Bluey: Seasons 1-3 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Bluey: Seasons 1-3 Blu-ray Movie Review

“It’s called a tactical wee.”

Reviewed by Randy Miller III November 13, 2024

Ask any parent what their kid's favorite show is and they'll likely admit that it's Joe Brumm's Bluey, the wildly popular Australian import technically aimed at preschoolers. Ask any parent what their favorite kid's show is and they'll likely replay with the same answer. Simply put, Bluey is the kind of series that the whole family can enjoy in equal measure due to its appealing visuals, terrific characters, imaginative detours, and of course razor-sharp writing. Each adventure is presented in a bite-sized format of roughly ~7 minutes, and three full seasons have been produced thus far with a whopping 154 episodes between them. Available separately on DVD for just over two years now, Bluey has somewhat unexpectedly been granted a full series (for now) Blu-ray upgrade via this compact Amazon-exclusive (again, for now) collection from BBC Studios that serves up every existing original episode on six dual-layered discs.

Please note that an 20 "minisodes" (1-3 minute adventures) have been produced since Season 3 wrapped up in April; 14 have already aired, and another six are set to release in December. These are not included with this set.

As for a synopsis of Bluey? There's unsurprisingly not all that much to what makes the show tick, though admittedly these collective adventures have a lot more overall depth than most entertainment aimed at single-digit viewers. The long and short of it is that Bluey follows the madcap adventures of the Heelers, a four-dog family unit including Chilli (Mom!), Bandit (Dad!), little Bingo (Bingo!), and of course Bluey!, who obviously gets the most screen time. Admittedly the show gives each supporting pooch a bit more detail and thought than what might normally be expected for this kind of production, with the bulk of each nugget-sized episode typically revolving around imaginative playtime, family trips, school time, and regular local outings with friends and other characters. A majority of episodes are fairly self-contained as far as subject matter goes but, as the show progresses, admirable efforts are made to give Bluey light elements of serialization and even occasional trips into more ambitious territory; this includes the penultimate episode "The Sign", which runs 28 minutes and deals with the potential sale of the Heelers' house after Dad gets a new job.

Each Blu-ray on this six-disc set serves up just over two dozen episodes apiece (two discs for each season), and all of them are littered with highlights that might vary depending on your age group. Parents will likely be more vocal about certain specific adventures... especially those that "hit you in the feels" with heartfelt sentiments and deeply relatable situations such as those found in "Fairies" (Season 1, Episode #30, which finds Mom and Dad attempting to magically save face after the latter snaps at Bingo in the middle of his workday), “Sleepytime” (S2, Ep #9, a beautifully realized depiction of nuclear family night life), "Baby Race" (S2, Ep #50, a flashback to when poor Mom struggled with how to approach Bluey's physical development in relation to other babies), "Rain" (S3, Ep #18, a near-perfect wordless and artistic comment on stormy days), the aforementioned super-sized episode “The Sign”, and many others. Kids, on the other hand, might be drawn more towards the simpler plots and less emotionally complex outings, but they'll almost certainly see things differently when they inevitably revisit Bluey in the future with kids of their own.

Yours truly was extremely late to the party with Bluey. By the time it finally caught on in America, my only child was already in middle school and so it wasn't on my radar; before that, Paw Patrol was king when she was still in the single-digits. As an outsider I embarrassingly wrote off Bluey at first, originally thinking it was some sort of next-gen spin-off of Blue's Clues before finally getting turned on to the show by my brother who has kids a few years younger than mine. Never mind that my own daughter recently owned up to watching and enjoying Bluey at school on rare "movie days", which left me dead-last in jumping on the bandwagon. No matter: it's an inarguably great series that can be enjoyed at just about any age from parents on down, which can be supported by the fact that our little three-person family unit had absolutely no problem watching and enjoying several episodes together in preparation for this review. Simply put, Bluey is top-notch entertainment and just might end up being the best "kids' show" of its generation.

At the risk of info overload, a full list and descriptions of all 154 episodes can be found here; as mentioned earlier, they're neatly divided across all six Blu-rays and presented in an order slightly different than the linked list.

DISC ONE (Season 1, The First Half)
"Magic Xylophone" through "The Beach"

DISC TWO (Season 1, The Second Half)
"Pirates" through "Verandah Santa"

DISC THREE (Season 2, The First Half)
"Dance Mode" through "Helicopter", including of course "Dad Baby" (includes Bonus Bits -- see below)

DISC FOUR (Season 2, The Second Half)
"Sleepytime" through "Easter" (includes Bonus Bits -- see below)

DISC FIVE (Season 3, The First Half)
"Bedroom" through "Fairy Tale"

DISC SIX (Season 3, The Second Half)
"Musical Statues" through "Surprise!"

Bluey: Seasons 1-3 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

It's a minor miracle that we're getting Bluey on Blu-ray at all, given that most "kids' shows" are lucky to even get a DVD release. This is, of course, not just any kids' show and appeals to parents in almost equal measure, so for that reason I don't feel too guilty about nitpicking this release's video quality. By and large, Bluey looks absolutely terrific here and the show's simple but appealing visual design translates nicely to 1080p, as seen in these 40 direct-from-disc (though slightly compressed) screenshots that hopefully do justice in showcasing its crisp line detail, excellent color reproduction, and mostly smooth but occasionally dubious gradients. The latter is perhaps Bluey's only Achilles' heel; despite each episode running at a suitably decent bit rate on these six dual-layered discs, mild but noticeable banding can occasionally be spotted on skies and other softer color transitions. This isn't a deal-breaker by any measure and will hardly be distracting (or even that noticeable) to forgiving eyes during playback, and in any case is likely less prevalent than these episodes' streaming counterparts and especially what we got on earlier DVDs. Overall, this is a high-quality presentation that should satisfy all but the pickiest parents while younger audiences probably won't care at all.

Bluey: Seasons 1-3 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Truth be told, these DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mixes don't aim for the back rows, offering a mostly straightforward and, for the most part, front-loaded experience with crystal-clear dialogue, nicely mixed background effects, and plenty of room for the show's charming and effective original score, which obviously runs the gamut from cheerful to melancholy. One thing's for sure, though: you'll hear the theme song well over 150 times from start to finish, as the opening titles don't get their own separate chapter and each of these six disc kicks off with a non-skippable version of it. I mean, I find the theme song light and enjoyable to an extent, but you may feel differently after a few days or weeks of heaving it... that is, if you're not sick of it already. Otherwise, this is a nicely-rendered effort that again is mostly anchored right up front although, depending on their subject matter, some of these episodes do have loftier sonic goals in mind and open up nicely with well-placed discrete effects and a more atmospheric presentation overall.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during all 154 episodes, which just might come in handy due to Bluey's occasionally heavy regional dialects and Australian slang words. Here's a helpful guide.

Bluey: Seasons 1-3 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This six-disc set ships in a slightly thicker-than normal keepcase with attractive art, a matching slipcover, and a set of repositionable stickers crammed inside. All six discs sit on separate hubs with two double-sided hinges in the middle. Only a few short extras are included, but there's still plenty of bang for your buck here.

DISC THREE (Season 2, The First Half)

• Bonus Bits (3 shorts) - These short 1-3 minute webisodes, an early version of the "Minisodes" mentioned above, were produced during its existing run and include "High Ball", "Green Bottles", and "Archaeology".

DISC FOUR (Season 2, The Second Half)

• Bonus Bits (7 shorts) - 7 more short but sweet webisodes including "Pea Pod Sausages", "Tea Party", "Old MacDonald", "Mower", "Flying Saucer", "Jingle Bells", and "Make Mum Laugh". That makes 10 in all, which is nice, but 19 are seen on fan lists like this one so almost half of them are unaccounted for.

Bluey: Seasons 1-3 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This is probably already common knowledge among parents of preschoolers, elementary students, and maybe even beyond, but Joe Brumm's Bluey is one of the finest "kids' shows" of its generation and can be enjoyed by the whole family. Light and colorful on the surface with great characters, valuable lessons, occasional hits of emotional depth, and imaginative detours, the consistent level of quality on display here means that all three existing episodes of Bluey are well worth watching from start to finish (and probably on repeat ad nauseum). That alone makes this six-disc Blu-ray collection of the first three seasons an easy recommendation, as picky parents will get a decent A/V upgrade from DVD and streaming while kids will just be happy to watch it in any format. More (or at least more complete) extras would have put this set over the top, but it's still a no-brainer at the current price point. Highly Recommended.