In April 2024, beloved animated children’s show Bluey dropped an episode revealing that one of the minor recurring characters has two moms, the first reference on the show to LGBTQ characters or families. This is the chapter-book, graphic novelization of that special, extra-long episode—but it wasn’t the LGBTQ mention that made it special. Instead, as the show’s official website noted, the episode focused on “the wedding of the year” between Bluey’s Uncle Rad and her godmother Frisky. It also dealt with the news that Bluey’s family will have to sell their house and move to a new city, where her dad has a new job. Bluey isn’t happy about this, not wanting to leave her home and friends.
The book follows the episode pretty closely. The revelation of the character with two moms comes as Bluey sits at school, sad about the upcoming move, and wonders why stories always have happy endings. The teacher opines that it’s because “life will give us enough sad ones.” Classmate Pretzel then offers the example of when his guinea pig ran away. “My mums told me he might come back. But he didn’t.” The class gives a sympathetic “Awww.”
That’s the extent of the reference. I love that no big deal is made of it, and clearly the class isn’t surprised by the fact that Pretzel has two mums. This is the kind of incidental queer inclusion that I’ve long encouraged (and track with the “Incidental Queerness” tag here). The LGBTQ reference is a brief moment with a minor character, a rainbow flicker in a sea of straight wedding hullabaloo—but it’s also notable that it came in a special episode, a larger-than-usual, season-ending extravaganza with screenings around the world.
Most of the rest of the story revolves around the wedding—and it’s a very straight affair (since there have been no indications that Frisky or Rad is queer). We see the wedding preparations in Bluey’s backyard, an argument between Frisky and Rad, their making up, and the ceremony and reception.
The tale also deals thoughtfully with Bluey’s feelings around her family’s pending move, with a lovely throughline about luck, though I’ll say no more about that for fear of spoilers. Fans of the show should enjoy the story in book form, even as they might hope for additional LGBTQ representation to come.
