‘Bluey’ creator Joe Brumm on risk, BBCS & ‘getting the adults in’ to watch

Bluey

Bluey creator Joe Brumm has praised show co-commissioner BBC Studios for ‘clearing the path’ for the Australian pre-school animation to grow into the international hit it has now become.

Speaking at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, Brumm highlighted how his aim to make the hit Ludo Studio series, which debuted on ABC Kids in 2018, appeal to both “four and 40-year-olds” meant that the show included “some kind of crazy content” far from typical for a pre-school series.

“We pushed, trying to get the adults in. I was taking quite a lot of risks – there’s an episode where we pull out and we see the animation software, right? I wanted to completely break out of reality and show a hand animating Bluey.”

Brumm, who spoke to TBI last year about the show’s rise as an international co-viewing hit, told the Annecy audience: “When these scripts have to get approved from the broadcasters and from the people funding it, you need someone in your corner.”

The Bluey creator praised Henrietta Hurford-Jones, creative director, indies, for BBC Studios Kids & Family, who was chairing the Bluey panel at Annecy, and who picked up the series for BBC Studios.

Brumm said: “Hen and everyone at BBC Studios, they got the show, especially Hen, she got what we were trying to do with the show… and BBC Studios is in our corner.”

Highlighting a clip from Bluey during the panel, Brumm said: “I mean this is an episode where I said I want a birth in the backyard…”

“That was a really fun moment for me…” interjected Hurford-Jones to laughter from the audience, with Brumm continuing: “It’s a pre-school show and I’m sure this isn’t the sort of content which usually passed Hen’s desk.

“The show is the show because we had the support of BBC Studios, who knew what we were going for and just cleared the path for us. I can’t really overstate that enough.”