How One of The Biggest PBS Cartoons Dearly Impacted the Life of A Young Millennial Living in the ‘Burbs

Last Monday, the hit cartoon series “Arthur” came to an end after 25 long seasons. In a time where most shows, even cartoons, are lucky to hit the 10-season mark, that’s quite a benchmark! As a young woman who fondly reminiscences growing up with the show- which was born the same year I was, 1996- I know all too well “how” such a program, even something for small children, can have a great impact on my development.

Growing up, my family didn’t have much in the way of cable, so I had to make do with educational programming (and FOX cartoons, like The Simpsons.) As academics, My parents figured that, if I was going to be looking at a screen, it might as well be an educational screen. Okay, fair enough Mom and Dad- you were worried about my intellectual development, and that stuff on Nickelodeon will rot my brain. Typical parenting.

I also didn’t have a lot of friends growing up. My mom often showed concern and wished I could have “good, decent friends” someday. I had acquaintances, but no real close friends, as a child. That’s why I often found escapism in the movies and TV I watched, even before my family got cable- which, of course, included the various PBS shows I watched.

I’m not quite sure when I got interested in Arthur at first, but I do remember having a DW doll that talked when I was a toddler. Needless to say, my preschool teachers were not amused, and eventually had to confiscate the doll. (The smart-ass lines like “When I get to 94 years old, I wonder how old Baby Kate would be,” didn’t help.) I also read the books in school and even watched a special on Marc Brown, which detailed his struggles of trying to make it big and get into college. But why I got interested in Arthur…now, that’s easy. I liked the show because, looking at the screen and seeing Arthur, I couldn’t help but think “When I grow up, I want to create something like that someday.”

He did a lot of things I wished I could do, like go out with friends, participate in spelling bees, practice piano, and be part of a larger community. No matter how hard things got, his friends were always there to cheer him on, through thick and thin. Arthur episodes, regardless of how heavy they got (and they could get awfully heavy for a children’s show, like “April 9th” which was basically an allegory for 9/11) tended to end on a positive note, or at least bittersweet. Granted, it was a children’s show and they were required by the FCC not to upset or traumatize the little kiddies watching.

Speaking of which, another thing that I appreciated about the show was that it didn’t talk down to its audience of small children. Various plotlines often dealt with topics rather intense for a children’s show, like cancer, divorce, death, and 9/11 (in the aforementioned “April 9th” episode.) Heck, one of the last episodes is about Francine dealing with the death of her grandmother, and Muffy being nosy as she allegedly “tries” to help. The “slice-of-life” format, the characters technically being anthropromorphic animals notwithstanding, makes it easy for kids to relate to the characters. I sure could connect with Francine after my mother died.

Goodbye, Arthur, and thank you, for being such an integral, amazing part of my childhood. And thank you, Marc Brown, for being such an inspiration to a girl like me, struggling to make it in this world. You guys absolutely rock.