If you’re reading this, it’s very likely you’ve at least heard of Bluey, the Emmy award-winning Australian preschool show featuring the Heelers, a family of anthropomorphic dogs. Since it first started airing in 2018 on ABC Kids in Australia, as well as on Disney Junior in the US and internationally on Disney+, the show’s popularity has only grown, both among its target demographic and adults with or without children. So much so, in fact, that it spawned a live stage show, appropriately titled Bluey’s Big Play, that started in its native Australia in early 2021, followed by a US tour in late 2022 that’s still going as of this writing.
Like many others, I first heard about Bluey through social media, in my case Facebook ads promoting the Disney broadcast. The more I saw these ads, and later sightings of merchandise, the more my curiosity grew until I finally caved in and watched the first episode through Disney+. From that moment, I was hooked and soon enough, I had caught up with the entire show as made available in the US. Despite its status as a preschool show, Bluey focuses on simply being a good show, with great writing that doesn’t talk down to its target audience, high-quality animation, great music without being a musical and, best of all, an actual positive depiction of family life that emphasizes the importance of play in a child’s development.
At some point while watching the show, we stumbled on upcoming performances of Bluey’s Big Play at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. After careful consideration, we bought tickets to the Sunday 2:00 performance, the final one for the venue. Though well worth the money, it’s best suited for those who are already familiar with the show, no matter who they are.
