselves in how to help guide their own children in the right direction. Surprisingly enough, BLUEY is entertaining not just for children, but also adults, with the comedy being witty enough to get a good chuckle out of parents.

The program’s production values are high for a children show. The animation is fluid at times when the characters are running or tumbling around. The voice acting is funny. Oddly enough, the character of Bluey and the other youngsters in the show are voiced by children. Many of the episodes are filled with Bluey and Bingo giggling as they play, giving an authentic feel to the show. The entertainment value is high, both for children and adults, as adults can easily find themselves sitting down to watch a couple episodes and even laughing at moments. The show doesn’t do anything too artistic. Its animation style isn’t anything too ambitious, but rather simple. Despite this, it’s still visually pleasing.

Season One of BLUEY has a strong moral view of family. It has a positive depiction of Bluey’s relationship with her sister, mother and father. There are also common themes of sharing, learning and growing up. For example, there are instances where Bluey learns valuable lessons, such as tidying up when she’s not playing. The only questionable content in this series would be in Episode 9, when Bluey has her dad and uncle play ‘horses.’ She throws together a wedding for them, and though, is all fun and games and is not real, could still come across as immoral. Besides this, there is only the occasional ‘potty’ joke, but it’s all in good humor. None of the potty humor is vulgar and is very brief. MOVIEGUIDE® finds BLUEY: Season One suitable for all ages.