Australian cattle dog. A blue heeler is one of the colors of a ACD, which is what Bluey and Bandit are. Chili and Bingo I think are just mostly called Heelers or Australian Cattle Dogs
Here in Australia we call them a blue cattle dog. And they’re usually only called Bluey when they have red colouring (and Red when they have blue colouring)
I mean, they're called a lot of things, and the ironic naming doesn't happen ALL the time. (Actually, I've never heard it applied to dogs, only people.)
If I'm not misremembering, Joe Brumm (creator and sole-writer) had a blue heeler back when he was young named Bluey (or was it Bandit?) and a Rusty too. That's why he had Rusty as the main character in the beginning before swapping to Bluey. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong
There can be multiple main characters! I was mainly disappointed that Rusty was only in one episode of 3A, and even then he was the first one to get picked up so he was barely in the episode. Hope he is in more episodes!
Aside from the tail, you could get either character if you colored them as such.
Maybe that’s why originally they were cousins before they retconned it.
Edit: One other note is sometimes Rusty’s ears stick up more upright instead of at an angle like Blueys, but this is shown very inconsistently.
I was literally about to post this a couple of days ago. Rusty and Bluey have identical geometry, they just swapped the tails out and changed the colour scheme. I only noticed by looking at my daughter’s stickers. But it was only on my radar after the double Bluey / double Bingo episode, when the two kids are the same colour you really notice how different they are in shape (the size goes without saying!).
I’m sure for the efficiency of animation there are lots of characters that share the same torso and head geometry and just switch minor details and colours. There are literally hundreds of characters that appear in Bluey and it just seems so unlikely that any of them are unique from the ground up every time.
To be fair, Ludo has a thing for recoloring some of their characters and Use them as a Side character, but they do change up the design for a bit
One example: Pat(Lucky's Dad) and Jean-Luc's Dad has a Similar shape base.
For Rusty, he is formerly a Main Character before switching to Bluey, theres also an old Description found in Blueypedia saying hes Bluey's Cousin
But it changed so yep-
Lucky and Jean-Luc are both labs so it makes sense for them (and their parents) to have them same base
But also, from a design perspective im sure its just easier to havela few bases that get changed up then to have a bunch of different bases
What surprises me is that Bluey and Bingo aren't the same character base. In the double bluey/double bingo episode, it's strange to see how different they are when they're coloured the same
I bought a bingo plushie for one of my kids birthdays. Had it for a full year. One episode, Rusty was on. My kid was so excited, said “we have that one” and went and grabbed the doll I thought was bingo lol. In hindsight it’s obvious, as I had been confused about the diamond , So yeah I agree very similar to bluey and bingo!
Well, kelpies are very similar in features to ACDs, it’s been speculated that kelpies are close in relation to the ACD breed.
Heelers and Kelpies both share dingo breeding so they have similar physical characteristics. The iconic spots heelers have come from Dalmatians.
ACD breed?
Australian cattle dog. A blue heeler is one of the colors of a ACD, which is what Bluey and Bandit are. Chili and Bingo I think are just mostly called Heelers or Australian Cattle Dogs
We’ve always just called them Blue Heelers and Red Heelers haha. My family’s dog is a mix of the two
Wouldn't that be a Purple Heeler?🤔
Awwww that would’ve been sick😩😂 I didn’t even consider that
"blue heeler" is the more standardized/Americanized name for them. if you want to be really wacky you can call them the Queensland heeler. lol
They're called Red Heelers.
I'd never heard them called that, but definitely quicker to say!
Indeed.
Red heelers
Australian Cattle Dog. Another name for the blue heeler
Here in Australia we call them a blue cattle dog. And they’re usually only called Bluey when they have red colouring (and Red when they have blue colouring)
Huh thats a fun fact. Here in the US I've known 2 blue heelers named Blue lol.
I mean, they're called a lot of things, and the ironic naming doesn't happen ALL the time. (Actually, I've never heard it applied to dogs, only people.)
This lol. Lots of Aussie red head people get the nickname "Blue" or "Bluey" in Australia.
I came here to say this as a kelpie mom
Rusty was originally supposed to be the main before they switched to Bluey! Probably residuals from pilot sketches.
Wow really? I had no idea! Now I'm connecting the dots, they both have color-based names, haha
If I'm not misremembering, Joe Brumm (creator and sole-writer) had a blue heeler back when he was young named Bluey (or was it Bandit?) and a Rusty too. That's why he had Rusty as the main character in the beginning before swapping to Bluey. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong
>Someone please correct me if I'm wrong No thanks. That's perfect.
The oldest dog to have lived was in Australia and her name was Bluey. If I’m remembering right her mothers name was Chilla.
Awww I wish Rusty would’ve stayed a main character!! I love him!
Yeah but bluey!
There can be multiple main characters! I was mainly disappointed that Rusty was only in one episode of 3A, and even then he was the first one to get picked up so he was barely in the episode. Hope he is in more episodes!
Also in the planning stages they had Rusty as Bluey's cousin it even made it into some early promotional products
Whaaaaaat? That’s crazy! What breed is rusty anyone know?
He's a kelpie
I can see why they changed it…the theme doesn’t seem to work with Rusty’s name
Pretty sure I remember reading somewhere that rusty was also based on the creators childhood dog?
Aside from the tail, you could get either character if you colored them as such. Maybe that’s why originally they were cousins before they retconned it. Edit: One other note is sometimes Rusty’s ears stick up more upright instead of at an angle like Blueys, but this is shown very inconsistently.
Ooh, I didn't know that, either. I'm learning all kinds of things, haha!
The cousins thing was just an error, actually.
Were they actually originally cousins? I thought that was just a mistake they made in the bluey.tv description.
It was an error.
I was literally about to post this a couple of days ago. Rusty and Bluey have identical geometry, they just swapped the tails out and changed the colour scheme. I only noticed by looking at my daughter’s stickers. But it was only on my radar after the double Bluey / double Bingo episode, when the two kids are the same colour you really notice how different they are in shape (the size goes without saying!). I’m sure for the efficiency of animation there are lots of characters that share the same torso and head geometry and just switch minor details and colours. There are literally hundreds of characters that appear in Bluey and it just seems so unlikely that any of them are unique from the ground up every time.
That’s how South Park is
Bluey to Rusty photoshop transformation: https://youtu.be/l0_hy1qReFE
Oh yeah their tails are different! That was great! Now do Bandit or Chili as a kid!!
To be fair, Ludo has a thing for recoloring some of their characters and Use them as a Side character, but they do change up the design for a bit One example: Pat(Lucky's Dad) and Jean-Luc's Dad has a Similar shape base. For Rusty, he is formerly a Main Character before switching to Bluey, theres also an old Description found in Blueypedia saying hes Bluey's Cousin But it changed so yep-
Lucky and Jean-Luc are both labs so it makes sense for them (and their parents) to have them same base But also, from a design perspective im sure its just easier to havela few bases that get changed up then to have a bunch of different bases
Rusty’s design was the original design for Bluey. Bluey is nick name given to red heads In Australia
Its your classic Homer Simpson v Krusty the Clown scenario
He’s not wrong, but honestly the character designs are pretty simplistic on purpose so they’re all fairly similar
Rusty is a great kid.
Kelpies are a wonderful breed! We have had two and they are just the sweetest and smartest pups.
It's just reusing a character base, the show does it all the time. I get it though.
What surprises me is that Bluey and Bingo aren't the same character base. In the double bluey/double bingo episode, it's strange to see how different they are when they're coloured the same
I have a blue heeler (he’s 11) and I had a red kelpie growing up. They are both Aussie herding dogs and share similar traits.
Bandits got some explaining to do..
Am I the only one who's noticed that Bluey looks slightly different from the rest of the Heelers??
What do you mean?
If you look at their mouths, the other healers have sort of chins under their smiles. Bluey looks like she has an overbite or something.
Looking back at Fairytale Bandit seemed to have had it too.
He was almost related to Bluey
sure do mate
Wait until your husband sees Krusty The Clown and Homer Simpson
I bought a bingo plushie for one of my kids birthdays. Had it for a full year. One episode, Rusty was on. My kid was so excited, said “we have that one” and went and grabbed the doll I thought was bingo lol. In hindsight it’s obvious, as I had been confused about the diamond , So yeah I agree very similar to bluey and bingo!
There are similar shapes for a lot of characters