Arthur (1996)

Creator: Marc Brown
Air Dates: September 2nd, 1996 - Present
Seasons: 21 (19 aired)
Episodes: 239 (217 aired)
(source)

Arthur is a cartoon based a series of children's books written by Marc Brown. It's an educational television series that airs on PBS. Yes, I know it's a children's show, but I don't care! I loved this show as a kid, and it's great. This was one of my favorite children's shows when I was little (along with Blues Clues and Barney (Shut up! Barney was awesome,)

The show takes place in the fictional city of Elwood City. It stars Arthur Read, who is an 8-year-old aardvark, who goes to school with his friends.

Many episodes are about a problem one of the characters is having, and in the end they learn a lesson. Some episodes have even tackled topics like cancer and dyslexia. But, the show focuses a lot on reading, friendship, and family (and even diversity).

Here's the theme song:

Each character has their own personality and quirks (and even character development!)

From left to right: Muffy, "The Brain", DW (Arthur's sister), Buster, Arthur, Francine, and Binky.

Arthur has two parents who work at home, two younger sisters, and a dog. His best friend is Buster the rabbit. They attend third grade at Lakewood Elementary. This show actually reminds me of Hey Arnold! in a way. This show is very relatable to kids (and maybe even teens or adults). They go through everyday problems just like we do, like learning how to get along with someone who's different from us, dealing with a disability, or what have you. Some of the characters even go through development, like Muffy learning to not be so snobby (she's rich), or Francine learning to be less mean (she can come across as bully-ish in some episodes).

It is the second-longest running animated series in the United States, only coming behind the Simpsons (no surprise). It's hard to believe this show is still going, but then again, it is a great kids' show. And like My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, it even has an adult fanbase. I don't know if it's as big, but it exists. It's probably because the show isn't afraid to handle tough topics like cancer or disabilities. It's also because the show tends to make references/jokes to pop culture like South Park or Beavis and Butthead. So, I think it's awesome that yet another show for kids is willing to throw some stuff in their for us adults, especially if we're watching them from an adult's perspective, and we see the stuff that went over out heads as kids.

Also, there's an episode where Arthur starts to like this pony cartoon (most likely based on the older My Little Pony cartoons) that his sister likes. He's afraid others will find out and that he'll get made fun of, and it turns out some of his friends like it, too. This episode came out long before MLP:FiM, so it's kinda funny that Arthur was like the first "brony". Haha.

I haven't seen any episodes after season 8, I think. I would like to watch them all just to see how the rest of it compares to the episodes I grew up with. But, I do recommend it, especially for kids.

I'm gonna end with this funny tweet from Arthur (yes, apparently, he has a twitter. Most likely a fan-made one. There are other fictional characters who have Twitter accounts out there, too. Kinda funny.). Anyway, I thought this one was funny and relevant due to all the Presidential stuff going on.

I agree with my sister. #DemocracyIn5Words pic.twitter.com/9qUsKRNhPb

— Arthur Read (@arthur_read8) March 26, 2016

I agree! DW knows what's up. Ponies over politics for sure!