The world of children’s animation is an ever-changing and developing industry which can be essential to children’s development and learning. In this age with technology, and the platforms it provides, it can be harmful and overstimulating for young children who are in the crucial developmental stages and therefore need resources that can help them grow. Joe Brumm is an animator, writer and director who is most known for his heartwarming and incredibly relatable series “Bluey”. His show has become an international success and has gained widespread popularity for its diverse and engaging storytelling, as well as its positive impact on both children and adults. Brumm himself has explained that the show is meant for both children and parents and it’s a lovely thing …
“When a four-year-old sits down with their parent and both actively enjoy watching the show.’’
The reasoning behind the success of ‘Bluey’ comes from the combination of the involvement of childhood experiences, heartfelt and touching moments alongside relatable parental humour.
This animator and writer who seems to mastermind the grappling hit show ‘Bluey’, graduated from Griffith University in 1999 with a Bachelor of Animation. After receiving his bachelor’s, he relocated to London where he gained valuable experience working on many popular British children’s shows including Peppa Pig, Charlie and Lola as well as Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom. Brumm noticed that there was a gap in the market of children’s shows not having a real heart or storyline and often being too overstimulating. He therefore wanted to create a programme where the plot is not only engaging for a diverse audience but also thought — provoking. In 2009, he returned to Brisbane, where he created a small animation studio named Studio Joho intending to create an Australian version of the critically acclaimed show Peppa Pig. Ludo Studio, a local company, picked it up and helped Brumm expand the sample into a five — minute pilot. Subsequently, Brumm along with his wife Suzy created the first season of 52 seven-minute episodes which were released to the Australian public in 2018 and seemingly became an overnight sensation.
Within the show Bluey, Brumm incorporated his own real-life experiences with his kids alongside his childhood nostalgia into the show to make it more relatable and authentic. His show which now has one hundred and fifty-one episodes throughout three seasons, has won an AACTA and even an International Emmy award. Currently, the show is produced by Ludo Studio for ABC Kids (Australia and is co — commissioned by ABC Children’s and BBC studios.
When analysing the lasting impact that will come from Joe Brumm’s work, first you need to analyse and understand why the show he has created has had such a tremendous effect on his target audience and its importance.
I conducted research into the value of children’s shows and how certain shows can be overstimulating and dangerous for younger viewers. When comparing a show like Coco Melon, which is a well-known children’s show with bright colours and a variety of characters, to Brumm’s creation you can see why ‘Bluey’ has gained so much popularity since its release. Some child development experts, including Jerrica Sannes, have confirmed Coco melon as being too stimulating and also likely to cause behavioural problems and attention disorders. Whereas, in contrast, ‘Bluey’ has many factors that contribute to its success including depicting realistic parental problems, encouraging good habits for children and adults, involvement of pop culture references, inclusion of diverse representation, delivery of life lessons everyone needs to hear and tackling serious subjects. Some of these more significant subjects that have been covered include letting go of a loved one, infertility, premature birth, the concept of the afterlife and separated families. It can be argued that the topics have no place being in a children’s show nonetheless I believe that it helps develop children’s empathy and understanding from a young age in a child-friendly and engaging way.
As well as his work contributed toward creating ‘Bluey’, Joe Brumm also worked on many influential British children’s programmes. His work on both Charlie and Lola and Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom and of course Peppa Pig made him realise why shows become so formulaic and why he wanted to avoid the same pitfalls. However, the three shows have each had major success within the UK winning many awards for its contribution to children’s and it should be noted that Joe Brumm contributed to that success with his work as an animator.
‘Peppa Pig’ greatly inspired Brumm and he loved how British the programme felt and wanted to recreate that with an Australian twist in a way four-year-olds and forty-year-olds could watch alongside together. Nonetheless, when comparing ‘Daddy Pig’ to ‘Bandit’, the fathers in both ‘Peppa Pig’ and ‘Bluey’, there are many differences but the most obvious and important is that one is a clueless stereotypical distracted father and the latter is playful, patient and engaged with his children. The teachings of ‘Bluey’ reach out to not only children but also parents as well, by offering a reassuring message and showing flawed but extremely loving parents that people can look up to.
According to Forbes the animation was the most streamed show across any streaming platform in November 2023 hitting a whopping 3.8 billion viewing minutes and was the second most watched show last year on Disney Plus with 43.9 billion minutes. The show is breaking records and pulling in millions of viewers simultaneously which not only shows its current effect but its lasting one. Brumm wrote the episodes in a way that people could watch and rewatch again by making each episode much different from the last and taking inspiration from his own children’s games and stories. Unlike other children’s shows which often follow the same storyline and feel repetitive, Brumm was able to incorporate different locations, characters, and plots which each teach a different lesson and make you feel as though you have accomplished something by the end of it. ‘Bluey’ shows beauty in the ordinary and delighting in the mundane by showing kids being kids which is what makes the show so special and timeless as kids will always be kids.
When looking at Brumm’s work as a whole you can see the immense hard work and dedication it has taken to get him to the place where he is today. As someone interested in going down the possible route of working in the children’s animation industry, it is incredibly inspiring to have someone like Joe Brumm to look up to. Shows like Peppa Pig and Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom are shows that I grew up watching and I feel comfort in knowing that younger children are feeling nurtured when viewing Brumm's content just as I did many years ago.
The whole process of making an episode of Bluey not only takes a massive team but also of perseverance and drive. From writers and animators to sound and music creators, there’s a lot more that goes on behind the scenes so that a five-minute episode can be created for ‘Bluey’.
Every season of Bluey has 52 episodes and takes a team of animators four weeks to make just one episode. When I reflect on this it fills me with jubilation knowing that the new generation of kids are being brought up to learn from the message that Bluey put out. The faithful representation of a healthy family dynamic along with realistic gentle parenting styles which adults watching can look up to and digest as well is incredibly important and necessary in this day and age. With rapidly progressive and growing technology it can be very easy for children to receive the wrong message, especially from social media and therefore I believe that Bluey is doing its part in making sure kids learn right from wrong in a loving and supportive way.
The amount of praise and popularity the show has received since its release speak volumes about how monumental this show is for the industry as fans old and young are loving, learning, and laughing together. In my own opinion, I do believe that it would be interesting to see more sensitive topics covered on the show to teach children the value of being understanding and to learn compassion for those who are different from us. I also believe that a child who may be dealing with or has struggled with a painful situation would take comfort in knowing that they are not alone and could see someone they could relate to on screen.
Needless to say, the work Joe Brumm has done in his industry is more than phenomenal and the countless awards he has one, episodes he has written, and millions of fans he has acquired speak for itself when explaining how influential Brumm is. His work is competing and winning against industry giants who have been on top for years and are doing it at an astronomical rate. With the production being backed by massive corporations such as BBC and Disney, there is no saying just how big the show can become and break even more records. Overall I greatly admire and appreciate the work of Joe Brumm and look forward to what else to come from him in the future.
References
Bluey, 2022. Behind the Scenes with Bluey! [video]. Youtube. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABBqgtnVXqI [Accessed 29 February 2024)
Griffith University, 2021, 2021 Outstanding Alumns — Joe Brumm [video]. Youtube. Available from:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGQ0r4wvHFc&t=1s [Accessed 29 February 2024]
The Remarkable Project, 2021, Joe Brumm — The creative process behind Bluey [video]. Youtube. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfnXvQezvaE&t=250s [Accessed 29 February 2024]
Lacey Rose., 2023. How ‘Bluey’ Became Mom and Dad’s Favourite TV Show, Too. The Hollywood Reporter, 9 June 2023. Available from:https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/bluey-creator-disney-notes-peppa-ping-inspiration-1235508845/ [Accessed 29 February 2024]
Stuart Heritage.,2021.’Peppa Pig, with better parenting’: the bounding success of canine cartoon Bluey. The Guardian, 3 June 2021. Available from:https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/jun/03/peppa-pig-with-better-parenting-the-bounding-success-of-canine-cartoon-bluey [Accessed 29 February 2024]
Shelia Flynn., 2022. The brains behind Bluey: He turned a simple kids’ show into a global hit. Now he’s ready to walk. The Independent, 15 March 2022. Available from: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/bluey-characters-joe-brumm-creator-b2036649.html [Accessed 29 February 2024]
Mary Whitfull Roeloffs., 2023. ‘Bluey’ Becomes Most Streamed Show, Ending ‘Suits’ Streak — Plus This Year’s Other Most Popular Titles. Forbes, 19 December 2023. Available from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2023/12/19/bluey-becomes-most-streamed-show-ending-suits-streak---plus-this-years-other-most-popular-titles/[Accessed 29 February 2024]
femStrong.,2020. How TV is Affecting Your Child’s Behavior and What the Hell You Can Do About it with Jerrica Sannes, Early Childhood Development Expert and Owner of Raise Wildflowers. Apple Podcasts, 3 November 2020. Available from:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/24-how-tv-is-affecting-your-childs-behavior-and-what/id1520813244?i=1000497090552[ Accessed 29 February 2024]