Bluey at the Cinema: Playdates with Friends

Name: Bluey at the Cinema: Playdates with Friends
Genre: Animation, Family
Released: 2026-03-26
Duration: 1 h 6 min
Rating: 9.3
Cast: Dave McCormack, Melanie Zanetti

Bluey at the Cinema: Playdates with Friends (2026)

1:06 (66 min)

Animation, Family

Australia, United Kingdom

9.3/10
50 910

7/10
1

9.3/10
46000

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All about film

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Actors and characters

Watch film Bluey at the Cinema: Playdates with Friends — BLUEY IM KINO: „PLAYDATES" - KOLLEKTION | Trailer

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Movie poster "Bluey at the Cinema: Playdates with Friends"

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Production

Ludo Studio, BBC Studios Productions

Release date

26 March 2026

Director

Richard Jeffery

All team (2)

Actors

Dave McCormack

Bandit Heeler (voice)

Melanie Zanetti

Chilli Heeler (voice)

All actors and roles (2)

Short description

Bluey at the Cinema: Playdates with Friends is an animated family film that brings together eight episodes from the first three seasons of the television series. The collection focuses on themes of imagination, friendship, and family life, featuring a curious Australian Cattle Dog puppy who creates various games for those around her. These stories highlight specific activities and moments of bonding through play.

The film was co-produced by Ludo Studio and BBC Studios Productions in Australia and the United Kingdom. It was directed by Richard Jeffery and Joe Brumm. For Richard Jeffery, this is the third film in a sequence that began with Bluey: The Sign. Joe Brumm directed this as his fifth film in a series that includes Bluey: The Sign, Bluey at the Cinema: Family Trip Collection, and Bluey at the Cinema: Let's Play Chef Collection, followed by the upcoming Bluey Movie. The voice cast features Dave McCormack as Bandit Heeler and Melanie Zanetti as Chilli Heeler.

Since its release in March 2026, the movie has received very positive feedback from viewers. On IMDb, it holds a high rating of 9.3/10 based on 46,000 votes.

What's left behind the scenes

The episodes “Adventure” from season 1 and “Army” from season 2 take place on the same day. When Joey goes to school in “Army,” Bluey and Chloe are playing princesses in the background, as in “Adventure.” At the beginning of the “Shop” episode from season 3, Jack and Rusty are playing army in the background.
Bluey, Bingo, and other children were voiced by the children of the creative team of the animated series, who requested that their names not be listed in the credits.
Mackenzie, Bluey’s friend, is a black and white border collie with a New Zealand accent. Her presence in the plot is a reference to the popular comics and cartoons about Footrot, a dog of this breed with black and white markings, in New Zealand.
David McCormack, who voiced the father, was never at the LUDO studio. Before appearing on Tonight Show, he had never even met Melanie Zanetti from Brisbane, who voiced the mother (his wife), in person. They both recorded their characters’ lines in studios in different cities and even countries (Zanetti, for example, was filming in the USA during the recording process), and then these recordings were mixed and edited together in Brisbane.
Many episodes feature an elongated, sausage-shaped dog (in the "Charades" episode, for example, it hides among the knitting on the sofa). It was conceived by the background artists as early as the first season.
The "Grandfather" series contains a reference to Peter Jackson's 2001 blockbuster, "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring." At one point, Chilli searches for her father and children on a forest road, and they hide under the roots of a tree, after which they throw something to distract her.