Bluey is one of the most beloved animated series of the last decade, and rightfully so. The Australian animated series has dominated our screens since 2018, largely thanks to Disney+, and both kids and adults have been consumed by its sweet and wholesome vibes. However, is it really all that sweet?
One of the show's biggest strengths is how little it panders to the younger audience members paired with how grounded in reality the canine-inhabited Brisbane seems to be. That being said, did Bluey get too real in a favored episode?
Bad dog!: Fans spot racist character in Bluey
In an age of cancel culture and the "woke" movement, it feels like everything on our screens is problematic at some point, but are people genuinely crying racism at something like Bluey? The answer may surprise you.
Recently, the episode "Granny Mobile" was brought up on the Adult Bluey Fans Facebook page and one line has some viewers raising their eyebrows as a character appears to call Chilli an offensive name. The thing is, there might actually be a nugget of realism here.
In the episode, Bluey, Bingo, and Muffin are playing Grannies at their neighbor Doreen's yard sale where she's trying to sell a rascal scooter. Enter a very grouchy pug granny who gives the parents a very hard time while trying to buy the titular granny mobile, mistaking a disguised Muffin for its owner.
All perfectly innocent fun, right? However, a user states "I never thought of racism being in Bluey until I heard this," referring to the Grouchy Granny calling Chilli a "cattle dog" while bartering with Muffin, telling Chilli to "Stay out of it, Cattle Dog."
While Bluey creator Joe Brumm and his team of writers likely didn't intend this line to have any sort of racial context, it does make a little bit of sense that a world inhabited by different dog breeds would have culturally appropriate (or inappropriate) names. Although Chilli and Bingo are Red Heelers, they are still "cattle dogs" at their base level.
It should be noted that this isn't the first time the subject has been addressed by the fandom, and Aussie Girl Margie (a known Bluey influencer) goes into much better detail on the matter. You can find her take on the discussion in the video here where she makes several interesting observations.
This writer knows it's 100% ridiculous to try to pinpoint a gotcha moment in something like this, but the implication does give the show's world a sense of reality. It's not all Unicourse and Keepy Uppy in Bluey's world, but it only allows the writers to show viewers how to combat those times.
We're not saying Bluey needs to "get real" or edgy to still be relevant, but helping kids (and some adults) cope with harsh realities is something the show has done before. Go rewatch "Copycat" or "Stickbird" if you need further proof.
Was this a "racist" moment? Probably not, but that doesn't mean Bluey fans won't encounter it at some point. While we still prefer ice cream to valuable life lessons, to say that the show wouldn't address the issue would be untrue.
Bluey and all her "problematic" episodes can be streamed on Disney+ and ABC iView.