Rusty

Rusty
Characteristics
Breed	Red Kelpie
Gender	Male ♂
Eyes	Black
Fur	Mojo (main coat),      Sand (muzzle marking, eyebrows, inner ears, hands, feet, and chest marking)
Personal Status
Relative(s)	Unnamed father Unnamed mother Digger (older brother) Dusty (younger sister)
Friend(s)	Jack (best friend) Bluey Mackenzie Lucky Indy Snickers Coco Honey Chloe Pretzel Bingo Lulu Russell (implied)
Media
First Appearance	"Calypso"

"'Ello, Doctor Ladies! D'you sell crutches?" ― Rusty

Rusty is a secondary character that has appeared in multiple episodes of Bluey. An adventurous and caring young boy at school, Rusty is the best friend of Jack, and close friends of Bluey, Mackenzie, Lucky, and Indy. He is the middle son to his mum and dad, and the middle sibling of older brother Digger and younger sister Dusty.

Bluey.tv Description

• Current
• Original
• Edited

Rusty is a red kelpie and has exceptional skills with a cricket bat. He is Bluey’s friend from school and is also good friends with Indy.

Rusty loves pretending to be a handyman, fixing fences and repairing odds and ends around the place.

Or, if he’s outside, you might find Rusty holed up with Jack calling out for a “dust off” in one of their adventurous games of Army.

Rusty has picked up a thing or two from his dad, who is in the army for real life. And like any good soldier, Rusty is resourceful and well-prepared.

Bluey’s cousin from the bush. Already rides a motorbike.

Bluey’s friend from the bush. Already rides a motorbike.

Biography

Kelpie family bonding time.

Rusty is the son of his father and mother, and two siblings: older brother Digger, and younger sister Dusty. He has a best friend named Jack, and is also close friends with Bluey and Mackenzie. In addition to Jack, Bluey and Mackenzie, some of his frequent playmates and other friends at Calypso's school include Lucky, Indy and Snickers. His dad is in the army and is usually out on patrol; as such, Rusty himself enjoys playing army with Jack. He knows basic training regimes, gestures and nicknames used by soldiers, and is willing to pass his knowledge on to budding soldiers such as Jack. Much like his family, he also loves playing cricket, and in his childhood, learned good moves so he can tackle many an issue.

Rusty offers Indy his house.

Rusty is one of Calypso's students. One day at school, he set off to build a house - one that one of his friends, Indy, would use to leave her daughter Polly in while she took on a job as a waitress. Rusty was one of the many kids that visited The Heeler House in search of a solution to his burping-out-hippos problem. According to the doctor, t'was a real pickle indeed... After many a misstep made earlier on with Bluey, Honey, Chloe and Mackenzie involving who takes what job, Rusty slipped into the kids' shops game, with Bluey assigning him to be a cashier - resolving all the problems the kids had. Rusty was present at the cul-de-sac in front of the Heeler House as he witnessed Bandit doing an Irish jig to free Bingo. He was also bowled out of cricket.

Calypso remediating the playgroups.

One (stormy) day at school brought about a little bit of a pickle between Bluey, Indy, and Honey, and Rusty, with the girls accusing the boy of ruining their game of Early Baby. What really happened was a massive misunderstanding between all the parties: the girls had left Polly the early baby to rest, only for Rusty - the bravest knight of them all - to pick it up as a replacement for the King's Daughter (the one piece he was using as a tad bit small) after defeating the Sausage Dragon roaming the lands and accidentally interrupting the girls' game. It turned out the two games had something in common: Indy and Rusty both have to be the bravest they've ever been. Having resolved the issue, and with the sky clearing up, Indy asked Rusty to play mums and dads...

This was not on his to-do list.

...but the game went awry after another misunderstanding on who stayed home and who went to work. Rusty told Indy that mums were supposed to stay at home while the dads were the breadwinners, but soon, without any resolution in sight, the two turned their backs on each other and split up, even with Calypso trying to nudge the two back into playing. However, Calypso remained hopeful that they would reunite. Rusty, declaring he would NEVER play with Indy ever again, found himself as Bluey's baby, much to the young Kelpie boy's chagrin. After Bluey brought him outside in a stroller, Rusty was able to escape after distracting his close friend. He ended up back with Indy, who, after having exhausted her options (Mackenzie, Winton, Snickers, and the Terriers), decided to play Mums and Dads with him once more. However, the two were close to another squabble until Bluey suggested that it's the weekend all along.

Rusty hands Jack rations.

One day, Calypso assigned the new boy to play with Rusty. This new boy, named Jack Russell, had just moved to Queensland from Victoria. Jack immediately caught on to Rusty's game of army, and throughout the day, the young Kelpie boy taught the young Jack the ropes of being a soldier. By the end of the day, Rusty dubbed Jack Private Russell. One day, Rusty witnessed his dad returning from patrol and picking him up, even remembering to bring him condensed milk, which made him very happy.

Jack and Rusty need to evacuate now!

Jack and Rusty, now best buds, hopped on Bluey's helicopter one day in need of evacuation, but Bluey wasn't willing to play along initially. However, she changed her stance, and after the helicopter was hit by a missile, the two armypups were able to evacuate, Rusty thanking his friend as he exited the vehicle. Rusty was present at Bingo's birthday party, where he and Lucky kept throwing a rugby ball inside the house before it got trapped inside the freezer. One day, Jack and Rusty attempted to cross the freeway, but found that it was blocked by many kangaroos. Rusty was also present with Jack at a school fair.

One small step for dogs, one giant step for dogkind.

Having just explored Antarctica, Rusty joined Bluey, Jack and Coco on their way back to Australia, but he was first to leave once his mum called him back. All the others gradually followed suit, leaving Jack the lone adventurer and without supplies. However, Jack, finding two familiar faces, found himself back home. Rusty was also seen making beeswax models at his own pace while Winton and Indy attempted to find the answer to what goes into a perfect horse; he made a red car.

Three fearless explorers.

One day, Rusty, joined by Jack and Mackenzie, ventured off to the deep depths of space, but Mackenzie made multiple attempts to leave the group in search of something bigger for himself. After venturing into a nearby black hole to confront his past, Mackenzie was saved by Jack and Rusty, who offered him tight hugs.

Bluey and Rusty tilling the ground.

One day, Rusty was seen with Bluey and Winton playing farmers, a game Indy did not want Coco to play. After the Pink Witch of the Woods cursed all their crops, Rusty, walking in with Bluey, lamented not being able to use his new crop bike.

All good, Mister Heeler!

Rusty's favourite sport is cricket, which he enjoys playing with his parents, siblings, friends, and even practicing by himself for hours on end. Various instances in Rusty's childhood have forced or allowed him to develop certain skills as part of the game. After accidentally hitting a ball through his kitchen window and angering his mum, he spent quite a bit of time perfecting his square cut. Over the course of a year during which his father was deployed, Rusty would often get a ride home from school with Jack. The pair would play cricket on Jack's lawn, which made Rusty adept at playing on rough terrain.

A vulnerable Rusty.

One thing Rusty struggled with in cricket was pace (fast bowling), particularly when he played with friends of his brother Digger. One of them, Tiny, was a particularly fast bowler, and it took some time for Rusty to work up the nerve to bat against him. The first time he did, he suffered a painful hit from the ball, and thus became even more fearful of Tiny's bowling.

A determined Rusty.

Despite this, Rusty remained determined to overcome the challenge, particularly after writing to his dad about his ongoing difficulties and receiving a lengthy postscript in response. Eventually, Rusty was able to face up to Tiny's bowling and successfully bat against him.

Rusty shows fine sportsmanship.

Rusty would later show off these skills at a birthday party that he, Dusty, and several of his friends attended. His skills made him more than a match for parents Bandit, Stripe, and Pat, who were overseeing the game and acting as bowlers. Rusty handily thwarted several of their attempts to get him out, even handily dealing with a pace bowl, much to Pat's annoyance. Then, to their complete surprise, which turned swiftly to admiration, Rusty purposefully hit the ball so that his little sister Dusty could catch him out, as the others went for lunch.

Rusty hears the news.

One day, Rusty was at school when he heard his friend, Bluey, announce that she would be moving away. When he heard that Bluey would expect not to be able to see any of her friends ever again, Rusty joined the others in a sad, howling group hug, knowing he would be one such friend she would never see again. Fortunately, not only did Calypso offer a calming reassurance to the class, including Rusty, but Bluey never moved away at all.

Meeting his older self, Rusty wakes up, gets up, and gets out there.

As he gets older, it is revealed that he would become a professional cricket player, going so far as to play for the Australian national Test cricket team.

Appearance

Rusty is a young, slim Red Kelpie boy who has red and tan fur.

Specifically, while predominantly red in colouring, Rusty has tan feet, hands, muzzle, eyebrows, inner ears, and a dark brown nose. While he has a chest spot (here shaped like a diamond), a common occurrence within his family, he is the only member of his family to not have visible hair (unless you consider his fur to be such).

Notably, he looks very similar to his friend Bluey. However, there are subtle differences: Rusty appears top-heavy, with his waist being slightly slimmer than his head compared to Bluey. Additionally, he is slightly shorter than her. As such, if you disregard colour and fur patterns, he does indeed appear to share the same model as Bluey; only his tail and body-shape differentiate his model from her's.

Other designs

Pilot designs

• In the 2016 pilot, his design is identical to his 2018 design, but his fur is slightly lighter. This same design appears in the 2017 pilot.

Different ages

• As an adult ("Cricket"), he appears much like Bandit. Like Bluey, his older appearance gives him a lower lip, and his tail appears to have more fur. Since he is wearing cricket gear, not much else can be described. Noticeably, if one looks closely, as an adult, Rusty is no longer top-heavy (unlike his father).

2016 pilot...

...and 2017 pilot.

As an adult.

In this shot from Wild Girls, Bluey and Rusty have the same pose (excluding eyebrows). Excluding the tail, body-shape, height, and fur patterns, the similarities in design between the two are highlighted clearly.

Rusty's waist is slightly slimmer than his upper half, as shown here.

Personality

Rusty's call to adventure!

Rusty is an adventurous, caring, and very nice and friendly boy who is understanding of others. He is approachable and easy to get along, but can sometimes get into disagreements about games. Rusty is caring for his friends and family, always putting them first - easily getting along with new classmate Jack Russell, showing concern for Mackenzie when the Border Collie tried to face the black hole (with him and Jack being able to pull him back out), and hitting a ball towards his young sister Dusty to get himself out after seeing everyone else go for lunch.

Rusty swings first!

As with his friends, Rusty is endlessly playful and willing to throw himself into any games his friends and family play - even those he actively doesn't want to play. Rusty shows himself to be a rather determined and tenacious kid at heart - no matter how many hits he takes, he always finds a way to come back. Having taken a hard hit from a cricket ball once, causing him to shy away from playing the sport with his older brother's friends, Rusty, with the help of an encouraging letter from his dad, rises up and bowls Tiny out, successfully facing the challenge with a reignited spark in his heart. He is also rather sporty, using his free time to get better at cricket, do some pushups, or do some karate.

A boy left guilty.

However, Rusty can sometimes come off as a little tough or stubborn, which he himself acknowledges; such an example of this is him having a brief falling out with Indy over who gets to go to work and who gets to stay at home and mow the lawn. However, he is quick to make amends and suggest a solution that helps everyone in the end.

Appearances

• Unnamed 2016 Pilot (debut)
• The Weekend (Pilot Cut) (opening only)
• S01E17 - "Calypso" (series debut)
• S01E18 - "The Doctor"
• S01E23 - "Shops"
• S01E30 - "Fairies"
• S01E40 - "Early Baby"
• S01E41 - "Mums and Dads"
• S02E16 - "Army"
• S02E25 - "Helicopter"
• S02E31 - "Barky Boats" (cameo, does not speak)
• S02E45 - "Handstand"
• S03E09 - "Curry Quest" (cameo)
• S03E15 - "Explorers"
• S03E28 - "Stories"
• S03E34 - "Space"
• S03E44 - "Wild Girls"
• S03E45 - "TV Shop" (cameo)
• S03E47 - "Cricket"
• S03E49 - "The Sign"
• Shorts #21 - "K9 News"

Trivia

Development of Rusty

• Rusty is named after Joe Brumm's favourite childhood dog, who was also a red kelpie.
• In the show’s very early development, Rusty was originally going to be the main protagonist, though Bluey quickly was chosen to be the main protagonist by the time the first pilot was finished. Ultimately, Rusty was relegated to a secondary character and was instead developed as one of Bluey's close friends.
  • Many fans consider him to be a male counterpart of Bluey. Bluey and Rusty are playful, imaginative, and kind to their families and peers.
    • Rusty has the exact same design as her, except for the tail, body shape and colour scheme. This striking similarity was referenced, possibly in a tongue-in-cheek manner, in "Wild Girls".
      • Bluey and Rusty are also one of the few kids in the show to have a canonical adult design, which also gives them lower lips.
      • Additionally, both Bluey and Rusty's adult appearances make them look like Chilli and Bandit, respectively.
  • At one point, the official website stated Rusty was one of Bluey's cousins. However, this was not acknowledged in the show itself, so this remains unknown.
    • The description was eventually changed to Rusty simply being one of Bluey's close friends instead, a role he would fill for the rest of the show. However, it has since been debated on if Rusty and Bluey being cousins is true or not.
• In Season One, Indy was depicted as a frequent playmate of his, but this seems to have been superceded with the introduction of Jack as his best friend in Season Two, with Winton and Coco being spotlighted as Indy's closest friends instead.
• According to Joe Brumm in an interview with the Gotta Be Done podcast, Rusty is one of few characters to have had their voice adjusted in post-production. Out of all the males, Rusty has had the most adjustment.

General trivia

• Being from the bush, Rusty is one of the few characters in the show to have a distinct accent.
• Rusty and Mackenzie are both one of the first characters of Bluey's friend group to appear.
  • Rusty being one of the first characters created also explains why he is seen in the Unnamed 2016 Pilot Episode and the second pilot's intro alongside Mackenzie, but most other side-characters aren't.
  • Despite this, Rusty is not the first character of Bluey's friend group to make their first proper appearance in the show. That honour instead went to Lucky, who first appears in "Keepy Uppy" (if going by broadcast order).
• According to the official website, he rides a motorbike, though this has yet to be seen on-screen in the show.
  • This tidbit does not appear in the overhauled version of the website, but is hinted in "Wild Girls", albeit with a quad-bike.
• Rusty's family would gradually be revealed in later episodes.
  • First, his father made his debut in "Army"...
  • His mother made her physical debut in "Explorers" after being mentioned in "Early Baby", and...
  • His siblings, Digger and Dusty, were revealed in "Cricket".
• He enjoys playing cricket and is shown to be very skilled at it, as shown in "Cricket".
• He is the only one out of his siblings whose name does not begin with “D”.
  • Additionally, his name rhymes with Dusty's.
  • Similarly, Lucky's name rhymes with Chucky's.
  • Rusty may have been called Mackenzie in the Unnamed 2016 Pilot Episode, which may likely leave the character himself nameless.
    • Whether this is an error or intentional is currently unknown.
• Out of the trio of characters who are the main focus of "Space", Rusty is right in the middle (between Jack and Mackenzie).
• Rusty is shown to be rather fit, playing numerous sports and working out. Aptly, while he does appear similar to Bluey, he appears slimmer than most characters.
  • He is strong enough to lift and carry Jack over his shoulder with just one arm.
  • Rusty takes karate, but it is unknown if he shares the same class as Bluey.
  • Being top-heavy seems to be an indication of fitness in the Bluey universe/artstyle.
    • Lucky and Janelle, who are both top-heavy in appearance, are both very passionate about sports and frequently play in their backyard, suggesting that both are very fit, and Radley (and by extension, younger Radley), who is also somewhat top-heavy, is described as "too muscly" by Frisky.
    • All but one Kelpie demonstrate this as well:
      • As someone on patrol, Rusty's Dad likely maintains a fit physique.
      • Rusty's Mum seemingly often runs around playing cricket when she's not busy.
      • Digger, who shares a similar physique with Lucky, Janelle, and younger Radley, plays cricket with several other strong/fit kids his age.
        • By extension, Tiny C. and Captain both have top-heavy physiques.
      • The only member of the family who is not top-heavy is Dusty.
        • Instead, she shares a similar body-shape with younger Mackenzie, bipedal Socks, and Missy.
      • Oddly, as an adult (as shown in the Bluey's World puzzle), Rusty does not appear to be top-heavy.
• Rusty, Bluey, Bingo, and Lila are the only child characters in Bluey to have canon adult appearances.
  • Coincidentally, these four kids are very close/best friends to each other (Bluey with Rusty, Bingo with Lila).

Gallery

See Rusty/Gallery