Bluey Dubbed in Yolŋu Matha for NAIDOC Week, Marking First Indigenous Australian Language Release

Bluey is to become available in an Indigenous Australian language for the first time, after Australia’s public broadcaster announced five episodes had been dubbed into Yolŋu Matha. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation said the five episodes — The Beach, The Creek, Sleepytime, Grandad and Rug Island — will premiere on 5 July to coincide with the start of NAIDOC Week, the annual celebration of the history, culture, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Yolŋu Matha refers to a group of closely related First Nations languages spoken by Yolŋu communities in north-east Arnhem Land, in Australia’s Northern Territory, according to ABC News Australia. Bluey follows the everyday adventures of six-year-old blue heeler pup Bluey, her younger sister Bingo, and their parents, Bandit and Chilli, as the family navigate ordinary moments through imaginative play. Created by Joe Brumm and first broadcast in 2018, the seven-minute animated series has grown from a preschool programme into a global hit praised as much by parents as children for its sharp writing, emotional depth, and unusually thoughtful portrayal of modern family life. The show is now available in more than 140 countries and was the most-streamed programme in the US in 2025, clocking 45.2 billion minutes minutes watched across platforms, according to Nielsen data. NAIDOC Week, held annually across Australia, runs from 5 to 12 July this year, with the 2026 theme “50 Years of Deadly” commemorating five decades of Indigenous-led celebration and advocacy. The dubbed episodes were produced through a collaboration between Yolŋu Radio, Aboriginal Resource and Development Services (ARDS), the ABC, and Ludo Studio, with recording taking place in Yolŋu Radio’s studio in north-east Arnhem Land. Bandit, Bluey’s father, is voiced in the dubbed episodes by Dimathaya Burrawanga, a founding member of the Yolŋu surf rock band King Stingray. Chilli is voiced by Yolŋu educator and translator Rosie Mununggurr, while the character Grandad is voiced by elder Andrew Gurruwiwi. The children voicing Bluey and Bingo have not been publicly identified to protect their privacy. Will Porter, co-director and producer of the project, told ABC News the team reworked parts of the script to better reflect Yolŋu cultural references while preserving the meaning of the original dialogue and matching the animation’s mouth movements. In The Creek, for example, Bandit’s warning about fictional Australian “drop bears” was replaced with a reference to Ŋamini Baŋ'baŋ', a figure from Yolŋu storytelling used to warn children to go to bed. In Sleepytime, Bingo’s doll was also renamed using a Yolŋu skin name. Kelly Williams, the ABC’s director of First Nations strategy, said: “Bluey has become part of family life for many Australians, so hearing these stories told in Yolŋu Matha is a powerful way of bringing Northeast Arnhem Land language and culture into homes across the country. “At the ABC, we’re committed to ensuring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages are part of the national conversation and these episodes, alongside our broader NAIDOC Week content, are a strong example of that commitment in action.” Julia Wormer and Sylvia Nulpinditj, co-chief executive officers of ARDS, said they hoped the initiative would help preserve and celebrate First Nations languages. “Bluey has become a shared language for families right across Australia, so to hear these stories told in Yolŋu Matha, languages spoken on this continent for thousands of generations, is incredibly special,” they said. The dubbed episodes will launch on ABC iview on 5 July before being screened at the Garma Festival in August, an annual Indigenous cultural gathering held in Gulkula, about 40km from Nhulunbuy on the Gove Peninsula.