Explore Bluey's Library!
Bluey’s Library is a brand new digital experience that allows kids and families to visit one of Bluey and Bingo’s favourite spots: their local library!
Play nowINTERVIEW: Gotta Be Done’s Mary and Kate on ‘Bluey’s Library’
Hosts of the fan podcast ‘Gotta Be Done’ Mary and Kate talk about reprising their roles from ‘Promises’ in Bluey’s Library.
Having fun’s never hard when you’ve got your #Bluey’s Library card!
Bluey’s Library is a brand new, free digital experience that allows kids and families to visit one of Bluey and Bingo’s favourite spots: their local library! Users are guided through the Library by the Librarian and Library Customer, last seen in the episode Promises – voiced by none other than Gotta Be Done’s Mary Bolling and Kate McMahon.
Q1. Where did the inspiration to start Gotta Be Done come from?
KM: When you love something, you want to talk about it! Mary suggested we start recording our chats quite early on and before we knew it, so many people across the globe were getting in touch telling us how much they loved Bluey too. It has been a really affirming experience and being able to deep dive the pop culture references, music, plot and psychology of Bluey has given us a deep appreciation for this magical Aussie show.
MB: Absolutely it was the euphoria I was feeling about putting my toddler in front of a kids show that I was happy to watch too! Maybe mixed with some baby brain, because my youngest was three months and I don’t think I was fully coherent… but as we talked more and more Bluey, Kate and I made sense to each other at least! We had so much to say about this amazing show, and no idea what we were getting ourselves into!
Q2. What’s your favourite thing about Bluey?
KM: That every episode makes me laugh and sob within seven minutes. It’s storytelling at its best.
MB: It’s just the glorious call to be playful – and how every episode offers up (yes fictional,but also for real life) proof that our relationships and creativity and problem-solving and communities will all be better for it!
Q3. Why do you think Bluey resonates so well with parents and families?
MB: Bluey has never talked down to kids, or to parents! Instead, it captures all the tiny jokes, and niggles, and sleeplessness, and compromises, and bits of teamwork that make a family, and tells us they’re important. Or as Flat Pack has it, they’re ultimately driving human evolution, space travel, and our journey to the afterlife!
KM: I study persuasiveness and storytelling is one of the biggest drivers of change. Stories give us the inspiration to do something, the motivation to do it and help us simulate what to do. Gen X and Millenial parents are doing things differently to previous generations but there haven’t been a lot of role models reflected in modern media. Through the stories of Bluey, Bandit and Chilli give a playbook on how we can navigate the challenges of young kids with grace and humour. The Heeler family and the show is full of love and feels optimistic. I have no doubt that Bluey has made me a better parent.
My kids would probably say they like Chattermax, Muffin and the Lollipop Yum Yum Yum song. If you know, you know.
Q4. How did the opportunity to voice the Librarians in ‘Promises’ come about?
MB: We loved spotting celebrity cameos as we recapped episodes for Gotta Be Done, and when S2 dropped we noticed Dance Mode featured voice actor/ guru Robert Degas as the yes-no button. He did an amazing job, but we mentioned that we would have happily provided our services for free! A year later, we got an email from Joe Brumm, subject line: Bluey voices?
Joe wrote: “I suspect I know the answer, but I have two small roles in an upcoming Bluey episode that need two voices. Would you both be interested?”
He absolutely did know the answer!
KM: We may or may not have dropped some atom-bomb size hints that we would love to be characters! After a very enthusiastic yes from us, Joe sent a pile of books emoji as a clue to what the episode would be about. It was 2021 and we were very fortunate in the fact the studio had been booked to record us just hours before our city needed to go back into a COVID-related lockdown. We didn’t know if we would be replaced with people much more famous than us until the episode aired but we weren’t and the rest is history!
Q5. How did it feel to return to the world of Bluey to voice Bluey’s Library?
MB: It’s the great thing about being in the Blueyverse – the episodes are always airing somewhere, so you never really leave!
From our six words each in Promises, it felt like a big leap to be guiding kids through Bluey’s Library (and soooo many more words!) But we’re book-obsessed library fans from way back… and the instructions were such a throwback to the books on tape of our childhood, “You will know when it’s time to turn the page when you hear the chimes ring like this! Brrrrriiiinng!”
KM: Libraries have been a recurring part of my life so there’s no better place for me. My mum was an English teacher and growing up, I would often spend time in the library of her school sorting books and doing odd jobs. My work experience in the library of The Age newspaper in Melbourne led to me becoming a journalist. So to be back in the Bluey library with such a special interactive project is a dream come true.
Q6. What has been the most exciting part of the process?
KM: Getting to say more than just one line!
MB: We knew a lot about the project from the instructions we were reading – but nothing could prepare us for how fun and immersive it is, travelling through the books with the characters! The first three titles are such faves for us too: Army (Rusty is the goodest boy!), The Adventure and Stories. Our kids are going to love it too, the race to find the Easter eggs is going to be a huge highlight!
7. What’s your first impression of the game now that Part 1 has been released?
MB: The interactivity means kids using Bluey’s Library can really jump into playing the characters, and they can run wild with it! We love Bluey and her school friends because they’re a bit cheeky and crazy… and features being able to fill the Kindly Queen’s chamber to the roof with hungry babies, that is exactly what Bluey would do!
KM: It’s beautiful. So much work and thought and effort has gone into each page and there’s so many things which are just delightful. It reminds me of the Choose Your Own Adventure books which I used to love as a kid.
Q8. What part of the library are you most excited for users interact with?
MB: So many of the features bring kids back to real books – like turning the page, or lifting the flap. I love that kids can design their own bookmark and actually print it, it’s a great reminder to take all the imagination and creativity out into the real world – and hopefully to real life libraries, too!
KM: I can’t wait for my kids to log on and be welcomed into the library by Aunty Mary’s character and voice. They love her so much so it will be a special moment to see.
Q9. Are you excited to learn more about your characters in their brand-new character page on the Bluey website?
KM: Absolutely! The Bluey website has become a bible for show fans so it’s a real honour to be included.
MB: Over the years we’ve had plenty of theories about the backstories of Librarian and Library Dog – it will be exciting to know more about us!
Learn more about the Librarians
Bluey’s Library is a brand new digital experience that allows kids and families to visit one of Bluey and Bingo’s favourite spots: their local library!
Learn MoreQ10. What’s next for Gotta Be Done?
MB: We’ll never run out of things to say about Bluey – and brilliant world-extending content like Bluey’s Library gives us the perfect excuse to keep talking!
KM: We have had a hiatus because life got busy, but we are back in the wagon baby! It has been a joy to be recording again and we are determined to recap every remaining episode of Bluey, with a few special guests along the way. See you in the library!
Explore Bluey's Library!
Bluey’s Library is a brand new digital experience that allows kids and families to visit one of Bluey and Bingo’s favourite spots: their local library!
Play now