List of Arthur characters

This is a list of characters that are featured in the PBS Kids GO! Arthur television show, which is based on the book series by Marc Brown.

Arthur, the title character, is the main character of the series. The main supporting characters are Buster, Francine, Muffy, the Brain, Mr. Ratburn, and Arthur's parents. Over the years, the roles of each character have changed as more episodes focused on characters besides Arthur or D.W., most notably Buster, Francine, and Muffy. Minor supporting characters such as Sue Ellen, George, and Fern have also had expanded roles in the series.

Like the Simpsons, characters in the Arthur series do not age in order to remain the status quo, although their universe does in parallel to the real world.

Contents

Children

Arthur Timothy Read

Arthur Timothy Read is the protagonist in the series. He is a third grade student at Lakewood Elementary in Elwood City. He is 8 years old in most episodes. He has two younger sisters, Dora Winifred (D.W.) and baby Kate. He possesses a sincere partiality towards reading, watching television (especially Bionic Bunny and Dark Bunny), playing sports, playing piano and spending time with his friends. He is an aardvark.[1] He wears a yellow cotton sweater layered over a white dress shirt and a pair of blue jeans. Another feature that Arthur has is his signature round brown glasses, which are explained in Arthur's Eyes. He is the oldest child in his family.

Dora Winifred "D.W." Read

Dora Winifred "D.W." Read is Arthur's eccentric sister. In most episodes, she is 4 years old. (she turns 5 in "D.W.'s Perfect Wish", episode #314, which is also when her birthday is revealed to be March 1) [2] She is a middle child of the Read family. She attends preschool and enjoys watching children's television shows (Mary Moo Cow in particular) and the song "Crazy Bus" much to Arthur's annoyance. She is also known for her many short-lived obsessions and tantrums if these obsessions are not fulfilled. Many of the series' episodes revolve around tensions between D. W. and her brother--she especially enjoys getting him in trouble. Arthur occasionally envies D.W.'s accomplishments and D.W. of the privileges and capabilities that Arthur has for being older. While she acts self-centered and audacious, she shows appreciation towards Arthur and usually understands when she is wrong. She goes by the short name "D.W.", owing to an evident dislike for her full name. She wears a white long-sleeved tee under a sleeveless pink dress that is knee-length and has green shoes.

Buster Baxter

Buster Baxter is Arthur's best friend. A jolly and upbeat figure, Buster enjoys watching television, reading works of science fiction, conjuring conspiracy theories, playing video games, playing the tuba, reading joke books, and above all, eating. However, he sometimes shows a disinterest in school work, and his academic performance is usually underwhelming. He is 8 years old. He also has asthma. He is very superstitious at times, and is obsessed with aliens. Buster has acted as a detective on occasion, once teaming up with Fern, and is usually successful, though his tendency to embrace superstition and conspiracy theories hinders him. Buster lives in a condo with his mother, Bitzi, and occasionally travels with his father. His parents divorced for some unknown reason. In Season 2 he left on a vacation with his dad in "Arthur's Faraway Friend" and came back in Season 3 in "The Ballad of Buster Baxter". Buster also had his own spin-off series, entitled Postcards from Buster.[3] He is shown with a greenish blue sweater with a salmon colored collar and blue jeans.

Francine Alice Frensky

Francine Alice Frensky is a tomboy who loves sports, drumming, and singing. She is 8 years old, and she is the best player on her team in just about every sport they play, rivaled only by the Brain at soccer and basketball. She is also good at the drums and singing, but has unsuccessfully tried to do them simultaneously. Her blunt, outspoken demeanor can sometimes have a negative effect on her relationships with friends and relatives. Francine and her family are Reform Jews and are of a lower class than Arthur's family. She can occasionally be bossy to her friends. She also does not like wearing dresses or getting her hair done. Francine is best friends with Muffy Crosswire. She met Arthur for the first time since pre-school in a flashback from "Locked in the Library!". She and Arthur are each others' second best friends. They occasionally fight, but make up in the end. She is show with a red sweater with blue jeans and a barrette on each side of her hair. Her signature hairstyle is a brown flip, although it is not flat. She is also referred to as the most popular kid at school, though she is never mean about it. Her family sometimes calls her "Frankie".

Mary Alice "Muffy" Crosswire

Mary Alice "Muffy" Crosswire is Francine's best friend, though they are opposites in many ways. She is 8 years old. She is the daughter of Edward and Millicent Crosswire. She is the wealthiest girl in school, and is generally portrayed as a stereotypical rich and spoiled girl. She tends to be extremely self-centered, and like Francine, her behavior occasionally leads her into trouble with her friends. She also tries to impress her friends with her dad's wealth and because of this she is often labeled as a show-off by her friends. Muffy has an older brother named Chip. Her signature hairstyle is pigtails, usually braided, and she had buck teeth as she did in the early books in several but not all episodes of season 1. She is shown in a white blouse with a purple jumper and two matching bows to tighten her braids. She takes dance class, but was never seen in a lesson. She is also a great artist. She often brags but makes up with her friends.

Alan "The Brain" Powers

Alan "The Brain" Powers is one of Arthur's friends and classmates and an original character of the Arthur books. He is 9 years old. He excels both academically and athletically (especially the former). He is mild-mannered and is shown to be the most polite character in the series, although in the earlier seasons he was shown to be very sinister if provoked. He works at his parents' ice cream parlor. His friends trust and come to Brain when they're in need of factual information, and even D.W. has been shown to have a bit of an admiration for him. He is of Senegalese descent[4] and celebrates Kwanzaa. Brain had a secret that he had "flunked" (wasn't emotionally ready for) Kindergarten, in Brain's Shocking Secret. He also suffered from hydrophobia for a while, as revealed in Water and the Brain. He is obsessed with overachieving academically, like in Sue Ellen and the Brainosaurus, MacFrensky, and Breezy Listening Blues. He likes to listen to blues records. He wears a cream-colored buttoned dress shirt with long sleeves under a gray wool sweater having only the folded down collar and the folded over cuffs showing and a pair of olive green pants. Brain is one of the few left-handed characters in the series. When the television series was developing, his last name was unofficially "Brain", but later changed officially to "Powers".

Shelley "Binky" Barnes

Shelley "Binky" Barnes is one of Arthur's friends and classmates. He is 9 years old. He was originally written as a bully, who secretly harbors sensitive and caring feelings. He enjoys studying the fine arts, including playing clarinet and performing ballet. He was the leader of a bully clique, known as the Tough Customers, which in later seasons takes on more noble endeavors. He is now portrayed as one of Arthur's best friends but still acts rashly at times. In the episode Binky Goes Nuts, it is discovered that he is allergic to peanuts. Recently, his family adopted his 1-year-old sister named Mei-Lin who was from China. Binky is an original character from the books. Binky is shown with an orange collared shirt, casual blue pants, and a light blue belt. It's also said that he flunked third grade and had to repeat it. It is revealed that his real name is Shelley on "What's in a Name". He was nicknamed Binky when he was a toddler because he always loved sucking his pacifier.

Sue Ellen Armstrong

Sue Ellen Armstrong is a recent transfer to Arthur's school. She is 8 years old. Her father is a diplomat, and so her family has lived in various spots around the world. She is interested in world culture, and is skilled in the martial arts. She practices Tae-Kwon-Do, and is not afraid of people much bigger than herself, including Binky. She plays the saxophone. She can whistle, and though she is an only child, keeps in touch with her brother-like friend on the other side of the world. She is shown as a tan cat with a cream vest and a teal dress with curly orange hair contained in two ponytails. She originally had a plain hairstyle before the book Arthur's TV Trouble and the cartoon show.

Fern Walters

Fern Walters is one of Arthur's classmates. She enjoys reading poetry and mystery novels (especially Sherlock Holmes). Fern's mother, Doria Walters, is constantly trying to get Fern to become more extroverted. Even Fern herself sometimes worries she is "too quiet". She is known for her realistic storytelling and being an amateur sleuth (once competing with Buster in "Binky Rules"). One of her favorite authors is Persimmony Glitchet, a parody of famous author Lemony Snicket. She plays the flute. She usually wears with a purple long sleeved blouse with yellow collars and cuffs, yellow pants, and a red ribbon in her hair. Although Fern had a shy personality early in the series, over the seasons she has grown more social and closer to Arthur and his classmates.

Prunella Deegan

Prunella Deegan is 9 years old and a grade above Arthur and his friends, and as a result is somewhat snobbish and condescending towards the younger kids. She brags about winning competitions from last grade and tends to bring it up to Arthur and his friends. She is interested in yoga, fortune telling, and paranormal phenomena. She loves Henry Skreever, the series' parody of Harry Potter. She wears a blue dress with a white collar and a purple bow in her hair.

The Tibble Twins

Timmy Tibble and Tommy Tibble are twin boys at D.W.'s age, 4, who routinely exasperate Arthur, D.W., and most everyone with their annoying and destructive antics. In an early episode in the first season, the characters at D.W.'s preschool were the mischievous Billy and Bobby. Tommy wears a red scarf and Timmy wears a blue scarf. Though they are rather reckless and mischievous, they are actually quite sweet and good-hearted. They repent for many of their mistakes and live with their kind, though a bit weary, grandmother. In the books, they were humans.

Emily

Emily is D.W.'s 5-year-old best friend and classmate. Unlike D.W, Emily is not bossy or rude, but instead, more polite and kind, although sometimes dishonest. She first met D.W. in a gymnastics class, and later became a regular character in the series. She is wealthy and perfectionistic. She often outshines D.W. in many activities, and D.W. often tries to outperform her with mixed results. She possibly has a French heritage because she is closely associated with French culture, and even has a French nanny. Emily was at first seen as a white rabbit with short blonde hair and a pink floral dress in the episode "DW All Wet". In the sixth season, her design changed to much longer hair, a blue floral dress, and a fuller chin. Emily is half rabbit and half monkey, and is the only trans-species character in the series so far.

George Lundgren

George Lundgren is one of Arthur's classmates. Like Fern, he is very shy and quiet yet really nice and rather talented. He is 8 years old. In the earlier seasons, he appeared mostly as a gag character, often being bullied by Binky. The audience finds out he has dyslexia in "The Boy With His Head in the Clouds". He's also well-known in his class as a ventriloquist, performing with his dummy, Wally. He is often isolated from his classmates because of his frequent nosebleeds, which grosses out everyone. He is of Swedish descent. His last name was formerly "Nordgren" until Season 11 and onwards which has now been changed to "Lundgren". Whenever George enters a competition, he wins first place or near first place (despite the fact that all he appears to do is hop on a pogo stick), a running gag in the series. George is shown as a brown moose with an orange shirt and khaki pants.

Jenna Morgan

Jenna Morgan is one of Arthur's classmates. She is 8 years old, plays badminton, helps coach soccer, received an Athlete of the Year award from Michelle Kwan, and is lactose intolerant. Jenna also suffers from nocturnal enuresis. In "Jenna's Bedtime Blues", she was afraid to go to Muffy's slumber party for fear of her embarrassing secret being discovered. Jenna is shown as a gray cat in a pink dress with yellow buttons and hot pink interior. Jenna hates being the center of attention.

Other recurring characters

Adil Akyuz

Adil Akyuz is Arthur's 8-year-old Turkish pen pal who was introduced in "Dear Adil". He and Arthur have a lot in common. Adil has an annoying younger sister, Aisheh, who loves the Turkish version of Mary Moo Cow (Arthur became very upset when Adil and Aisheh sent D.W. a Turkish Mary Moo Cow CD) and a best friend named Andhur (AHN-door) who has a personality like Buster. His father owns a grocery store. He returned in the Season 13 episode, "The Frensky Family Fiasco", where Francine contacts him on advice on family get-togethers, and he also appeared in the Season 14 episode "The Long Road Home".

Alberto Molina

Alberto Molina is the 13 year old teenage boy who is 10 years older than his sister Vicita and one of a family of four, Arthur's neighbors. He became a character during season six, following the departure of Mr. Sipple. Alberto and his family hail from Ecuador. He practices kendo in his spare time, and enjoys reading El Conejo Bionico, the Spanish version of Bionic Bunny. In a continuous storyline spanning throughout the entire Season 14, his soccer ball, lost by Francine, makes a prolonged journey around the world, and can be spotted as it appears in every episode.

Carl

Carl is a rabbit who George met in the Season 13 episode When Carl Met George. In this episode, when George attempts to make friends with him, Carl becomes terrified by George's dummy, Wally. Carl's mother consoles Carl, and then reveals to George that Carl has Aspergers syndrome, at which point George makes an effort to better understand Carl's condition and works towards establishing a friendship with him despite Carl's difficulties with social interaction. Carl shows an intense interest in trains, and is an exceptional artist.

Catherine Frensky

Catherine Frensky is Francine's older sister, 16 years old. She is outgoing, reads teen magazines, and frequently hogs the phone. She is envied by Francine, since Francine believes that her parents favor her older sister and Catherine is better than Francine at many activities, particularly acrobatics and horseback riding. Though she and Francine usually fight, she can occasionally be very sisterly and takes care of Francine.

Chip Crosswire

Chip Crosswire is Muffy's older brother who is a college student at Tallahassee Tech, a fictional school. He was first shown in Muffy's family portrait in the book Arthur Goes to Camp that was published in 1982, and his name was first subtly revealed on "Arthur's Perfect Christmas" (there were separate Christmas stockings for Chip and Muffy side by side in their fireplace), but was later directly mentioned in the episode "Phony Fern". His first appearance was in "Matchmaker, Match Breaker" when he comes home from college, where Muffy and Francine try to hook him up with Francine's sister Catherine.

Cora

Cora is Arthur, DW, and Kate's eight-year-old cousin and daughter of Jessica. She is extremely self-centered, spoiled, and arrogant. She was the flower girl at Lucy's wedding and, after being angered, shouts at Arthur making him lose the ring.

James MacDonald

James MacDonald is Molly's younger brother, 4 years old. He is in Ms. Morgan's class at daycare, and is often shy. He is sometimes annoyed by D.W. In one episode D.W. would bug him to kiss her. It is implied he has a crush on D.W., but this is never verified.

Kathryn "Kate" Read

Kathryn "Kate" Read is Arthur and D.W.'s baby sister, 1 year old. She's able to communicate with Pal and other animals but people who are older than she is dismiss it as "baby talk" gibberish, and Kate and the animals interpret grownups' talk likewise. She enjoys playing in her sandpit and shows remarkable intelligence for her age and limited knowledge, despite not being able to communicate with people older than herself.

Lydia Fox

Lydia Fox is a physically handicapped but highly intelligent fox girl who helps Brain get over his temporary confinement to a wheelchair in "The Wheel Deal." Through her tutoring, he learns how to play basketball using only one's arms, and almost wins a charity game of free-throws (though Lydia winds up taking over for the last few shots). Lydia Fox's character was created by a viewer of the show named Connor.

Marina Ditillo

Marina Ditillo is Prunella's best friend, in 4th grade at Mighty Mountain Elementary School. She is a rabbit, blind, and loves Henry Skreever, the show's version of Harry Potter. She and Prunella met when Prunella unwillingly received a Braille edition of the latest Henry Skreever and let Marina borrow it, and since then they have become inseparable. Marina is notably good at yoga and joined Prunella and her mother, Wanda, in their early-morning yoga routine.

Mei-Lin Barnes

Mei-Lin Barnes is Binky's baby sister and Baby Kate's best friend, 1 year old, who was adopted from China. In her debut (at the Chinese restaurant), she was talking to Baby Kate. She and her brother are very close to each other. She is apparently a bear.

Michael

Michael is Buster's faraway friend. Lives in New York. He is 18 years old. His brothers are 13 and 12 (Kirk and Casey).

Molly MacDonald

Molly MacDonald is close friends with Binky, 9 years old. She is a rabbit, former antagonist, a senior member of the Tough Customers, and the sister of James MacDonald. She is good at giving advice, but dislikes the fact that everybody comes to her for it. Molly has a maroon hair that completely covers her eyes (they can be briefly seen in several episodes), giving her a rebellious appearance. She has a younger brother named James who is in D.W.'s preschool class. She became friends with D.W. and Arthur eventually, but both sides have agreed to keep this secret from their friends.

Monique "Mo"

Monique "Mo" is Arthur's oldest cousin, whom Arthur remembers when she had been awful to him in the past reunions and tries to avoid her, until it is revealed that Mo isn't as bad as Arthur thought. She, like Arthur, plays the piano, and claims that Arthur is her favorite relative. Monique is a one-off character who only appears in "Arthur's Cousin Catastrophe".

Nadine

Nadine is D.W.'s imaginary friend. She portrays D.W.'s conscience, and usually appears when D.W. feels guilty, scared, or angry. She is 5 years old. Both girls are aware that Nadine is imaginary, since only D.W. sees her. One episode shows D.W. with her when she's much older, while another shows that D.W. does not need Nadine as much as she used to. She has long platinum blonde hair styled exotically in three pigtails and small buck teeth. She can create imaginary items and they can appear/disappear with magic.

Rattles Ciccone

Rattles Ciccone is another member of the Tough Customers, and is one of the antagonists. He is 10 years old, Rattles has been a Tough Customer member since the first season of the program. He wears a backwards baseball hat, black leather jacket, green T-shirt, blue jeans and high tops. He speaks with a Northern New Jersey accent. It was revealed in "Arthur Unraveled" that he has an affinity for knitting.

Rubella Deegan

Rubella Deegan is Prunella's older teenage sister. She is very spiritual and obsessed with psychic and paranormal phenomena. She is typically depicted as mystical, and she often talks in a very dramatic tone. She often chides in on Prunella.

Sally

Sally is Arthur's babysitter in "Crushed." Sally is 16 years old. Arthur had a crush on Sally but became jealous after finding out that she had a boyfriend.

Vicita Molina

Vicita Molina is Arthur's new neighbor, 3 7/8 years old. Younger sister of Alberto Molina who moved in after Mr. Sipple moved out, introduced in sixth season. She often plays with D.W. and the Tibbles. Her family is from Ecuador.

Adults

Other Guest stars

Animals and pets

One-Time Characters

References