Everyone Loves Bandit from Bluey – But is He a Lovable Larrikin or Just a Bad Dad?

Everyone Loves Bandit from Bluey – But is He a Lovable Larrikin or Just a Bad Dad?

Bandit Heeler is a hero. The cartoon father of Bluey and her younger sister Bingo, Bandit is the much-loved dad dog at the heart of Australia’s favourite four-legged family. He balances the drudgery of housework with the creative escapades of his daughters, repurposing everyday objects and actions for imaginative play and engagement. Awarded a Father of the Year award in 2019 and widely cited as the model of modern fatherhood, Bandit’s engaged presence in his daughters’ lives has been hailed as a watershed moment in children’s television. In a break from TV’s 'bad dad' trope, Bandit has been worshipped as a 'dad-idol', even inspiring a Facebook group of 14,000 dedicated dads who identify as Bluey superfans. Child psychologists have explained how Bandit inspired their approach to pretend play and improvisation. A new article published in The Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health lays out 'what Bluey can teach us about parenting and grandparenting'. But there is a darker side to this lovable character. Bandit never strays far from the reductive stereotype of the Australian larrikin: the likeable roguish male stuck between childhood and adulthood whose disrespect of authority and rough-and-ready masculinity reflects Australia’s emotional attachment to the working-class underdog.