Credit: Rusty Clark via FlickrMickey Mouse might be the face of The Walt Disney Company, but his up-and-coming rival is already inside the house.
It’s impossible to go to a Disney park without seeing Mickey Mouse. The character, who Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks created, debuted in 1928 and has been the face of the global corporation for almost 100 years. Mickey Mouse can be found all over Disney merchandise, from toys to homeware to clothing.
Despite being so intrinsically connected to The Walt Disney Company, early iterations of Mickey Mouse may soon enter the public domain. Steamboat Willie, one of the earliest incarnations of the famous character, is set to lose its copyright status in 2024.
While Disney and its century-old legacy will always be associated with Mickey Mouse, the brand has been tarnished in recent years. Thanks to divisive changes at its theme parks and a slew of underwhelming movies and TV shows, support for the House of Mouse has waned.
On the film side, projects like Strange World (2022) and Disney Pixar’s Lightyear (2022) bombed dramatically at the box office, as did Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) from the Disney subsidiary Marvel Studios. On the TV front, Disney’s major shakeup of its streaming service, Disney+, comes after numerous projects failed to deliver on expectations.
However, one non-Disney property that is taking over pop culture — across all ages — is Bluey.
The animated TV show following the Heeler family has captivated the world, engaging in topics like parenting, sisterhood, family dynamics, and friendship. The show, which was created by Joe Brumm and produced by Ludo Studio, was commissioned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), receiving production funding from Screen Australia and Screen Queensland. Bluey made its U.S. debut on Disney Junior in 2019, with the second season released on Disney Channel.
Centering on the titular character of Bluey, the Australian TV show follows the anthropomorphic Blue Heeler and her little sister Bingo, mother, Chilli, and father, Bandit. It has fans all over the world and has been praised for its portrayal of family relationships and parenting skills. It’s so popular, in fact, that the show is streamed for millions of minutes each week.
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Per the Nielsen streaming report, for the week of August 14 through August 20, Bluey was the third most streamed TV show overall in the world, coming in at a total of 1 billion minutes watched. It was the only Disney+ show to rank in the top 10. Furthermore, Bluey came second in the acquired streaming show list, again as Disney+’s only title.
The phenomenon has transcended the TV screen, with Bluey merchandise, games, and even a live theater show all adding to the expanding Bluey enterprise. And she has infiltrated Disney Parks.
Bluey at Disney World
On a recent visit to the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Central Florida, this writer noticed multiple adult guests opting to wear Bluey merchandise and clothing. Instead of Mickey Mouse blazoned across shirts, it was the vibrant Bluey Heeler jumping into the air.
There were Bluey Crocs and matching family attire; Bluey was dotted everywhere at Disney World, especially at Magic Kingdom, and it begs the question: is this Australian puppy challenging Mickey Mouse in popularity?
It’s hard to imagine that Bluey would ever match the global icon status that Mickey Mouse has cultivated over the last century, but with Bluey‘s global home being Disney+, is it only a matter of time until Disney Parks themselves get in on the Bluey hype and give her an official presence on property? Chances are unlikely. While Bluey does air on Disney+, Disney only has distribution rights, with BBC Studios having the licensing.
As this writer’s last visit to Walt Disney World was in 2017, prior to the creation and release of Bluey, it was extremely noticeable upon returning in 2023 that Bluey was well and truly a part of the resort.
Has Bluey made it into your Disney park wardrobe? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!