Tyler Hilton shrugged it off when his 5-year-old daughter, Winnie, became obsessed with a series introduced by a nanny. “Uh, OK … a dog family,” he thought, doubting its appeal. But as the musician and actor became unable to escape listening to Bluey’s World in the background of his Canada home, he soon found himself chuckling, impressed and engrossed.
“The parents were so relatable and mirrored the parent I wanted to be,” says the One Tree Hill star. “They weren’t removed and authoritative, but super-loving, involved and part of the fun — but also exhausted and exasperated sometimes. It was like watching me on screen. Then I got to episodes that made me want to cry and went, ‘This is the greatest show ever.’”
The father-of-two’s now hooked on the animated series, was devastated he couldn’t visit immersive experience Bluey’s World Brisbane during his recent Australian tour and has ventured into children’s entertainment himself with an upcoming book, Daddy: Live in Concert.
Hilton’s not the only one all-in with Bluey. Since its 2018 premiere, the series has amassed a global following that saw special extended episode “The Sign” rack up a record-breaking 10 million views on Disney+ during its first week. The series also became the most-watched show in America in 2024.
However, it’s the remarkable impact offscreen that has transformed Bluey into a global juggernaut, which has some declaring the pup the Taylor Swift of children’s entertainment. Whether it’s kids talking in Aussie slang, tourism campaigns centered around the cute canines, live shows, merchandise, an upcoming movie or Disney welcoming Bluey into resorts and cruises, the brand — worth an estimated $2 billion — has infiltrated entertainment, culture, education, parenting and travel.
Created by Australian writer-director Joe Brumm, the Emmy-winning series follows imaginative 6-year-old Blue Heeler puppy Bluey, younger sister Bingo and parents Bandit and Chilli. Inspired by hits like South Park, plus his experience parenting two daughters, Brumm wrote a pilot that was developed by Queensland’s Ludo Studio and co-commissioned by ABC and BBC.
“All the little conflicts or emotional stuff that’s going on is from watching my kids,” Brumm told The Saturday Paper. “One kid is always doing [something] to another kid, and you talk it through with your wife and friends and you read books — you’re always trying to figure some issue out.”
It only took one seven-minute installment for Australian theater producer and promoter Andrew Kay to jump on board. He became compelled by the episode “Spy Game,” in which Bandit waits for Bingo to finish in the restroom during a park barbecue. “How you going, Bingo? I can feel my sausages burning,” Bandit implores. Bingo replies, “I started just doing a wee, and now it turned into poo.”
“I’d never seen a children’s show talk about real life like that,” says Kay. “I thought, ‘This is charming, funny and real.’”
Kay swiftly secured live touring rights and created theater adaptation Bluey’s Big Play, which continues touring the world. Taking the show abroad was eye-opening.
“At Madison Square Garden, there was 20 adults and four children from New Jersey — parents, aunt, grandparents. That’s true of Bluey. People want to participate as a family. I’ve done children’s shows where you’d rather put a pin in your eye, but you go because your child loves it. But with Bluey, everyone’s thrilled.”
It may be Bluey’s world, but Bandit and Chilli have largely spawned the series’ intergenerational reach. Dr. Pamela Rutledge, director of the Media Psychology Research Center, says the two present a balanced view of parenting young, energetic kids as wonderful and rewarding, but frustrating and exhausting.
“Bandit and Chilli model positive parenting behaviors, such as validating emotions and encouraging problem-solving, while sharing their shortcomings and missteps — validating parents’ worries about their own challenges,” says Dr. Rutledge. “When Bandit and Chilli intervene, it lets Bluey and Bingo feel heard rather than minimized.
“In the episode ‘Yoga Ball,’ Chilli helps Bingo develop her ‘big girl bark,’ so she can tell others when the play’s too rough for her. Bandit validates her feelings by making sure he understands how rough is OK. That’s in contrast to responding, ‘You’re fine, we’re just playing,’ which undermines a child’s confidence in expressing their feelings.”
The show’s bravery in exploring mature topics, like infertility, has also moved parents. Hilton’s been left emotional after episodes about death and loneliness. Dr. Rutledge believes resonating psychologically with different generations has boosted Bluey’s appeal.
“Episodes that deal with difficult subjects balance age-appropriateness without minimizing the emotions adults may feel,” she says. “Most toddler shows deal with emotions in a superficial way and rarely put them in real-world contexts.”
Like Bluey, Brumm’s from Queensland and his spotlight on the “Sunshine State” has fueled tourism. As fans began matching show locations with spots like Brisbane’s South Bank, and bloggers began posting Bluey-themed guides, visitor interest accelerated.
Tourism and Events Queensland began offering Bluey itineraries, including one by Melanie Zanetti, who voices Chilli. The organization’s 2024 campaign “Queensland is Bluey’s World, For Real Life” proved pivotal, attracting 680,000 Australian and New Zealand visitors.
“We began to see conversion of tourist interest from the show into visitation to the state,” says TEQ’s Ollie Philpot. “The data shows a tangible increase, particularly from families.”
“Bluey’s warm, welcoming and has shared our lifestyle with a global audience,” he adds. “It’s also brought our tourism industry together for our biggest campaign in a decade.”
Bluey’s World Brisbane, produced by Kay, is now expected to inject more than $11.4 million (AUD$18 million) into Queensland’s economy.
The fun begins en route with airlines like Qantas and Air New Zealand offering Bluey’s World as in-flight entertainment. Once arriving Down Under, it’s hard to miss Bluey and Bingo “CityDog” catamarans escorting fans along Brisbane River.
Guests are then greeted with “Nearly there!” pavement stickers and handed puppy ears while taken inside, where a gnome declares the best day ever would involve playing with Bluey and Bingo. Kids eagerly help solve clues to find the pair. Along the way there’s mazes, dance sessions, tea parties and characters like Unicorse, who teases, “They’re not here — they didn’t make the cut for my boy band!”
“I don’t think there’s a narrative-driven immersive experience in the world like this,” says Kay, adding that new narratives are in the works so fans can return for different experiences. “Kids feel the excitement of being in the episode.”
I may have been the only adult without kids at Australia’s hottest new attraction, but in a world that’s as popular among adults as youth, no one bat an eyelid. And while parents were engaged in the 70-minute experience, it was the spellbound awe on children’s faces that make Bluey and Swift comparisons unsurprising.
So, what do the two superstars have in common?
“Both Taylor and Bluey can be genuinely enjoyed by parents and kids,” offers Hilton, a longtime pal of Swift. “And there’s a throughline of ‘good’ through both. Neither are cynical, cheap or playing to baser instincts. They both respect the audience and don’t placate.”
Dr. Rutledge adds there’s nothing wrong with toddlers engaging in Bluey with the same passion Swifties feel.
“We tend to think of fandom as an adult thing, but it’s not,” she says. “It can have many benefits, including asense of belonging, social support and creative expression. Shared interests create a common ground, sense of community and shared identity — even for toddlers. They help kids feel less isolated and encourage the development of social skills through collaborative play.”
Bluey’s powerful effect on children is evident in the number of kids picking up Australian accents or slang, like “dunny” for “toilet.” Actor Ryan Gosling told The Project his daughters’ accents are from the show. “Every kid has an Aussie twang now,” he mused. Hilton, who also has an 8-month-old son, Bennett, with director-actress wife Megan Park, adds Winnie’s also picked up a slight accent. “And she calls me ‘mate!’”
Other Bluey fans include Natalie Portman, guest star Lin-Manuel Miranda, Billy Joel (who threw a Bluey-themed birthday for his daughter) and Backstreet Boys singer Nick Carter, who shared Bluey was “on repeat” after watching with son Odin.
Meanwhile, the brand has spawned books, podcasts, toys, albums, clothing, homeware, themed hotel rooms, Facebook groups and a mobile game. There’s also Bluey x CAMP, an immersive experience in selected Camp locations.
Naturally, creators are clamoring to replicate Bluey’s success, but Kay believes it’s a rare phenomenon.
“I once consulted for a company who thought if they could bring together a mix of The Wiggles and Hi-5, they’d have the new supergroup,” he says. “It lasted two weeks because it wasn’t The Wiggles and wasn’t Hi-5.
“You can’t manufacture something like this. Joe’s created something extraordinary and when you get to work on it, you treasure that moment because it may never come again.”
As for fans, the equal number of adults sporting Bluey shirts as kids during my visit to Bluey’s World Brisbane is further testament to the inimitable power of Bluey.
“It’s taught me more about parenting than any books I’ve read or professionals whose brains I’ve picked,” notes Hilton, who was inspired by Bluey when endeavoring to make Daddy: Live in Concert (out on April 8) entertaining, educational and fun for parents. “Their patience, rules, engagement, love and faults make me think it’s a show for parents masking as a show for kids. It’s reminded me many times what an incredible time in both my life and my kids’ life this is.”
