Lucy Carne: Why Bluey’s dad is exactly what we need

We’ve had the bumbling Daddy Pig, idiotic Homer Simpson and workaholic Fred Flinstone. But finally, thanks to Brisbane’s Bluey, we have Bandit — a male figure at the centre of parenting, writes Lucy Carne.

For seven minutes at 8am every day I feel like I’m become a better parent, a better person.

I’m not meditating, journalling or drinking green smoothies.

I’m watching Bluey.

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And I’m not alone. The Brisbane-made cartoon about a Blue Heeler pup and her canine family is now the most watched program on ABC’s iView, with over 90 million views since it was launched in October, surpassing even The Wiggles in popularity.

The Wheeler family from Brisbane cartoon Bluey may be animated dogs, but they offer a realistic portrayal of family life. Picture: Supplied

Entertainment giant Disney last week snapped up the global rights to Bluey .

As part of the deal, Bluey’s creators Ludo Studio insisted the characters retain their Aussie accents.

Now, finally, we will get our own back when North American kids start talking with a slow Queensland drawl.

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It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what it is about Bluey that has captured the hearts of so many.

Being Brisbane born-and-bred, there is an overwhelming pleasure and pride in seeing my hometown honoured so beautifully on screen.

In The Creek episode, Bluey’s dad Bandit encourages the kids to step out of their comfort zone. Picture: Supplied

It’s an utter joy to see Bluey and the Wheeler family walk past the Broncos Leagues Club, visit the West End markets, play in New Farm Park, holiday at Peregian Beach and wait for takeaway outside Ashgrove’s Golden Crown.

But there is something far more profound to this cartoon that has connected with so many people.

“I watched Bluey on my own, on my phone, at the gym. I’m 41. I love this show,” one fan wrote on Facebook.

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It’s been described as a children’s version of Seinfeld — a show about nothing.

Episodes revolve around ordinary minutiae: going to the pool and forgetting sunscreen, spending tooth fairy money at the markets, using manners at the dinner table.

Woven through the simplicity is a gentle kindness showing us the depth and value of relationships between siblings, parents and friends.

But what has really resonated — and is the true treasure of the show — is Bluey’s dad Bandit (voiced by Dave McCormack of 90s Brissie band Custard).

Bluey’s dad Bandit challenges the stereotype of the idiot cartoon dad. Picture: Supplied

Finally, we have a portrayal of a relatable man at the centre of caregiving.

We have never had a character like this before.

So much has been devoted to the portrayal of mothers interacting with their kids on TV (Hilda, Daniel Tiger, Dora The Explorer or the nanny in Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom).

Scrolling through his phone while crouching in a cupboard during hide and seek or desperately crawling towards the cricket on TV, Bandit is not the perfect, devoted parent.

But also importantly, he is not portrayed as a bumbling idiot, like Peppa Pig’s Daddy Pig or Homer Simpson.

Bluey is a refreshing change to the bumbling fathers from kids cartoons like Peppa Pig. Picture: Supplied

Neither is he depicted as the absent dad, returning from work to ruffle some hair, like Fred Flinstone.

Bandit works (as an archaeologist), so does his wife Chilli (at airport security). He helps out around the house and is the main parent interacting with the kids.

He’s attentive without being a helicopter parent.

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In the episode Bike, Bluey can’t ride her bike, her little sister Bingo can’t work the bubbler and other kids at the park are struggling with the monkey bars and a backpack.

Rather than help, Bandit sits on a bench and cheers on the kids as they try, fail and finally succeed.

There is a reason why Bluey has touched the hearts of so many. Picture: Supplied

It’s a touching lesson in perseverance and to respect a child’s ability to learn by themselves.

In the episode Takeaway, set entirely on a footpath outside a Chinese restaurant, Bluey’s dad gives one of the most relatable performances of parenting I’ve ever seen on screen.

He’s frazzled and frustrated waiting for their dinner while trying to help one kid do a wee and keep them away from a running tap.

But just towards the end of the episode, Bandit realises this maddening window of small childhood is fleeting and he must relax and enjoy it before it’s over.

Surely, I’m not the only one who cries watching Bluey?

“Sometimes I think it’s actually written about me,” one dad friend told me at the park.

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In his book Father Time, psychologist Steve Biddulph says increased work hours are making fathers more like distant relations.

“We are within a generation of losing forever a sense of what fathering is all about,” Biddulph says.

Thanks to Bluey, the once novel notion of dads playing with their kids is being normalised.

Thanks to Bluey, fathers are being brought back in to the centre of family life alongside mothers.

And thanks to Bluey, my husband’s evenings are spent parting with his hard-earned “dollary-dos” to buy a statue that keeps running away.

Now, more than ever before, we need a real, honest dad like Bandit, because, to quote Bluey, this is “for real life”.

Lucy Carne is editor of RendezView.com.au

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