Melanie Zanetti spoke to RadioTimes.com about the landmark episode.
Bluey star Melanie Zanetti has said she expects this weekend’s extended episode, The Sign, to resonate with parents perhaps just as much as it does with their children.
The Australian animated series has become an international phenomenon, winning fans of all ages with its heartwarming stories involving an anthropomorphic family of cattle dogs.
Typically, episodes of Bluey are very brief – clocking in at a mere seven minutes – but The Sign quadruples that length to just shy of half an hour in a major “departure” from the usual format.
However, actor Melanie Zanetti (who voices Bluey’s mother, Chilli) told RadioTimes.com that the show “more than retains” its parental appeal in this extended special.
“I think Bluey is a show that’s obviously made with an age group in mind, but it is for everyone, and this 28-minute episode is that more than ever,” she began. “I think there will be a lot of resonating happening for parents.”
Elaborating on that comment, Zanetti continued: “I think in terms of parents having to put on a brave face and be what their children need, even if they might be having a tough time.
“I think that’s such an incredible act of service – a juggling act that parents are doing all the time. And I think we see a bit of that in this 28-minute episode.”
The Sign follows on directly from recent episode Ghostbasket, where it was revealed that the Heelers are selling their house, which can be a tricky thing for a young child to process.
We also know that The Sign will feature “the wedding of the year” between two beloved characters, with Zanetti saying that one benefit of the longer runtime is the ability to pack “multiple storylines” into a single episode.
She added: “I think what’s amazing about having the 28 minutes compared to the seven is that you just have more time for, firstly, multiple characters to have an arc during the episode. Usually with seven minutes, it’s focused around one character or one issue or event, whereas this has multiple storylines.
“And also, there’s only so much you can get into the nuance of an issue or a theme in seven minutes. But we really get to explore some stuff on a deeper level in the 28, which I think is really exciting.”
The Sign premieres globally on Sunday 14th April, the first episode of Bluey that will premiere around the world at the same time on ABC in Australia and Disney Plus.
[squirrel-affiliate-playlist squirrel_playlist_id=”612″ /]
Check out more of our Comedy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.