Bandit Heeler

Bandit was born on 25 October 1978, and the older brother of Stripe Heeler, all 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 Bandit and Chilli's first child, Bluey, was born at some later time; At an unknown point, Bandit and Chilli had a miscarriage. Years later, Bandit received a job offer that would pay more but require him and his family to move away from Queensland. Believing this would allow him to give his daughters a better life, he put the family's house up for sale. Eventually he realised 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, He enjoys watching cricket and playing squash 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). Bandit's middle name, Custard, (notwithstanding any voices Bandit makes up when he plays characters within some of his daughters' games). ==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, openness in demonstrating his love for his wife and daughters, his willingness to help out with housework, and the frequency with which he engages in play with his children. 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. ==References==