Arthur | |
---|---|
Created by | Marc Brown |
Developed by | Kathy Waugh |
Directed by | Greg Bailey |
Theme music composer | Judy Henderson & Jerry de Villiers Jr. |
Opening theme | "Believe in Yourself" by Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers |
Country of origin | United States Canada |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of seasons | 21 (20 aired) |
No. of episodes | 232 (229 aired) (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) | Marc Brown (Season 10-present) Micheline Charest (Seasons 1–4) Carol Greenwald Peter Moss (Seasons 5-6) Lesley Taylor Toper Taylor Pierre Valette |
Producer(s) | Ronald Weinberg (Seasons 1–4) Cassandra Schafhausen Lesley Taylor Greg Bailey Diane Dallaire Tolon Brown |
Running time | 24–26 minutes |
Production company(s) |
Cinar (seasons 1–8) Cookie Jar Entertainment (seasons 9–15) 9 Story Media Group (seasons 16–19) Oasis Animation (season 20–present) WGBH-TV |
Release | |
Original network | PBS |
Picture format |
SDTV (480i) (seasons 1-11) HDTV (1080i) (seasons 12–present) |
Audio format | Dolby Surround |
Original release | October 7, 1996 | – present
Chronology | |
Related shows | Postcards from Buster |
External links | |
Official Website on PBSkids |
Arthur is a Canadian/American animated educational television series for children, created by Cookie Jar Group (formerly known as Cinar) and WGBH for PBS. The show is set in the fictional American city of Elwood City, and revolves around the lives of 8-year-old Arthur Read, an anthropomorphic aardvark, his friends and family, and their daily interactions with each other.
The television series is based on the Arthur book series, which are written and illustrated by Marc Brown. WGBH Boston along with Cinar (now Cookie Jar Group) began production of the animated series in 1994, and aired its first episode on October 7, 1996. Since its debut, the show has broadcast 225 thirty-minute-long episodes. With 225 episodes, Arthur is the second-longest active running show on PBS Kids, behind only Sesame Street. It is the longest running children's animated television series.
A pilot for the spin-off series Postcards from Buster aired in December 2003 as a season 8 episode of Arthur. Postcards from Buster aired from October 11, 2004, to November 21, 2008, when the 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.
Arthur often deals with important issues families face such as asthma, dyslexia, cancer, diabetes, and Asperger syndrome. It also encourages reading and relationships with family and friends by explaining that people have different personalities and interests.