BBC Studios and The Walt Disney Company today announced the first-ever animated feature film for Bluey.

The film will premiere in cinemas worldwide in 2027, followed by streaming on Disney+. The movie will also air on ABC iview and ABC Kids in Australia post-theatrical release.

Written and directed by Bluey creator Joe Brumm, the film is a Ludo Studio production in collaboration with BBC Studios.

The film will star vocal talent from series, including Melanie Zanetti and David McCormack, along with music created by Bluey composer Joff Bush.

The CG animated film will be produced by award-winning animation producer Amber Naismith (‘Happy Feet’, ‘The Lego Movie’, ‘The Lego Batman Movie’) with Richard Jeffery returning to co-direct (’Bluey’ Series 1-3). Joe Brumm will serve as executive producer, alongside Charlie Aspinwall and Daley Pearson from Ludo Studio, and Justine Flynn for BBC Studios.

The film will premiere in cinemas worldwide in 2027, followed by streaming on Disney+. The movie will also air on ABC iview and ABC Kids in Australia post-theatrical release.

Bluey creator Joe Brumm said:

“I really enjoyed the experience of working with a longer format on ‘The Sign’ in Series 3, so going even further with a feature film feels like a natural extension of that. I’ve always thought ‘Bluey’ deserved a theatrical movie. I want this to be an experiential event for the whole family to enjoy together. I’m excited to continue to partner with Cecilia Persson, Tom Fussell and the team at BBC Studios, and Dana Walden, Alan Bergman and Disney to bring this new ‘Bluey’ story to the big screen.”

Daley Pearson and Charlie Aspinwall, Co-Founders and Directors, Ludo Studio, said:

“Over the past eight years, we’ve had the privilege of working alongside an extraordinary team of more than fifty artists and producers whose talent, dedication, and creativity have shaped ‘Bluey’ into the beloved series it is today. Their work has paved the way for this incredible opportunity to expand ‘Bluey’s world onto the big screen. We’re excited to continue showing Queensland as a home for world-class talent and to share a new beautiful ‘Bluey’ story by Joe Brumm with families around the world.”

The episode Sleepytime is arguably one of the best, if not, the best Bluey episode ever made and as a father who has seen the episode multiple times and have relatively basic knowledge of the solar system, I wanted to give my take on the references listed whilst Bingo is dreaming.

Firstly, we start off with Bingo as the Earth, depicting the main character in the solar system since it's the only planet with life. Floppy is the moon, referencing that Floppy is as important to Bingo as the moon is to the Earth and shows that life would not be the same without it.

Secondly, we see yet another planet which based on the fact they head towards the sun, I would assume that it's Venus, which represents Bluey. Venus is often considered our sister planet due to the similarity in size.

Thirdly, we eventually encounter Jupiter which is referenced as Bandit. This is clear when the interaction with Jupiter in Bingo's dream coincides with her interaction with Bandit in real life. The importance of Jupiter in our solar system is understated. Interstellar objects such as asteroids are often caught up in Jupiter's gravity, pulling them towards itself and preventing them from hitting Earth.

Because of this, Jupiter is often referenced as the protector of our planet and has allowed us to grow into the sophisticated civilization that we are today. This links nicely with Bandit being a protector of Bingo and allowing her the space to grow.

Fourthly, we see Bingo alone on the bed with no covers and she becomes cold, which shows this in the dream by placing her on what I presume is Pluto. Whilst Pluto isn't technically a planet (much to many people's dismay), it is the object that society in general reference as the furthest planet away. For a little information, the furthest recognised dwarf planet is Eris.

They spot the sun and head towards it, stopping off at Saturn where Floppy goes into Saturn's rings. I can't quite confirm a solid reference from this, but the best I can come up with is that Floppy goes into Saturn's rings where she is one amongst a large space and isn't easily found. We've had it as a kid where you lose a toy important to you within a large space or amongst the chaos of any given space and it feels awful, which is where we see Bingo get upset.

We then see what appears to be an asteroid or comet or meteor heading towards the sun where Bingo hops on to it and moves faster towards it. As asteroids, comets or meteors move very quickly, it shows that Bingo can't get to one location as fast as she may need to, especially where a loved one may be and shows the reference that when needed, her loved ones will come to her, without displaying the notion that the sun moves towards the planets.

We then see Bingo land on presumably Mercury where she experiences the warmth and comfort of the sun, which represents Chilli. The sun, similar to Jupiter but in their own different ways, provide life to Earth and whilst Jupiter serves as the protector, the sun serves as warmth and comfort, which is displayed in the real word as Chilli cuddles with Bingo.

She turns back to see Earth and says those words 'i have to go.. I'm a big girl now'. This particular moment in any kids life is a big one as it demonstrates a want and need for their independence. Sometimes they can put a lot of pressure on themselves to reach that level of independence and of course we allow them within reason, but always state that they know where to find us if it becomes too much. This is drilled home by Chilli's voice emitting from the sun stating 'remember I'll always be here for you, even if you can't see me, because I love you'.

The final reference is of course when Chilli finds Floppy on the floor and returns her to Bingo, which is shown in Bingo's dream when Floppy returns as Floppy still remains an important part of Bingo's life, despite that want for independence as a child.

Safe to say that Sleepytime is visually stunning, the addition of World in Union is a brilliant touch and also carries a clever reference in relation to the episode. The song World in Motion; it's melody is Thaxted, from the middle section of Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity, a movement from Gustav Holst's The Planets. Factor this in along with the various references of space and the planets in our solar system, it is very well thought out and put together.

I always tell other parents that Bluey is unlike any other kids cartoon out there and it's stuff like this is one of the reasons why. Sleepytime is so well known as an episode of Bluey that parents who haven't really watched it have heard of it and I always tell them that if you're one of those who can get really emotional, do not let Sleepytime be the first episode you watch because they will be a wreck.

Watching Sleepytime as the first episode you see of Bluey is like trying to do your driver's test in a lorry.. it will break you, but the truth is, even if you've watched other episodes of Bluey before you watch Sleepytime, it will still break you.

I've likely over thought certain references throughout this episode of Bluey, but I do hope that with the addition of some space knowledge, fans will look at this episode differently. We all know the obvious reference of Chilli being the sun, but some of the others can go over our heads a little bit unless you're aware of certain pieces of information regarding the objects in our solar system.

All of the above is exactly the reason why I believe that Sleepytime is the best Bluey episode ever made. In fact, I'd go one step further and say that it's the best animated episode I have ever seen.