Buuuuuuut why should you care..?

After the emotional bludgeoning kids and parents got from the extended, penultimate episode of season 3 ‘The Sign’, some of you might not be ready to talk about Bluey just yet.

Created by Joe Brumm, Bluey is the animated Australian phenomenon that follows the Healer family, dad – Bandit, mum – Chilli, and sisters – Bingo and Bluey. These anthropomorphic dogs (blue heelers) have been accruing some staggering viewing figures, an average of 1.19 billion minutes of viewing per week, according to Nielsen’s streaming ratings. And whilst the targeted demographic is presumably preschoolers – it’s been proving incredibly popular with adults too.

Oh Biscuits

Why? It’s particularly wholesome, every show follows a morality arc – being navigated by kids and parents (on screen as well as at home) at the same time. One episode, Bumpy and the Wise Old Wolfhound, reimagines the famous Buddhist tale of Kisa Gotami.

It’s well written and heartfelt; educational but not preachy; at times can be genuinely hilarious (just have a look at the video below); it’s relatable, Bluey’s world isn’t perfect – adults drop the ball in keepy-uppy and in life, kids fall out with each other, have bad days, and some characters exhibit neurodivergence; and perhaps most importantly, it deals with themes that can be challenging to discuss with young children, in a way that’s accessible for them.

In fact, if you exclude the fact that it occasionally makes parents feel inadequate, and suffer the odd ugly cry, it’s an almost faultless production.

How very dare U(AE)?

And the great news for UAE-based Bluey fans, is that a live performance version – Bluey’s Big Play The Stage Show is headed for the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi with seven live shows taking place between August 30 and September 1. Tickets are live on EtihadArena.ae and start from 95 dollar-bucks. That’s Dhs95 to you and me.

We don’t know much about the plotline of the show – but we do know it’s a completely original story written by Bluey creator Brumm, featuring music by Bluey composer, Joff Bush and is set to include “puppetry, live actors, and iconic sets”. It’s being brought to Yas Island with the help of Theory Eleven Entertainment and if we were to share our wishlist of inclusions – it would probably start and end with Muffin Healer. Maybe Unicourse. And The Grannies.

If you can’t hold on until the summer, the full 150-episode library is available to stream through Disney+, Free with Disney+ subscription (Dhs39.99 per month).

Etihad Arena Abu Dhabi, August 30 to September 1, from Dhs95. etihadarena.ae

Images: Platinumlist