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The relatability of Bluey and Busytown, as well as the simultaneous utopian nature of them, is what appeals to us. Especially when those relatable moments are born from the mundane and domestic

Scarry’s Busytown books seem to be a long-winded answer to the question posed by his 1968 book title, What Do People Do All Day? The answer is, well, they’re busy. Scarry’s many books are dense with animals, jobs, and activities, and seem to mostly evade plot. The Times describes it as “not following a story so much as hanging out in a world. ‘Look,’ these books say, ‘there’s this and there’s this, and over here there’s this.’”

This invitation to explore is one of the reasons why the books are so captivating, but why is it always on my social media feed? Why are so many adults still obsessed with Busytown?

The basic appeal seems to be that it’s always fun to see a little guy go about her day. Looking at animals in little outfits working as carpenters and helicopter pilots satisfies a deep-set human craving for a cuter world. And since Scarry’s books are so wide-ranging, he’s illustrated a little guy that’s perfect for every occasion.

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“Ute” Playset

There are some “Bluey” toys that appear to not yet be available worldwide; looks like this is one, featuring the ute truck from “Tradies”.

The truck can be customized with stickers to represent mud and paint damage.

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I don't have experience with infertility, but I saw someone on Reddit talking about how Brandy in The Sign made her feel seen because she had a similar coming to terms and going through treatments and having a kid sort of series of events in her own life.

Wow!! I wasn't expecting anyone to see my post tbh! I love this so much, though! The idea of anyone seeing themselves or finding comfort in bluey always warms my heart, and I definitely understand the people who are so happy she's having a baby! Thank you kind anon for slipping this my way 🫶

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oh . OH

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One thing I disliked about the sign was Brandy's pregnancy. While it's fantastic in theory, I think they really lost an opportunity to make adoption a discussion in the show, or better yet to show her coming to terms with her infertility. In my boyfriends words "it made onesies feel pointless" and I almost agree. My hope is that she is a single mum and they can have that discussion at least. Obviously I'm not mad about a kids show but it just.. felt a little bit like a cop out. Of course I'd love to hear other opinions, that's just my two cents!

Edits to add what some other people have said:

an anon recounted a story of a woman who experienced infertility and then a miricle baby, and the person they saw was very sppreciative and loved Brandy's pregnancy, and that makes me really happy! I want Bluey to bring joy first and foremost

@this-is-a-love-story-isnt-it points out that good things happening to a person don't negate their negative experiences, which is suuper true and really shifted my perspective.

@annamalla pointed out the fraught history of adoption in Australia, which I didn't even know about and totally makes sense for why they might not touch on it in Bluey, since it's so entrenched in it's culture

@darkmasterofcupcakes raised a point that the pregnancy would have been better recieved if Brandy got her own episode again and that puts it into words better than I ever could. I wanted to see her joy at discovering she finally gets a baby. I wanted to feel the triumph with her, and I think we feel robbed of that.

lmk if you'd rather not be tagged but I wanted to give credit where credit is blue for these AMAZING points! I hope no one thinks I'm not happy for Brandy because I AM!! I'm so excited to see Bluey interact with babies too!

I'll hop off my soapbox now

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totally forgot to upload these from earlier this month skdjskf

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THIS!!!! all I can think about with people dissatisfied with the ending (and I was one of them for a variety of reasons) is that I think they're missing the message with Bandit that the rat race is not all there is. There's so much more to life than the next good job, house, car, whatever.

It is wild to me that actual adults on the clock app are arguing with people and posting videos about how The Sign was not a great episode because it didn't 'do what it usually does' which is 'to help kids cope with change'. Bluey is not a change management cartoon. It's a slice of life cartoon, but because it is a cartoon for kids, it will be optimistic and hopeful. (And it will want them to have agency and a voice, even in a situation where they don't normally have one.)

Also, in doing so, they don't even realize they're just parroting Bandit's school of thought at the start of the episode that more money meant a 'better' life. It was not what Chilli wanted, neither was it what the girls wanted.

People are so hung up on the moving part (probably because they relate to it) and the change that comes with moving that they completely miss the bigger lesson it was trying to teach people.

The Sign was clearly trying to teach that:

a) What's good for one family isn't necessarily good for another. For the Heelers, their village was in their city, their life was in that city, and even if Bandit's job paid better, they couldn't bring that to their new place. But for Winton and his dad, moving was 1000% the best move because it signaled that they were moving forward and embracing a different configuration of their family.

b) Big decisions require 100% commitment. And a decision that affects the family requires the family input. If you take Stickbird as a prequel for Ghostbasket and The Sign, then Bandit must have been torn about uprooting his family for his job.

One person speaking for the family (in this case, Radley and Bandit) and making decisions did not help the family in either one of those cases. It's only when Bandit hears how everyone else feels that he realizes that he was just looking at the money and not the bigger picture.

c) A decision doesn't set your life in stone, you can always change your mind. Adults think that every decision they make sets their life in stone, but we can always change the path.

d) More money does not mean a better life. The Heelers' village was in their city--their family, their friends, the kids' schools. That the Heelers choose community over short-term gain is a huge statement for a kid's show to make. Maybe things will be hard because they chose to stay. But Bluey, Bingo, and Chilli will remember that Bandit chose them and what made their whole family happy, not just what made him happy.

e) There's magic in the middle. When Chilli and the kids go on their quest, they don't know what will happen and the very literal butterfly effect shows things unfolding for the better. But even in the uncertainty and chaos, Bluey, Bingo, Muffin, and Socks get to have good experiences. They try new things! They discover something new! Bluey marks a milestone!

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Some “Rules of the Road” in Queensland

In “The Sign”, Chilli talks her way out of a possible ticket by having the police dog review the traffic laws relating to if it’s ok for children to sit in the front seat of a car. Bluey is ok because she’s old enough and all of the back seats are in use. The police dog was unfamiliar with this rule.

Mum had checked this before setting out on the trip, so she knew she was in the clear.

I’d actually been putting together a post on little specific road rules prior to “The Sign”. Here are a few more rules to keep in mind.

Your car window can’t be rolled down more than five centimetres (two inches) when parked.

Tooting your horn, like how Bucky did it in “The Sign” is illegal throughout Australia.

Riding a bike “no hands” is illegal Australia-wide.

You can’t pay-by-phone in a drive-through (unless you put your car in park and turn off the ignition.)

Putting your arm out the window to wave goodbye is illegal; five people were fined in 2017-18 for travelling in a motor vehicle with a body part outside of a window or door.

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I didn't buy enough tissues for the Bluey special 😭

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Bad Mood is one of my all time favorite episodes, because how often as a child were you told that you aren't inherently bad because of your actions? Or in reverse, how many times were you declared bad because of your actions?

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Mount Coot-Tha Lookout

(Spoilers in here)

While out searching for Frisky, who is having second thoughts about getting married and/or moving, Mum realizes she’s probably at the Mount Coot-Tha Lookout, a place they used to go together when they were young to “think”, and it turns out Frisky is there.

This is an interesting location, you can see a lot of the city using the coin-operated binoculars.

The kids manage to jam a coin they’d found in one of these. They can’t dislodge it and they leave.

This leads to the English Sheepdog couple later using that binoculars to try and find the house they’re planning on buying (the Heeler house!) but spotting a home with a pool (Winton’s Dad or the Terrier’s Mum’s house, as they are in the process of merging their families). A house with a pool was actually theses sheepdogs’ preference… leading to them not buying the Heeler’s house, leading in part to the Heeler family abandoning plans to move.

Note this is a popular place, and there are callbacks to characters we’ve seen before; we can see Chippie and Cherry (from “Tradies”) here, as well as the family with the small dog in a wheelchair from “Quiet Game” here, amongst others.

And of course, it’s a real location in Brisbane.

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unexpected 成語 (idiom) lesson on

Bluey ～ The Sign (S03?E49?) 🙀😻

The story that Calypso was reading to Bluey's class? That is the story behind the Chinese idiom,

塞翁失馬 [焉/安知非福]

usually, only the first part (塞翁失馬) is uttered in practical use

🇭🇰🇲🇴 coi³ jung¹ sat¹ maa⁵ [jin¹/on³ zi¹ fei¹ fuk¹]

🀄 ㄙㄞˋ ㄨㄥ ㄕ ㄇㄚˇ [ㄧㄢ/ㄢ ㄓ ㄈㄟ ㄈㄨˊ]

🀄 sài wēng shī mǎ [yān/ān zhī fēi fú]

Literal meaning: The old man of the frontier lost his horse (how could he know if this is not fortuitous?)

Meaning: Similar to the sayings, “a blessing in disguise”, “every cloud has a silver lining”.

And there's actually a Wiki entry for this! Quote from Wiki:

“One of the most famous parables from the Huainanzi (淮南子; 'Master of Huainan'), chapter 18 (人間訓; Rénjiānxùn; 'In the World of Man') dating to the 2nd century B.C. The story exemplifies the view of Taoism regarding "fortune" ("good luck") and "misfortune" ("bad luck").

The story is well-known throughout the East Asian cultural sphere and is often invoked to express the idea of "silver lining" or "blessing in disguise" in Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and Japanese.”

The Chinese language nerd in me was getting increasingly stoked as Calypso read out more and more of the story…I was like, wait a minute…this sounds bloody familiar…and then I had my Aha! 🙀 moment…😸

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I KNOW it isn't related I know it but. They named the car Bobo...

Wayne named the currency Bobos

Think about it

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notes about the sign after my second watch in no particular order

SPOILERS AHEAD‼️

When it dropped at midnight where I was (I was obsessively checking Disney+) I immediately dropped my paper to watch it and ohhh my god.

When Pretzel mentions his guinea pig I am almost certain he says "moms" as in two mothers despite the captions apostrophe, because "my mom's said he would come back" makes no sense to me and it's not the kind of weirdly written kid-speak Joe usually writes. Delightful!! My boyfriends been saying for ages they gotta put gay dogs in bluey lol

WINTONS DAD AND THE TERRIERS MOM‼️ I think theyre so cute even if theyre a tiny speck by the house with a pool at the end. And, of course it has a pool. I'm so glad Winton's dad found love :3

Lazarus Drug was THE song choice ever. Oh my god. I cried so hard. And I think choosing such a mature (and I don't mean that bc it's a drug metaphor I mean it bc it's a metaphor at all) song really gives kids something to grow into. Sure those kids who love bluey will only sorta remember it, but when they get older and relisten it'll blow their minds. I also just like the song lol it's very White Rabbit meets Laura Stevenson. Anyways. I also noticed they're credited on a few other bluey tracks according to Google, including some of my favorites like It Was Yesterday, Wagon Ride, and Rain!

Didn't notice any pretty dust particles in the episode, which was interesting because they save those for the most touching episodes and moments. Lmk if you see them anywhere!! I have a theory there's some during the butterfly hiking sign scene so hmu if they are there

Wheelchair dog spotted on the birds eye shot of the lookout before the shaggy dogs use the binoculars! I just love how Joe seems to understand the difference between representation, where diverse people are coexisting and living their own lives, sometimes as the focus of the story sometimes just existing as people, and that performative representation where you only see a minority when their story is being used to uplift the protagonists. Another great example of this is obviously Turtleboy where Dougie and Bingo's stories coexist, and one is not inferior to the other but instead we end up rooting for both of them. Bit of a tangent but my point is Joe is always putting disabled and neurodivergent and MORE types of characters into his show and it's delightful

That's all I noticed in my first two watches but I'm sure there will be more 😭

Edit:

When Bingo gets stuck in the railing Bluey goes to help her because, I presume, it's happened so often that even she can deal with it now

None of u were gonna tell me Meg Washington was Calypso cmon man

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Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe they finally fixed the captions in Grandad so when they catch him stumping, it finally says he exclaims "oh strewth!"

My evidence? I've never had to stop and google "strewth" before and I've watched Grandad over 13 times.

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