Bluey's Guide to Story Structure
How the writers of Bluey created a fantastic guide to story structure
Bluey has become a standout hit for Disney, resulting in everything from merchandise to Halloween costumes for a legion of fans. The last thing I expected from this show was an excellent guide to story structure.
Bluey
Bluey will probably be remembered as the greatest cartoon of this generation.
If you’re not familiar the series primarily follows the adventures of Bluey, a six year old anthropomorphic Blue Heeler. The cast of characters includes her four year old sister Bingo, father Bandit, and mother Chilli, among others (Bluey and Bingo’s cousin Muffin is probably my favorite character of the whole series).
An Australian cartoon, the series was picked up by Disney for Disney Junior in 2019 and Disney+ in 2020 for US distribution.
I have a five year old and a two year old, and we watch a lot of Bluey. The episodes are 7-9 minutes each, so nice bite-sized pieces for kids. This is one of the very few cartoons I don’t mind watching. Frankly, I love it.
There are so many good lessons for kids in this show. Lessons about being a good person, about responsibility, how to be a good friend, and how to treat other people.
And a remarkable episode about story structure.
Story Structure
As a reminder, typical 7-point story structure as laid out by Dan Wells (good reference here) contains the following sections:
The Hook
Plot Turn 1
Pinch 1
Midpoint
Pinch 2
Plot Turn 2
Resolution
Curry Quest
Season 3, Episode 8 of Bluey is titled ‘Curry Quest.’ One of the things I particularly like about this episode is that the description of the structure is narrated through a series of short scenes and dialogue between Chilli and Bluey, who aren’t actually involved in the main story.
The episode opens with Mom (Chilli) teaching Bluey to knit while Bingo naps on her lap. Mom mentions she’s on a quest to find rainbow-colored yarn. Bingo naturally asks what a quest is, whereupon Chilli explains it is a journey a hero goes on that usually starts at home then experiences a call to adventure.
With impeccable timing Dad (Bandit) rolls in to recruit an adventurer to go to a Curry Swap at friend MacKenzie’s house with him. Bluey is learning how to knit, so Dad accosts Bingo, who is initially unwilling. When Bandit tempts her with the knowledge that MacKenzie’s mom is doing face painting, she agrees enthusiastically.
This is a classic Hook, denial of the quest, then final acceptance.
Plot Turn 1 occurs when Bandit and Bingo run into their neighbor Doreen at the bus stop, who reveals that a magpie has taken up residence in the park and is harassing travelers along the path. There is a particularly good example of foreshadowing in this scene.
Pinch 1 occurs when the two have to pass through the park and nearly meet disaster when Bingo trips and the bird swoops in to attack.
In the Midpoint Bandit and Bingo arrive at MacKenzie’s house, swap curries, and Bingo gets to try some face paint.
In Pinch 2 it is revealed that Bandit is leaving the next day on a long work trip, devastating Bingo. She tells Bandit that she’s too scared to face the magpie and she doesn’t want her Dad to leave. There’s a particularly good Chilli-Bluey scene here where she talks briefly about the true nature of the quest being revealed at this point.
In Plot Turn 2 MacKenzie’s mom reveals that she’s thinking about giving up face painting because she’s not very good at it. After thinking about it, Bingo says she thinks that MacKenzie’s mom should still do the face painting, even if she’s scared. With that, Bingo decides she can finally face the magpie on the way back home.
As Bingo and her dad start home, Bingo is struck with an idea.
She asks MacKenzie’s mom to paint one more thing. As Chilli’s narration comes back, Bingo and her dad walk across the park one more time to face the magpie, armed with Bingo’s idea. I won’t spoil it (yeah, I don’t want to spoil a 7 minute children’s cartoon for you), but the two safely make it past their last obstacle in the journey.
The Resolution of the episode is very touching, with narration by Chili in a series of scenes where Bandit leaves on his trip, talking to them over video chat, and finally his return home. I’ll leave you with the last bit of dialogue between Bingo and Chilli, as I thought it was a perfect place to wrap up.
“Why do heroes want to go on quests anyway? They seem dangerous.”
“Well, they usually don’t, remember?”
“Oh, yeah.”
“But that’s what makes them heroes. They go anyway.”
Thanks for sharing, Zane. Much appreciated.
Nice Breakdown!