Bluey: The Creative Minds Behind the Popular Children's Show
- Calan Mengel
- Jul 30, 2021
- 6 min read
Bluey is an extremely popular show, streaming on Disney+, that offers heartwarming content for parents and children alike. So, who are the masterminds behind this piece?
Bluey, Bingo, Mum (Chilli), and Dad (Bandit). Photo sourced from www.if.com.au
I first discovered Bluey via TikTok.
While scrolling on my 'For You' page, I stumbled across a clip from a cute animated show of a little blue puppy with an Australian accent, along with her mom, dad, and baby sister. Many of the clips I came across had sweet life lessons, morals and values, that sat well with me. I was roped in almost instantly by the writing, direction, acting, and animation: I love this kind of stuff!
What I didn't know, though, that as a 21-year-old female college student, I would end up actively watching Bluey on the school's Disney+ account in my free time.
Bluey is an Australian-based TV show that showcases "overarching themes including the focus on family, growing up and Australian culture" (IMDB), and "It has been praised by television critics for depicting a modern everyday family life, constructive parenting messages and the role of Bandit as a positive father figure.” (Wikipedia).
The now Emmy award-winning show was created by Ludo Studio, located in Queensland, Australia, and was co-comissioned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The cutely animated show premiered on October 1st, 2018 on ABC Kids, and BBC Studios currently holds the global distribution and merchandising rights.
Another shot from the show. Photo sourced from iview.abc.net.au
While it's great to know the basics of how this show came to be, it is also important to see the faces behind it all. One of the most helpful and fun college assignments I've been given in the past were deep-dives into the creative minds and talent behind TV, film, and media pieces. This helps to see where they come from, what else they've worked on, and who they've worked with in the past (spoiler alert for the greener filmmakers, almost everything is interconnected in some way, shape, or form).
NOTE: For simplicity reasons, I will be highlighting a few individuals from various departments. I would like to take the time to state, though, that film and TV take a lot of talented individuals (including interns!), and everyone on this team is one in a million.
CREATIVE TEAM
Joe Brumm - Director, Writer, Creator
Brumm is an Australia local who is the director of Bluey. He is also credited for writing a majority of the episodes.
From a compilation of interviews, it can be found that Brumm himself is a father and has taken lots of inspiration from his own parenting experiences, as well as the experiences from fellow mums and dads.
News sources, such as the New York Times and Ragan, explain that Brumm started writing out the games he would play with his children, which sparked inspiration for show episodes.
For the writers out there, Brumm has mentioned the importance of rest and life balance with creative work. In a NYT article, he states, "“All I did was write what made me laugh, or feel something, or that I’d want to watch. It took quite a bit of effort to ring-fence that from outside forces." (a.k.a. work hard, but don't burn yourself out to the point you dislike your line of work!)
While native to Queensland, Brumm's old website states he worked for 10 years in London as well. While his IMDB biography is very short, his Filmography looks very familiar (I remember eating cereal in front of the TV while watching Charlie and Lola!)
A slice of Joe Brumm's Filmography... Photos sourced from IMDB
Daley Pearson - Executive Producer
About a year ago, Pearson was interviewed by The Project about the show and discussed how the piece was so well-received by parents and children alike (many people have wrote in to the studio to tell them how much they love it!)
Pearson lives in Queensland and is the co-founder of Ludo Studio, along with other co-founder Charlie Aspinwall.
Pearson has a variety of credits via IMDB, including 9 writer credits, 9 producer credits, 7 director credits, and 5 actor credits.
Pearson mainly works in television, some being directed towards kids like the animated kids series The Strange Chores, and some being directed towards teenage crowds like the interactive YouTube-casted comedy series #7DaysLater.
A slice of Daley Pearson's Filmography... Photos sourced from IMDB
Laura DiMaio - Development Production Manager
Out of most people on the Bluey crew, Laura DiMaio has to be my hero (producing team lets go!).
DoMaio's production manager filmography is a very interesting one. She has worked on a plethora of TV shows, including Ginger Snaps, Pingu, Angelina Ballerina, and Bob the Builder.
Laura has also spoken about diversity in the animation field, including the lack of women she has encountered on some projects. As a fellow female filmmaker, I understand her point of view and appreciate her speaking about this issue in an interview conducted by Marianna Shek on Ozanimate (link at the end of the blog post).
A slice of Laura DiMaio's Filmography... Photos sourced from IMDB
Francis Stanton - Animator
While I wasn't able to find an exact photo of Francis Stanton, it is apparent to see how he came to work on 69 episodes of Bluey.
Stanton also had worked previously as a designer on WTF 101, the same show director Joe Brumm worked on, as well as some other Bluey crew members.
He has also animated an episode of Heros of Goo Jit Zu, as well as two shorts, including Shopkins: Chef Club and The Backpack. Out of all the work Stanton has completed though, according to his IMDB page, Bluey seems to be his first big animation breakthrough!
A slice of Francis Stanton's Filmography... Photos sourced from IMDB
Owain Emanuel - Lead Designer: Art Department
Just like we need animators, we need designers! Owain Emanuel works as the lead designer on Bluey.
For the animation department, Emanuel has worked on designing 51 episodes of School of Roars, as well as Mr. Bean: The Animated Series. When it comes to pieces geared more towards adults, Emanuel has worked on Crackanory, a TV series that featured comedians and short stories.
A slice of Owain Emanuel's Filmography... Photos sourced from IMDB
Joff Bush - Main Composer
In February of 2021, according to The Sydney Morning Herald, Bluey: The Album – became the first children’s album to ever top the main ARIA albums chart. Imagine how composer Joff Bush felt after that big win!
Bush is an extremely talented musician, with a whopping 38 composing credits on IMDB. These include films and shows like Australian Survivor and A Man on Edge (quite different kinds of soundtracks compared to Bluey, but diversity shows talent!).
He has also worked alongside Daley Pearson on The Strange Chores.
Bush has composed the beautiful Bluey music for 63 episodes of the show. A few other notable composers listed on IMDB include David Barber (18 episodes), Joseph Twist (13 episodes), and Steve Peach (7 episodes).
A slice of Joff Bush's Filmography... Photos sourced from IMDB
Michael Griffin - Main Editor
While Michael Griffin also didn't have a photo for me to show, he has edited 39 episodes of Bluey and has extensive work in the editing field.
Griffin has also worked on Content with Daley Pearson (Pearson knows how to put a good team together, a fantastic quality of a great producer!).
He has also edited other shows, such as Dom and Adrian: 2020 and Retrograde. Like most of the Bluey staff, Griffin has worked primarily in TV shows or TV mini series.
A slice of Michael Griffin's Filmography... Photos sourced from IMDB
Tania Vlassova - Recording Engineer
Last- but certainly not least- we have our sound department spotlight: Tania Vlassova! She been a recording engineer for 52 episodes of Bluey.
Vlassova has an extensive IMDB credit list in sound and sound production, including many mystery, murder, and drama TV shows and movies such as Mystery Road, Bugs, and Bloom.
Surprise surprise-- Vlassova has also worked as a dialogue editor on none other than The Strange Chores! Again... small world out here.
She is featured on the Team page of Unison Studio's website alongside her other sound production coworkers. According to the website, Unison is "ONE OF AUSTRALIA'S FINEST SOUND POST PRODUCTION STUDIOS" (pretty neat!)
A slice of Tania Vlassova's Filmography... Photos sourced from IMDB
It's amazing to look at shows and see how movies, TV shows, and art are interconnected: people work with each other on shows, then come back to work together again; there is a wide range of talent and experience across the board; and it takes a LOT of different people and specialties to create a piece of work as popular as Bluey. What's even crazier about many of these individuals and other on the production team? MANY OF THEM HAVE VOICED BACKGROUND CHARACTERS IN THE SHOW! So the next time you're watching a show and think. "I wonder who worked on this..", hop on IMBD and do a little snooping around... you'll never believe how much you'll learn.
SOURCES:
- Ludo Studios Home: https://ludostudio.com.au/
- The Project Daley Pearson Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONnSp99xWbI
- BLUEY creator, animator and writer, Joe Brumm Podcast Interview: https://www.innovatordiaries.com/creator-of-bluey-animator-and-writer-joe-brumm/
- Ragan: Lessons on life, writing and storytelling from the creator of ‘Bluey’ https://www.ragan.com/lessons-on-life-writing-and-storytelling-from-the-creator-of-bluey/
- Studio Joho: http://www.studiojoho.com/about-us
- ‘Like putting ice-cream on caviar’: meet Joff Bush, the composer behind Bluey
- Roundtable Discussion: Australian Women in Animation https://ozanimate.com/uncategorized/roundtable-discussion-australian-women-animation/
- Unison Main Website: https://unisonsound.com.au/tv_film/
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