Bluey creator lets knowledge off the leash at WA Education Awards

From the mind of an outback Queensland dad, Bluey is Joe Brumm’s third child depicting modern Australian parenting in a way we haven’t seen before.

Joe was the keynote speaker at the WA Education Awards event recently where he shared the story about how he created Bluey — and what he hopes both kids and parents take away from the show. 

It's clever writing, relatable characters and subtle humour resonates with viewers of all ages and has American children believing that all dogs speak in Australian accents, cementing its place as a bonafide cultural icon. 

In his early career, Joe worked in several animation studios in London, on classic hits such as children’s show Charlie & Lola, before he moved back to Brisbane to raise a family. 

But he was far from done. 

“I was just missing being in that room full of animators again,” he said.  

“There was this itch on my back that I had something like Bluey in me, and I just missed that experience that I had in London.” 

Joe found inspiration from his daughters’ fixation on the everyday chores of adult life. 

“It was so fascinating watching them and how much they would enjoy playing — not these crazy make-believe games, but just recreating the day — what I considered mundane experiences,” he said. 

“You had to go to the shops or go to the doctor, catch a bus or whatever, that was what they wanted to play.” 

Joe said the show emphasises the importance of play and socialisation. 

“That 4 to 6 age group, there's magic right there,” he said. 

“They go from solo and parallel play to ‘I want to play a genuine group game with these other kids’, they have to share roles and have discipline.” 

Joe acknowledges parents’ internal conflict between schoolification and play during this age bracket. 

“We don’t want our kids to be left behind right when they finish school, so the way that manifests is ‘they need to be able to read and write, let's start that earlier and they’ll be even better when they get to Year 12,” he said. 

“But if you start them earlier, they don’t get a year ahead, you just crowd out another developmental phase.” 

Now far beyond a mere cartoon for kids, Bluey is the number 1 streamed show of any genre in the United States and has made Joe one of the world’s most famous animators.  

It’s an accolade Joe wasn’t aiming for, nor expected. 

“My goal with Bluey wasn't this,” he admitted.  

“Obviously, I wanted to be successful, but I just really wanted to enjoy my day-to-day again and be around animators.” 

Hear more about Joe Brumm’s story on his episode of the Ed Talks WA podcast.