The Magic Xylophone: A dog's most feared weapon

Welcome to my first Bluey dissects analysis! Today we will be doing The Magic Xylophone! Strap yourselves in, this is a really long dissection!

Ahh yes. The Bluey theme song is always there to brighten up your day. And this is very appropriate as this is my first dissect! Let's get into it.

I wanna say some stuff about the Heeler house. I'm no Brissie, but you can easily tell that its an Australian establishment. Any Aussie will tell you that.

We can see St Brigid's Church in the background, which could be indicating that the Heelers live somewhere around Redhill in suburban Brisbane.

We can also see a transmitter type tower, probably from Mount Cootha. This further reinforces that the Heelers live somewhere around Redhill/Paddington/Indooroopilly area. I'll get into the details and such in a later dissection.

Anyway, let's get into the actual episode...

In this scene, we can tell that the house is really organised. No toys on the ground or rubbish littered everywhere, considering that Bandit and Chilli have a four and six-year-old. That kiwi style carpet is something I would add to my bucket list if I could find where to get it from.

We can also see some bunting hungover in the corner. Could be leftovers from a party of some sort. Or it could be how doggies live in Brisbane.

Let's carry on shall we

Ok, so I have a lot to talk about this scene. The background is cluttered with items ready to be identified.

What is it with this family and bunting. If I had bunting in my house it would have been peeling off within three days.

So this is the first Long Dog of the show and the season (obviously). If you don't know what the Long Dog gag is, it's basically an item (a stuffed blue long dog plushie) hidden in most episodes very discreetly by the Ludo team. A nice little easter egg if I do say so myself.

So this is basically the map of Australia (I'm surprised they remembered Tasmania!). And it looks like the family has drawn a border like around Queensland, showing the love and passion they have for their state. A very nice and emotional touch.

You don't qualify for being an Australian if you didn't have the following things lying around your house:

I don't know why Chilli and Bandit would keep toys such as this, but it could be just to be put on the shelf as a showcase item, or it may be used in the roleplay games the girls and the parents get up to.

Now back to the original scene. They are obviously playing a roleplaying game, Bandit being the player of the instrument, and Bluey being the piano. Bandit announces he is about to play the Rondo Alla Turca, a classic piece by Mozart. In my opinion, it's very overly used in pop culture and TV, but if Bluey is using it, I'm all good with it. The camera is set up in a way that it looks like Bandit is talking directly to the target audience. and breaking the fourth wall. But we know that's incorrect because in the scene before this, we see Bingo watching them with a smile that can melt any heart.

Bluey trying to run away is something that brings back memories of my childhood and playing with my own father. Bluey is obviously very ticklish and tries to escape Bandits fast paws. But before you know it...

Bandit must have prior experience in this kind of situations. How the hell do you grab a kid wiggling their arms and legs and you just throw em back to your lap? Kudos.

"Taking turns can be difficult." Very true. This episode really has a big emphasis on taking turns as we will see later on in the episode. The big thing here is that this is taught through gameplay and not through breaking the fourth wall, like other TV shows tend to do.

"You can be the bum bongos!" Bandit is obviously trying to make both her girls happy, by incorporating some humour into it. Bingo is obviously enjoying her bum being patted by her father (is that weird?).

"Ooo Island rhythms!" This is the first time we see Chilli in the show and season, and she does make quite an appearance. The family is enjoying quite the time together through play, which every child should have.

Aaand yes! The first title card for the show has been unveiled. "This episode of Bluey is called The Magic Xylophone!" Interesting that the xylophone hasn't even been introduced yet, but the title card has been shown, alluding to what will happen later on in the episode.

I told you Bandit was one tough guy. Looks like the kids have a little toy basket thingy in which they store toys they play with. I used to have the same thing when I was a kid. Is it an Australian thing I don't know.

Bingo has found the most feared weapon to dog kind. The Magic Xylophone. Bandit is trying to run away from the scene, to which Bluey reacts very quickly and gets a hold of him. "Bingo, do a ding!" To this point in the episode, we don't know what the xylophone does, but if Bandit is running away like a feral child, it must be something very peculiar. I also must say that they must have played this game before, as everyone knows what's going to happen.

Sooo the xylophone freezes anyone in its boundary area. The thing I don't understand is why doesn't Bluey get frozen too. I get it's a game, but are the girls allowed to bend the rules?

Poor Bandit. He has to stick his finger (paw?) up his nose. Bluey and Bingo seem very pleased with the results. Bandit is obviously not enjoying his time, but he really is dedicating his time with his kids to help them play around.

"Awww. It's just like how we first met!" It's pretty funny to see that Bandit is goofy even outside of play. Chilli is obviously trying to make the kids laugh while trying to give us a hint on how Bandit and Chilli are without the kids. Bluey and Bingo loved Chilli's comment. Who wouldn't?

Bingo has unfrozen Bandit and that means trouble. Bandit has really built up some temper and really wants to get his revenge back from the girls. Although this is a just a game, Bandit really does seem in character and the kids look as if they are just playing and laughing along to what Bandit is going to do next.

Aaand Bluey and Bingo have got Bandit frozen again. I feel sorry for him to this part. Funny how they dress him up using colours which can be generalised for girls. Kinda shows how the girls are influenced by such generalisations and how making fun of Bandit as a male is to make him dress up and use such colours on him. The Reindeer antlers look like just some random thing the girls must have found lying around the house and stuck it on Bandit's head. The fact that they have to use chairs to reach up to his face is just straight out funny and shows the difference in height between the girls and Bandit.

Bluey and Bingo have unfrozen Bandit again, with Bluey again ignoring Bingo's pleas to give her a turn. Bingo still saddens, still plays on. We can also see a sock put onto Bandit's tail, but I wonder where they use socks as we haven't seen them wear any in the show. Bandit is obviously very triggered in sense for the game and chases the girls outside into the front yard. Many things to be analysed here...

The family car is obviously a Jeep. Complete with a roof rack and the spare tyre hanging from the back of the vehicle. Looks like they only have one car, meaning if Bandit and Chilli both have to go to work at the same time, one would take the car and the other will catch public transport more than likely.

An old-style letterbox in the front yard could indicate how old the house is. Or Bandit and Chilli just wanted an antique touch to it. Also, note that its house number two they reside in. Only if we knew what street it is...

This looks like a birdbath (if birds even exist in the Blueyverse). Though it's obviously not used anymore and has some sort of plant growing out of it, probably Chilli's doing.

The dog bone design hanging from underneath the letterbox is also very interesting to see. Does that mean that the occupants of the Blueyverse know that they are dogs and live up to doggie stereotypes?

Hmmmmmmmmm. A pawprint on the footpath (pawpath?). Could be one of the Heelers stepping into wet cement when the footpath was laid out, as to mark their territory.

Anyway, I think I need to explain what's happening in these few scenes. Bluey and Bingo have unfrozen Bandit and he chases the girls to the front yard. Bluey freezes Bandit again in the yard and Bingo asks whether she could unfreeze her dad using the xylophone. Bluey thinks about it for a few seconds, but chances the subject instantly, telling Bingo to go inside the house to get some teddies. Bingo grunts in frustration but follows Bluey inside anyway. Chloe's mum walks past the Heeler house with her child in a stroller, takes one look at Bandit and sprints away. Bluey and Bingo come back and place the plushies on Bandit, followed by Chilli walking out of the house and telling the kids to keep playing with Bandit, but unfreeze him for toilet breaks.

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If you didn't know, Chilli works at airport security (Brisbane Airport?) and seems to have no uniform. Maybe all security staff are Red Heelers anyway.

"Mum, Bluey is not letting me have any turns." Chilli backfires Bluey by saying if she doesn't take turns with others, people won't take turns with her. So dogs are people huh. Bluey retaliates by saying Bingo is too slow and Dad would have caught her if she was the dinger person. Chilli talks back by saying if they don't take turns, she'll take the xylophone to work, and she'll freeze her boss. I'm pretty sure an airport security checkpoint is not a great place for a xylophone to be.

So Bluey has at last given a turn to Bingo, and Bandit is not very happy. He throws all the plushies and Chilli is not going to be happy when she sees this mess when she returns. I feel sorry and kinda hate Bandit at the same time in this episode, he's getting made fun of by the kids, then he wants to take his revenge.

Bluey and Bingo have run into their bedroom to hide from Bandit. New room means more dissecting...

If you live in Australia and you don't have a pedestal fan or any fan for that matter, you're not human. Looks like one of those 20 buck fans that you can get from Big W or Kmart. Ludo hasn't left any detail out of this show, and I'm loving it.

How much money do Bandit and Chilli have to actually have custom made beds for TWO girls? Though they do look comfy...

Looks like a mobile hung over Bingo's bed. She is four years old and maybe needs that extra support to fall asleep. Really cute. Or, it could just be some decoration, I don't know.

Looks like a third makeshift bed which Bandit made within a few seconds and attached a ladder to it. But why is it there? We've seen in Sleepover that Muffin slept in her sleeping bag when she came for a sleepover. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

All I can say that it's really cute to see a bed table photo of the girls acting goofy. It really shows how a family like the family is. The photo also shows how Bluey is always the goofy and fun type while Bingo is the innocent and nice type. All in one photo that is barely visible. Kudos to Ludo.

looks like a rock salt lamp to me. I have a friend who sells those and he tells me that these sell out quickly especially in Brisbane. I guess Brissies can never have too much salt. Rock salt lamps really have a nice glow and the colour of this one really matches the wallpaper in the room.

Seriously, another ring thingy. Perhaps its something to do with them being dogs but who knows.

This is Bluey's bed and its kinda cool to see her bed with a capital 'B', showing that she is older than Bingo and showing the ownership of the bed. This also means that Bandit and Chilli had to get two different etchings for each bed. Rich doggies.

Ok, let's move on...

It's time for the spot the OWO challenge. If you can't see well you better get your eyes checked I'm sorry. The space under the bed is littered with toys, but none worthy of dissection.

Bluey and Bingo are again fighting for the xylophone, with storage, cupboard/room behind them. Seems like a hallway where they are. It's worth noting that they have no carpet, and have timber floors.

Sneak 100 How the hell does a full-grown person, let alone a dog the size of a human fit on a shelf in an average-sized storage cupboard. It's beyond me. Looks very uncomfortable. On another note, all we can see stored is a bunch of towels, bedsheets etc.

Bandit.exe has stopped working Bandit has literally lost his mind from this point forward in this episode. How the hell do you jump off a cupboard shelf that you were cramped into and land on your two feet? I love the contrast on reactions between Bluey and Bingo. Bluey is acting surprised and a bit scared, while Bingo is just utterly scared which we can tell from her covering her mouth. Really shows each charters personality within these subtle scenes.

So Bandit is in control now and has frozen Bluey, while Bingo runs away from the scene unfrozen. The way Bingo running away also adds to her personality traits, as she screams with her arms up in the air, showing how fragile she must have felt at the scene, showing her innocence. What's raising questions is that in the previous scenes, if Bluey did a ding, it would freeze Bandit but not Bingo. But here Bandit is dinging, and Bluey is frozen, but Bingo runs away to protect herself from the powers of the xylophone. So it seems like the kids can bend the rules as much as they want, and Bandit doesn't seem to mind.

How do you have a random hat in your storage cupboard? And a gnome hat?! The randomness that comes out of the Heeler house will never come to match any other.

I would NEVER hold a child like that. How does Bluey not flop down? Beats me.

"Its got a little bit of felt pen on the fingers." Do dogs have fingers? This universe has too many question marks that it hurts to think about.

Sneak 200 Bingo hiding behind a bush away from manic Bandit is next level sneak. Funny how Bluey actually wants to play the game properly, and not move in any way. But we know that the girls are bending the rules every now and then in the game. I guess Bluey does want clean fingers.

Bingo knows when to strike back. Unfreezing Bluey then freezing her again is just... Bluey gets her punishment for not letting Bingo have any turns, and this really shows how the girls have self-learnt how to take turns themselves, without Bandit having into intervening at any time. I think that's the real message this episode is trying convey, so subtly yet so strong.

Bingo knows how to blackmail too. Where is she getting these skills from? I love how Bingo tells Bluey her feelings, that she feels sad that she is not getting any turns. Its important in any child development to express their feeling out loud to the person that's making that happen. Bingo is doing exactly just that, another great example which is greatly hidden within gameplay.

Bandit just walks so casually like watering his daughter is something he does every day.

I don't know. Does Bingo always hide this much that she knows all the blind spots in the establishment? It does seem really cute that she is the innocent and fragile one on the family, yet she is so sneaky and agile.

Bingo must have seen to happen somewhere to know that kinking a hose stops after flow at such a great rate. Love the fact that Bluey agreed to Bingo's compromise and they are working together to stop the manic. Bandit getting blasted in the face with I think cold water is something I could watch hours on end.

I do want to make a comment on the scenery around the house. It really reflects the Australian climate, more specifically Brisbane's, which is famous for its sunshine and warmth. The plants in the front yard look succulent, also representing Brisbane's climate of being a hot and humid area. The overall greenery is an icon for Australia and is very well depicted in the show. The wooden power poles with the birds (I can't identify them) sitting on the wires is something that almost all Aussies have grown up with and is another attention to detail Ludo hasn't missed out.

Aaaand that brings us to the end of this episode. The few scenes at the end are very heartwarming, as Bluey and Bingo's relationship has just been boosted tenfold. Though I do feel sorry for Bandit, standing in his front yard with a hose being blasted at his face in public. He has some guts for his kids.

It is worth mentioning that during the credits roll, Rondo Alla Turca is played, with Bandit playing it with his voice over it.

The Music

The music used is unmistakenly Mozart's Rondo Alla Turca. It is played throughout the whole episode, and it's strengthened during scenes of climax. As I already mentioned, Bandit humming to play the piano on Bluey at the beginning of the episode becomes the background piano music for the rest of the episode. The use of classical music in this episode sets the basis for the other many episodes that use heavy classical music as the soundtrack.

Finally...

This episode is of the many that teach a life lesson very indirectly through play. It really sets the scene for the episodes to come and has really introduced the personality of the character very subtly too through the game they play. This episode definitely deserves more love and recognition for what it has set for the rest of the show.

And that's the end for my first Bluey Dissects episode analysis. Please subscribe so you never miss a new dissection and comment your thoughts on the dissection. Also follow us on twitter @BlueyDissects. I also want to thank Snivy2641 (Danyel) for proofreading and editing this for me. G'day and I'll catch you in the next dissection!