One of the hottest shows out there right now is a little animated series called Bluey on Disney+. The little Australian heeler named Bluey, along with her family, has completely taken over the world. Yes, it may be listed as a children’s show, but it is something that people of all ages can (and should) enjoy. Each episode is only about seven minutes long, so do yourself a favor and add a little joy to your day by putting one on.
Yes, I may be a little biased about how amazing Bluey is since I watch it with my kids. However, plenty of child-free adults have told me they love the show, too. Maybe the high episode count has you feeling a little intimidated about where to start. If that’s the case, you’ve come to the right place: We’ve picked the best episodes for adults and parents to enjoy.
1. “Takeaway”
Taking your kids anywhere opens up an opportunity for chaos. Bandit experiences that firsthand in “Takeaway” when he brings Bluey and Bingo along to pick up dinner. While waiting for part of their order, the kids go from playing a cute game to their food falling in some water and one of them needing to pee in a bush.
2. “Calypso”
Bluey’s teacher Calypso is a force of magic I wish I could emulate, and the episode “Calypso” shows exactly how amazing she is. During playtime, all the children go to play different games and experience problems they want Calypso to help with. Instead of providing them with the answers, she just nudges them in the right direction, and it all comes together beautifully. Sometimes it’s good to remember that doing less can actually accomplish more.
3. “The Beach”
The Heeler family goes on a day trip in “The Beach.” This episode focuses mainly on Bluey pretending to be a mermaid who gets her legs. She wants to chase after her mom but gets nervous about encountering some things alone. However, my favorite part of the episode is when the kids ask Bandit why Chili likes to take walks on her own, and he just says that she likes to be alone sometimes. As a mom who does like to be alone sometimes, I liked how they slipped this normal mom behavior in there without the kids’ feelings being hurt.
4. “The Sleepover”
I don’t know how they did it, but the writers of Bluey perfectly captured having a deliriously tired child around in “The Sleepover.” Bluey and Bingo’s cousin Muffin comes over to stay the night. The girls think they are going to get to stay up late, but Muffin is younger and has just started skipping naps. Muffin unleashes all that crazy kid energy all over the Heeler house.
5. “Hammerbarn”
In “Hammerbarn,” Bandit discovers their neighbor, Lucky’s Dad, got a new outdoor pizza oven. Being a total adult, Bandit gets the family together for a trip to the home improvement store—Hammerbarn—so he can also get a new pizza oven. After watching this episode, I wondered how much a pizza oven would cost and if it was justifiable.
6. “Squash”
“Squash” proves that sibling rivalry never goes away, no matter how old you are. Bluey and Bingo pretend to control Bandit and their uncle Stripe as the adults play a game of squash. The kids compete to win bragging rights, just like the grown men.
7. “Stumpfest”
“Stumpfest” might be my favorite episode of Bluey. Bandit, Stripe, and Lucky’s Dad enjoy being sweaty dudes while removing stumps from the lawn as the ladies watch and sip lemonade. That is, until they have to go against a group of girls trying to run a pretend nail salon. Leave them alone, they are just trying to run a small business! Adults and kids may play differently, but we all still love playing.
8. “Rug Island”
Sometimes it is good to take a step back as an adult. On “Rug Island,” Bandit takes time away from his work schedule to enjoy playtime in the backyard with Bluey and Bingo on their imaginary island paradise. In the end, Bandit knows he must return to his real-world duties, but staying on the island is so tempting.
9. “Sticky Gecko”
“Sticky Gecko” is one of the most relatable episodes of Bluey. Parents can feel Chili’s frustration with trying to get two unwilling children out of the door on time, even though she is trying to take them on a playdate. I think everyone can understand when Bluey and Chili realize that being punctual or stressing yourself out to go to a social situation may not be the best course of action, either.
10. “The Show”
Having children can be rough, but there are moments, like the ones in “The Show,” that make it all worthwhile. Bluey and Bingo put on a show for Chili on Mother’s Day that tells the story of her journey to become a mom. It’s hilarious to hear the children’s take on it and heartwarming when Bluey learns a lesson from Chili on how to help Bingo. The episode is just so cute.
11. “Bus”
I love it when kids have commentary on adult behavior while pretending to be adults, like in “Bus.” When Bluey and Bingo dress as the grannies Rita and Janet, I literally can’t get enough of it. Plus they give Chili relationship advice.
12. “Café”
Making friends gets harder as we get older, but “Café” reminds us that maybe it isn’t as tough as we think. Bluey and Bandit go to the same park each morning before breakfast where they meet another dad and kid. The kids hit it off and the dads do, too. Bandit doesn’t realize he made a new friend until Bluey points it out.
13. “Whale Watching”
In “Whale Watching,” Chili and Bandit party a little too hard at a New Year’s Eve celebration, so they are lying around while Bluey and Bingo watch a documentary about whales (narrated by Natalie Portman). Eventually, the kids want their parents to play with them, and parental guilt wins out over self-preservation. Chili and Bandit are most relatable when not wanting to move after trying to relive their younger, pre-children days.
14. “Unicorse”
“Unicorse” is one of the funniest episodes of Bluey. While Chili tries to read Bluey a bedtime story to get her to settle down, Bandit goes over the top playing with a rude puppet named Unicorse. Sometimes in life we are Chili being irritated, sometimes we are Bluey trying to relax with too much stimuli around, and sometimes we are Bandit being extra as hell. Just try not to be Unicorse because he is the worst.
15. “Fairytale”
Bandit shares a story from his childhood in the 1980s with a horrified Bluey and Bingo in “Fairytale.” It is funny how things we grew up with in the ’80s and ’90s are so foreign to kids now—like not wearing helmets, relentlessly teasing your siblings, and your parents being kind of mean to you. Sometimes your kids don’t realize that you may have been kind of bratty as a child.
16. “Onesies”
“Onesies” is equal parts hilarious and heartbreakingly deep. Chili’s sister Brandy visits the Heelers for the first time in years. She brings animal onesies (like footy pajamas) for the kids. Bingo becomes one with her cheetah onesie and tries to eat everyone. We find out that Brandy doesn’t visit often because seeing the girls (especially Bingo, who looks a lot like Brandy) makes her sad that she can’t have children. It’s vague enough that children won’t get it, but it made me sob.
17. “Space”
It can be easy to forget that children are little people full of emotions that they don’t yet fully understand (honestly, I don’t understand all my emotions, either). “Space” reminds us that kids process much of the outside world through imaginative play. Rusty, Jack, and Mackenzie play a seemingly innocuous game of astronauts exploring space. But Mackenzie keeps trying to get left behind to understand the feelings he had when he thought his mom left him at the playground. They are so small, yet they have so many big emotions.
18. “Housework”
Every adult knows that cleaning your house is the absolute worst. Most of the time we just put our heads down and get through it like Chili and Bandit try to do in “Housework.” However, Bluey and Bingo make up a game while cleaning up their pillow fort. As they pick up the pillows, they have to do a silly walk and cannot repeat the walk during the game. Chili and Bandit watch them and remember that even boring chores can be made into something fun with a little imagination.
19. “Granny Mobile”
Bluey and Bingo’s cousin Muffin is full-on chaos and “Granny Mobile” gives her a chance to shine. It’s always the best when Bluey and Bingo dress as grannies, but when Muffin takes on the role of “grouchy granny,” magic ensues. Muffin even goes head to head with a real-life grouchy granny and lives to tell the tale. I think everyone could add a little more grouchy granny to their daily routines.
20. “Dragon”
Bluey feels like her dragon drawings aren’t good enough. Each member of the Heeler family draws a character like themselves to look for a dragon to encourage Bluey to draw the dragon. Bingo’s skills are as wild as you would think for her age. Bandit’s skills are rough but decent. Chili’s drawings stand out as amazing. As they draw their adventure, both parents recall comments on their drawings when they were around Bluey’s age. Bandit’s drawing received negative comments, which caused him to stop drawing. On the other hand, Chili’s mom (who is deceased) encouraged Chili to keep drawing to improve her skills which were perfectly fine for her age. It shows how little comments, both negative and positive, can shape children.
21. “Cricket”
This episode…wow. The creators of Bluey are so brilliant. It’s astounding what emotional impact they can pack into an 8-minute episode. At a birthday party for one of the kids, the adults try to strike Rusty out in cricket. What they don’t know is Rusty LOVES cricket, so he’s extremely skilled. We see snippets of Rusty’s home life and how he developed his skills. Rusty wanted to play with his older brother and his friends. That meant practicing.
When he gets hit with a real cricket ball, he almost gives up. But after reading encouraging letters from his dad, Rusty continues. He gets so good he can hit the ball to avoid the kitchen window at home. Rusty only gets out when he purposefully hits the ball so his little sister can catch it. Rusty’s supportive family dynamic made this pup into a sweet and talented kid. Much like “Dragon,” this episode shows how encouraging a child can change their lives. In the last shot, we see Rusty walking past his future self—a professional cricket player.
(featured image: Disney+)
