Talk to any younger millennial about their favorite shows growing up and chances are you’ll hear a familiar name. Arthur the aardvark has danced his way into the hearts of children since the show’s premiere on October 7th, 1996. On February 21, 2022, the series finally came to an end in probably the best way possible.
For folks that are new, Arthur followed the adventures of Arthur Read, an anthropomorphic aardvark. A third grader at Lakewood Elementary School in the town of Elwood City. The show would cover various topics that Arthur and his friends would encounter growing up, with the show’s first episode being about Arthur getting his first pair of glasses. The series covered a wide range of topics that children could relate to, such as being afraid of new food or overcoming the fears that come with getting a new teacher. The show was also no stranger to heavier topics as well, such as the death of a pet.
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It was one episode in particular which received a unique resurgence in the character for older audiences. “Arthur’s Big Hit” was an episode about controlling your emotions around those weaker than you, and it spawned internet fame. You’ve probably seen the image below, the clenched fist with the yellow sweater to represent suppressed anger. The screenshot going viral took everyone by surprise, especially series creator and children’s author Marc Brown. Though Brown expressed how a show that seems so innocent can still resonate with audiences today, especially in meme form, in an interview with Salon.
25 Years of Breaking Barriers
Through the decades that the show has been on air, Arthur was no stranger to tackling sensitive topics. One two-part episode, “April 9th,” was a response to the September 11th terrorist attacks. The episode was about four individuals in the series as they recounted their own unique experiences during a fire at the school. It was a great talking point for children at the time, that were otherwise scared or overwhelmed by what was happening in the real world.
Another episode would bring the show into the mainstream again, 2020’s “Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone.” When the class finds out that their teacher was getting married, the gang decides to figure out who the lucky individual was. The episode ends with the reveal of Mr. Ratburn marrying Patrick, the owner of a gourmet chocolate store. Brown recalls that the positive feedback to the episode was much different than the overwhelming negativity that the spinoff series, Postcards from Buster, brought in. In the 2005 spinoff, Buster interviews a child with a two-mom household.
In February, PBS held a livestream marathon on YouTube leading up to the finale’s airing on the 21st. The show that ran for 25 seasons aired its final episode “All Grown Up” and featured the kids finding an old board game in the back of the library. Arthur finds that he’s accidentally checked out a “how to draw animals” book by mistake and tries to return it, but ends up convinced by a cameo of Brown, to take it home anyway and give drawing a try! After learning of their futures, the kids return home.
We cut to a time jump of twenty years and meet the kids all fulfilling the roles the game predicted. Buster is a teacher, Muffy is running for mayor, Francine owns her own business, D.W. is a police officer, and Arthur (his adult version voiced by Michael Yarmush, who originally voiced the character in 1996) is now an artist and writer. It’s revealed that Arthur has published his first graphic novel, which tells the story of how he got his first pair of glasses. The series ends on a zoom in to the comic’s first page, leading into the show’s first episode.
For many kids, fictional characters end up becoming friends. Be they from books, movies, video games, or shows, our fictional friends take up a place in our hearts. Arthur has certainly earned his immortality after 25 years of adventures and lifelong lessons. Even though the show is gone, these characters will live on through the children that grew up with them.
