CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | Contact
The ABC’s greatest television export continues to go from strength to strength, as Australia’s favourite cartoon canine Bluey is set to hit the silver screen.
A co-production between BBC Studios and the Walt Disney Company have today announced that a feature film based off the hit Australian cartoon TV show will be hitting cinemas in 2027.
Series creator Joe Brumm will write and direct the film with the same voice actors of the series returning to play roles of Bluey, Mum, Dad and little sister, Bingo.
It can also be confirmed that the setting of the film will once again bear a striking resemblance to the Queensland suburbs that surround the animation HQ of Ludo Studio, which is based in Brisbane
But this time around, the puppy is learning a lot of lessons that mum and dad apparently can’t teach themselves.
The basic premise of the film will follow Bluey’s experiences in the Queensland juvenile courts, as the Blue Heeler finally reaches the state’s official age of criminal responsibility – which is ten years old.
After losing their home to crippling interest rates, Bluey’s family find themselves drifting between homelessness and temporary emergency accomodation options.
With a three-year wait for public housing, Bluey is exposed to the gruelling socio-economic impacts of the housing crisis and the politicisation of vulnerable young Queenslanders.
While mum and dad work nights in an effort to achieve financial security for the family, Bluey is left to roam the streets alone – getting into trouble along the way.
The success of this now iconic cartoon series ironically comes down to the programme’s ability to speak to the very real trials and tribulations of young Australian families, with the writers tackling themes that appear absent from any other local programming on both the ABC or streaming services.
Australian actor Ben Mendelsohn has been cast to voice the character of ‘Rotty’ a local criminal figure that recruits Bluey to steal cars in exchange for video games consoles and fast food, while Margot Robbie has been cast as ‘Labby’ the selfless but under-resourced social worker that attempts to prevent this descent into a life of petty crime and the institutionalisation of corrective services.
Geoffrey Rush has been cast to voice the new Queensland Premier David Crisafulli, the film’s spooky antagonist who is hellbent on ensuring Bluey’s childhood is spent behind bars.
