Bluey fans, rejoice! We are back with our beloved Heelers just in time for the spooky season!
After an emotional spring that left us worried we might be saying farewell to our favorite cartoon family for good, our friends at Ludo Studio and Disney+ rode in with a vibrant injection of Bluey content during the dog days of summer.
Now that school is back in full swing and Halloween is on the horizon, Bluey, Bingo, Mum, and Dad are back with a full dose of their joy, love, and creativity!
The Pop Break would never let a new Bluey drop go unnoticed, especially when the creative team keeps bringing us banger after banger. From latent musical abilities to simple childhood exhilaration (and even a gag about smoldering frustration with the government), this batch of episodes certainly offers a full bag of treats.
While this article is all about ranking Bluey content, it’s important to note that this is just for fun. Any time we rank or classify Bluey episodes, we have to set a few important ground rules:
- There is no such thing as a bad episode of Bluey.
- The “worst” episode of Bluey is still miles ahead of most other shows produced for children or adults. Every episode on this list and beyond is oozing with noteworthy humor, style, and emotion.
- Lists like this are subjective and should only be used to facilitate conversation and build community around this pop culture phenomenon. Bluey knows how to dig deep into our souls, and each episode will land differently in the heart of each viewer. All of those takes are valid.
Now that we’ve established the ground rules, let’s get to those new episodes!
7. Whirlpool
This episode is gimmick-free and beautiful. Bluey and Bingo start a powerful whirlpool in their mini inflatable pool that draws the attention of their young neighbor, Chucky. He hops the fence when he sees the universal signs of pool time fun. Bluey is no stranger to celebrating the hallmarks of childhood, but this episode excels at capturing the visceral thrill that comes with harnessing the elements. Each time we watch a child step into the current and instantly lose their footing, it awakens our muscle memory and drops us back into the flow. Add this one to the list of episodes that help us recapture childhood wonder.
6. Tattoo Shop
When Bluey and Bingo open a pretend tattoo shop, Bandit sees an opportunity to send up the “tough guy” stereotype and also harken back to his younger, cooler days. After demanding some “bad” ink replete with daggers and flames, Bandit feigns anger and frustration when the girls respond with an absolutely glorious unicorn back tattoo surrounded by hearts, stars, and flowers. This episode has a fun, but simple premise that harkens back to one of this reviewer’s favorite episodes: “Stumpfest.” Once again, we see Bandit get in touch with his feminine side in order to show his girls that real men know how to be vulnerable. What a guy!
5. Government
Listen, we know that Bluey is an Australian show and that this animated world doesn’t revolve around the United States of America, but this episode sending up citizens’ poorly-defined outrage toward the government didn’t reinvigorate this reviewer’s faith in humanity like a more typical Bluey episode. Certainly, finding healthy ways to express our real world frustrations in the presence of children is a global concern. In the end, Bandit’s rant is more of a shot at individuals who embrace rage over solutions than an actual anti-government tirade, so this episode stands on solid ground as another entry into the Bandit-plays-out-adult-frustrations-in-the-form-of-play bucket alongside previous minisodes like “Bingo 3000” and “Three Pigs.” This episode offers a funny Bandit moment with great physical play (Bingo as a typewriter, letter, and mailbox! Whoo!), but it falls a bit short of its counterparts. Nevertheless, this episode lets voice actor David McCormack absolutely cook – and those moments always deserve a special place in our hearts.
4. Phoney
This one goes out to all of the parents who’ve listened to one Kidz Bop cover too many. At some point, you have no choice but to reclaim control of your in-home digital assistant device and demand some Black Sabbath or Rage Against the Machine. If you are feeling particularly tired, you may very well time this request to annoy your own beloved children. So, when Bandit comes crawling out of the kitchen with a mischievous look in his eye and his pain-in-the-ass puppet alter-ego on his hand, we know he is up to no good. Bandit, under the guise of Unicorse, wastes no time ruining the girls’ relaxation time by requesting some heavy metal. Sure, it’s annoying, but it’s all in good fun. Bluey and Bingo even channel their own inner metal head mentality to tackle Bandit and force Unicorse to relent. As an added bonus, “Phoney” also contributes to the drum motif across the October Bluey minisode drop.
3. Browny Bear
Naturally, we’ve all expected Bluey to drop a film noir investigative thriller ever since the Heelers first investigated the question of “who fluffied?” back in “Family Meeting.” When Bandit amuses himself with the ultimate dad gag, surreptitiously poking family members on their opposite shoulders, Bluey delivers the event we’ve all been waiting for. Chilli dons her fancy hat and plays the “dame” looking for support from Mr. Browny Bear. Unfortunately, this puppet P.I. doesn’t pay any attention to her; he is too busy pretending to be John Bonham as he air-drums the day away. From here, the plot is pretty predictable: Dad gets caught in his own glitter trap.
Still, it’s hard not to sit back and enjoy the Bandit show as he riffs and jokes his way into our hearts. As an added bonus, the episode takes some fun visual risks as the animators play with shadows to evoke a noir vibe in the Heeler household. A less sophisticated show might have simply switched to black and white. As a cherry on top, Bandit’s Zeppelin allusion and Browny Bear’s drumming bring us part two of the drum motif across this batch of minisodes. In fact, the only problem with this episode is that the fandom now has to wait for the inevitable showdown between Browny Bear and Unicorse.
2. Blocks
Nana drops in for another great minisode appearance when she promises to keep Bluey and Bingo’s sweeping monument of a block tower city intact for an entire week before the girls return for their next visit. While none of us would begrudge Nana for setting better boundaries or asking the girls to clean up after themselves, Nana’s promise is a hallmark of the grandparenting playbook. She treasures her time with her granddaughters, and surrendering her house to a block tower city is one way to prove that grandparents are just more fun than regular parents. This episode is full of wonderful visual gags, like watching television through one narrow block tower archway, blocking off the room with masking tape, and forcing Grandpa Bob to watch the game from his kitchen chair in the hallway. Of course, the biggest gag comes when Bob topples the towers and our selfless grandparents build themselves into a corner trying to recreate the original masterpiece. Absolutely none of us are surprised when Bluey and Bingo instantly topple the tower upon their return, but Nana kept her promise, damn it, and we couldn’t be happier for her. Oh, the things we do for love.
1. Drums
Way back in July, when the first batch of minisodes dropped, Disney+ teased this episode by including a still image on the landing page for the Bluey minisodes, but we never saw Bingo take a seat behind that drum kit. Now we know why. Clearly, the creative team knew that they had something special here. They wanted to build anticipation.
This episode is special for a zillion different reasons, but let’s look at three of them:
- The sound design and precise pacing. This episode doesn’t waste a moment. We see Bingo approach the electric drum set and quickly establish the audio rules for the episode: once the headphones go on, Bingo can hear a world of loud and propulsive music while the world outside the headphones can only hear dull thuds. We know that Bingo is in her own place. From there, she naturally gets a feel for each piece of the kit and experiments with putting the elements together. While it’s clear that Bingo is a bit of a drum virtuoso, her path to greatness still feels believable.
- A rare miss for Chilli. We all know that Chilli is the greatest parent in all of media and popular culture. This remains true. Still, part of what makes her so great are the reminders that even she is fallible. Like any parent, Chilli only wants what’s best for her daughters, but when we hear her tell the music shop clerk that she thinks the violin would suit her youngest daughter, viewers are asking, “have you met Bingo!?” Chilli, we love you, and we still aspire to be you, but this time you fell into the same trap as Bandit back in “Chest” when he was too eager to force his daughters to learn the finer points of chess.
- A reminder that we can’t define our children. Parents can push and prod, but this episode drives home one of the key Bluey themes: kids learn and appreciate things at their own pace. Something about the drums just clicked with Bingo. Perhaps all of Bandit’s metal and Led Zeppelin has been taking up residence in Bingo’s brain, or perhaps she was just drawn to controlling the beat, but she taught herself more about percussion in a few fleeting moments of play than she was ever going to learn in months of forced violin lessons. We can support our children, but we can’t define them.
Well folks, that’s one dad’s ranking of the latest batch of Bluey minisodes. The final assessment? Seven classics. That being said, please reach out with your personal favorite episodes. It’s unclear how long we’ll have to wait for the next Bluey drop, but we here at The Pop Break are very committed to keeping the discourse alive!
Until next time, enjoy the spooky season and never lose touch with your imagination.
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