From the moment Australian animated series Bluey aired on ABC four years ago in 2018, it was a huge hit with the kids.
WATCH BELOW: New Bluey episodes! Watch the season 3 trailer.
Still popular to this day, there isn’t a child out there who isn’t familiar with the series, which follows the life of a Blue Heeler called Bluey and her family.
With any animated program, those who are watching may find themselves asking, who is the voice behind the character?
While we know who voices the adults on Bluey, the voice of the main character herself, as well as her younger sister Bingo, has long been kept a secret.
Why is that the case you may ask? Well, according to actress Melanie Zanetti, who voices Bluey’s mum Chilli, it’s all to protect the children who work on the series.
“All the children on the show are members of the family of people in production. I am so glad that the creatives on the show decided that no one would be in the credits to protect the young cast,” Melanie told Kidspot.
She also expressed how grateful she is to the creative team for “being so wise in that area” and protecting their young cast.
“I think that was so clever and I’m so happy that, not knowing how big the show would be, they had the foresight to do it. In the long term, I think that protecting young people is so important in this industry.”
While the voices behind the younger characters can’t be revealed, we do know who joins Melanie on the credits list, and that is Dave McCormack, who voices Bluey’s dad Bandit.
Also among the cast are Myf Warhurst as Aunt Trixie, Megan Washington as teacher Calypso, Layne Beachley as a surfer, and Dan Brumm as Uncle Stripe, who all make regular guest appearances.
The show has also welcomed a few local celebrities to voice a character or two, including Hamish Blake and his wife Zoë Foster Blake, who voiced a labrador and a poodle, respectively.
Blue Wiggle Anthony Field also made a guest appearance in the second season, where he played a post office employee.
As for what it’s like being one of the voices behind these beloved characters, Melanie said fans rarely recognise her voice from the show.
“I kind of love that. I have a bit of a chameleon voice,” she said. “With Chilli, I lean more into Australian dog mum with cute little puppies.”
“I think it’s less recognisable but I’ve been in a number of situations in America, which is wild, where people lose their mind when they find out,” she added.
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