List of Arthur characters

This is a list of characters that are featured in the PBS Kids 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 D.W., Buster, Francine, Muffy, Binky, 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, Muffy, Binky, and the Brain. Minor supporting characters such as Sue Ellen, George, and Fern have also had expanded roles in the series.

Like The Simpsons and many other cartoon series, characters in the Arthur series do not age in order to maintain the status quo, although their universe does age in parallel to the real world. Ages presented in this article are their ages in most of the episodes. Their ages do change occasionally and temporarily like in flashback scenes, future scenes, and birthday parties.

Kids

Arthur Read

Arthur Timothy Read is an aardvark^[1] and the protagonist in the series. He is a third grade student at Lakewood Elementary in Elwood City. He is eight years old and has two younger sisters, D.W. and Kate, as well as a dog named Pal. He plays the piano. He wears a yellow cotton sweater, white dress shirt, blue jeans, and signature round brown glasses.

D.W. Read

Dora Winifred Read, usually known as D.W., is a middle child of the Read family and usually wears a white long-sleeved blouse and a pink sleeveless knee-length dress. She attends preschool and enjoys watching Mary Moo Cow and listening to Crazy Bus much to Arthur's annoyance. D.W.'s other interests include science & music, and had created a percussion instrument out of common household objects. Many of the series' episodes revolve around tensions between D. W. and her brother. Others are about her preschool friends. She has a counterpart named "W.D.".

Buster Baxter

Buster Baxter (voiced by Daniel Brochu) is Arthur's best friend. He is generally happy and creative, with a good sense of humor. He is a white rabbit who wears a turquoise long-sleeve shirt and dark jeans. He suffers from asthma. He is also obsessed with aliens. He is interested in comedy, action figures, and is an amateur private investigator. He loves eating, studies food ingredients, and keeps expired food in his room and school desk. He has no siblings and his parents got a divorce when Buster was younger. His father travels the world from working as a pilot, and as a result they were given a spin-off series, Postcards from Buster.

Francine Frensky

Francine Alice Frensky (voiced by Jodie Resther) is a monkey. She has shoulder length brown hair, clipped back with two barrettes, blue jeans, and maroon sweater. Francine is athletic, sings, and plays the drums. Her best friend is Muffy, who shares her middle name.

Alan "The Brain" Powers

Alan Powers, usually known by his nickname "The Brain", is a bear of Senegalese descent^[2] and celebrates Kwanzaa. He usually wears a grey sweater. He is multi-talented, excelling both academically and athletically. He also assists his mother in a large ice cream parlor. He is obsessed with overachieving academically and fears that he will fail assignments. This is due to him repeating Kindergarten due to being "emotionally unready".

Muffy Crosswire

Mary Alice Crosswire, known better by her nickname Muffy, (Melissa Altro) is a monkey who usually wears a purple & white dress. She is the daughter of a wealthy entrepreneur, and has an older brother named Chip.

Binky Barnes

Shelley "Binky" Barnes (Bruce Dinsmore) is a yellow bulldog usually wearing an orange shirt, blue jeans, and brown shoes. He is in third grade for the second time. He is a member of the Tough Customers with a soft side. He plays the clarinet, spots butterflies, and enjoys Ballet. It is revealed that he has a severe allergy to peanuts. Binky has an adopted baby sister named Mei-Lin. In the episode "What's in a Name?", Binky discovers that his real name is Shelley and that he is named after his great-grandfather who saved a circus.

Kate Read

Kate Read is Arthur and D.W.'s baby sister. Although she can't talk to older people yet, she's able to communicate with Pal and Mei-Lin Barnes. She has started to become more mature, and is starting to lose communication with Pal and some of her friends, but is also starting to understand Arthur, D.W., and Mr. and Mrs. Read's speech more and more.

Sue Ellen Armstrong

Sue Ellen Armstrong is a third-grader cat at Arthur's school, Lakewood Elementary. She officially moved to Elwood City in the winter of her third grade school year (but has appeared in Mr. Marco's second grade class). Her father is a diplomat, so her family has lived in various spots around the world. Unlike Tommy, Timmy, and Emily, she traveled with her parents. She is very close to nature, and became a vegetarian later in the series. She also has a deep interest in World culture, and is skilled in the martial arts. She practices Taekwondo, and plays the saxophone. Sue Ellen was born as an only child, and keeps in touch with her brother-like pen pal in Tibet. She is depicted with a cream vest, a teal dress, and now has curly orange hair contained in two ponytails. She was originally designed with another hair style in the Arthur Adventure books prior to Arthur's TV Trouble.

George Lundgren

George Lundgren (formerly George Nordgren before season 11) is a moose of Norwegian descent wearing an orange shirt with khaki pants. It is revealed in season 6 that he has dyslexia, which explains why he is seen daydreaming in "Arthur's Substitute Teacher Trouble". He is also feared because of his nosebleeds and his clumsiness. Despite this, he is capable of building items such as marionettes as well as winning talent contests by bouncing on a pogo stick.

Fern Walters

Fern Walters (voiced by Holly G. Frankel) is one of Arthur's dog classmates. She enjoys reading poetry and novels (especially Sherlock Holmes and Frankenstein's Monster). She has written many poems and stories of her own, most notably the Detective Virgule Watteau (a parody of Poirot). She is knowledgeable about computers, holds group poetry readings at the library, and is an amateur detective. Fern is usually a very shy and nervous person. 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 usually wears a purple long-sleeved blouse with yellow collars and cuffs, yellow pants, and a red ribbon on her head.

Prunella Deegan

Prunella Deegan (Tamar Kozlov) is a cream poodle^[3] who is in the fourth grade. She is interested in yoga, fortune telling, and paranormal phenomena. She loves Henry Skreever and has studied Braille. 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 bear brothers at D.W.'s age (four, with Tommy being two minutes elder) who routinely exasperate Arthur, D.W., and mostly everyone with their destructive antics. They are similar to Billy and Bobby. Tommy wears a red scarf and Timmy wears a blue scarf. They stay with their grandmother. Their unseen parents work overseas and travel the world giving them souvenirs and gifts.

Emily

Emily (Sally Taylor-Isherwood) is D.W.'s best friend. She is a white rabbit with blond hair, wearing a pink dress before season 6, and a blue dress since season 6. She is an expert in gymnastics and is knowledgeable in French culture. Her parents travel around the world similar to Tommy and Timmy's parents. She stays at home with her French nanny, Marie Hélène.

Jenna Morgan

Jenna Morgan (Brigid Tierney) is one of Arthur's classmates. She is lactose intolerant, plays badminton, helps coach soccer, and received an Athlete of the Year award from Michelle Kwan. Jenna hates being the center of attention and dreaded an invitation to Muffy's slumber party because she feared kids discovering that she suffered from Nocturnal enuresis. Jenna wears a pink dress with yellow buttons.

Other child characters

Adil Akyuz

Adil Akyuz is Arthur's Turkish pen pal who was introduced in "Dear Adil". He and Arthur have a lot in common. He is a dark brown bear. Adil has an younger sister, Ayse, who loves the Turkish version of Mary Moo Cow (Arthur became very upset when Adil and Ayse sent D.W. a Turkish Mary Moo Cow CD) and a best friend named Onder (pronounced 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".

Nadine Flumberghast

Nadine Flumberghast (Hayley Reynolds) is D.W.'s imaginary friend. She portrays D.W.'s conscience, and usually appears when D.W. feels guilty, scared, or angry. Both D.W. and Nadine are aware that Nadine is imaginary. However, Kate, Mei-Lin, animals, and other characters' imaginary friends can see and communicate with 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 is a brownish-yellow squirrel. She has long platinum white blonde hair styled exotically in three pigtails and small buck teeth. She can create imaginary items and they can appear/disappear with magic. Her last name was revealed to be "Flumberghast" in the episode, "Read and Flumberghast".

Alberto Molina

Alberto Molina is a teenage boy who is one of a family of four, who are Arthur's neighbors. He is a dark brown cat. 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.

Catherine Frensky

Catherine Frensky is Francine's sister. Catherine is outgoing and skilled at horseback riding. She occasionally babysits for the Reads. She is embarrassed to tell people her father is a garbage man and likes to read teen magazines. She usually wears a white sleeved jean jacket with a white undershirt with black leggings, red socks, black and white shoes, and always wears her hair in a pony-tail.

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". He wears a blue v-neck college sweater and a white turtleneck underneath. His first appearance was in "Matchmaker, Matchbreaker" when he comes home from college, where Muffy and Francine introduce him to Francine's sister Catherine.

Cheikh

Cheikh is Brain's cousin from Senegal who moves to Elwood City in the episode "In My Africa" and begins attending D.W.'s preschool. He is around the same age as D.W.

James MacDonald

James MacDonald is a white rabbit that wears glasses. He is in Ms. Morgan's class at preschool. He has an older sister named Molly, which he imitated her bullying others.

Lydia Gordon

Lydia Gordon (originally Lydia Fox in Connor's entry) is a physically disabled and 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 arm, and almost wins a charity game of free-throws (though Lydia winds up taking over for the last few shots). Lydia Gordon's character was created by a viewer of the show named Connor, the winner of a contest.

Marina Datillo

Marina Datillo (Voiced by Helena Evangeliou) is Prunella's best friend, in 4th grade at Mighty Mountain Elementary School. She is a white rabbit. A fan of Henry Skreever, she and Prunella met when Prunella unwillingly received a Braille edition of the latest release and let Marina borrow it, and since then they have become inseparable. Marina is notably good at yoga, soccer, and gymnastics.

Mei-Lin Barnes

Mei-Lin Barnes is Binky's baby sister and Baby Kate's best friend, who was adopted from China.

Molly MacDonald

Molly MacDonald (Maggie Castle) is close friends with Binky. She is a white rabbit, one of the antagonists, and a senior member of the Tough Customers due to being bullied at preschool. She became a bully herself which she later avoided after she discovered she was imitated by her younger brother James. She is good at giving advice, but dislikes the fact that everybody comes to her for it. She became friends with Arthur & D.W. and is an effective baby sitter for the Tibble Twins. Molly has maroon hair that almost always covers her eyes and she often wears sleeveless shirts.

Rattles

Rattles (Scott Beaudin) is another member of the Tough Customers, and is one of the antagonists. Rattles has been a Tough Customer member since the first season. He is a grey dog. 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 (Eramelinda Boquer) is Prunella's older teenage sister. She is very spiritual and practices 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 MacGill

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

Vicita Molina

Vicita Molina (Alyson Wener) is Arthur's new neighbor. 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.

Slink

Slink (Michael Yarmush) is a 4th grader. He is part of the tough costumers. In his first episode in 1997, he convinced Arthur and Buster to be cool by doing bad things.

Ladonna Compson

Ladonna Mackenzie Compson (Krystal Meadows) is Bud's sister who first appeared in season 16, in the two-part episode entitled "Based on a True Story". She is a new student at Lakewood Elementary. According to a recently released PBS online video, Ladonna is a rabbit with brownish tan complexion who speaks with a dominant southern accent, and is native to Louisiana. She is the first character of the series animated by 9 Story Media Group.

Bud Compson

Bud Tucker Compson (Julie Lemieux) is Ladonna's younger brother, who also first appeared in "Based on a True Story". He usually wears black rain boots, blue jeans, lime T-shirt, blue vest, and red hat. He has an imaginary friend named Rapty, who everyone else sees as his beloved stuffed T-Rex. Bud is assertive, tough, and not afraid of the Tibble Twins. He attends the same preschool as D.W.

Cousin Cora

Cousin Cora: Arthur and D.W.'s cousin who appears in "D.W. Thinks Big". She acts like a brat when she's alone with D.W. but acts like a nice girl when adults are around. Her bratty nature is later exposed at a wedding.

Cousin 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. So far, Monique is a one-off character who only appears in "Arthur's Cousin Catastrophe". However, she did make a brief cameo appearance in the episode "Director's Cut" where she hands the director his pen at the beginning of the episode.

Adults

Arthur's Family

• David L. Read (Bruce Dinsmore) is Arthur, D.W. and baby Kate's father. Mr. Read runs a catering business from home and is frequently shown garnishing trays of hors d'œuvre either in the family kitchen or in a custom-designed workshop behind the garage. He delivers his food in a yellow Volkswagen Van. Many of his recipes are questionable at first glance, and Arthur and D.W. often refuse to eat them, but at times they genuinely appreciate his cooking. He is shown in a white sweater with blue accents and khaki pants, and sometimes has an apron and chef's hat on. In the books, he generally wears different clothes.
• Jane Read (Sonja Ball) is Arthur, D.W., and Kate's mother. She has two younger sisters, Jessica and Lucy, and an older brother, Fred. Her father is Grandpa Dave. Mrs. Read is a work-at-home tax accountant. She has shaggy brown hair and wears a pink sweater with a white collared shirt and blue jeans. In the books, she generally wears different clothes. She is also from the Pittsburgh area, and knew Fred Rogers as a child.
• Grandma Thora Read (Joanna Noyes) Grandma Thora is Arthur, D.W., and baby Kate's paternal grandmother and Loretta and David's mother. She is a columnist. In a flashback in Clarissa is Cracked, Thora had three brothers. Gramdma Thora is David Read's mother. It is revealed in "April 9th" that she had gotten in a car accident (but was not hurt) when David was Arthur's age. Grandma Thora is based on Marc Brown's own grandmother Thora, who encouraged him by saving his childhood drawings in a bottom drawer.
• Grandpa Dave (A.J. Henderson): an aardvark. Grandpa Dave is Arthur, D.W. and baby Kate's maternal grandfather and the father of Fred, Jane, Jessica, and Lucy. He lives on the family farm in the country, which has been in the family for over 150 years. In "Grandpa Dave's Memory Album", he is revealed to be in the early stages of Alzheimer's Disease.
• Thora's mother: She is also David Read's maternal grandmother and Arthur, D.W., and baby Kate's paternal great-grandmother. She is seen as young woman in "Clarissa is Cracked" and as an elderly grandmother in "Arthur's Cousin Catastrophe", where she wins the egg and spoon race.
• Jessica: The older of Jane's two younger sisters, the middle of Dave's three daughters. She is married to a man named Richard and has a daughter named Cora. She appears once in the episode "D.W. Thinks Big" for her sister Lucy's wedding. She also spoils her daughter Cora and takes her side even when she's wrong.
• Loretta: Arthur, D.W., and Kate's paternal aunt, David's sister. She is somewhat overbearing and excessively uses the word "dear" when speaking to Arthur's mother during her only appearance in "Arthur's Cousin Catastrophe".
• Lucy: The youngest of Jane, Fred, and Jessica's sisters, and Dave's youngest daughter. She appears in the episode "D.W. Thinks Big", where she is married, and D.W. saves her wedding ring. She is an aardvark with blonde hair. In the episodes "Go to Your Room, D.W.", "D.W.'s Perfect Wish", "D.W. Unties the Knot", and "Grandpa Dave's Memory Album", Arthur and D.W. mistakenly refer to Lucy as their cousin instead of their aunt.
• Fred: Arthur, D.W., and Kate's maternal uncle and Jane, Jessica, and Lucy's brother. He makes his first appearance in "Arthur's Perfect Christmas" when he crashes his truck into the Read's fence. He is known throughout the family to be very clumsy showing this by accidentally breaking Kate's new rattle and recalling the last Christmas when he broke Dave's gift for Jane. He shows his helpful side when he puts Arthur's gift tag on his own present to Jane when Arthur accidentally broke his. Fred has a Golden Retriever named Rory who is clumsy like he.

A through M

• Mr. Armstrong: Sue Ellen's father, a retired diplomat. His job has forced him to move all across the world. However, he and his family enjoy the travel opportunities that come with it.
• Mrs. Armstrong: Sue Ellen's mother; She is a homemaker with a penchant for exotic clothes.
• Bailey: Bailey is Muffy's chauffeur and sometimes the Crosswire Family's butler. He also has a notable talent in creating kinetic art, and follows Muffy's orders without question, to the extent of narrating a TV show during a power overload by using the limo's TV and phone. Another example is when he is ordered to drive the limo in quite dangerous fashion and whenever he has to carry several bags of luggage. The harshest instruction he has received is to tow Muffy while on a bicycle. In the episode "The Butler Did What?" It is reviled that he played the trumpet, he went to the same elementary school as Mr. Ratburn, where the two played in the school band, and that he is a fan of Jazz. He was originally called James. The name Bailey is based on the Arthur show director Greg Bailey. He is a gray bloodhound in a dark gray suit.
• Becky: She is an aardvark and is a Meadowcroak camp counselor. Bears an identical resemblance to a librarian who works for Ms. Turner.
• Ed Billings: Neighbor of Grandpa Dave's. He always offers to help Dave around his aging farm, but Dave was too proud to accept it until his grandchildren showed him the value of accepting help from others to which Dave asks Ed what he knows about tractor engines.
• Bubby: (Joan Rivers) Francine and Catherine's maternal grandmother who was first seen in the background during Arthur's Perfect Christmas. In the Season 12 episode, "Is that Kosher?", she was finally recognized as an official character. She returns in "Grandpa Dave's Memory Album".
• Mr. Barnes: Binky's father. He is revealed to work in a copy shop in the game Arthur's 2nd Grade.
• Mrs. Barnes: Binky's mother, a nurse. She is very protective over her son, as seen especially in the episode "Binky Goes Nuts".
• Bitzi Lynn Baxter: Buster's mom, who is divorced. She is the editor-in-chief of the Elwood City Times. She's over-protective of Buster and a frantic character, but has settled down a bit in later seasons. (In the early Arthur books, she had blonde hair, although the later books and TV show depicted her with auburn hair.)
• Bo Baxter: Buster's father, who is divorced. He is a pilot. Buster flies with him around the United States in the spin-off Postcards from Buster series. In Postcards from Buster, he is shown with short brown hair and glasses. However, his physical appearance has changed several times, and early appearances was partially concealed by various methods, such as reading a newspaper, Buster covering his eyes while on his shoulders, or Bo meeting him dressed as Santa Claus.
• Buster's Grandmother: Buster's maternal grandmother. Seen briefly in "Arthur Cleans Up", "Buster Makes the Grade", and the Postcards from Buster episode "Among the Hmong".
• Miss Blank: A past substitute teacher of Mr. Ratburn's class. She was the class' favorite substitute teacher because she never showed up and the class had to be taught by Miss Sweetwater, who let them do coloring and gave them snacks.^[4]
• Coach Bumpus: A Lakewood Elementary School Gym Coach who was mainly seen in earlier episodes. He is a rabbit. He often argues with Coach Grimsled over petty things like the last line of The Itsy Bitsy Spider.
• Mrs. Bofini: A past substitute teacher of Mr Ratburn's class. The class disliked her because she had the habit of chewing with her mouth open in front of the class.
• Ms. Bryan: The Lakewood Elementary School Art teacher.
• Mrs. Cardigan: Arthur's former piano teacher who eventually retired, and suggested him to take lessons from Dr. Fugue later on. She, like Miss Sweetwater and Mrs. Fink, offered each student cookies for having a wonderful lesson.
• Edward Edzel "Ed" Crosswire (A.J. Henderson): A very wealthy man who is Muffy and Chip's father, and the owner of a large car dealership called "Crosswire Motors". It was revealed that he never attended college; rather he received an honorary degree from Ivy University after his donation of a library. He is also the current coach of Lakewood's soccer team. He was first shown in Muffy's family portrait in the book Arthur Goes to Camp that was published in 1982 and wasn't shown again until the first season of the cartoon show, where his appearance changed drastically.
• Millicent Crosswire: Muffy and Chip's aristocratic mother. She also enjoys going to operas, as well as attending and hosting fancy parties. She was first shown in Muffy's family portrait in the book Arthur Goes to Camp that was published in 1982 and wasn't shown again until the first season of the cartoon show, where her appearance changed drastically.
• Cisely Compson: Ladonna and Bud's mother. According to Ladonna, she played in a band until she was 25, but got so broke she had to sell her trumpet, but then a soldier (who would one day be her husband) bought it back for her. She made Ladonna wear the snow hat her Aunt Bo gave her in "Based on a True Story."
• Mrs. Datillo: Marina's sighted mother. She was first seen in her daughter's second appearance in the Season 7 episode Prunella Sees the Light.
• Wanda Deegan: Rubella and Prunella's mother. She enjoys yoga.
• Ms. Featherfoffer: A journalist that once baby-sat for Arthur. She was among the meanest of his baby-sitters, who told him it was bedtime during the day. She looks similar to Ms. Tremello.
• Flossie: A hairdresser who owns and runs the Salon de Beauté, where Muffy gets her hair done. She also did Francine's hair in "Francine's Bad Hair Day".
• Mr. Elkin: A past substitute teacher of Mr. Ratburn's class. He was troublesome because his large antlers would knock students out of their seats.
• Emily's mother: Emily's mother, who looks very different from her daughter. She makes many brief appearances, and in "Emily Swallows a Horse", she is seen in a gown, adorning herself which shows that she enjoys formal events. She is also seen in "The Good, the Bad, and the Binky".
• Emily's father: Emily's father who is only seen during "Emily Swallows a Horse." and "The Good, the Bad, and the Binky". In the former episode, he is in bed, and his head is turned away, hiding his face. In the other episode he is seen as a brown monkey in a tuxedo. Emily is seen with Marie-Helene more than her parents which shows that they do not have much time for her. In a later episode, it is revealed that unlike his daughter and wife who are rabbits, he is a monkey.
• Mrs. Fink: One of the third grade teachers at Lakewood Elementary School. She is a teacher like Miss Sweetwater that does fun things with her class in contrast to Mr. Ratburn's hard work.
• Nurse Flynn: Works at Lakewood Elementary.
• Oliver Frensky: Catherine and Francine's dad, who works as a sanitation engineer for the local city dump. He states he was formerly a volunteer firefighter. He coaches the Lakewood baseball team. He is very good-humored and is at times very childlike.
• Laverne Frensky: Catherine and Francine's mother.
• Grandpa Frensky: Oliver Frensky's father and Catherine and Francine's grandfather that owned an unnamed "hamburger castle" with unique hamburgers that is still open in the Background Blues episode. It is the show's version of White Castle. He also mentions Vingo Frensky, a barber for Abraham Lincoln in the show.
• Dr. Frederique Fugue: Arthur's current piano teacher, after Mrs. Cardigan retired. He later filled in for Ms. Krasny to take Mr. Ratburn's class to Crown City for a singing chorus field trip. He was a chorister as a child and later sung with Whiffenpoofs, implying he attended Yale University. He is an extremely strict teacher and "fires" many of his students. However, he shows a softer side during the Crown City trip, openly encouraging his students to have fun with their singing. He also has a pet cat named Für Elise.
• Ghost of Presents Past: A ghost that appears as Polly Locket. She is extremely stern and will make sure that the people she visits see the error of their ways.
• Ghost of Lunch Tomorrow: A ghost that appears as Binky Barnes wearing a black robe. He can tell anybody what they are about to eat.
• Coach Grimsled: A gym coach at Lakewood. She has various debates with Coach Bumpus. She is multi-talented, similar to Mr. Ratburn. She is also similar in appearance to a hairdresser that works at Flossie's salon.
• Mrs. Gutter: One of Arthur's past babysitters. Arthur disliked her because she would play golf in the house.
• Harry Mills: Works at Bitzi's newspaper as a sports writer. Bitzi started dating him for a couple of seasons, but then broke off because she wanted more time to pursue other interests. Despite the break-up, he remained good friends with Buster and his mother as if nothing had happened.
• Francis Haney: (Herbert Haney before season 11) Mr. Haney is the lovable yet absentminded principal of Arthur's school. Like George, he suffers from dyslexia. He also seems to have bad luck: something goes wrong almost everywhere he goes. A running gag in the show is a random item falling on his head, usually unintentionally caused by another character, such as Francine throwing a baseball way off course in "Arthur Makes the Team" and Loretta flipping the burgers too high in "Arthur's Cousin Catastrophe". In addition, whenever he uses the PA system or a microphone, the system suffers from feedback. The kids also often call him "sir" instead of Mr. Haney, as if he were a stranger, despite the fact that he is their principal. In addition to being principal, he is the MC of most of the community events. His name has been changed to Francis Haney since "Arthur's Number Nightmare", and as of season 16 the color of both his complexion and his outfit has changed relatively significantly.
• Mr. Higgins: An Elwood City mail carrier.
• Dr. Iris: She was the eye doctor who suggested that Arthur needed glasses in the first episode "Arthur's Eyes". (In the original Arthur book "Arthur's Eyes", Dr. Iris is a fox, unlike the cartoon, where she is a cat.)
• Ms. Krasny: The Lakewood Elementary School Music teacher. Her last name is named after Marc Brown's wife's middle name.
• Fritz Langley: Caretaker of the Elwood City Community Garden who sometimes suffers from arthritis in his hands while working. He eventually moves to the retirement community.
• Neal Lundgren: The father of George Lundgren who is a carpenter running his own private wood repair shop in his garage and also teaches a shop class that his son sometimes attends.
• Mrs. Lundgren: George's mother who is seen much less than her husband; in fact she was only seen and heard in the episode "Kids are from Earth, Parents are from Pluto" and a brief appearance in the episode "April 9th" Her name and job are still unknown.
• Leah MacGrady: (Sara MacGrady before season 13) Mrs. MacGrady is in charge of the cafeteria at Lakewood Elementary school. She is full of unconventional wisdom, and is Grandma Thora's bingo buddy. She commonly wears a pink shirt and white pants. She, like Prunella, enjoys fortune telling. In "The Great MacGrady", Mrs. MacGrady was diagnosed with cancer. She has since continued to work at Lakewood so supposedly she is recovering from cancer. In the same episode, her name was changed to Leah MacGrady (this is a tribute to Leah Ryan, a writer with cancer who co-wrote the episode. Ryan died shortly before finishing the script). She loses hair from chemotherapy, which grows back by "Prunella and the Haunted Locker".
• Mr. Marco: Arthur's second grade teacher. He is often seen during the series, but Arthur was only in his class through flashbacks. He was a moose in the books, but in the show he is an aardvark just like Arthur. He is slightly stern, and has zero tolerance for cheating and is friends with Mr. Ratburn.
• Marie-Helene: Emily's French nanny, who takes care of Emily more than her parents and is apparently teaching her some French words.
• Ramon Molina: Arthur's new Ecuadorian neighbor, who moves in Mr. Sipple's old house with his family. He is revealed to own and run an Ecuadorian cuisine restaurant.
• Mrs. Molina (voiced by Dawn Ford): Wife of Ramon Molina, and mother of Vicita and Alberto. In "Dancing Fools", she taught a children's dance class.
• Carl Manino: The longtime owner of the Sugar Bowl.
• Mr. Morgan Jenna's father who was seen and heard from in the episode "Jenna's Bedtime Blues"
• Mrs. Morgan: Jenna's mother who very briefly appears in "Francine's New Best Friend" and “Elwood City Turns 100", she helped to make the costumes for the play using her sewing machine; it appears that she has a talent in sewing.
• Ms. Morgan: D.W.'s preschool teacher, and a gymnastics instructor. She is a bear, in which she is not related to Jenna's family who are all cats.
• John Morris: a Lakewood Elementary School Janitor who moved to Roswell, New Mexico to live with his daughter after breaking his leg during the Lakewood Fire on "April 9th" and is seen in the Postcards from Buster episode "Alien Adventure" when Buster visited New Mexico. Although he moved, he was seen in the background on several episodes post "April 9th".

N through Z

• Mrs. Pariso: Francine's next door neighbor, who is very good at horseback riding and also won prizes at Wimbledon. She appeared in the episode "Francine Goes to War" and an episode of Postcards From Buster. She banged on Francine's wall when she first moved into their apartment building, which made Francine think she was a spirit who scares others to death, starting a brief rivalry; luckily, the two became good friends in the end when they both discover they like soda and horseback riding. Francine later explained that the reason Mrs. Pariso was mean was because she was lonely. She kind of ignored Francine and Prunella when they disturbed her. When Buster called her a witch, she didn't seem to mind it (unlike Francine) and told a story about how she had met a warlock once.
• Signore Pelato: A clown barber who owns and runs the Signore Pelato Barber Shop in "D.W., Queen of the Comeback". In the same episode, he cuts D.W.'s hair too short, causing the Tibble Twins to nickname her "Dennis".
• Mr. Powers: Brain's father, who appears to have average intelligence compared to The Brain. Not much is known about him, he merely works as a silent partner at an ice cream shop and maintains its website.
• Mrs. Powers: Brain's mother, who owns and runs the ice cream shop. She experiments with her ice cream flavors similar to Dave Read's cooking. She was originally shown with a brown complexion and brown hair but she is now seen with a light complexion and blonde cream-colored hair.
• Mr. Pryce-Jones is an extremely strict teacher at Glenbrook Academy, where knowledge (and classwork) is unlimited. He is Mr. Ratburn's favorite teacher. Mr. Pryce-Jones is "irreplaceable" as he hadn't retired by the time Arthur and his classmates attended the Medieval Fair; Pryce-Jones was teaching a class of seemingly unbeatable rival students. Mr. Haney was impressed by Glenbrook's performance and hired Pryce-Jones to be a tutor for his niece and nephew.
• Nigel Charles Ratburn: (Arthur Holden) (Emil Ratburn in early seasons) Mr. Ratburn is Arthur's third grade teacher. He attended Glenbrook where his passion for learning and teaching was guided by his teacher, Mr. Pryce-Jones. Various running gags involving Mr. Ratburn are of his strictness (implied by Arthur that he literally gives out hundreds of math problems for his students to do), his attempts to use a computer or gadget, and his love for food and dessert. He is a fan of David Read's cooking and has invited himself to several catering events. His talents are vast, including skills of a magician, carpenter, and a puppeteer. In "Clarissa is Cracked", he mends Thora's broken doll. He is also knowledgeable about Japanese lutes, like the Biwa. He usually drives a small red convertible but also owns a minivan and canoe. He is a fanatic of the show "Spooky-Poo!", the show's parody of Scooby-Doo!. His character is based on one of Marc Brown's elementary school teachers. Although everyone calls him Mr. Ratburn, his first name is Nigel.
• Rodentia Ratburn: Mr. Ratburn's sister, who once filled in for Mr. Ratburn for a day when he had a sore throat. Her teaching methods are notably similar to those of Miss Sweetwater and Mrs. Fink. The students initially liked the simplicity of her methods, but they proved way too childish for their age and were actually happy to have Mr. Ratburn back. In the later episode "Desk Wars", it would seem that she gave birth to a child, as Mr. Ratburn left for a phone call in which she told him he was an uncle.
• Mrs. Robertson: The Lakewood Elementary School Kindergarten teacher who is now retired. Her retirement diorama risked exposing Brain's secret.
• Mr. Sanders: The building superintendent who works for the apartment building where the Frensky family lives.
• Susy Sipple: (Mark Camacho) Arthur's next-door neighbor from Seasons 1-6, who enjoys grilling fish late at night and comes from a place where making faces on a bike means "bring me a cabbage". When he first appears, he is mowing his lawn and almost killed Toady Wartface. His name is revealed when D.W. learns to ride a bicycle. He moves out of the neighborhood in Season 6, and the Molinas move into his home.
• Dr. Sozio: A dentist that the Read family goes to. A gag is parents forbidding children to put their hands in his "mouth" (a plastic model displaying teeth). He is a bear and wears glasses.
• Miss Sweetwater: She is also a third grade teacher for Lakewood Elementary School class. She does fun things with her students like singing songs (especially "I Like Fudge") on her guitar. In the early Arthur books, she was depicted as a cat, but the cartoon and later books depicted her as a rabbit.
• Mrs. Terracini: A grandmother to one of the children in D.W.'s Class. She is very old and can neither see nor remember names very well, as she called the "Tibble Twins" the "Toggle Twins".
• Mrs. Tibble: The grandmother of Tommy and Timmy Tibble. (In early Arthur books, Mrs. Tibble is a human, however many newer books and the show have her as a bear.) She lives with the twins and has gray hair tied in a high bun.
• Miss Tingley: Principal Haney's secretary. One time she was afraid of Miss Sweetwater's singing and Mr. Haney's sawing-in-half magic trick. She is an excellent public speaker compared to Mr. Haney, and she has had to rephrase and conclude his long, confusing speeches.
• Mrs. Tremello: A past substitute teacher of Mr. Ratburn's class. She was disliked by the class because she mumbled everything she said. She is similar in appearance to Ms. Featherfoffer.
• Paige Turner: (Katie Hutchinson) Paige is Ms. Turner's first name, pun is intended as she is in charge of the Elwood City Library. She is friendly, polite, and calm to her partrons and associates. A running gag is a widespread fear of her by the patrons due to their worries of failure and responsibility. Her hair color has changed from dark brown to light brown. She wears glasses and also has numerous watches. She is similar to Mr. Ratburn because she is an authority figure to the children. Unlike Mr. Ratburn, not much is known about her and any advice she gives is related to books. She is a rabbit. The very first scene with Ms. Turner (handing books to Mr. Ratburn) depicted her with brown complexion as well as dark brown hair, and even uniform-style clothing.
• Mr. Walters: The father of Fern who is seen much less than his wife but was finally first seen in the episode "Phony Fern", plus in the episode Fernlets by Fern. He is a brown dog in a blue jacket. He taught Fern about computers.
• Doria Walters: Fern's mother. She works for a real estate company. Her hair is noticeably a different style than Fern's, which hide Doria's ears. She has an outgoing personality and is very confident and encouraging to her daughter, Fern (who would prefer it if she wasn't).
• Mrs. Wood: Perky's owner. Her grouchy dog, Perky (aka Jaws), is Pal's mother.

TV Stars and Merchandise

• Andy and Company. Based on the Arthur show.
• BINKY. A "fake" band, only shown as holograms. Inspired by Milli Vanilli. Performed by Värttinä.
• Bionic Bunny. portrayed by Wilbur Rabbit (Arthur Holden), Bionic Bunny is similar to Captain America and Superman. He is nicknamed "Bubonic Bunny" by D.W.
• Capri DiVapida: A not-so-bright celebrity that tends to set fashion trends. She once ate dog biscuits and thinks that yellow is a flavour. She carries around a non-anthropomorphic pet chihuahua named Pixel and says that she gets inspiration for fashion trends from him, such as nose cones.
• Carpetmice. Similar to Rugrats.
• Chickin Lickin'. Similar to Kentucky Fried Chicken with a celebrity Beauregard Poulet based on Colonel Sanders.
• Crazy Bus. A nonsensical song similar to Lamb Chop's Play-Along's end theme music. Numerous merchandise occurred and had a fanbase of all ages. Later, the entire Crazy Bus franchise was written out of the show due to its writer/performer leaving the production crew.
• Dark Bunny. Similar to Batman, especially Batman: The Animated Series. The Dark Bunny Show suffers time slot changes. One time it moved from after school to Saturday mornings, another time it was cancelled entirely.
• Henry Skreever. Similar to Harry Potter.
• Hoprah Linseed. Similar to Oprah Winfrey.
• James Hound. Similar to James Bond.
• Loki Benediktssen. Similar to Percy Jackson.
• Love Ducks. A psychedelic series similar to Teletubbies.
• The Magic Tool Box. Similar to The Magic School Bus, with interstitials similar to the Arthur show itself. This segment was parodied as "And Now Let's Talk To Some Kids!"
• Mary Moo Cow. Portrayed by Patty Jones, news anchor for $tock Market Today. She canceled Mary Moo Cow because she "needed a change" and thought that nobody liked Mary Moo Cow. She was proven wrong once she read the petition organized by D.W. Read. Patty Jones became more involved with Mary Moo Cow after that and returned episodes of Mary Moo Cow to television. Mary Moo Cow's content is mildly educational, and has cat puppets for sidekicks. The franchise is similar to Barney and Friends.
• My Fluffy Unicorn. Similar to the first three generations of My Little Pony. Watched by D.W. and Muffy.
• Nova. The show Nova was featured identically (both in name and in live action) on the Arthur show.
• Polly Locket. Similar to Polly Pocket.
• RiddleQuest. Game show similar to Alex Trebek's version of Jeopardy!, with Trebek appearing in animation as "Alek Lebeck." The set design is a simple white background filled with question marks with two contestants. The "Final Jeopardy!" segment and the "Clue Crew" segments were parodied together to form an elegant prize round. The consolation prize is 100 boxes of Choco Stick.
• The Scare-Your-Pants-Off Club Similar to Goosebumps by R.L. Stine. The author is E.A. D'Poe, which is the pen name of a retired teacher, Ms. McWord. Ed Crosswire was one of her students. McWord was appalled when she found out that he was in charge of Parents Against Weird Stories which banned her books. The banned books ended up in the possession of Muffy. Arthur lost the newest book when he checked it out from the library. Ms. Turner said it was found and returned but she denied his request to renew it because of a floor-length waiting list.
• Spooky-Poo. Similar to Scooby-Doo, and nicknamed "Spooky-Roo", as the star is not a great dane but a kangaroo. Mr. Ratburn is a huge fan. Unlike the numerous episodes, films, and widespread availability of Scooby-Doo, Spooky-Poo ended production and was only available on VHS when it was introduced into the Arthur show.
• $tock Market Today. Similar to Nightly Business Report, Stock Market Today is hosted by anchor Patty Jones, who is also Mary Moo Cow. She considered taking Mary Moo Cow off the air because she thought nobody watched it.
• Terrific Turbo-Trooper Toy T-Bot Team Similar to Power Rangers, mispronounced as "Terrible Tuba Two-fers", and "Terminal Tire Tube Team" by D.W. Read. Influenced The Tibble Twins who ignored the "Remember Kids: Don't try this at home!" disclaimer, and injured D.W. After hearing that their favorite show is "not real", They later decided to become fans of "real" programs such as wrestling and football.
• Vance Legstrong. Similar to Lance Armstrong, used twice before Armstrong himself guest starred.
• Vegemorphs. Similar to Animorphs.
• VidieBoobies. Similar to Teletubbies.

Guest stars

• Art Garfunkel: appears in animation as a moose in two Arthur episodes. He first appears in the episode "The Ballad of Buster Baxter", and then later appears in "Elwood City Turns 100!" as one of the guests that Muffy invites to the play.
• Arthur Ganson: Arthur Ganson appears in the episode "Muffy's Art Attack".
• Backstreet Boys (Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, A.J. McLean, and Kevin Richardson): The Backstreet Boys appear in the movie Arthur, It's Only Rock 'N' Roll.
• Click and Clack, The Tappet Brothers (Tom and Ray Magliozzi): The Car Talk hosts appear in the episode "Pick a Car, Any Car", where Arthur calls them about the family car to save it from the junkyard.
• Matt Damon: Matt Damon appears in the episode "The Making of Arthur" as the host of a show "Postcards from You" (inspired by the "Postcards from You" segment that has been the mid-show feature on Arthur since Season 11 and the feature on the second season of "Postcards from Buster").
• Edgar Rentería: Edgar Rentería also appears in "The Curse of the Grebes" also playing a Grebe, being Bateria.
• Frank Gehry: Frank Gehry appears in the episode "Castles in the Sky", and helps the gang create a new tree house, although they don't know he is Frank Gehry until he gives them a signed photo of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao.
• Fred Rogers: Mr. Rogers appears on the episode "Arthur Meets Mr. Rogers". He visits Arthur's house and Arthur is embarrassed because he thinks that Mister Rogers' Neighborhood is a baby show. Other people think that too. But, when Mr. Rogers comes for a visit to Arthur's class, they all change their minds.
• Jack Prelutsky: Jack Prelutsky appears on the episode "I'm a Poet", as the judge of a poetry contest. At the end of the contest, he can't decide who's the winner, so he says "I hate contests. You all win".
• Johnny Damon: Johnny Damon also appears in "The Curse of the Grebes", also playing a member of the Elwood City Grebes as Playmon.
• Joshua Redman: Joshua Redman appears in the episode "My Music Rules" as Francine's mother's second-cousin-twice-removed, who they call "Uncle Josh". He gets invited by Arthur and Francine.
• Koko Taylor: Koko Taylor appears in the episode "Big Horns George", and is The Brain's favorite blues musician.
• Lance Armstrong: Lance Armstrong appears in "Room to Ride", to encourage Binky Barnes on his bike lane campaign, and "The Great MacGrady", to help Francine feel less afraid about Mrs. MacGrady having cancer.
• Larry King: Larry King appears in live action during the "And Now a Word From Us Kids" section of the episode "Elwood City Turns 100!" and interviews the gang.
• Michelle Kwan: Michelle Kwan appears in the episode "The Good Sport", as the hostess of the Athlete of the Year Award at Lakewood Elementary. It is also said that she graduated from Lakewood Elementary in that series.
• Mike Fincke: Mike Fincke appears in the episode "Buster Spaces Out", when Buster, Arthur, Francine, Muffy, George and Carl are trying to launch a rocket. He speaks of his ordeal during the first EVA of Expedition 9.
• Mike Timlin: Mike Timlin appears in the episode "The Curse of the Grebes", playing a member of the Elwood City Grebes, being Winlin.
• Ming Tsai: Ming Tsai appears in the episode "What's Cooking?" as a judge for Arthur's school in a kid cooking contest.
• Neil Gaiman: Neil Gaiman appears in the episode "Falafelosophy", where he offers Sue Ellen advice about the graphic novel she is writing after meeting her at a falafel stand.^[5]
• Rodney Gilfry: Rodney Gilfry appears in the episode "Lights, Camera... Opera!" as he has a role in the Carmen opera that Muffy and Ed Crosswire see.

• Taj Mahal: Taj Mahal also appears in the episode "Big Horns George" with Koko Taylor.
• Yo-Yo Ma: Yo-Yo Ma appears in the episode "My Music Rules" with Joshua Redman. He is the musician that D.W. invites to the library.

Animals and pets

• Pal: Arthur's pet Golden Retriever dog. D.W. often refers to him as "Arthur's crazy dog". When he was younger, he was easily excited and often destroyed the house, but Arthur was able to train him. He is revealed to be able to speak in some episodes, but other than Kate and most other animals, no one can understand him. When he does speak, he speaks properly with an English accent in an adult voice, despite being a puppy.
• Amigo: the Molinas' pet bulldog. He first appears in the episode "Arthur and Los Vecinos". D.W. is afraid of him at first, but she gets over it quickly. Like Pal, Amigo has been shown to speak in some episodes. "Amigo" means "friend" (or "pal") in Spanish.
• Toady Wartface: A toad formerly owned by D.W.; she was found near Spanky's grave and became D.W.'s pet, filling the void Spanky left. She is released afterwards. She later appears in "The Great Sock Mystery" and "The Great Lint Rush", revealing that she now lives in the Reads' yard and has since married Mr. Toad.
• Spanky: D.W.'s pet parakeet. He died in "So Long, Spanky" and was buried in a grave. He is seen again in "I'd Rather Read it Myself" as a bald eagle in D.W.'s imagination.
• Nemo: Francine's tuxedo cat, also Pal's worst enemy. In the first episode he was shown in, however, they were friends. Arthur also disliked him at first, mistaking his playful antics for hostility due to his general dislike of cats. His facial features changed drastically after his debut. Before he was called "Nemo", he was called "Rose Petal" by Catherine, Francine's older sister. For some reason, even though Pal and Nemo were friends in "Francine and the Feline", they are enemies in all later episodes.
• Perky: Pal's mother. She appears in "Arthur's Pet Business". She was once infamous for harboring a grouchy attitude, which caused the mailman to nickname her "Jaws", but it might be because she was pregnant. Along with Pal, Perky had two other puppies.
• Walter: A deer that D.W. meets in the outdoors, D.W. wants to take Walter home but her parents tell her it's not allowed. Walter is also seen in other episodes when D.W. day dreams or imagines her perfect world.
• Killer: A stray dog that was found on Grandma Thora's porch. She had been to the pound many times and was known for being vicious. It is unknown who her previous owner was, but her current owner is Grandma Thora. Pal and Amigo were once afraid of her because of her bite, but her reputation was saved when she rescued Nemo by barking at some firefighters on a rainy day. Killer is shown in the very early books as Grandma Thora's dog, but she isn't introduced on the TV series until season 9.
• Snowball: D.W.'s "pet" snowball that disappeared one day. D.W. got very upset over it and thinks that Arthur stole it. In a later episode, D.W. thinks that she found her snowball, but it once again is lost. It is revealed that the second snowball was actually a sno-cone without syrup flavoring on it that Arthur ordered for D.W. to end her complaining about the first one. Later, it is revealed in an episode epilogue that Buster was right and the snowball was deliberately removed by aliens as part of an experiment testing human (or at least anthropomorphic aardvark) behavior.
• Fur Elise: Dr. Frederique Fugue's pet cat from the Arthur episode, "D.W.'s Furry Freakout." Named after Für Elise by Beethoven.
• Pepe: A flea friend of Pal and Kate who tells stories. He is first introduced in "Flea To Be You And Me", and later reappears in "Mei Lin Takes a Stand" and "Around the World In 11 Minutes".
• Sebastian Winkleplotz: An award winning poodle voiced by Alan Cumming.
• Pixel: Pet dog of Capri DiVapida.

References

Arthur Marc Brown Characters Arthur Read Episodes Seasons (1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19) Books Arthur's Nose Arthur's Teacher Trouble Living Books series Locations Elwood City Games Arthur's Absolutely Fun Day! Arthur! Ready to Race Related articles Soundtracks Postcards from Buster (Episodes) WGBH Boston Marc Brown Studios Cookie Jar Entertainment 9 Story Media Group Category