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 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. He claims that he first met his wife Chilli while on holiday as a child, but Chilli has no memory of this meeting. and believes that she and Bandit first met in at a party in London.

Bandit and Chilli's first child, Bluey, was born sometime later; their second child, Bingo, was born two years after Bluey. At an unknown point, Bandit and Chilli had a miscarriage.

Years 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 better life, he put the house up for sale. 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. He enjoys watching cricket and playing squash and touch football.

He has a habit of making "dad jokes" in front of his children. He often is seen reading the newspaper and has a habit of using child-friendly expletives, most of which relate to food. 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/TVsoundtrack 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." Writing for The Conversation, Kate Cantrell and David Burton 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.