Movies - Bluto

	Movies - Bluto

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 villain 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 usually attempts to kidnap her. However, Popeye usually ends up defeating him.

Bluto is a large, bearded, musclebound man. He mostly uses his physical brawn to accomplish what he is trying to do, but does display some ability for tactical planning. Neither Popeye and Olive Oyl, nor any other characters, think of him as anything more than a worthless scoundrel, although Olive seems to forget this in the beginning of an episode, only to discover it later.

After the theatrical Popeye cartoon series went out of production in 1957, Bluto's name was changed to Brutus because it was believed that Paramount Pictures, distributors of the Fleischer Studios (later Famous Studios) cartoons, owned the rights to the name "Bluto". "Brutus" appears in the 1960-1962 Popeye television cartoons, but he is again "Bluto" in the 1978 Hanna-Barbera Popeye series and the 1980 Popeye movie.

There is strong belief however that Bluto and Brutus are in fact two different, but very similar, characters. In a 1960s King Features cartoon, two different characters, one called "Brutus", the other "Bluto" appear in the same episode, as brothers.

Bluto was voiced by a number of actors, including Billy Bletcher and Pinto Colvig.

In many episodes, Bluto appears as a sort of friend to Popeye, though he usually manages to cause some sort of trouble.

Popeye's foe is almost always Bluto, functioning in some capacity—fellow sailor, generic tough, carny hypnotist, Arab sheik, lecherous instructor, etc. Even when the enemy is not Bluto, there is often still a superficial resemblance in face (cf. the blond, beardless lifeguard in "Beach Peach") or voice.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Bluto ]

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