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| Arthur Read | |
|---|---|
| Arthur character | |
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| First appearance | Arthur's Nose (1976) |
| Created by | Marc Brown |
| Voiced by |
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| In-universe information | |
| Species | Aardvark [1] |
| Gender | Male |
| Family |
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| Relatives |
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| Birthday | 25 May |
| Best friend | Buster Baxter |
| Age | 8 |
Arthur Timothy [2] Read is a fictional anthropomorphic aardvark created by the author Marc Brown. [3] The main character of the book and television series Arthur , he is in the third grade and lives in the fictional city of Elwood City. [4]
Arthur is an anthropomorphic aardvark, who is 8 years old. [5] In Brown's first Arthur book, Arthur's Nose (1976), Arthur is shown with a long nose and resembles an actual aardvark, though as the books progressed (as seen in the first season of PBS's Reading Rainbow in its 13th episode, titled "Arthur's Eyes") and eventually became an animated TV series, Arthur’s appearance changed. The character's most recognizable form is a light brown, slanted face with small ears and nostrils with signature round brown-rimmed eyeglasses. [6] Normally, Arthur wears a yellow V-neck sweater over a white dress shirt, blue jeans along with red and white sneakers. He also occasionally wears a red rugby-style sweater. In the series finale ("All Grown Up"), Arthur's 28-year-old appearance features him with straight dark brown hair, slight facial hair, a green vest with a hood, and a red and yellow shirt with a Dark Bunny insignia.
The tensions between Arthur and his 4-year-old (later 5-year-old) sister, Dora Winifred "D.W." Read, are a common theme in the Arthur series. Arthur is constantly pestered by D.W., who goes out of her way to get Arthur into trouble, which often causes Arthur to retaliate, by getting into quarrels with his friends.
Arthur's parents are his mother, Jane Read, who is a work-at-home accountant, and his father, David L. Read, who runs a catering business.
Arthur's toddler sister is Baby Kate.
Appearances from Arthur's extended family include his grandparents: Thora (David's mother) and Dave (Jane's father). His uncles: Fred (Jane's brother), Richard, Bud, and Sean. His aunts: Jessica, Loretta, and Lucy. His cousins: Cora, Monique, Ricky, George, and other unnamed relatives. However, the only two members of Arthur's extended family who have appeared more than once are his grandparents.
Grandma Thora lives in a house not too far from Arthur's in Elwood City and is known to be a bad cook, but a loving grandmother and a world-class marbles player. She loves to play bingo every Friday night, and in some episodes has to watch over Arthur and D.W. She is good friends with Mrs. McGrady, the school cafeteria monitor. Grandpa Dave lives in a convalescent home and has a roommate who was a ship captain.
Canadian child stars who have voiced the character of Arthur in the TV series:
Michael Yarmush originally voiced the character for the first five seasons from 1996 to 2000, prior to his puberty. In 2001, Justin Bradley assumed the role for Season 6, coinciding with his own puberty. Mark Rendall then took over for Seasons 7 and 8, including a redub of Season 6, from 2001 to 2003. Cameron Ansell voiced the character from Seasons 9 to 11 between 2004 and 2007, followed by Dallas Jokic, who voiced the character in Seasons 12 to 15 from 2008 to 2012. Drew Adkins continued the role in Seasons 16 and 17 from 2012 to 2014, and William Healy followed in Seasons 18 and 19 from 2014 to 2016. Jacob Ursomarzo voiced the character in Seasons 20 and 21 from 2016 to 2018, while Roman Lutterotti completed the series in the final four seasons from 2019 to 2022. Notably, Michael Yarmush reprised his role as the adult Arthur in the series finale titled "All Grown Up."
Since Arthur is shown in more than 80 countries, Arthur is dubbed by these young voice actors (in several languages) shown here:
Arthur Read was listed as number 26 in the TV Guide article, 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time. [7]
Arthur is an animated television series for children ages 4 to 8, developed by Kathy Waugh for PBS and produced by WGBH. The show is set in the fictional U.S. city of Elwood City and revolves around the lives of Arthur Read, an anthropomorphic aardvark, his friends and family, and their daily interactions with each other. The television series is based on the Arthur book series written and illustrated by Marc Brown. Production on the series was first announced in 1995 by WGBH Boston and Montreal-based animation studio CINAR, and aired its first episode on October 7, 1996. During its 25-season run, the show broadcast 253 half-hour episodes.
The Ant and the Aardvark is a series of 17 theatrical short cartoons produced at DePatie–Freleng Enterprises and released by United Artists from 1969 to 1971.
Postcards from Buster is an American children's television series that originally aired on PBS. It is a spin-off of the Arthur TV series. The show features Buster Baxter, an 8-year-old anthropomorphic rabbit and Arthur's best friend. The television series was created by Cookie Jar Group, WGBH Boston, and Marc Brown Studios.
The Concord label Rounder Records through the Rounder Kids imprint has released 3 soundtracks of the 1996 animated television series Arthur.
Justin Bradley is a Canadian actor.
Marc Tolon Brown is an American author and illustrator of children's books. Brown writes as well as illustrates the Arthur book series and is best known for creating that series and its numerous spin-offs.
The second season of the television series Arthur was originally broadcast on PBS in the United States from October 20, 1997, to April 17, 1998, and contains 20 episodes. This season, like seasons 1 and 3, was released on DVD in Europe only; due to the fact that this was actually two production seasons combined into one long season for US airings, the first ten episodes for this season can be found on the "Series 2" DVD and the last ten can be found on "Series 3."
The third season of the television series Arthur was originally broadcast on PBS in the United States from November 16, 1998 to January 1, 1999 and contains 15 episodes. This season, like seasons 1 and 2, was released on DVD in Europe only.
The fifth season of the television series Arthur was originally broadcast on PBS in the United States from September 25 to November 27, 2000, and contains 10 episodes. The special "Arthur's Perfect Christmas" served as the finale to this season. Steven Crowder replaced Luke Reid as Brain. This is the last season where Michael Yarmush voices Arthur due to his voice changing. Starting in season 9, he returns to voice the character Slink, one of the Tough Customers. Yarmush additionally will return to play Arthur one more time in the final episode of the series, "All Grown Up" by voicing the character's adult self. This is also the last season where Ricky Mabe voices Timmy Tibble due to his voice changing as well. Alex Trebek guest starred as Alex Lebek on the season premiere "Arthur and the Big Riddle".
The sixth season of the television series Arthur was originally broadcast on PBS in the United States on September 24 to November 26, 2001 and contains 10 episodes. A shortened version of the remix of the opening theme song, "Believe in Yourself", is played at the ending credits of this season as a promotion for the third music album of the franchise. Olympic figure skater Michelle Kwan guest starred on "The Good Sport" as herself. Justin Bradley took over the role of Arthur from Michael Yarmush, who had voiced the character for several years. The transition was prompted by the natural progression of age, as Yarmush was becoming too old to convincingly portray the young aardvark. This particular season marks the only instance in which Bradley voiced Arthur, a decision made by executive producers Carol Greenwald and Peter Moss. They noted that while Bradley's performance had merit, his voice was significantly deeper than Yarmush's, lacking the youthful vocal range that had been a defining characteristic of the beloved character. As a result of this shift in casting, fans experienced a noticeable change in Arthur's voice, which might have affected their connection to the character. Additionally, Samuel Holden replaced Ricky Mabe in the role of Timmy Tibble, further cementing the adjustments made in the show's voice cast. These casting changes underscore the challenges that animated series often face as time progresses and original voice actors change, requiring producers to seek new talent while attempting to maintain continuity and fidelity to the characters that audiences have come to know and love. it will be the final occasion that Steven Crowder lends his voice to the character Brain, and similarly, Oliver Grainger will be voicing D.W. for the last time. The versions of these episodes with Bradley's voice were distributed in International VHS and DVD home media, and they are still aired on TV in countries outside and in North America.
The eighth season of the television series Arthur was originally broadcast on PBS Kids in the United States from September 15 to December 26, 2003 and contains 10 episodes. for the beloved characters Arthur and Sue Ellen Armstrong, as it is the last one featuring the voice talents of Mark Rendall and Patricia Rodriguez, respectively. For many years, these actors have brought depth and personality to the iconic roles, allowing viewers to connect with the stories in a meaningful way. The departure of both voice actors signifies not only a change in the character portrayals but also a shift in the series’ overall atmosphere, as new actors will take up the mantle in future seasons. Additionally, this season serves as a pivotal point in the history of the show's production, being the final season before CINAR, the original production company behind Arthur, underwent a rebranding to become Cookie Jar Entertainment in the following year. Evan Smirnow took over the role of George from Mitchell Rothpan. alongside with, Alexina Cowan and Sally Taylor-Isherwood, who replaced Patricia Rodriguez and Vanessa Lengies in voicing the characters Catherine and Emily, respectively.
The ninth season of the television series Arthur was originally broadcast on PBS Kids Go! in the United States from December 27, 2004, to April 8, 2005, and contains 10 episodes. Cameron Ansell took over the role of Arthur from Mark Rendall, Jessica Kardos succeeded Patricia Rodriguez as the voice of Sue Ellen Armstrong. Eleanor Noble replaced Evan Smirnow as the voice of George, and Paul-Stuart Brown stepped in to replace Alex Hood as the voice of Brain. But in Seasons 10 & 11, Brown voices Brain alone, this is the last season in which Alex Hood voices The Brain. CINAR got rebrand by Cookie Jar Entertainment, until it got merged with DHX Media in 2012, after the 15th season.
The eleventh season of the television series Arthur was originally broadcast on PBS Kids Go! in the United States from June 25 to September 7, 2007 and contains 10 episodes. This is the last season in which Cameron Ansell voices Arthur. Starting in season sixteen, he returns to voice the new character Rafi. Robert Naylor stepped into the role of the voice of D.W., following the departure of Jason Szwimmer. This is also the last season in which Paul-Stuart Brown voices Brain.
Arthur's Nose is a 1976 children's book written and illustrated by writer Marc Brown, the first book in the Arthur Adventure series. It was focusing on the experiences of Arthur Read, a fictional anthropomorphic bipedal aardvark. The character of Arthur later acquired fame and inspired several other picture books and the PBS animated television series adaptation.
Michael Lawrence Yarmush is an American-Canadian actor. He is known for providing the original voice of Arthur Read in the PBS children's animated television series Arthur.
The twentieth season of Arthur began broadcast on PBS Kids in the United States on October 10, 2016, and finished on June 1, 2017. In this season, Oasis Animation took over animation from 9 Story Media Group.
The twenty-first season of Arthur aired on PBS Kids in the U.S. from October 24, 2017 to February 15, 2018. John Lewis guest starred on the episode "Arthur Takes a Stand". This is also the last season where Jacob Ursomarzo voices Arthur, Christian Distefano voices D.W. and Max Friedman Cole voices Brain.
The twenty-second season of Arthur started airing on PBS Kids in the United States from May 13, 2019 to May 16, 2019. Jane Lynch guest starred on the episode "Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone". Roman Lutterotti replaced Jacob Ursomarzo as Arthur, Ethan Pugiotto replaced Christian Distefano as D.W., and Evan Blaylock replaced Max Friedman Cole as Brain.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Arthur by Marc Brown | |
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| Characters | |
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| Related | |
| Authority control databases: National |
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