
References to Cookie Jar Entertainment and WGBH also appear often on the show. For example, the town's moving company is called "Tolon Moving", and everyday items such as cups or pencil sharpeners have the word "Eliza" printed on them. Marc Brown's children, Tolon, Eliza, and Tucker, are referenced in the show several times, just as they are in the Arthur book series. The segments are omitted from all airings outside the US. Beginning in Season 11, the "A Word From Us Kids" segment was replaced by a segment called "Postcards from You", where live action videos sent in by young viewers were spotlighted per episode, and then replaced with "A Word from Us Kids" in season 12.

The only segments of the show that are filmed outside Canada are the "A Word from Us Kids" interstitials, filmed at elementary schools or other educational sites in the Boston area. The entire cast of Arthur lives in Montreal or Toronto, where Cookie Jar Entertainment's studios are located. The animation of the show was done at AKOM Production Company from season 1 to 11, then at Animation Services (HK) Ltd from season 12 to 15. Īlthough the program is primarily written and produced by WGBH of Boston, the production of the animation and voice acting are done in Montreal, Toronto, South Korea, and Hong Kong.
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Brown was reluctant at first to become a part of a medium for which he had little respect, but soon agreed when he learned that the objective of the television series would be to use the powerful medium of television to encourage children to read books. In 1994, Marc Brown was approached by WGBH and PBS about the possibility of adapting the Arthur books into a television series. Ratburn is based on a middle-school algebra teacher he had at Westlake Middle School. Brown himself stated that the series is influenced by his upbringing as a child in Erie, and specifically noted that Mr.
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Most notably, the local shopping mall in the TV show is called "Mill Creek Mall", a reference to Millcreek Mall. There are also firm references to Brown's hometown of Erie, Pennsylvania. Arthur also has several friends who come from diverse ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, and he also occasionally meets with members of his extended family.Įlwood City is portrayed as a largely suburban area which bears a strong resemblance to the Boston area the TV series is partially produced by WGBH. Arthur's family includes two home-working parents, his father David (a chef) and his mother Jane (an accountant), his two younger sisters, Dora Winifred (D.W.), who is in preschool, and Kate, who is still an infant, and his dog Pal. He is a third-grade student at Lakewood Elementary School. Īrthur Read, the series' titular character, is an anthropomorphic brown aardvark who lives in the fictional town of Elwood City. It was the longest-running children's animated series in the U.S., and the second longest-running animated series in the U.S., behind Fox's The Simpsons. It also encourages reading and relationships with family and friends by explaining that people have different personalities and interests. The series often deals with important issues families face such as asthma, dyslexia, cancer, diabetes, and autism spectrum disorder. Despite concluding after 25 years, the show will continue to have new content on PBS Kids and on the video app. Arthur concluded its original run on PBS Kids on February 21, 2022. It was subsequently announced on July 27, 2021, that the 25th season would be the final season. In June 2018, it was announced that Arthur was renewed for four additional seasons, through its 25th season. Postcards from Buster aired from October 11, 2004, to Novemthe series faced several years of hiatus, until a brief revival in February 2012, only to be cancelled after airing three unseen episodes that had been held over from the show's third season. During its 25-season run, the show has broadcast 253 half hour episodes.Ī pilot for the spin-off series Postcards from Buster aired in December 2003 as a season 8 episode of Arthur.

WGBH Boston along with Montreal-based Cinar (now WildBrain) began production of the animated series in 1994, and aired its first episode on October 7, 1996.

The television series is based on the Arthur book series written and illustrated by Marc Brown. 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. Arthur is an animated educational television series for children ages 4 to 8, developed by Kathy Waugh for PBS, and produced by WGBH.
