How so many nights I’d drag a sleeping bag next to my parent’s bed just to stave off that loneliness. How big and dark and cold my bedroom felt. How Bingo insists she wants to do “a big girl sleep,” waking up in her own bed. How Bingo says goodbye to Floppy knowing she’ll be alone now. How loving something means sometimes having to let it go. It’s the bravery and loyalty Bingo shows the bunny. Like when Bingo gives Floppy her blessing to join her other stuffed bunny kin orbiting Saturn in a super cuddly ring (I know, I know, what the hell? But I am, after all, describing the dream of a cartoon dog). It’s also how it captures moments of playfulness and wonder, but it’s so earnest, too. A music box lullaby transforming into a rich orchestral soundscape that captures the immensity of Bingo’s dream as she roams the solar system in the company of her stuffed bunny, Floppy. What is it about “Sleepytime”? Well, the animation for starters it’s visually beautiful and surreal. (Before you get too impressed with my knowledge of classical music, know that I had to do some Googling to find out what I was listening to, just like the uninformed peasant that I am). Even without watching the actual show, the music (excerpts from Gustav Holst’s “Jupiter,” “Venus” and “Saturn”) brings tears to my eyes. It always makes me cry and it weirds the kids out and anyway I’m too tired for tears right now. He eventually curls up on the floor, tossing a pair of his own underpants across his shoulders for warmth.Įven though this is my favorite episode of “Bluey,” I don’t go downstairs to watch it. There’s a fantastic sequence in which Bandit gets evicted from his bed after being pummeled by his unconscious children as they run and skip through their own subconsciouses (subconscious-i?)- Bandit’s body serving as a moon-like surface they bound across. And if it is their own bed, chances are they’re not getting enough covers or there’s too much unwanted physical contact. Even when everyone is in a bed, chances are it’s not their own bed. There’s a ceaseless back and forth between the kids’ room and the parent’s room. Here’s an excerpt:ĭespite the kids having been tucked in for the night, nobody really gets to sleep. Which brings us back to “Sleepytime,” an episode that perfectly captures the long nights of early parenthood. And it never shies away from big feelings and tender, earnest humanity (albeit in dog form). “Bluey” always leads with imagination, humor, and relatable life situations. Any episode where Bluey and Bingo pretend to be their Grannie alter egos Rita and Janet is highly amusing. There’s an entire episode focused on Bluey and Bingo trying not to let a balloon touch the ground for a game called Keepy Uppy. Waiting for take out (or, “Takeaway,” rather). A visit to the local home improvement store (it’s called the Hammerbarn – if you’ve been into a Lowes or a Home Depot, it’s the animated version of that). The show focuses on these pockets of everyday experience. We watch a lot of “Bluey” around here, which is easy to do because each episode is less than 10 minutes long. And don’t even get me started on the the stained glass transoms! The alpine-inspired cutouts over the doorways? Whimsical. The mid-century modern light fixture in their living room? The coolest. Like, I’ve never watched an animated show in which I’ve coveted the animated furnishings (except for maybe Peppa Pig’s camper van, which could double as a mobile she shed that I could disappear into whenever the members of my household got too loud or demanding), but I would legit Pin-terest their whole house if I could. They are very imaginative and their parents Bandit and Chili are the type of parents you’d want to be friends with and aspire to be more like as a human. If you, like any reasonable adult who does not have a preschool-aged child in their household, have never heard of “Bluey,” here’s the rundown: “Bluey” is a cartoon on Disney+ about a family of Australian Cattle Dogs who also conveniently live in Australia and eat things like “brekkie” (breakfast) and become indignant when other pups aren’t “playing properly.” Annie now informs me that I’m “not playing properly,” when I’m not playing exactly the way she wants me to, which makes her very difficult to take seriously and also makes me feel a little bit shamed for both not playing “properly” and also not talking fancily. Then the show splits into two points of view: Bingo swimming through space and the rest of the Heeler household (Bluey, Chili, and dad, Bandit) as they struggle to find sleep and stay asleep. The story follows Bingo as she falls asleep and hatches out of an Earth-shaped egg shell into a surreal galactic dreamscape. I’m upstairs and the kids are downstairs watching “Bluey.” I can tell from the music that it’s the episode called “Sleepytime” in which Bluey’s mom, Chili, tucks in Bluey’s little sister Bingo for the night after reading her a book about the solar system.
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