Have you ever wondered what an animal Arthur and his friends are? Read more!
If you grew up in the 90’s or early 00’s, you probably have fond memories of the PBS animated series, Arthur. You can also have children or grandchildren watching the show today – after The Simpsons, it is the longest running animated television program in the United States
Based on a popular series of children’s books created by author and illustrator Marc Brown, the show follows the daily adventures of a nine-year-old anthropomorphic animal, Arthur Read, and his many animal friends at Lakewood Elementary. But if you’re not sure what kind of animal each character is, you’re not alone – it’s not always obvious at first glance. To help you get it straight, here is a list of some of the most popular animals Arthur and a brief overview of their personalities.
Binky Barnes
Binky Barnes is a bulldog, which makes sense given his tough exterior and tendency to behave like a bully (especially in the earlier seasons of the show). When he is first introduced, he is one of Arthur’s nemeses, but the two eventually become friends over the course of the series. Despite Binky’s often frightening and abrasive nature, he has a soft side to it all – though he tends to keep that part of himself hidden from most of his peers. When he is near Arthur and other close friends he trusts, he betrays his guard and lets them see his milder side.
Nigel Ratburn
As his last name suggests, Nigel Ratburn (known by Arthur and the gang as Mr. Ratburn) is a rat. He is a teacher at Arthur’s school, Lakewood Elementary, and is known for being quite strict. He is considered by many students to be the toughest teacher in the whole school because he assigns large amounts of homework to the children in his class. Despite this fact, he is a helpful and friendly teacher who cares deeply about his students. He always has their best interests at heart and clearly wants to see them succeed.
Prunella Deegan
Prunella Deegan is tall, slender and with a curly head of brown hair, a poodle. She has a reputation for being a bit of a snob, in part because she loves to showcase the fact that she’s older than Arthur and the rest of the gang. Prunella is a dedicated student who loves to read and already cares about where she wants to go to college, despite still going to elementary school. She loves the paranormal and loves to make predictions about the future, though they are rarely accurate. Prunella has a teenage sister, Rubella, and is best friends with Marina Datillo and Muffy Crosswire.
Timmy and Tommy Tibble
Collectively known as the Tibbles or Tibble twins, Timmy and Tommy are twin bear cubs. They are preschoolers in the same class as Dora Winifred (known as DW), Arthur’s younger sister. Always by each other’s side, the Tibble twins are mischievous, like to make trouble and lie or often manipulate their preschool classmates to get what they want. While they dress identically, Timmy always wears a blue scarf and Tommy always wears a red scarf so they can be recognized from each other.
Sue Ellen Armstrong
Sue Ellen Armstrong, who joined Mr. Ratburn’s class in third grade after moving to Elwood City with his family is a cat. Her father (also a cat) is a diplomat, so she is a well-traveled kitten who has lived in a number of different places around the world, including Egypt and Nicaragua. Sue Ellen makes friends easily, is well-liked by her classmates at school, and is a member of the Lakewood Elementary Soccer Team. While she has no siblings, she keeps in touch with her best friend, a panda named Tenzin Wangdu, who lives in Tibet.
Fern Walters
Fern Walters is a dog (unknown breed). When we first meet her, she is extremely quiet and shy, though she will open up during the series and eventually become a little less introverted. Despite her wallflower nature, she is not afraid to stand up for what she thinks is right, and sometimes gets into fights with other students because of her stubbornness. Fern is a talented singer, plays the flute in the school corps and loves to tell mysteries and horror stories. She also likes to draw and often uses pictures to express herself.
George Lundgren
With large antlers that sometimes stand in the way of everyday activities, George Lundgren is a moose whose family is from Sweden. He was a minor background character on the show until season nine, when he began interacting more with the other kids at Lakewood Elementary and became a main character. Like Fern, George is quiet and shy, and he spends much of his time playing with Wally, his belly dancer. His large antlers have given him a number of nicknames from his peers, including “Hammer”, “Big Horns” and “Headbears”.
Alan Powers AKA Brain
Known as “The Brain” and in later seasons just “Brain”, Alan Powers is a bear. He’s also Arthur’s best friend. As his nickname suggests, he is very intelligent and almost always gets Aces and A-pluses on his assignments. Polite and well-behaved, he gets along well with his peers and is a member of several school sports teams, including football, baseball and track. He is also a member of the Computer Club and plays piano and cello in the school choir.
Francine Frensky
Francine Frensky is a monkey. She is energetic and athletic and excels in sports, especially football, baseball, kickball and bowling. In previous seasons of the show, Francine had a bad temper and was often rude to her friends and classmates. She becomes softer and friendlier throughout the series, though her strong-willed and outgoing personality remains intact. Her character is modeled after the sister of Marc Brown, the original creator, illustrator and author of Arthur book series on which the performance is based.
Muffy Crosswire
Like Francine, Alice Crosswire (who goes by “Muffy”) is a monkey. As one of the richest children in Elmwood City, she is pampered and often believes that money can solve any problem. She lives in a large mansion and has all the material items she could ever wish for, including an endless supply of toys and her own clubhouse. While Muffy can sometimes act snobby and condescending towards his peers, Muffy has a good heart under it all and lots of friends to prove it. Her best friend is monkey buddy Francine, and she’s also close to Arthur and DW. She is also very close to her family’s butler, Bailey.
Buster Baxter
Another of Arthur’s best friends, Buster Baxter is a rabbit. He has a laid back, relaxed personality that sometimes prevents him from performing duties or completing his homework on time. He loves food and will eat almost anything, including things that have expired or fallen to the floor. He is an avid supporter of aliens and claims to have seen UFOs and almost always believes in aliens is the cause of unexplained events. Buster was the subject of the PBS spin-off series, Postcard from Buster, which was broadcast from 2004 to 2008.
DW Read
DW Read is an earthworm. She is also Arthur’s younger sister (and the older sister of their other sibling, Kate). As a preschooler, she is not the nicest or most equal character in the show. She often gets on Arthur’s nerves, though it’s clear that her big brother still loves her in spite of it all. She also likes to create problems around her family members and friends. It’s clear that DW is younger than Arthur and his friends, as she often does not know the meaning of complex words and has the mistaken belief that teachers live in schools and that babies come from a baby store.
Arthur Read
Finally, there is the earthworm Arthur. As the main character in the series, he is kind-hearted and has lots of friends, including best friends Buster and Brain. He plays the piano in the school band (although he often postpones rehearsals), is a striker and goalkeeper for the Lakewood Elementary Soccer Team and plays on the school’s court and baseball team. He also loves to read and spend time at the library and can be recognized instantly thanks to his signature pair of large, thick glasses. As mentioned earlier, he is often annoyed by his younger sister DW, who is constantly causing him problems. Despite that, he does his best to be a good big brother by trying to ignore her naughty preschool behavior and help her when she’s in need (or when his parents ask him to).
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