Why Is Bluey So Popular?

You may have heard of the popular Disney children’s show called Bluey. Even if you haven’t, chances are that you have seen the blue and yellow cartoon dog around. Bluey is seemingly everywhere. 

You might be asking yourself, “Why should I know of some boring old little kid show?” It is a perfectly reasonable question and one that I often ask myself, which is I wanted to find the answer.

According to Wikipedia, the show is about Bluey, a curious, imaginative, and energetic Blue Heeler puppy who explores the world with her younger sister, Bingo, her father, Bandit, and her mother, Chilli. The show is based in Australia and its main themes consist of family and growing up. Wikipedia also mentions that Bluey was intended for preschool aged children, which raised my question again, “why is Bluey so popular?”

My first interaction with the show was a few years ago when I was hanging out with my little cousin while he was watching Disney Jr. Naturally I started watching the show with him and at first didn’t give it much thought. I dismissed it with the typical, “oh my generation was so much better. We had Yo Gabba Gabba and PJ Masks and nothing like this boring talking dog stuff.” Well, that is what I said until I looked up again and became instantly hooked on Bluey’s current adventure. In fact when my cousin told me he was bored and was about to change the channel, I found myself yelling “no” and taking away the remote. How dare he switch the channel while Bluey was learning a valuable lesson about imagination! I may have overreacted a little, but while I wouldn’t necessarily choose to put Bluey on in the first place, I definitely wasn’t about to turn it off.

About a year or two later, Bluey started to gain its current popularity. This is when things started to get weird. One of my friends discovered the Bluey Official Website where the true Bluey fandom comes to life. You can even, and I quote, “join the Bluey Newsletter for activities and exclusives from Bluey!” This brought up more questions like, “who exactly is Bluey marketed towards?” or “should I be binging Bluey right now?” Surly four, five, and six year olds are not constantly checking the Bluey Website for updates or signing up for the newsletter. Even if they somehow found out about it I’m sure their parents are not looking for emails from Bluey crowding up their inbox, so again, who is Bluey really marketed to? 

Another confusing piece of evidence is Bluey merch. It is hard to go to Target and not see something Bluey related. I have seen many Bluey stuffed animals and crafts in my time, but perhaps my most interesting find was the cropped Bluey tank top. This tank top, while super cute, is definitely not intended for the preschoolers the show was made for. 

By now it is safe to say that the Bluey fandom has gotten a bit out of hand. (I came to this conclusion when I discovered “Bluey’s house” on Airbnb.) However, it is not to say that the fandom is bad. It might be a little weird at some points, but weird can also be good. Not to get all philosophical, but the answer to Bluey’s popularity might be unique to each six-year-old, parent, caregiver, Disney adult, or the occasional teen that comes across the show. Even from the handful of episodes that I have watched, I have come to my own personal conclusion on Bluey’s popularity. That being said, if you want to spend eight minutes watching a preschoolers show to figure out the Bluey fandom, then go right ahead! Enjoy! No judgment here!

Source and Image credit:

“Bluey (2018 TV Series).” Wikipedia, 31 Jan. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluey_(2018_TV_series).