Disney has made a deal with BBC Studios to make a movie based on animated TV series, Bluey. It’s due out in 2027.
Although aimed at young children, animated TV series Bluey has such well-observed humour and heart that it’s endeared itself to a generation of older viewers as well. In a sign of just how widely-loved the series is, it’s been announced that a film adaptation is in the works – the fruit of a long-in-gestation deal between Disney and BBC Studios.
The Bluey film will be written and directed by the series’ original writer and creator, Joe Brumm, who’s said in a statement that he’s had a concept for a feature in mind for a while.
Brumm said (as published by Deadline), “After some time spent away from the series, working on another project, an old idea resurfaced and before I knew it, I’d written a Bluey feature script that I really love. Fast forward through a tonne of contracting and we’re about to embark on making an animated Bluey movie.”
Earlier this year, Bluey’s third season concluded with a longer episode than usual, called ‘The Sign’. A huge ratings success, both in its native Australia and on Disney+, it proved that there could be an audience for a feature film. Brumm has also announced that the episode will mark the end of his involvement in the series in general, and that any future episodes will be made without him as he embarks on his Bluey movie project.
“I always said I wouldn’t keep making the show if I thought I couldn’t make any new season as good as the last,” Brumm said. “This would have been the case for me with a potential season four, so I’ve decided to take a break from my involvement in the TV series. In the event I can’t wrap my head around doing more seasons myself, The Sign will mark my TV finale for Bluey and I wrote it as such.”
The likeably low-key story of a family of dogs living in Brisbane, Australia, Bluey was initially conceived as a Down Under version of another animated TV series, Peppa Pig. Brumm, who’d worked on that show (among others) in the UK, moved back to his native Australia in 2009 and began work on the series eight years later, changing its pigs to dogs and generally tailoring its style to such an extent that it became entirely its own thing.
There have been a total of 154 episodes of Bluey to date, all hailing from production company, Ludo Studio. It’s currently uncertain when a fourth season of the show, which began in 2018, will air; the film spin-off is due for release in 2027.
