Otto Mann

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Otto Mann is a fictional character on The Simpsons, voiced by Harry Shearer. He is the school bus driver for Springfield Elementary School and is addressed by Bart as Otto-Man. He is notable for his occasional maniacal driving style, his love of heavy metal music, and his propensity for sounding and acting like a perpetual 1970s teenager.

He has been seen at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings: "My name is Otto, and I love to get blotto!", and in recent seasons we learn that he is a stoner as well. He is often homeless, having been evicted from his apartment and forced to live with the Simpsons in the episode The Otto Show, and found squatting in the Simpsons' recently-vacated home in You Only Move Twice.

Driving the schoolbus

Otto's ability and competence to drive any kind of vehicle, let alone a school bus, is highly questionable. He was dismissed from his job when the authorities discovered that he did not hold any kind of licence, or any kind of identification at all. He only attained his driving licence thereafter because Patty passed him, and this was despite him completely failing to drive the bus in a restrained and secure manner (she passed him to annoy Homer). In Das Bus, Otto crashes the bus full of children into the ocean (though it isn't his fault, but a melon's), leaving his passengers to be washed up on an exotic island. Otto himself was seemingly rescued by a Chinese fishing trawler, unaware that its crew were actually planning to enslave him below decks.

In The Boy Who Knew Too Much, the familiar yellow school bus is replaced by an old prison transport bus with barred windows. Otto uncharacteristically tells the children to "take a seat, before blow your heads off!". He then apologizes and explains that he has a "Shining thing" going on with this bus, a reference to the Stanley Kubrick film where the lead character's surroundings directly affect his personality, causing murderous traits.

Family

His father is a navy admiral, and the two do not get along. His father warned Otto that if he spent all day playing his guitar, his life would amount to nothing. There have been suggestions that this is a reference to Jim Morrison of The Doors, whose father was also an admiral. However, Otto also bears a striking resemblance to Slash and also a young Ronnie James Dio.

Trivia

Otto's Driver's License