Bandit Heeler

Bandit Heeler is a main character of the Australian preschool animated television series Bluey, created by Joe Brumm. Employed as an archeologist, he enjoys playing with his daughters, Bluey and Bingo, and takes any role he plays in a game they devise seriously despite often being seen as reluctant and unwilling to partake in their games. He often teaches life lessons to his daughters while he plays with them, but this strains his public relationship with them in some episodes.

Bandit Heeler
Bluey character
Bandit as he appears in the series
First appearance	"Magic Xylophone" (2018)
Created by	Joe Brumm
Voiced by	David McCormack
In-universe information
Species	Australian Cattle Dog (Blue Heeler)
Gender	Male
Occupation	Archaeologist
Family	Bob Heeler (father) Chris Heeler (mother) Radley Heeler (older brother) Stripe Heeler (younger brother)
Spouse	Chilli Heeler
Children	Bluey Heeler (daughter) Bingo Heeler (daughter)
Relatives	Frisky Heeler (sister-in-law) Trixie Heeler (sister-in-law) Muffin Heeler (niece) Socks Heeler (niece) Mort Cattle (father-in-law) Brandy Cattle (sister-in-law)
Home	Brisbane, Queensland
Nationality	Australian

Bandit has received acclaim from many parents and critics, and is viewed by both as a positive father figure.

Character biography

Bandit, who grew up in the 1980s, is the younger brother of Radley Heeler and the older brother of Stripe Heeler, all of whom are sons of Bob and Chris Heeler. In his youth, Bandit made frequent visits to a creek and frequently teased/bullied Stripe. One day, at a holiday park, he was jinxed by Radley (who disapproved of Bandit teasing Stripe), which rendered him silent until someone spoke his name. The curse was broken by Chilli or someone with a similar appearance; although she and her family vacationed at the same park multiple times, Chilli has no memory of this meeting.

Chilli believes that she and Bandit first met in England. Although there is "some dispute" as to the particular circumstances, she says the meeting took place at a London party, during which she recalls that he was picking his nose. After their meeting, the two of them began dating, and went on a backpacking trip to Italy, during which she accepted a marriage proposal from Bandit. The guests in the wedding included Frisky and Rad, the latter of whom "probably" fell into a pool during the event.

Bandit and Chilli's first child, Bluey, was born sometime later; he claims to have "wrecked [his] back changing [her] nappies". Their second child, Bingo, was born two years later. At an unknown point, Bandit and Chilli had a miscarriage, and she then passed down her method of coping with it to Bingo. He has contemplated getting neutered and disposing of the family crib in light of this event.

Some time later, Bandit received a job offer that would give him better pay, but would require him and his family to move out of Queensland. Believing this would allow him to give his daughters a good life, he put the house up for sale. Bandit's older brother, Radley, had wanted to move out of Queensland with Frisky after their wedding, but changed their minds, which found Bandit questioning his decision to move. Eventually, Bandit, coming to the realisation that his family did not want to move and having been told the buyers pulled out, changed his mind and withdrew the house from sale.

Character highlights

Much of the series' humour revolves around his relationship with his daughters, who he continually implores to come up with new games to play with him. Bandit enjoyed playing touch football as a kid. He has expressed an interest in playing the game again, but has been too distracted by his parenting and his job to do so. He also enjoyed drawing cars at age 6, but stopped doing so after being bullied over that. Among his favorite pastimes are watching cricket and playing squash. He gets cranky when he is hungry. He loves bananas but hates rockmelon. He alternatively burped and sneezed after eating sauerkraut, which the girls say is one of three foods, along with baked beans and nut roast, that make him fart.

He has a habit of making "dad jokes" in front of his children. He is left-handed. He can still ride a skateboard. He has an interest in, and made references to, Greek and Celtic mythology. He and his wife are fluent in French. He often is seen reading the newspaper and has a habit of using child-friendly expletives, most of which relate to food. He charges his tablet, which he sometimes drops, on a bedside table. He has had a series of inappropriate habits, which include urinating on his foot, having stinky armpits, eating his own gravy stains, having a hairy nose that he picks at, and doing fluffies. Some of his habits, which involve his buttocks, have alarmed his neighbour, Wendy. He is frequently seen doing housework and has a doctorate in archaeology.

Development

Bandit was based on Brumm's own life; he modeled the character after a Blue Heeler owned by a friend of his father, and, as with the character, was the middle child in his family tree. The character's occupation was partly influenced by one of his brothers, Adam, who was an archeologist in his own right, and had been involved in the discovery of fossilised remains of Homo floresiensis, which he nicknamed "The Hobbit" at a Queensland university. The Heelers, including Bandit, are presented as a nuclear family, with him serving as one of the show's two working parents (his wife Chilli is employed as an airport security guard).

Voice

In all English dubs of the series, Bandit is voiced by Australian performer/musician David McCormack, who was initially approached to read what he assumed would be merely "a couple of lines", through his Sonar Sounds studio - who specialise in television and film soundtracks - only to voice the character for the entirety of the pilot. McCormack, who was raised in Brisbane (where Bluey is based), is a noted alternative rock musician (His bands include Custard, a mainstay of the Australian indie scene) and film/tv soundtrack composer for a number of Australian Broadcasting Corporation shows including Redfern Now. McCormack performs his voice work for the series remotely in Sydney, and his voice recordings are then sent to the production company in Brisbane. He does not hear any other voice actors or view footage while recording, and does not alter his own voice to produce Bandit's dialogue.

Appearances

Bandit has appeared in most of the episodes of Bluey that have aired during its run, and has appeared in most merchandise related to the series. He was the subject of three books, My Dad is Awesome, The Big Blue Guy's Book of Dad Goals, and an entry in the Bluey: Little Library series. He also appears in the stage show Bluey's Big Play and the video game Bluey: The Videogame.

Reception

Bandit has been praised as a positive father figure and commended for his patient nature, willingness to do housework and play with his children. Jennifer McClellan of USA Today described Bandit as "sarcastic, sympathetic and silly". Philippa Chandler of The Guardian described the character as "laconic, playful and certainly more emotionally intelligent than, say, Peppa Pig’s hapless dad". Doug Hendrie of The Sydney Morning Herald claimed that Bandit was designed to improve Australian dads. Amanda Hess, writing for The New York Times, opined that Bandit is "not only a good father — he is a fantasy, one crafted to appeal to adults as much as to children." Kate Cantrell of The Conversation criticized the character for occasionally bullying the children and acting like a larrikin. He is considered one of the greatest cartoon fathers of all time.

External links

• Character biography on official website