It’s hard to imagine the wholesome family show Bluey being controversial to anybody. However, on occasion, it seems to have not quite hit the mark that audiences – or, in fact – streaming services, were hoping for.
Interestingly, though, while the show doesn’t shy away from heavy topics like infertility, traumatic memories and invisible illnesses, these aren’t where the controversy is found.
In fact, it’s often found in, uh, poo.
The Australian show, which first aired in 2018, was picked up by Disney+ in 2020 and rolled out globally – although it wasn’t brought to the streaming service in entirely the same form it was created.
The Bluey storylines that Disney refused to air
Due to their internal standards and practices for Disney Junior shows, Disney+ has altered or entirely skipped certain Bluey episodes because of the content within them.
Take, for example, the episode Markets. In this episode, Bluey hopes to spend her five dollars from the tooth fairy, but finds spending it surprisingly difficult.
During the episode, Bluey sees what she thinks is a unicorn (but is actually a pony with a horn on its head) poo, leading to Bluey and her sister screaming and running away.
However, audiences watching on the Disney streaming platform won’t get to see this unicorn scene as it has been cut entirely, according to Disney fan website Inside the Magic.
In another episode, Family Meeting, the family debates farts and poo, with a faux trial taking place to determine whether dad Bandit did “fluffy” or “make a brownie” on Bluey’s face.
The episode starts with Bluey accusing her dad of farting in her face, which Bandit repeatedly denies until admitting: “Her face is at bum level, it’s hard not to.”
During the original US rollout of the show, fans noticed that the episode was missing. While Disney said it’d been banned as it breached Disney Junior’s standards and practices, they did upload it to the streaming service after considerable backlash, according to Screen Rant.
Most recently, the episode Relax was censored by Disney, according to The Metro. In this episode, the family are on a beach holiday and at one point, dad Bandit says to the sisters as they arrive at their destination: “All right, super troopers, let the holiday begin”.
However, originally, he didn’t call the two “super troopers” but in fact “dingleberries”. This is a common slang word used lightheartedly in some territories, but in others refers to “a piece of dried faecal matter clinging to the hair around the anus”.
Lovely.