Which of the New Bluey Episodes Will Disney Censor

There are new episodes of Bluey coming to the US! But will these episodes come as is from Australia or will some be changed for American audiences?

New Bluey Episodes!

Recently, we gleefully announced that 10 new episodes of Bluey, the award-winning, smash hit piece of children’s programming, will be making their way from Australia to the United States! The new episodes drop on July 12, 2023. You can stream them on Disney+.

For those who are unfamiliar with Bluey, the show follows the day-to-day lives of two blue heeler pups, sisters Bingo and the title character Bluey, and their interactions with parents Bandit and Chilli as they spend their days finding bits of magic in the mundane. Each episode is 6-7 minutes long, and the WHOLE family can enjoy it.

Censorship and Edits

Although Bluey is intended for preschool audiences in Australia, sometimes edits are made to the series before it is deemed suitable for American Audiences and the TVY rating for all children. For example, in the episode “Markets” there is a scene where a horse drops a pile of manure on the grass. The US version splices the episode together to omit the scene.

Some edits delve into censorship. For example, last August the episode “Family Meeting” was initially withheld from release on Disney+ altogether. After a fan uproar, Disney reevaluated the decision and released it with some edits.

Sometimes changes are made while the show is still in Australia. In fact, recently one episode called “Exercise” was edited to address the controversy surrounding instances of body shaming on the show.

So, when these new Bluey Episodes DO come to the US, it is entirely possible that we will be seeing edited versions. Here is where I (Katie) am predicting we will see some changes (without giving away much in the way of spoilers.)

UPDATE! We now know which predictions panned out. Click here to jump there.

Granny Mobile

The Grannies are Back! And, this is an episode where there is significant potential for an edit. After all, as mentioned, in the episode “Exercise,” there is a part where Bandit engages in some negative self-talk about his body that has been completely removed, even in Australia.

Granny Mobile contains a scene where a grouchy character insults Bandit’s body. He then rushes to a mirror and begins engaging in negative self-talk in alignment with the insults. I am actually surprised it is still airing in its original format in Australia after the removal of similar content from “Exercise.” We shall see soon if it stands in the US.

Puppets

In “Puppets,” there is a scene where Chilli acts as if she is going to throw up. We have seen slight edits to other episodes to keep the upchucking to a minimum. For example, the episode “Taxi” was shortened a bit to omit a scene where Bingo pretends to throw up.

It is possible we may get a subtle edit here. However, some amount of gagging and wrenching seems acceptable based on other episodes, so we shall see if this one crosses whichever line has been drawn or not.

Stories

The episode “Stories” focuses on secondary characters Winston and Calypso helping Indy to find a bit of fun in an art project she is struggling with. However, during the Australian version, Winston engages in a lot of potty humor including making farting noises and pretending to poop on the ground.

Typically, Disney+ removes that sort of potty humor from the episodes, as it did in “Market.” It is possible we will not see all of Winston’s jokes.

Onesies

Like a number of other Bluey episodes, “Onesies” does tackle some heavy content. It is addressed gently. But it is less subtle than it is in some episodes.

For example, there is a bit of dialogue between Chilli and Bluey where Bluey asks a tough question about why another character is sad. It could lead to some child viewers asking questions that their grown-ups aren’t necessarily prepared to respond to. It is possible that those few lines have been edited out for the US version.

Episodes We Might See As-Is

There are a number of episodes that will likely be aired as-is. These include “Turtleboy,” “Musical Statues,” “The Decider,” “Dirt,” “Tradies,” and “Space.” There is little to nothing that would fall into the realm of “questionable.”

All of this, of course, is pure speculation. See if our predictions are correct on July 12, 2023.

UPDATE

UPDATE: We now know what changes occurred. It looks like Disney did not follow the expected patterns. We got all of Winston’s potty humor antics in “Stories,” and we got the full story in “Onesies.” We got all the grouchy granny energy in “Granny Mobile.”

So far, only two noteworthy changes have occurred. In “The Decider” the word “flog” has been replaced with “beat.” Also, in “Puppets” the line “Care for a lick?” to “Do you wanna bit?” (in reference to ice cream).

It is always interesting to see what changes occur when the content comes from Austrailia to the US.

What do you think about these edits? Did Disney focus on the right changes? Let us know in the comments. And, be sure to share with your friends who love Bluey.