How we built Bluey’s world
31 comments
·August 1, 2025x187463
alias_neo
> Bluey is the best children's cartoon of this generation
Bluey is the best children's cartoon _for adults_ of this generation.
Our kids are about the same age and age difference as Bluey/Bingo are portrayed, and I can't express how much relief it gives to watch it see your own life played out line for line.
Some days, as a parent you wonder how (badly) you're doing, and Bluey takes some weight off as you realise (and talk to other parents about Bluey) that some things are just universal and you're possibly doing better than you think.
metaltyphoon
> My only complaint is that I am a grown-ass man and shouldn't be tearing up every other episode of a children's cartoon...
This, so, many, times :)
greggsy
My only complaint is the children’s bedtime story books are incredibly effective at delivering their core task - they deliberately draw the stories out so long that they put both parties asleep.
twalkz
Such a lovely show! It’s always fun to see examples of how it takes so much intention to make something that appears simple.
For any adults who have either never heard of Bluey, or never thought of watching a “kids” show, maybe try to an episode the next time you can’t figure out what to stream next. “Sleepy time” (season 2 episode 26) is one of the most renown, but they’re all pretty good! (https://www.bluey.tv/watch/season-2/sleepytime/)
superxpro12
Follow up recommendations: Camping (s1e43) and The Creek (s1e29). But TBH there's so many good ones it's hard to pick. Hammerbarn is hilarious too.
valtism
As someone who has lived in Brisbane, I can attest that it does a really good job of capturing the colour of the city. There is a unique golden hour shade there like no other city I have lived in.
tomhow
There was a brief moderation error, in which I changed the capitalisation to "How we built Bluey’s World", assuming that the article was about the immersive attraction called "Bluey’s World" [1,2], which has been open in Brisbane since last November.
I can attest that it is incredible; we took our kid a few weeks ago and it exceeded expectation. Probably more exciting for the parents even than the kids. Strongly recommended if you can get to Brisbane or if it comes to a city near you some day.
[1] https://www.bluey.tv/blueys-world/
[2] https://www.bbcstudios.com/news/bluey-s-world-opens-in-brisb...
stronglikedan
My niece would love this! As it is, we have to pay over a hundred dollars for our family to go watch bad acting in - not even costumes - but masks on sticks held up in front of faces. Seriously, that was a real, official show over here. Never again.
breakingcups
It seems like a condensed version of the first 2 chapters of this: https://goodsniff.substack.com/
Good read so far! Chapter 3 delves more into the highs and lows of working on the show.
nmfisher
She didn't touch on how visually captivating the colour scheme is for kids. It's unsettling just how much it draws their attention, it's like a drug. It's also (partly) why I prefer Peppa Pig for my 3 year old, it's much easier to him to naturally disengage after 15-20 minutes.
alias_neo
I find it's worth taking a look at your TVs colour settings for cartoons for children, lots of OLEDs can come over-saturated out of the box, our living room TV is tuned for more muted colours.
On the other hand, the topics and content of Bluey is in another league to Peppa Pig, portraying family life quite accurately and in an endearing way that even for us adults can hit home.
Generally we've found that Peppa does not, and the way the parents are portrayed and the children's behaviour doesn't provide any value to impressionable young children.
patentatt
Peppa pig has little to no value though, whereas many people find Bluey wholesome and touching and sometimes really poignant. To each their own, but at least Bluey tries to encourage creativity and play and fun beyond jumping up and down in muddy puddles. The short episode length can be a natural disengage checkpoint with Bluey too, as long as auto play is turned off.
bombcar
Bluey and Peppa Pig (and all shows, really) weren't meant to be binged; it's the downside to having local media or on-demand - it's terribly easy to put on a Bluey and realize you're still watching Blueys three hours later.
szszrk
My kid drooled in front of Peppa (until she decides she doesn't like it after all). The engagement was at the level of YouTube Kids movies from "creators" - which means kid is unresponsive, clearly doesn't process what's going on, wants more of it like, an addict.
I had to cut off YouTube kids aggressively and my kid still wanted those idiotic movies even after a few months.
Peppa had similar effect, but my kid resigned on it's own. They show is just dumb. Teaches nothing. Unless you value things like feeding ducks with bread and cake is good, destroying countryside camping spot with heavy equipment and concrete is fine just because you dropped keys in a hole etc..
Peppa games are also really bad - not clear when you can actually engage, what can be done, instructions are unclear or wrong, plus the is no goal at all.
superxpro12
Youtube in the context of children is brainrot. I had to ban it entirely. It's so addicting and has zero intelligent value. The last video was of a hamster running an obstacle course. Engaging, cute, kinda silly.... but just complete rot. No educational value. It's like brain sugar. We crave it but it demolishes brain cells.
donpott
The primary source cited in TFA was itself submitted to HN some months ago and garnered 100+ comments, for your reference: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43816546
johndhi
I haven't seen it yet - but been watching Tumble Leaf on Prime w/ toddlers recently. Animator friend recommended it -- it's good.
ericcholis
Tumble Leaf is incredible
blondie9x
Mr Roger’s and Reading Rainbow will always be the best children’s programs ever made. No other show in history has been able to entertain children with real people as successfully as they were. You won’t know unless you let your children watch it. It’s just amazing because they engage with it and when you turn it off they don’t have a tantrum like many animated shows or Ms Rachel
trumbitta2
*ever made in the US
Many people in Italy think the same of L'Albero Azzurro.
jnsie
> Bluey is one of the best kids TV shows ever made – fact
Does anything detract from the legitimacy of an assertion more than suffixing it with "fact"? I suppose "trust me" is a close rival. (FWIW I love Bluey)
szszrk
What show does come close in quality of production? Art, morale and educational value, actual fun ideas on how to play (some are impossible to reproduce, but still), consequence in plot over the seasons and even merchandise?
Plus Polish dubbing that I use is of insane quality.
citizenkeen
They weren’t talking about Bluey, they were talking about a writing technique
bombcar
Suffixing "fact" makes it sound like marketing fakeness - fact!
ramon156
Bit unrelated to the post, but I hate how Disney has done Blumm dirty. They want to milk bluey as much as possible (understandable), but if the creator says no then Disney won't listen. There's a high chance we'll never get a season 4, and I'm honestly fine with that if an alternative is a rushed fourth season.
righthand
Dance with the devil and don’t be surprised when the devil steps on your toes.
mrweasel
I don't really know why that "understandable". We see this with so many TV shows and movie francises. There's a reason why there's only two seasons of The Office in the UK version, but it's just beaten to death in the US version. Same with The Simpsons, Futurama, Big Bang Theory, pretty much the entire Marvel francise, Star Wars, Jurassic Park and so many more shows and movies.
You just find yourself in the corner yield "Please stop, it dead! It's been dead for years!" For example Star Wars, that francise is completely ruined, but the fans are insufferable and just keeps pouring money into something that quite frankly sucks by now.
Why must everything be milked dry to the point where we start hating it?
superxpro12
I'm going to disagree on the Star Wars example because Andor is peak Star Wars. And in this hypothetical it would have never been made.
dbetteridge
If you beat the dead horse and money falls out, would you stop beating the dead horse?
patentatt
I know this trope has been beaten to death elsewhere too, but it certainly seems like we haven't seen much really 'new' for like 20 years (as far as popular media that is)
Bluey is the best children's cartoon of this generation. The art is a joy to see, being full of color and well-defined lines/objects, without being overwhelming. I sincerely appreciate the creator's resistance to engineer the show for maximum attention and, instead, focus on telling a good story with relatable characters. The show can move slowly when appropriate and isn't afraid to keep the scene mostly static. The music is great and well directed to capture meaningful emotional moments without being campy. The episode length of ~7 minutes is perfect, especially for families wanting to limit screen time, as it covers a quick breakfast/lunch (or laundry/dishes break) and provides a natural stopping point to move to the next activity. I can't praise it enough and just hope its success inspires more studios to avoid the brain-rot algorithmic-lead nonsense.
My only complaint is that I am a grown-ass man and shouldn't be tearing up every other episode of a children's cartoon...