After 25 years, iconic children’s program Arthur came to a close on Monday and in the series finale, “All Grown Up”, the beloved PBS Kids series jumped forward 20 years in time to reveal the futures of Arthur and his friends in Elwood City. While some of the futures were perhaps somewhat unsurprising — Arthur’s little sister D.W. becomes a police officer, for example, and won’t let anyone sweet talk their way out of a parking ticket — some of the other futures were a bit surprising, including Arthur’s. The final moments of the “All Grown Up” finale segment revealed that Arthur grew up to become a comic book creator when he showed off his very first graphic novel telling stories of his own childhood to his friends.
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While the flash forward reveal of Arthur’s comic book future may be a little surprising, it’s not without some groundwork as laid earlier in the segment. The “All Grown Up” finale segment begins with Arthur getting the wrong book at the library — he’s given a book about drawing. He and his friends go to return it, but when they can’t find the librarian, the instead end up finding an old future telling game. The kids play it and get surprisingly accurate reveals of their future careers, but the game shuts off before Arthur is told his fate. As he leaves the library, he’s stopped by a patron (Arthur creator Marc Brown in animated form) and is encouraged to take the book even if it wasn’t what he initially wanted because it’s interesting. The book apparently had some impact, influencing Arthur’s ultimate career path.
“I think we wanted to satisfy the most often-asked questions we get from kids. What happens to Arthur when he grows up? What do Arthur and his friends become?” Brown told Salon. “The future is always uncertain. And you can point to just about any place in time, and there have always been obstacles that we have to overcome. So, I believe in the power of kids, and what they can do. I don’t think things are gonna get in their way. I think they’re going to march forward. I’m encouraged by how positive the youth in our country is.”
Of course, Arthur’s future career in comics does have a sweet twist. The ending of the episode — and the series — reveals that Arthur’s graphic novel opens up with a story about how he got his glasses. It’s a mirror of how the series began back in 1996 with the episode “Arthur’s Eyes”.
What did you think about the Arthur series finale? Were you surprised by Arthur’s future profession? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section!
