Arthur (animation)/YMMV

PBS Kids television series

• Adaptation Displacement: S1's "Buster's Dino Dilemma" is actually one of the book titles. Some episodes are expansions and bifurcations of stories from the books. "Arthur's Teacher Trouble" was split into two S1 episodes: "Arthur and the Real Mr. Ratburn" and "Arthur's Spelling Trubble". S1's "Arthur's Baby" gets a POV Sequel, "D.W.'s Baby."
  • The show also mentions at the end that Arthur books can be found at your local library, at least.
  • This displacement even extends over to the Living Books titles — some people think that the games were based off the show, despite predating the show by several years.
• Anvilicious: Averted for most of the series, played straight in the newest episodes. Those who grew up with the series have understandably been crying They Changed It, Now It Sucks.
  • The theme song is anvilicious.
    • But it's catchy!
• Big Lipped Alligator Moment: A (non-anthropomorphic) bear and chicken making out in "I'm a Poet". Apart from it being an imaginary and non-canon scene it's completely unexplained.
• Designated Villain: In-Universe, Mr. Ratburn is often made into one in Arthur and his friends' imaginations.
  • Arthur, at least in D.W.'s imagination and fantasies. His friends would also often be categorized.
    • Even her own parents and her best friend Emily have been shown as villains in D.W.'s imagination occasionally.
• Ear Worm: Most of the songs in S3's "Arthur's Almost Live Not Real Music Festival", some of which don't even have a tune! Is it any surprise that the episode spawned a CD release?
  • Also Art Garfunkel's performances in S3's "The Ballad of Buster Baxter".
  • Uh, the theme song, anyone? Just looking at the lyrics at the top of this page are enough to get it stuck.
  • "A-A-R-D-V-A-R-K!" Who know spelling "Aardvark" could be so catchy?
  • "Having fun isn't hard when you've got a library card!"
    • "And don't forget the Dewey Decimal System is your friend!"
    • "WHO'S DEWEY!?"
  • "JEKYLL - JEKYLL - HYDE! JEKYLL - HYDE! HYDE! JEKYLL!"
    • "I want some Ice Cream, Chocolate would be good!"
    • "Just a little Hoooomework, tonight, tonight (That's a lot of homework!)"
  • "Crazy Bus, Crazy Bus, riding on the Crazy Bus..."
  • Ooh-wee-ooh-wee-ooh-wee-ooh-wee-ooh-wee-ooh-wee-ooh-wee-ooh-wee!
  • "The best word I know is F-U-N, F-U-N spells fun..."
  • The remix of the intro.
• Fanon Discontinuity: A handful of episodes have been poorly received by fans, who often choose to ignore their existence.
  • Any episode where D.W. doesn't receive any repercussions for her bratty behavior:
    • "D.W.'s Very Bad Mood", where D.W. has a massive temper tantrum because she wasn't invited to the birthday party of a girl she barely even knows.
    • "Arthur's Big Hit", where Arthur is punished for hitting D.W. after she destroys his model plane, while she gets away with it.
  • "Nerves of Steal", where Buster steals a toy from a convenience store and conceals it in Arthur's backpack. It is also among the rare episodes that conclude with a Downer Ending.
  • "So Funny, I Forgot to Laugh," where Arthur unsarcastically bullies Sue Ellen, causing her so much distress that she contemplates changing classes.
• Funny Aneurysm Moment: S2's "Binky Barnes, Art Expert" has Arthur and Buster trying to convince Binky not to go to school by telling him that the school was destroyed in a fire. It's Played for Laughs, since Binky can see the school from his house. 5 seasons later in S7's "April 9th"...
  • In the first season Francine traps Buster in an airtight lightbulb costume for the Thomas Edison play. Years later, we find out Buster has asthma...
  • "Grandpa Dave's Old Country Farm" oozes with cruel irony. The episode is about how great life at the farm is, how things have gotten out of hand, and how Grandpa needs more help as he's getting older. He even mentions how long the farm has been in his family. Once he's diagnosed with a brain condition that weakens his memory, he has to move closer to Arthur, effectively ditching that farm. Arthur is forced to admit that things aren't the same.
• Genius Bonus: One episode has an Imagine Spot with a One Million BC version of Arthur's family - and they look like actual aardvarks (flat-nosed, pointy-eared).
  • Bailey gives Ed Crosswire a copy of Samuel Beckett's Endgame for his birthday. Endgame details the life of an Old Retainer who is desperate to leave his demanding master, but is constantly prevented from doing so. Perhaps Bailey is Hint Dropping.
  • At the beginning of one episode, an unidentified alvarezsaur appears. It's pretty accurate, except maybe for the fact that its tail is too short.
• Growing the Beard: Season 1 is generally considered to be So Okay It's Average and Fair for Its Day, due to its Early Installment Weirdness, moments of Deranged Animation and continuity errors. Season 2 is widely regarded as the point at which the series gained momentum, owing to the notable refinement of its animation, the development of well-rounded characters, and a marked improvement in humor.
• Harsher in Hindsight: In S1's "Arthur Cleans Up", Arthur complained about the state of a city park by claiming "the oceans are full of oil." Fast forward to late Summer 2010...
• Hilarious in Hindsight: S5's "Arthur and the Big Riddle" had Arthur appearing on an in-universe game show, Riddle Quest. His opponent was a contestant who had been winning repeatedly for weeks, in vein of Jeopardy's rule on returning champions. In contrast, the actual Jeopardy show had a five-day limit on returning champions. A few years later, that limit was removed and along came Ken Jennings, who won 74 straight games in a row and over 3 million dollars.
  • S7's "Prunella Sees the Light" has Prunella telling Muffy, "Marina's blind, not in a wheelchair." 6 seasons later, S13's "The Wheel Deal" introduces Lydia Fox, a fan-created character in a wheelchair.
  • "Buster's New Friend" has D.W. comment that "maybe Buster doesn't like Bionic Bunny anymore." As of "Buster Gets Real", that's totally true.
  • S2's "Play it Again D.W." has D.W. obsessing over the song Crazy Bus. It is catchy, but it drives Arthur crazy. In 2005, a Venezuelan video game called Crazy Bus was released, and it's best known for the title screen music, which is both catchy and extremely obnoxious.
  • The episode "That's a Baby Show!" features Arthur accidentally tuning into a Teletubbies Expy called Love Ducks and becoming a closeted fan of the show, going to great lengths to avoid anyone finding out he enjoys it. Fast forward to early 2011, and young men across the nation are beginning to relate quite a bit.
• Memetic Mutation:
  • Arthur is a very popular subject for Youtube Poop, especially S4's "Arthur's Big Hit".
  • Also, if it counts, using the Arthur Comic Creator game on the PBS Kids website and making completely innocent stories with it has become popular with Image Boards and other forums.
• Moral Event Horizon: Supreme Dog crossed it in the only episode he appeared in, "To Eat or Not to Eat", by distributing Big Boss Bars, which were explicitly said to contain life-threatening ingredients, to children just to make a profit for himself. Fittingly and thankfully, he goes to jail for it at the end of the episode and the Big Boss Bars are permanently recalled from sale.
• Most Annoying Sound: Crazy Bus! Crazy Bus! Riding on a Crazy Bus! Riding up! Riding down! Driven by a funny clown! Once you hear it, you can't unhear it. Then again, since Arthur finds it annoying too, it's definitely an Intended Audience Reaction.
• Never Live It Down:
  • Arthur's bullying and teasing of Sue Ellen in "So Funny, I Forgot to Laugh" is considered one of the series' lowest points, particularly for Arthur himself.
  • "Arthur's Big Hit" is often criticized because Arthur is punished for hitting D.W., while D.W. faces no consequences for provoking the incident.
• Periphery Demographic: Massive and vocal, especially in the older seasons of the program. Even currently, though, the program maintains a large number of fans who theoretically should have "outgrown" the program a long time ago, or whom have never been in its target audience in the first place during the time that it's been airing.
• The Problem with Licensed Games: Played straight with the Game Boy Color title, Arthur's Absolutely Fun Day, which is described by many as excruciatingly painful to play. The Play Station title, Arthur: Ready To Race was at least decent, and the PC/Mac titles (particularly the Living Books titles) avert this completely as many children who grew up in the late '80s and '90s were introduced to Arthur by means of the Living Books titles.
• The Ship's Motor: "Arthur and the Square Dance" for Arthur X Francine, "Sue Ellen's Lost Diary" for Arthur X Sue Ellen, and "Kiss and Tell" for D.W. X Janes.
• Seasonal Rot:
  • Season 5 is often regarded as a contentious point, marked by a significant number of weak and forgettable episodes, with several storylines seeming forced. The episode, "Nerves of Steal" is notably criticized for its grim conclusion. The departure of Joe Fallon, the creative powerhouse behind the first four seasons and writer of many beloved episodes, negatively impacted the season's reception. Similarly, Season 6 also faces criticism, partly due to the volume of episodes penned by Dietrich Smith and the substitution of Arthur's original voice actor, Michael Yarmush.
  • Seasons 9-15 mark a contentious period as some fans describe it as the start of Arthur's "reverse puberty," with his voice becoming increasingly higher, softer, and more childlike. This era is also criticized for the emergence of generic and formulaic storylines. Additionally, Seasons 12-15 are noted for their choppy animation, attributed to the transition to a different animation company.
  • Seasons 16 to 19 are considered a downturn, attributed to the shift in production to 9 Story, the transition to Flash animation, and the introduction of Ladonna and Bud Compson, who are often criticized for their irritating and stereotypical traits and for being forced into many episodes. Additionally, the episode "So Funny I Forgot to Laugh" is notorious for depicting Arthur as a bully to Sue Ellen, which is out of character for him.
• Toy Ship: The early seasons were rather notable for constant obvious Arthur/Francine, as well as other character pairing, Ship Teasing. They, however, likely won't go all the way. They're only in 3rd grade, after all.
• Unintentionally Unsympathetic: In S4's "Arthur's Big Hit", D.W. goes and fools with Arthur's model plane that he spent a long time working on, and breaks it. In response, he punches her, and it's played out as a Kick the Dog moment. Which would be alright, if it weren't for the fact that D.W. was acting really smart-alecky at the moment of the punch. And she invokes Never My Fault, claiming it's ""not her fault" that Arthur made a plane that can't fly]]. Adding to this is the fact that Arthur repeatedly told her not to touch it, meaning that she is fully aware that she is fooling with something she has absolutely no right whatsoever to touch, and that she shows no remorse whatsoever for her actions.

D.W.: If it could break the sound barrier, falling out of a window shouldn't be able to break it!

1981 film

• Hilarious in Hindsight: There's a lot of Christmas references in the film, and at one point Susan remarks Arthur looks like one of Santa's elves. Guess what Dudley Moore plays in Santa Claus the Movie?
• Hollywood Homely: Susan is played by a very pretty Jill Eikenberry. Arguably justified since most of the other characters do acknowledge this; it just so happens that Arthur has a rather unconventional taste in women (and seems to have more issues with Susan's personality than her looks).
• Jerkass Woobie: Arthur.
• Sequelitis: Among other things, it brought Hobson back for a few scenes as a Spirit Advisor.
• Tear Jerker: Hobson's death. Of course, it's hard for anything to be too tearjerking in a movie this silly.

2011 film

• Tear Jerker: Hobson's death. The way he tries to wake her, and his immediate recoil after touching her cold hand breaks your heart. In a later scene, a broken and drunken Arthur speaks to Naomi.

Arthur: My Mum died.