Summary
- Bluey, the popular animated show, initially intended to center around Rusty, a friend of the main character, but eventually pivoted to Bluey herself.
- Rusty and Bluey share similar body designs and personality traits, making Rusty a strong candidate for a main protagonist.
- Rusty has a more fleshed-out backstory and is given more attention in the show, making him a natural choice for a potential Bluey spin-off.
The widely-acclaimed animated show Bluey has become increasingly popular with adults as well as children due to its humor, creativity and powerful yet subtle metaphors.
The show centers around the precocious six-year-old blue heeler dog and her family, the Heelers. However, early in the show's development, creator Joe Brumm intended a different character to be the star. While in the end the show pivoted to Bluey, the original star remained in the show as one of Bluey's friends and classmates. Throughout each of the show's seasons, there's actually evidence of which of Bluey's friends was supposed to be the central character.
Rusty Was Originally Going to Be the Main Protagonist
Bluey's classmate and friend Rusty was Joe Brumm's original choice to be the protagonist of the show. In an appearance on the podcast Two Bandits Watching Bluey, Brumm revealed that the show was originally named Rusty, and centered around Bluey's friend, the red kelpie dog Rusty. Brumm's favorite childhood dog was in fact a red kelpie named Rusty, which is where the original inspiration came from.
As the development of the show carried on, the decision was made to shift the focus from Rusty to Bluey. While creator Joe Brumm has never directly addressed the reason for the change, the most plausible theory on Reddit is because of Bluey's brighter color scheme, and the variations of color available for actual blue heelers vs. red kelpies. Rusty was changed to a side character, with his original description on the Bluey website describing him as Bluey's cousin before being changed to one of her friends.
There Are Clues That Rusty Was the Original Star
Rusty and Bluey share many common characteristics, but the most obvious is their body designs. Blue heelers and red kelpies are very similar in shape, but each dog breed is represented differently in Bluey. Rusty and Bluey, on the other hand, have a nearly identical shape and style - there are only minor differences like color and tail style that set them apart. Rusty also shares many personality traits with Bluey; like Bluey, Rusty is a natural leader, as evidenced in the season 2 episode, "Army." Rusty is also accepting of everyone he encounters, which is a trait Bluey demonstrates in both the season 2 episodes "Circus" and "Typewriter". These qualities go to show that he, like Bluey, had the characteristics befitting a main protagonist.
Rusty also has the most fleshed-out backstory of Bluey's friends. While some of her friends have one-off episodes focused on them, Rusty's background, interests and family structure are given more attention. For example, viewers know that Rusty's dad is in the army, which is why Rusty is so fascinated with playing "Army". He is also frequently shown playing cricket, and a third season episode shows that he is already a more interesting character than some of the show's adults. While no word of a Bluey spin-off has been mentioned, Rusty would certainly be a natural choice, especially when considering that he was almost the star of his own show in the first place.
Source: Two Bandits Watching Bluey, Reddit, Bluey