I will never stop singing the praises for one of the best shows on television, Bluey. It’s one of those shows that has something for both children and adults to enjoy. The show debuted in Australia in 2018, but the Bluey phenomenon took hold in the US once it hit Disney+ in early 2020. Since then, it has only continued to grow. You know your children’s show has made it big when celebrities want even a small role on one of your regular length, seven-minute episodes. Actors like Eva Mendes, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Rose Byrne, and Natalie Portman have all had small parts throughout the Bluey’s three seasons.
Natalie appeared on the Season 3 episode, “Whale Watching.” The premise of the episode is that parents Chili and Bandit are tired and hungover from a New Year’s Eve party at Muffin’s house the previous evening. Bluey and her sister Bingo got a great night’s sleep and are ready to play, while their parents merely want to lay down on the couch and eat junk food. After some strategic parenting and a little coaxing, they finally convince their daughters to watch a documentary on whales. Natalie plays the narrator. Her role is maybe 90-seconds long, but it still meant a lot to her to participate because of how important Bluey is to her two children, Aleph, 13, and Amalia, seven.
The Oscar-winning actress reflected on her guest role on the children’s animated series “Bluey” during a Monday appearance on the “Today” show. Portman made her cameo on the Critics Choice-nominated show during its third season in 2021. Host Hoda Kotb told Portman she was “surprised” to see the voiceover performance while reviewing the actress’s extensive list of acting credits.
“It’s the most important one,” Portman said with a laugh. “I was a narrator of a nature documentary that they were watching.”
In the episode, titled “Whale Watching,” Portman narrates a television documentary about whales that pups Bluey and Bingo watch in their living room.
“It’s a very important show for my family,” Portman, who shares son Aleph, 13, and daughter Amalia, 7, with ex-husband Benjamin Millepied, told Kotb. “I was really, really honored to get to be part of it.”
Created by Australian animator Joe Brumm, “Bluey” debuted in 2018 and centers on the everyday life of Blue Heeler puppy Bluey and her adorable canine family. USA TODAY’s TV critic Kelly Lawler said the “heartwarming” series “captures the spirit of play, the reality of parenting and the beauty of childhood all in crisp, seven-minute episodes” in a July review.
“It’s just pure joy,” Portman said of the series, which is “something we need.”
The adventures of Bluey and Bingo continue in “Bluey Minisodes,” a series of mini-episodes that will air in three batches. The first seven mini-episodes made their Disney+ debut on July 3.
Hey, I totally get it. Natalie probably got more street cred with her kids for one-minute as a fake documentary narrator than all of her movies and awards combined. Despite its popularity, it still remains a down-to-earth show that has only utilized a handful of famous actors over the years. Like she says, watching an episode is “pure joy,” as well as a handful of other emotions that they nail through their storytelling.
Alright, let’s talk about the new minisodes that just dropped! After its emotional final two episodes of Season 3 dropped on Disney+ in April, the show announced that it would be taking a hiatus for its cast and crew to regroup. In my household, the three-minute minisodes dropping was a very pleasant surprise. My kids actually watched them all on the Fourth of July morning before I even woke up! Luckily for me, they’ve since watched them a bunch of times, so I was easily able to get caught up. My favorites of the ones that are out so far (there is supposed to be 20 in total) are “Burger Dog” and “Muffin Unboxing.” I’m excited for the rest to come out.
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Bluey has my family in a trance, even the adults. At my grandkids’ it’s a three show nightly ritual for bedtime…and I LOVE it!
I will freely admit I was confusing Bluey and Blue’s Clues for a few years, and thus refused to pay attention to either.
And then I read about an episode that I guess had been banned in the US (I think I read it here)? Where the dad pretends to be pregnant with the little sister and ends up learning a lot about how hard being pregnant and giving birth can be.
So I watched that episode and it is hilarious!
And while I don’t usually pay attention when my child is watching straight-up kid shows (she’s rarely allowed screen time and we limit which shows she can watch, so we know she’s only watching “good” ones and not like, that Calliou crap or whatever, so I don’t have to pay attention when she does get screen time), anytime I HAVE paid attention to a Bluey episode, it has me cracking up as well.
They are very sweet without being saccharine and very funny. Highly recommend!
Bluey is the most important part of my 3 year old niece’s day. She gets up every morning and ‘makes’ breakfast for her polar bear stuffie, while my sister makes her own. Then, my niece arranges a tray for him and they sit on the floor together to watch Bluey and eat. She also likes to discuss the episodes with Bear.
That was really nice! 🩵My kids discovered Bluey during lockdown a few years ago, which is where I heard about (and saw) it for the first time. Haven’t watched recently, but I loved it!