New Collaboration Between ‘Bluey’ & ‘The Simpsons’ Leaves Fans Confused, Enraged

Over the weekend, fans were shocked–and some were enraged–to see Bluey and Bingo from the Disney+ children’s series, Bluey, in a Mother’s Day episode of The Simpsons.

Credit: Disney/20th Century Fox/Ludo Studio

The Creator of ‘Bluey’ Shares His Inspiration For the Series

Australian animator Joe Brumm is credited with creating Bluey, one of the most successful children’s programs of all time. Not only did he create the show, but he writes episodes of the acclaimed series as well, and he’s long been vocal about the inspiration behind the series about a bluey heeler puppy named Bluey and her daily adventures with her younger sister Bingo and her parents Chilli and Bandit.

Credit: Disney+/Ludo Studio

Related: ‘Bluey’ Faces Backlash As Episode Encourages Potentially Deadly Behavior

Bluey was the most streamed title on Disney+ in 2023, with nearly 44 billion minutes watched of the 145 available episodes. That’s according to Nielsen data, which also hailed Bluey as the United States’ second-most streamed title overall.

Almost every element found in episodes of Bluey were inspired by some part of Brumm’s life–the fact that Bluey is a blue heeler puppy, the games the family plays in each episode, even the very nature of Bluey and Bingo themselves.

Even the show itself was created following Brumm’s inspiration by another children’s series–the British animated series titled Peppa Pig.

Credit: Noggin/Peppa Pig

By his own admission, Brumm was inspired to create a children’s animated series featuring an Australian family after watching an episode of Peppa Pig, which features a British family within a children’s animated series. Brumm decided that Australian children ought to have a show that featured a family from Down Under in a series. And thus, Bluey and the Heeler family were created.

Other Inspiration for ‘Bluey’

But Joe Brumm has also talked in recent years about the role the long-running animated series, The Simpsons, played in the development of the Bluey series.

Credit: Ludo Studio/Disney+

In an interview with Deadline, Brumm explained that he was influenced by a British sitcom, Gavin and Stacey, which was written by James Corden and Ruth Jones, and he noted its nods to The Simpsons in the way that it crosses generations.

“Gavin and Stacey was influential in a big way. I loved how it genuinely crossed generations, like The Simpsons back in the day,” Brumm explained. “I thought: ‘Why shouldn’t a kids’ show make parents laugh too?’ When the time came to do Bluey, that became the challenge.”

Credit: Gavin & Stacey/James Corden

So perhaps Sunday night’s appearance of Bingo and Bluey shouldn’t have taken fans by surprise–but it did.

A Mother’s Day Shocker

On Sunday evening, fans spotted Bluey, Bingo, and their mom Chilli in a special Mother’s Day episode on Disney+ titled May the 12th Be With You.

Credit: Disney+

In the Mother’s Day short on Disney+, Marge Simpson joins the mothers and children of Disney on an exciting adventure across the galaxy.

A wide array of Disney and Pixar characters are included in the episode, including Bingo, Bluey, and Chilli Heeler, as well as Bambi and his mother, Dumbo and his mother, Cinderella, Mulan, Moana, The Incredibles, Princess Aurora, Fairy Godmother, and many, many more.

The entire family from Hulu’s Family Guy are also on tap in the short, which features countless nods and knocks to elements in The Walt Disney Company over the course of the four-minute-long short.

Bingo and Bluey can be seen in the Simpsons’ backyard during an afternoon feast, and later, Bingo and Chilli are seen in a spaceship with several of the puppies from Disney’s 101 Dalmatians.

Credit: Disney+

Confusion Sets In Among Fans

But the decision to include members of the Heeler family in an episode of The Simpsons created confusion for some Bluey fans.

On Facebook, some fans even questioned whether the Mother’s Day episode was an actual episode or made by fans online.

Credit: Disney+

“Is this even an episode or a fan picture?” one asked in a Facebook group.

But the episode was, indeed, legitimate as it is advertised in the ticker of selections at the top of the screen on Disney+.

One online user pointed out one of the most interesting points in the entire episode, saying, “The funniest part is all of those are Disney except Bluey. So if The Simpsons was supposed to be doing all Disney characters, they failed.”

Well played, informed fan. Well played.