Bluto - Definition and Overview

Bluto is a cartoon character created in 1933 by Fleischer Studios for its Popeye the Sailor theatrical animated series. The familiar version of Bluto never originally appeared in the Thimble Theater comic strip, although a burly villian named "Bluto the Terrible" appears in a 1933 continuing story in the strip.

Bluto is Popeye's nemesis; he, like Popeye, has a crush on Olive Oyl, and always attempts to kidnap her. However, Popeye always ends up defeating him in the end.

After the theatrical Popeye cartoon series went out of production in 1957, Bluto was added to the cast of the Thimble Theater strip. However, he was renamed "Brutus" because Walt Disney Productions thought that "Bluto" sounded too close to "Pluto" (Mickey Mouse's dog) and threatened legal action. "Brutus" appears in the 1961 Popeye television cartoons, but he is again "Bluto" in the 1978 Hanna-Barbera Popeye series and the 1980 Popeye movie.

Example Usage of Bluto