The studio behind Bluey is taking a very different kind of story to the screen. Netflix has released the trailer for Allen, a live-action Australian family film from Brisbane-based Ludo Studio, ahead of its global premiere on November 12.
The premise starts with an unusual childhood friendship: Petey, a Queensland man, once had an alien best friend named Allen. Allen vanished without explanation. Two decades later, he turns up again, carrying a secret that could change the world—and leaving Petey to reckon with the past before he can help face what comes next.
A childhood reunion with grown-up stakes
That combination gives Allen a useful tension for a family film. Its story reaches back to the imaginative intensity of childhood, but its central character is now an adult who may have some growing up left to do. The alien’s return is not simply a trip down memory lane: it puts an old friendship beside a crisis with much larger consequences.
That setup may appeal to viewers who enjoy family adventures with an emotional thread as well as a fantastical one. The film’s official description puts reconnection and responsibility at the heart of the story: Petey must confront what happened before if he is to help with the danger in front of him. The trailer offers audiences their first official preview of the film, while the premise raises a question that can resonate beyond science fiction: what do we owe the people—and the younger selves—we left behind?
Ludo Studio steps into feature-length live action
Allen marks Ludo Studio’s first locally produced live-action feature. The company is best known internationally for the animated children’s series Bluey, but it has also worked in live action, including on the Netflix crime drama Thou Shalt Not Steal. The new film therefore represents a change in format, not the studio’s first experience telling stories outside animation.
It also places a distinctly Queensland production at the centre of a Netflix release intended for viewers around the world. Filming took place in Brisbane and on the Gold Coast, with the coastal setting drawing inspiration from creator Daley Pearson’s own upbringing. That local connection is more than a production detail: it gives the film a specific sense of place, even as its premise reaches for a cosmic scale.
Pearson created the film and co-directed it with Jeffrey Walker, whose credits include Apple Cider Vinegar and The Artful Dodger. Pearson and Sophie Miller co-wrote the screenplay. Pearson has described the story as being about love, family and the childhood moments that shape people as they grow up, and said he wanted families to watch it together.
Who is bringing Petey and Allen to life?
T.J. Power stars as Petey, with Edward A. O’Sullivan playing the character at a younger age. The cast also includes Charlotte Nicdao, Josh Helman, Emily Barclay, Benedict Hardie, Kaipo Heke, Chaydon Jay and Danny Kim. The film’s central structure spans two stages of Petey’s life, setting his childhood history against the adult reunion at the heart of the story.
For viewers, that could make Allen an appealing option for a shared movie night: the science-fiction hook offers adventure, while the relationship between the former friends gives the story a personal centre. Whether the film’s biggest draw is its alien mystery or its account of an old friendship, the two elements are designed to meet in Petey’s decision about how to move forward.
With its global Netflix premiere set for November 12, Allen gives Ludo Studio a new screen to explore while keeping childhood imagination close to the story’s core. The intriguing question is not only what Allen has brought back from the stars, but what Petey can recover from the boy he used to be.