G’day Mate!

I hope you are “bear-ing” through the week better than guests at Walt Disney World this past week. On Monday, a bear was spotted in Frontierland and shut down over half the park. But life doesn’t always go as planned so I hope you are embracing the “bear” necessities and making the most out of your Wednesday!

Additionally, I was today years old when I realized the song from The Jungle Book was titled “The Bare Necessities” instead of “The Bear Necessities”.

I guess you learn something new every day!

Bluey gets a Video Game, Retail Experience, and More

It’s Bluey’s world and we’re just living in it.

In just the past week, it was announced that the world’s favorite blue heeler was getting two new clothing collections with Hanna Anderson and RSVLTS, a Video Game, and an interactive retail experience in partnership with CAMP.

To the uninitiated, Bluey is a animated preschool show from Australia starring the titular blue heeler and her family: her sister Bingo, her mum Chili, and her dad Bandit. The series, created by Joe Brumm in 2018, follows the slice of life adventures of the Heeler family as they learn life lessons through games and play.

Despite being a show targeted for children, the show has found an audience with adults AND kidless adults. “Why 'Bluey' Resonates with Adults, Too” and “Why 'Bluey' is the ultimate kids' show for grownups” are just two examples of articles trying to understand the magic that is Bluey.

If you ever want to get in your feels, I recommend the “Sleepytime” episode, message me for my full list of Bluey recommendations.

The series has also been critically aclaimed and has won numerous awards including a BAFTA, a Critic’s Choice Award, and a Prix Jeunesse International award. In the most recent data made available from Nielsen’s Top 10 Acquired streaming list, the series (on Disney+ in the US) accumulated over 1 Billion minutes viewed with just 140 episodes coming in second only to Suits on Netflix, which has recently seen a resurgence in popularity after being added to the service in June.

The world of Bluey has extended well past the screen. There are a diverse range of Bluey-themed consumer products available on the market. Toys from plushies and playhouses to recreations of fictional shopping centers have graced numerous top toy lists this year (CNET, NYPost, Walmart, and Toy Insider).

When searching “Bluey” on Amazon, shoppers are greeted with illustrated images merchandising various consumer categories such as Toys, Home & Kitchen, Books, and more under “Filter by Category”. The online retailer has similar merchandising strategies for other preschool brands like Cocomelon, Paw Patrol, and Peppa Pig. But it was noticeably absent for brands like Sesame Street, Blue’s Clues, and Blippi. This strategy seems unique to Amazon with other retailers such as Target and Walmart going straight to a list of results.

According to BBC Studios, who holds global distribution and merchandising rights for Bluey, the success of the series helped drive consumer products revenue up 10 percent during the 2022-2023 fiscal year.

Digital products have also been a key touchpoint between the brand and fans. On Spotify, Bluey has over 950 thousand monthly active listeners and the Bluey Theme Tune has over 28 million streams. The November release of Bluey: The Video Game, wont be the first time Bluey has been gamified. In August of this year, Bluey: Let’s Play was released and has over 1 million downloads. But complaints about the app’s monetization strategy (a $7 monthly subscription) has prevented it from reaching peak popularity.

Beyond consumer products, Bluey has engaged audiences outside of the home as well. Bluey’s Big Play launched in New York City in November 2022 and will be touring across the US until July of 2024.

Bluey has made an enormous cultural impact across the world and it’s continued success will bring innovative consumer products and experiences to the market. Potential explorations for future consumer products could include films, theme parks, and more gaming experiences.

Melanie Zanetti, the voice of Bluey’s mum Chili, has said “I do think it’s time for a Bluey movie”. With the success of preschool films like Paw Patrol: The Movie (and the upcoming sequel, Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie) and Blue’s Big City Adventure, we might see another canine property hit the big screens.

Additionally, there’s been lots of speculation about when we’ll see the Heeler family grace Disney theme parks. However, BBC studios’ ownership of the licensing rights may make that difficult. One parent did note that Bluey HAS already infiltrated Disney parks through guest’s apparel.

With multiple gaming touchpoints on the horizon, it feels inevitable that a Bluey Roblox experience should also be on the consumer products roadmap. With a dedicated Roblox experience the brand could continue to engage audiences as they transition out of preschool television and into older content while still finding ways to maintain the charm and fun that’s at the heart of the series. Popular games from the series could be adapted for Roblox maintaining audience’s connection to the property.

Overall, I’m excited for the upcoming collaborations and look forward to seeing more innovative Bluey experiences soon!

Finally shoutout to Suzy Lee Raia, SVP of Consumer Products & Business Development at BBC Studios, her LinkedIn feed made creating this week’s newsletter much easier! (P.S. Suzy if you ever read this I’d love to chat and learn from you!)

📰 In Other News

• Warner Bro’s Discovery’s Max had the highest show cancellation rates amongst streamers at 26.9%. The lowest? Apple TV+ at 4.9%

• Alright, alright, alright, Matthew McConaughey has released a children’s book on his favorite life lessons

• Tiktok was hit with a $368 million fine for negligence concerning children’s privacy

• Percy Jackson author Rick Riordan shuts down toxic fans saying diverse casting is “true to the spirit of his franchise”

• Anime and Fortnite are a match made in heaven

• Disney is investing approximately $60 billion into its parks business over the next 10 years

🎬 Releases on my Radar

• 9/13 - Elemental on Disney+

• 9/14 - Barbie: A Touch of Magic on Netflix

• 9/14 - Dragons: The Nine Realms (S7) on Hulu and Peacock

• 9/18 - My Little Pony: Make Your Mark: Chapter 5 on Netflix

• 9/18 - Alma's Way (S2) on PBS Kids

• 9/19 - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem on Paramount+

• 9/21 - Young Love on Max

• 9/22 - Spy Kids: Armageddon on Netflix

• 9/25 - Little Baby Bum: Music Time on Netflix

• 9/28 - Dino Pops on Peacock

• 9/29 - Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie in Theaters

• 9/29 - Dora and the Fantastical Creatures (special short with Paw Patrol) in Theaters

• 9/29 - Power Rangers: Cosmic Fury on Netflix

• 9/29 - Interrupting Chicken (S2) on Apple TV+

• 10/02 - Fright Krewe on Hulu and Peacock