What a wonderful kind of day! I’m sure you remember Arthur, the animated TV show that starred a mild-mannered aardvark and his adventures with his friends. This show did a great job of looking at the world from the point of view of a kid. It also did well in combining realistic settings with the surreal and fantasy daydreams of kids.
What’s also pretty impressive about this show is that it’s entertaining for kids and even for adults as well. The bright colors and the engaging characters are great for kids, while the show also sneaks in some fun lines and references for the adults. In general, Arthur is a pretty good TV show for the family.
Arthur is actually a big show that I grew up with since it came out when I was a little kid. I loved watching the adventures of these animals as they navigated school, friendships, and family life. The show was both fun and entertaining while actually teaching me a lot about how to interact with other people and making friends. Arthur was a big part of my childhood, and I know I’m not alone.
But how much do you know about Arthur? Behind the scenes, the show has quite a few interesting facts and tidbits. So here are 20 interesting things you probably didn’t know about Arthur. Think we missed a few facts? Be sure to let us know by commenting below!
Note: I’ll be mostly talking about the TV series, but I will mention the children’s books too.
20 Apparently These Two Get Together
One of the main characters in the show was a girl named Francine. This girl is the definition of a tomboy who loves sports, hates getting dressed up, and tends to get a little violent when she’s angry. Half of her relationship with Arthur often involved her teasing him over various things, but the two are pretty good friends.
What you may not know is the show has implied that Francine and Arthur eventually grow up to be something more than that. There are quite a few references in the show that Arthur and Francine actually grow up and get married. There’s even a funny episode where the two freak out after thinking the other has a crush on them. There obviously isn’t anything happening now (c’mon the kids are like 8), but the idea that they become an item in the future isn’t really that far-fetched.
19 You Didn’t Catch That As A Kid, Did You?
While Arthur may be a show that targets mostly kids, it definitely has plenty of funny references for adults to enjoy as well. Not only did the show do full on parodies of shows like South Park, Dexter’s Laboratory, and Beavis and Butthead, the show also makes quite a few references that you likely didn’t catch as a kid.
Some of these references include Indiana Jones, James Bond, The Jerry Springer Show, The Twilight Zone, Oprah, Law & Order, and much more. The funniest part is that we probably didn’t get half of these references as kids, but our parents and older siblings sure enjoyed them. It was probably really fun for those who worked on the show to do these parodies and references. I wonder how they decided which references to include in the show?
18 Arthur Sometimes Didn’t Show Up
Considering that Arthur is the titular character and the main character of the show, you’d think he’d be in every single episode. After all, a lot of TV shows with a main character will usually have him/her in most, if not all of the episodes. But there are actually quite a few episodes where Arthur doesn’t even show up.
There are several episodes that will focus more on Arthur’s friends and what they’re going through, and there have even been a few episodes focused on D.W. This actually shows just how strong the supporting cast of the show is. They can stand on their own and do fine. And I think that’s great. The people of Elwood City are actually very interesting people, and Arthur is just one of them.
17 We’ve Got Kids Playing Kids
Often in voice acting, the kids will actually be played by adult voice actors. This was usually done since it was easier to get an adult to sound like a child than to wrangle a child actor. It was even more common to get female voice actors to voice young boys, since they could often do that voice better.
But what makes Arthur a bit unique is that it actually has children voicing the child characters. So, most of the children characters were actually played by children! This did cause some problems over the years as the kids aged and their voices changed. As a result, many of the kid characters, especially Arthur, have had quite a few different voice actors. I guess that’s the downside to hiring kids to do voices.
16 A Rather Sleepy Origin
We’re all familiar with the book-loving aardvark and the people of Elwood City. But do we know how the story of Arthur and his friends got started? Well, we can thank Marc Brown’s son for that. And bedtime stories.
The story goes that Brown was telling a bedtime story to his son, Tolon, who wanted his father to tell him a story about a “weird animal.” Brown decided to talk about an aardvark, since it was the first animal to pop into his head. Tolon then decided that a great name for the aardvark was Arthur, and that’s what got Marc Brown thinking. Not long after that, Marc Brown wrote and illustrated a children’s book about Arthur the Aardvark, and the rest is history. So, we have Tolon to thank for Arthur.
15 Can You Say Critically Acclaimed?
Arthur is a rather impressive show, and many critics liked it. As a result, the show has won several different awards over the years. It’s been nominated for over two dozen Emmys and has won seven of them, such as Outstanding Children’s Animated Program.
But that’s not all; Arthur has also won a BAFTA award and the George Foster Peabody Award. It was also ranked number 26 in TV Guide’s “50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time” in 2002. About.com also gave it a rating of 4 out of 5 stars, calling it “fun and engaging to the target audience group.” Basically, the show has done really well, and many people can agree that it was a great series for kids. Those that were in charge of the show definitely knew what they were doing, and it shows.
14 Recognize These Guys?
Did you know that Mr. Rogers guest-starred in Arthur? And that’s not all; the show has seen several different celebrities. Just a few include Matt Damon, Yo-Yo Ma, Art Garfunkel, The Backstreet Boys, and Michelle Kwan. And that’s just the tip of the celebrity iceberg. These guys often either showed up as themselves, or they voiced a specific character.
Why so many celebrities? PBS usually has quite the good reputation, so its shows tended to get some bigger talent. Plus, the show became pretty well known, so to be on Arthur was a pretty big deal. I also think a lot of the celebrities wanted to see how they would look as an animated anthropomorphized animal. I wonder if they had any choice in what animal they could appear as?
13 Look For The Names
Marc Brown, the creator of Arthur, also has three children named Tolon, Tucker, and Eliza. And these kids’ names are hidden all throughout the Arthur books and TV show. The names were often hidden in the illustrations of the books.
In the show, Muffy orders from a place called Eliza’s Bakery. And the truck for Tolon’s Moving Company is seen pretty often. Also, many everyday items, such as cups or pencil sharpeners, had the word “Eliza” printed on them. It does make sense for Marc Brown to reference his kids, since they are the ones responsible for the creation of Arthur in the first place. That would be pretty cool to see your own name in a book or TV show. I wonder if his kids would go through the books to try and find their names.
12 Some Of This Is Autobiographical
It’s a pretty common theme for the creators of books and TV shows to often base the stories on their own lives. After all, it’s best to write what you know and what you’re familiar with. And Marc Brown is no exception.
Brown has actually based quite a few stories and characters of Arthur on his own time as a third-grader and the people he’s met. For example, he based Mr. Ratburn on a teacher he had when he was a kid, and Binky Barnes, the school bully, was also inspired by a real person. Brown also states that he is the most like Arthur, so even the main character has a real-life inspiration. There are even some pretty good references to Marc Brown’s home-town of Erie, Pennsylvania.
11 They Have Some Cool Traditions
The show does a pretty good job of having many characters of different backgrounds. One that stood out to me was Francine’s family. We find out in one of the Christmas specials that Francine is actually Jewish and her family celebrates Chanukah (or Hanukkah) instead of Christmas.
What makes this interesting is that this become a point of conflict for Francine and her friend, Muffy. Muffy is hurt that Francine isn’t going to her Christmas party and when Francine explains that she and her family are celebrating Chanukah instead, Muffy doesn’t really understand at first. It’s actually a great way to show people of different religions and backgrounds, and it gives a realistic scenario where those backgrounds might cause a bit of conflict for a couple of third-graders.
10 I’m Not Sure What’s Happening, But I Like It
Arthur has had quite a few different types of episodes, but probably the most memorable one was the musical episode. You guys remember that episode? The one talking about library cards, homework, and Arthur’s dad’s experimental cooking? Yeah it was quite the trip.
What made that episode so fun were all the different songs going on, and likely the most memorable one was about Brain explaining the plot of Jekyll and Hyde using his own life, rock opera style. While he wasn’t exactly singing the whole time, the music and the background singing gave this musical number a pretty epic feel to it, while still being pretty hilarious. In general, this episode is probably a fan favorite because it was both strange and really fun. Every show needs a musical episode, and boy does Arthur deliver!
9 He Didn’t Look Far For This Inspiration
D.W., Arthur’s younger sister played quite the role in the TV series, often getting whole episodes focused on her. And for a good reason. She was the epitome of a little sister who was often annoying, but also strangely funny for her unique perspectives on the world. You couldn’t help but laugh and also shake your head at D.W.’s antics.
But did you know that D.W. was based on a real person? In fact, Arthur’s little sister was inspired by Marc Brown’s own younger sister, Kim. She even travels around the country, giving talks about being the real D.W. I wonder if Kim’s imaginary friend was also named Nadine. I also wonder what it’s like to have a younger version of yourself become famous. That would be pretty weird to think about.
8 This Style Looks Really Familiar…
One thing that Arthur was good at doing was making parodies of other shows. This shows up specifically in the episode “Contest,” where Arthur and his friends submit their ideas to a contest to write an episode of their favorite show. These ideas start looking pretty familiar.
In fact, in this episode, we get parodies of South Park, Beavis and Butthead, Dr Katz, Dexter’s Laboratory, and WWE. These parodies are done in the style of the shows to make them that much more recognizable, and I have to say the animation is done really well. I’m sure the animators had a blast with this episode since they got to play around with many different animation styles. I also didn’t get half of these references until I was much older and then everything clicked. Arthur, you are one sneaky show.
7 That’s A Very Lively Theme
Remember the theme for Arthur? It was incredibly catchy and almost impossible to not sing along to. It was also this very upbeat tune that made you want to strut down the street without a care in the world. Although looking back on it, you might have wondered why the opening had such a Jamaican, Reggae feel to it. It seemed a little out of place with the suburban setting for Arthur’s adventures.
Well, there actually is a reason. While the opening theme was written by Judy Henderson, Ziggy, Bob Marley’s son, was the one who recorded it. And his style definitely shone through. Why the show had him record it, we don’t know, but he did create a pretty fun song. Hey, I’m not complaining; while it does seem out of place, it’s still a great song.
6 We’ve Got Diversity
One thing the show does really well is having such a diverse cast. All the families in the show come from different socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds. You’ve got Francine’s family who’s Jewish, Muffy’s family who is obscenely rich, and Buster’s family, who is separated.
What’s even more impressive is that there are episodes that show the conflict these different backgrounds sometimes create with the kids and the adults. For example, Muffy often doesn’t understand how other families struggle with money, since she’s never had to worry about it. We also get insight to Binky as he struggles with the fact that he needs a new clarinet, but his parents just can’t afford it. This show wasn’t afraid to talk about some of these issues and it handled the kids’ understanding of it really well.
5 It’s Hard To Talk About (But We’re Doing it Anyway)
Arthur definitely is a very entertaining show, but it’s also fantastic in educating its audience on some tougher issues. The show has covered a lot of topics that are considered a little hard for kids to understand initially. Some of these issues included health problems like asthma and cancer, disorders like dyslexia and Asperger Syndrome, and even family issues like divorce. It even talks about death a bit.
What the show does really well is that it explains these issues so that a kid can understand, but it never feels like the show is talking down to them. It doesn’t shy away from the seriousness of the topic, but still remains upbeat and hopeful. Honestly, I would probably use this show to help my kids understand these topics since it does such a good job.
4 Is That Puppet Who I Think It Is?
We all know that Fred Rogers made a guest appearance on Arthur, and it was a pretty big deal. (I actually remember that episode pretty vividly as a kid). But did you know that Mr. Rogers returned the favor?
Yep, Arthur made a guest appearance as a puppet on Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. In season 29 episode 8, a puppet version of Arthur shows up in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe and talks to many of the neighbors, including Lady Elaine. Earlier in the show, Mr. Rogers actually talked to Marc Brown about how he got started on creating Arthur, and they both talked about Mr. Rogers’ guest appearance on the show. Mr. Rogers also talked to Michael Yarmush, who did the voice of Arthur. That’s a pretty awesome crossover!
3 This Show Will Never End
I’m sure many of us remember Arthur from when we were kids. I remember that I would watch it after school each day growing up, and the show did make a big part of my own childhood. But did you know that Arthur is still going? It has been renewed for a 20th and 21st season, so it looks like it isn’t stopping any time soon.
The show first aired in 1996 and quickly became one of the highest-rated shows on PBS Kids. It’s now the longest running children’s animated series and the second longest running animated series (The Simpsons gets that title) with a total of 229 episodes. This show will likely be around for forever, which means that Arthur will never grow up. I can’t decide if that’s sad or not.
2 He Looks A Little… Different
Ever wonder why Arthur is considered an aardvark, but doesn’t really look like one in the TV series? Well that’s because the design of the character changed a bit over time and especially between the books and the TV show. In the early books, Arthur and his family have much longer faces, looking more like aardvarks.
So why did the design change? Well, we’re not sure. It was likely that they needed to simplify the character designs for animation. As a result, Arthur’s snout gradually got a shorter snout, especially for the show, and the other aardvarks in the show got the same redesign. I know I was confused as a kid, since I didn’t really what exactly Arthur was, and I’m sure I wasn’t the only one.
1 It’s Not As American As You Think
Arthur has become one of PBS’s most popular shows, and for a good reason. It’s smart, it’s engaging, and it’s great for its target audience. We know that the show takes place in a town that is very similar to Erie, Pennsylvania. But what you may not know is that the show is technically Canadian.
While Marc Brown, the creator of the books and TV series is American and the show takes place in America, the production of the show and the voice acting were all done in Montreal and Toronto, Canada, as well as Hong Kong and South Korea. The entire cast of Arthur actually lives in Montreal too. I think that’s pretty cool how it took four countries to produce this show. It just shows how much work goes into animated shows.
