The studio that made Bluey a global animated hit is stepping into live action, and Netflix has now set the date: Allen, Ludo Studio’s first feature film, premieres worldwide on Thursday, November 12, 2026. The streamer also dropped a full trailer and first-look images.
What the trailer shows
Netflix’s logline is deliberately brief: “Twenty years after Petey lost the best friend he ever had, Allen’s back…” The footage reveals that Allen is a small CGI alien, not an estranged human friend. T.J. Power plays Petey, an adult stuck in the past; through home-video flashbacks we see him befriend Allen as a child before they are separated. Now working a dead-end job, Petey broadcasts music into space until a crash-landing brings his old friend back to a Queensland beach. The reunion starts sweet and then turns destructive, as the town faces overturned cars, energy beams and police searches.
Who is behind it
Daley Pearson created the film and co-directs with Jeffrey Walker. He described Allen as “a story about love, family and all those big and small moments from childhood” and said it was shot in the town where he grew up. Producers include Sam Moor and Ross Allsop, with Ludo Studio’s Lauren Brown as co-producer.
- T.J. Power as Petey
- Charlotte Nicdao as Carly
- Josh Helman as Jaden
- Emily Barclay as Sarah
- Benedict Hardie as Rory
Principal photography began in July 2025 at Screen Queensland Studios in Brisbane, with locations across the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast. The film is backed through Screen Queensland’s Production Attraction Strategy.
Why it matters for the business
Allen is more than a family film. It is a format test for one of the most successful animation houses of the streaming era. Ludo Studio built Bluey into a rare global family brand; now it must show whether that same emotional register works in live action. For Netflix, the title deepens an Australian slate that already includes Boy Swallows Universe, Territory and Apple Cider Vinegar, and it gives the platform a family-friendly original in a competitive November window.
The campaign is also a useful study in selling a new title on creator pedigree rather than star power. The first materials lead with the Bluey lineage, a simple logline and nostalgia, while the release date positions Allen as a co-viewing option for families ahead of the holiday season. Media planners and entertainment marketers should watch whether the film’s audience metrics follow the creator brand or the genre premise.
Source: What’s on Netflix
