document_title: List of Arthur characters

question_text: what kind of animal is binky from arthur

text: List of Arthur characters

text: Children[edit]

text: Arthur Read[edit]

text: Arthur Timothy Read (voiced by Michael Yarmush 1996-2000; Justin Bradley 2001; Mark Rendall 2002-2003, 2001 redub; Cameron Ansell 2004-2007; Dallas Jokic 2008-2012; Drew Adkins 2012-2014; William Healy 2014-2016; Jacob Ursomarzo 2016-present) is an aardvark[1] who attends third grade at Lakewood Elementary in Elwood City. He has two younger sisters, D.W. and Kate, and a dog named Pal. He plays the piano. He wears a yellow cotton sweater, white dress shirt, blue jeans, and signature round brown glasses.

text: D.W. Read[edit]

text: Dora Winifred Read, usually known as D.W. (voiced by Michael Caloz 1996–1999; Oliver Grainger 1999–2001; Jason Szwimmer 2002–2006; Luciano Rauso 2006, Robert Naylor 2007–2012; Jake Beale 2012–2014; Andrew Dayton 2014–2016; Christian Distefano 2016-present), is the brown-haired middle child of the Read family who 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. Many of the series' episodes revolve around tensions between D.W. and Arthur.

text: Buster Baxter[edit]

text: Buster Baxter (voiced by Daniel Brochu) is Arthur's best friend and sidekick. He is a white rabbit who wears a turquoise long-sleeve shirt and dark jeans. He suffers from asthma, is obsessed with aliens, is interested in comedy and action figures, is an amateur private investigator, and plays the tuba. He loves eating, practices gardening, and keeps expired food in his room and school desk. He is an only child whose parents divorced when he was younger. He created and celebrates a no-frills holiday called "Baxter Day". His father travels the world from working as a pilot, and as a result they were given a spin-off series, Postcards from Buster. Buster is also depicted as a slacker, often preferring to have fun rather than study; one such instance nearly leads to him flunking third grade before cramming at the last minute.

text: Francine Frensky[edit]

text: Francine Alice Frensky (voiced by Jodie Resther) is a tomboyish and sporty monkey who has short brown hair tied with a barrette, wears blue jeans, and a maroon sweater. She plays the drums, and enjoys bowling and playing soccer. Her family is devoutly Jewish, and are seen observing Yom Kippur and Hanukkah and attending a cousin's Bar Mitzvah in some episodes. Her best friend is Muffy, who shares her middle name. She has an older sister named Catherine.

text: Brain Powers[edit]

text: Alan "Brain" Powers (voiced by Luke Reid 1996–1999; Steven Crowder 2000–2001; Alex Hood 2002–2005; Paul-Stuart Brown 2004–2007; James Buckholder 2006; Lyle O'Donohue 2008–2012; Siam Yu 2012–2014; Max Friedman Cole 2014–present) is a bear of Senegalese descent,[2] and celebrates Kwanzaa.  He usually wears a grey sweater. Highly academic, holding an A average and well-educated on a multitude of subjects, his classmates call him "The Brain" or simply, "Brain," and his knowledge is largely tied to his personal identity, as evidenced in when he tried to hide the fact that he had to repeat kindergarten. He has an innate interest in science, and does not believe in any theory until it is proven with concrete evidence. His family owns an ice cream parlor, where his classmates frequently visit after school and on weekends.

text: Muffy Crosswire[edit]

text: Mary Alice "Muffy" Crosswire (Melissa Altro) is a monkey who has long red hair, which she wears in two braids adorned with purple bows that match her purple and white dress. She's one of two children born to Ed Crosswire, the owner of the used car dealership Crosswire Motors, and his wife, Millicent Crosswire, the other being her brother, Chip. Muffy is the quintessential daddy's girl, with Ed believing his daughter can do no wrong and constantly buying her expensive, trendy items such as cell phones and designer clothing. Because of her upbringing, Muffy sometimes shows herself to be rude and haughty, and having lived in a mansion and waited on by servants her entire life, she has no sense of what it means to be lower or middle class. She is best friends with Francine Frensky, despite the two both having similar strong-willed personalities, and oftentimes, it's Francine who will reign Muffy in when her rudeness reaches an unacceptable level.

text: Binky Barnes[edit]

text: Shelley "Binky" Barnes (Bruce Dinsmore) is a yellow bulldog who usually wears an orange shirt, blue jeans, and brown shoes. He is in the third grade for a second time after failing third grade and having to retake it.[3] He is a member of the Tough Customers group of bullies (George being his most frequent target), but has a soft side. He plays the clarinet, catches butterflies, and enjoys ballet. It is revealed that he has a severe allergy to peanuts. Binky has an adopted baby sister from China 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.

text: Kate Read[edit]

text: Kate Read (Tracy Braunstein) is Arthur and D.W.'s baby sister. Although she can't talk to older people yet, she can communicate with Pal, Mei-Lin Barnes, Killer, Toady and Mr. Toad, Amigo, Nemo, and Pepe the Flea. 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.

text: Sue Ellen Armstrong[edit]

text:
Sue Ellen Armstrong (voiced by Patricia Rodriguez 1997–2003;
Jessica Kardos 2004–present) 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 karate (taekwondo in earlier seasons), and plays the saxophone. Sue Ellen was born as an only child, and keeps in touch with her brother-like pen pal in Asia. 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.

text: George Lundgren[edit]

text: George Lundgren (formerly George Nordgren before season 11) is a moose of Norwegian and Swedish descent, celebrating Winter Solstice, and wearing an orange shirt with khaki pants (voiced by Mitchell Rothpan 1996–2002, Evan Smirnow 2003, Samantha Reynolds 2008–2010, Eleanor Noble 2004–2007; 2010–present). 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. He is also very shy and introverted, but as the series goes on, it shows that George is generally accepted by the others.

text: Fern Walters[edit]

text: Fern Walters (voiced by Holly G. Frankel) is a light brown dog and one of Arthur's 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 Hercule 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. It is also noted that Fern is close friends with George, as they both have similar personalities and sometimes act like detectives.

text: Ladonna Compson[edit]

text: Ladonna 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. Ladonna is a rabbit with brownish-tan complexion who speaks with a dominant southern accent, and is native to New Orleans, Louisiana. She is the first new main character of the series since 9 Story Media Group began animating it.

text: Prunella Deegan[edit]

text: Prunella Deegan[4] (Tamar Kozlov) is a girl of unobvious species. In 2011, PBS said she was a rat,[5] but in 2013 Marc Brown, confirmed that she is a poodle.[6] She is in the fourth grade.[7] She is interested in yoga, fortune telling, and paranormal phenomena. She loves Henry Skreever (based on Harry Potter) and has studied Braille. She is a 4th grader who wears a blue dress with a white collar and a purple bow in her hair.

text: The Tibble Twins[edit]

text: Timmy Tibble and Tommy Tibble are identical twin bear brothers who are the same age as D.W. (four, with Tommy being two minutes elder) who routinely exasperate Arthur, D.W., and mostly everyone with their destructive antics. Tommy wears a red scarf and Timmy wears a blue scarf. They stay with their grandmother. In the Arthur Adventure books, the Tibble family are humans instead of bears. Their unseen parents work overseas and travel the world, giving them souvenirs and gifts.

text:
Timmy Tibble: voice actor is Ricky Mabe (1996–2000), Samuel Holden (2001–2005), Max Henry Wolf (2006), Tyler Brody-Stein (2006–2007), Chris Lortie (2008–2010), Dakota Goyo (2010–2012), Jacob Ewaniuk (2012–2016), Samuel Faraci (2017-present).
Tommy Tibble: voice actor is Jonathan Koensgen (1996–2002), Aaron Grunfeld (2002–2003), Tyler Brody-Stein (2004–2005), Madison Danielle (2006), Ryan Tilson (2006–2007), Jake Roseman (2008–2010), Jake Sim (2010–2017), Devin Cohen (2017-present).

text: Emily[edit]

text: Emily (Vanessa Lengies Season 1-7, Sally Taylor-Isherwood Season 8-Present) is a white rabbit with blonde 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. She stays at home with her French nanny, Marie Hélène.

text: Jenna Morgan[edit]

text: Jenna Morgan (Brigid Tierney) is one of Arthur's classmates. She is a grey cat that wears a pink dress with yellow buttons. She is lactose intolerant, plays badminton, helps coach soccer, and received an "Athlete of the Year" award from Michelle Kwan. Jenna is rather shy and 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.

text: Other recurring child characters[edit]

text: Adil Akyuz[edit]

text: Adil Akyuz (Aaron Grunfeld) is Arthur's Turkish pen pal who was introduced in "Dear Adil". He is a dark brown bear. His father owns a grocery store.

text: Ayse Akyuz[edit]

text: Ayse Akyuz is the Turkish counterpart of D.W. Read.

text: Alberto Molina[edit]

text: 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 is very good at golf. 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. He was voiced by Johnny Griffin in "Follow the Bouncing Ball," Benjamen Israel in "The Long Road Home," and is currently voiced by Daniel DeSanto.

text: Alouysious Zimmerplotz[edit]

text: Alouysious Zimmerplotz is a kid in D.W.'s preschool class who has trouble writing his long name. He is a cat with yellow square glasses and a white shirt with red jacket.

text: Bittles Twins[edit]

text: Billy Bittles and Bobby Bittles are two vegetarian[8] fraternal twins designed as bear cubs in the Preschool class with D.W. Read. They have not appeared since Season 3.

text: Bud Compson[edit]

text: 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. Read.

text: Carl Gould[edit]

text: Carl Gould (Dwayne Hill 2009–2010, Dylan Hoerner 2010–present) is a cream rabbit with brown hair and blue glasses. His favourite color is blue. He has been diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome and his best friend is George Lundgren.

text: Catherine Frensky[edit]

text: Catherine Frensky (Patricia Rodriguez 1997–2002, Alexina Cowan 2003–2012, Robyn Thaler Hickey 2012–present) is Francine's older sister. She is in high school. 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.

text: Cheikh[edit]

text: Cheikh, (pronounced "Shake") (Thamela Mpumlwana) 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 D.W.'s age.

text: Chip Crosswire[edit]

text: Chip Crosswire (Cory Doran) 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.

text: James MacDonald[edit]

text:
James MacDonald (Jesse Camacho 2003, Nicholas Wheeler-Hughes 2007,
John Flemming season 2012–2014, Christian Distefano 2014–present) (not to be confused with James MacDonald the sound effects artist) is a white rabbit that wears glasses. He is usually shy and quiet. He is in Ms. Morgan's class at preschool. He has an older sister named Molly MacDonald.

text: Lydia Fox[edit]

text: Lydia Fox (Barbara Mamabolo) is a physically disabled fox who helps Brain get over his temporary confinement to a wheelchair in "The Wheel Deal."  Through her tutoring, he learns how to play basketball in a wheelchair, and almost wins a charity game of free-throws (though Lydia winds up taking over for the last few shots). Lydia was the winning entry of a children's contest to design a new character, sent in by Connor Gordon from Savage, MN.[9] In season 14, the voice actor credits gave Lydia the last name Gordon, but season 19 reverted her name to Lydia Fox.

text: Maria Pappas[edit]

text: Maria Pappas (Stacey DePass, credited as Stacey Depasse[10]) is a rabbit in Mr. Ratburn's class. Her clothing usually consists of a striped shirt with blue dress. Her hair is brown. Maria's original character design included glasses. Maria is a participant in many clubs and activities but was never the center of attention. She appears in many episodes in the background, except for "Francine Goes To War," in which Francine insulted her, and her breakout episode, "Maria Speaks," where she talks with a stutter. Her best friend is Jenna Morgan.

text: Marina Datillo[edit]

text: Marina Datillo (voiced by Helena Evangeliou) is in 4th grade playing many sports at Mighty Mountain Elementary School. It is revealed that she is blind, and taught Prunella how to read Braille. She is a white rabbit.

text: Mei Lin Barnes[edit]

text: Mei Lin Barnes (Carrie Finlay) is Binky's baby sister, a bear, who was adopted from China. She is also Baby Kate's friend.

text: Molly MacDonald[edit]

text: Molly MacDonald (Maggie Castle) is close friends with Binky. She is a white rabbit, 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 and D.W., and is an effective babysitter for the Tibble Twins. Molly has long maroon hair that almost always covers her eyes and she often wears sleeveless shirts.

text: Onder[edit]

text: Onder (pronounced AHN-door) is the Turkish counterpart of Buster Baxter. He is a cat with a tan complexion and short brown hair.

text: Rattles[edit]

text: Rattles (Scott Beaudin) is another member of the Tough Customers. Rattles has been a Tough Customer member since the first season. His species is somewhat of a mystery; he appeared as a grey cat in the earliest seasons, then was made a dog in Season 8, and then was given rounded ears, like a bear, in Season 18. 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. He is also skilled at playing chess.

text: Rubella Deegan[edit]

text: Rubella Deegan (Eramelinda Boquer) is Prunella's older 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.

text: Sally MacGill[edit]

text: Sally MacGill is Arthur's babysitter in "Crushed". She is a 16 year old bear and was hired by Arthur’s parents. Arthur developed a crush on her because, of her skill in video games. Arthur was heartbroken when he found out she had a boyfriend.

text: Tenzin Wangdu[edit]

text: Tenzin was originally a child in poverty living in Tibet that Sue Ellen had sent letters to for a while. He helped fill the void because Sue Ellen is an only child and doesn't have much in common with her friends. Sue Ellen mistakenly called him her "Little Brother". Later, he moved to Dharamsala, India where he started to email Sue Ellen. They eventually met which revealed that Sue Ellen and Tenzin are both the same age. He is a panda, and originally had black fur. This was later retconned.

text: Slink[edit]

text: Slink (Michael Yarmush) is a 4th grader rabbit. He is part of the Tough Customers. In his first episode in 1997, he convinced Arthur and Buster to be cool by doing bad things. Decades later, in 2018's "Slink's Special Talent," he was revealed to be a good paper delivery boy.

text: Vicita Molina[edit]

text: Vicita Molina (Alyson Wener) is Arthur and D.W.'s new neighbor. Her age is "three and seven eighths" and, as a result, D.W. believes herself to be a role model. Vicita and her family is from Ecuador, and moved to Elwood City in Season 6, replacing Mr. Sipple.

text: W.D.[edit]

text: W.D., full name is Wilhelmina Dagmar Merkles (Raphael Cohen-Demers) is a tomboy counterpart to D.W. She is a bear. She has an imaginary friend Maxine. Her parents, Herman and Ursa, are great friends with The Reads; Meanwhile, W.D. and D.W. do not get along as much. Later, they develop a friendship despite their clashing personalities.

text: Cousin Cora[edit]

text: Cousin Cora is Arthur and D.W.'s bratty 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.

text: Cousin Mo[edit]

text: 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. Mo is the daughter of Loretta and has a younger athletic brother close to Arthur's age, and an even younger sister close to D.W.'s age.

text: Cousin Mo is voiced by Melissa Pirrera

text: Cousin Ricky[edit]

text: Cousin Ricky is Mo's brother and Bud and Loretta's son. He is very athletic and somewhat bossy. His skin color changes in each episode he appears in.

text: Adults[edit]

text: Arthur's Family[edit]

text:
David L. Read (Bruce Dinsmore) is Arthur, D.W. and baby Kate's father and the husband of Jane. His mother is Grandma Thora. 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 dedicated commercial vehicle. 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 and wife of David. 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 short 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.
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 a young woman in "Clarissa is Cracked" and as an elderly grandmother in "Arthur's Cousin Catastrophe", where she wins the egg and spoon race.
Grandma Thora Read (Joanna Noyes) Grandma Thora is Arthur, D.W., and baby Kate's paternal grandmother and Loretta and David's mother. Her husband has never been seen or mentioned in the series being he might be deceased. She is a columnist.[11] In a flashback in Clarissa is Cracked, Thora had three brothers. Grandma 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. He lives on the family farm in the country, which has been in the family for over 150 years. Two episodes (Grandpa Dave's Old Country Farm and The Big Dig) focused on struggling with independent living. In "Grandpa Dave's Memory Album", he is revealed to be in the early stages of Alzheimer's Disease.
Uncle Bud and Aunt Loretta: Arthur, D.W., and Kate's paternal aunt and uncle. They are the parents of Monique, Ricky, and an unnamed daughter. Loretta is suggested to be David's sister.
Uncle Sean and Aunt Bonnie: Arthur, D.W., and Kate's paternal aunt and uncle, they are the mother and father of George.
Uncle Fred: Arthur, D.W., and Kate's maternal uncle and Jane, Jessica, and Lucy's brother. He is known throughout the family to be very clumsy. Fred has a Golden Retriever named Rory who is clumsy like him.
Aunt Jessica and Uncle Richard: The maternal aunt and uncle of Arthur, D.W., and Kate; and the parents of Cousin Cora. They appear once in the episode "D.W. Thinks Big" for Aunt Lucy's wedding. Jessica also spoils her daughter Cora and takes her side even when she's wrong.
Aunt Lucy: Arthur, D.W., and Kate's aunt. 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.

text: A through M[edit]

text:
Mr. Armstrong: (Tony Robinow) 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. She enjoys making clay pottery and sculptures.
Bailey Carson Belvedere III: (Bruce Dinsmore) 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 was revealed 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 and librarian.
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: (John Moore; Peter Cugno) Binky's father. He is revealed to work in a copy shop in the game Arthur's 2nd Grade.
Mrs. Barnes: (Jane Wheeler; Liz Macrae) Binky's mother, a nurse. She is very protective over her son, as seen especially in the episode "Binky Goes Nuts".
Bitzi Lynne Baxter: (Ellen David) Buster's mom, who is divorced. She is the editor-in-chief of the Elwood City Times. In early episodes, she was 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.[12]
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.
Mrs. Grouse: One of Arthur and D.W.'s babysitters who always make them do dances.
Edward Edsel "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.
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 a later episode, it is revealed that unlike his daughter and wife who are rabbits, he is a monkey. Emily is seen with Marie-Helene more than her parents which shows that they do not have much time for her.
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: (Mark Camacho) 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: (Jane Woods) 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.
Ted Glass: Lakewood Elementary Crossing Guard. In his first appearance in "Arthur vs. the Very Mean Crossing Guard" he tried to fool Arthur and Brain into thinking there was a new $10 fee to cross the street and they believe him, becoming scared after he threatens to send goons to collect the money after they wait too long to pay up. After being told off by Grandma Thora he lets Arthur and Brain in on his joke and they join along in the fun.
Coach Grimsled: (Jeniffer Seguin) A 4th grade gym coach at Lakewood. She has various debates with Coach Bumpus.
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 early episodes was 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. In the Season 20 episode "The Hallway Minotaur," he was revealed have moved away to Tanzania to build a school.
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". She was also a member of the band U Stink in the movie "It's Only Rock 'N' Roll", a clip of which is seen while Francine writes a letter asking for advice to help her cope with MacGrady having cancer.
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, 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.
Herman Merkles (Andrew Sabiston) is a bear and is W.D.'s father. He is friends with David read who go canoe fishing together.
Ursa Merkles (Tracey Hoyt) is a bear and is W.D.'s mother. She is friends with Jane Read, who helped her with tax papers. Ursa performs biology and geology research for fun.
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 "Muffy'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.
Mr. Morris: The 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." He is seen in the Postcards from Buster episode "Alien Adventure," where Buster visits New Mexico. Although he moved, he is seen in the background of several episodes post "April 9th." Like Buster, he has asthma.

text: N through Z[edit]

text:
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."
Pickles the Clown: A local circus clown who does gigs in Elwood City including birthday parties and Elwood City's annual Downtown Day.
Mr. Powers:  Brain's father, who appears to have average intelligence compared to The Brain. Not much is known about him.
Mrs. Powers: Brain's mother, who owns and runs the ice cream shop. 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 Season 1) Mr. Ratburn is Arthur's third and fourth 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 bought a minivan and canoe online. He is a fanatic of the series Spooky-Poo!, a spoof of Scooby-Doo. His character is based on one of Marc Brown's elementary school teachers. Although everyone addresses him as 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. 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 his sister 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.
Mrs. Shmigaedy: One of Arthur's old babysitters, a moose who made great cookies but was rather clumsy because of her large horns.
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 was 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.
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 a rabbit.
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 hides 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.

text: TV stars and merchandise[edit]

text:
Andy and Company. A TV show which is actually the show's version of the "Arthur" show.
BINKY. A "fake" band, only shown as holograms. Performed by the Finnish folk-pop group Värttinä.
Bionic Bunny. portrayed by Wilbur Rabbit (Arthur Holden). 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.
Chickin Lickin'. A chicken restaurant owned and operated by Beauergaurd Poulet.
Crazy Bus. A nonsensical song. Numerous merchandise occurred and had a fanbase of all ages.
Dark Bunny. "The Dark Bunny Show" suffers time slot changes. One time it moved from after school to Saturday mornings, another time it was cancelled entirely. In "Happy Anniversary" a crossover special Arthur missed revealed that Dark Bunny and Bionic Bunny are twins separated at birth.
Henry Skreever. Arthur and his friends are huge fans of the series and wait till midnight for the release of his new book in one episode. In another episode Prunella meets Marina over a braille copy of the book.
Hoprah Linseed. A self-help type talk show and is idolized by Muffy.
Horrendously Horrible Happenings. A series of books by author Persimmony Glitchet which Fern is a fan of.
James Hound. A character who appeared to release a new film in the episode "Arthur Makes a Movie".
Loki Benediktssen: A parody of Percy Jackson & the Olympians that is themed around Norse mythology
Love Ducks. A psychedelic series designed for young children. Arthur becomes a fan of the show, but tries to hide it from others, because D.W. told him the show is a "baby show."
The Magic Toolbox. An educational show for children.
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.
Mütakrüde. A heavy metal band which Molly is a fan of.
Polly Locket. A doll with a compartment hidden in her face which acts as a locket.
RiddleQuest. Game show, with Trebek appearing in animation as "Alek Lebeck." The set design is a simple white background filled with question marks with two contestants. The consolation prize is 100 boxes of Choco Stick.
The Scare-Your-Pants-Off Club 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 long waiting list.
Silly Squirrels. A young kids show starring cute squirrels. Arthur and his friends rent videos of several episodes to calm their fear of squirrels after seeing a horror film called "The Squirrels".
Spooky-Poo. The main character is a kangaroo. Mr. Ratburn is a huge fan.
$tock Market Today. 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.
Top Supermarket Clerk. A TV reality contest show about contestants working as clerks in a supermarket. Arthur dislikes the show which the rest of the family are fans of.
Terrific Turbo-Trooper Toy T-Bot Team, 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. The program was disliked by Mrs. Read because of the violence.
The Freddy Spangler Show: A show that appeared at the start of "Arthur's Family Feud".
The Squirrels: An old horror film about squirrels that take over the world.
Uni is a pink winged unicorn with blue hair whom D.W. considers giving to the Tibbles in "Hic or Treat"
Vance Legstrong. A pale bear who appeared in the episode Binky Vs. Binky but was replaced by Lance Armstrong, beginning with episode Room To Ride.
Vegemorphs. A series of books Arthur and his friends are fans of.
Vidiboobies. A show Kate enjoys because she feels it portrays the life of babies realistically.

text: Guest stars[edit]

text:
Art Garfunkel: appears in animation as a moose in two Arthur episodes (January 4, 1999-January 31, 2006 on PBS Kids) and it's February 1, 2006 on PBS Kids Go! 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").
Édgar Rentería: Édgar 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". Fred was an old friend of Jane Read. He visits Arthur's house and Arthur is embarrassed because he and his friends think that Mister Rogers' Neighborhood is a "baby show".  When Mr. Rogers comes for a visit to Arthur's class, they gain a new appreciation for the show.
Idina Menzel: Idina Menzel appears on the episode "Shelter From The Storm", as Dr. Paula, a therapist who consoles Brain when he starts to have anxiety attacks after a hurricane hit Elwood City.
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: Drawn as a pale, slightly aged rabbit, Lance Armstrong appears in "Room to Ride", to encourage Binky Barnes on his bike lane campaign. He reappears in "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.[13]
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.
Tenzin Wangdu is the panda pen-pal of Sue Ellen who visits her in Wish You Were Here. Fern comments he is coming ″all the way from India″.
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.

text: Imaginary[edit]

text: Maxine[edit]

text: Maxine is W.D.'s imaginary friend. She has an exotic purple hair style. She appears as an elephant.

text: Nadine Flumberghast[edit]

text: 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 appears as 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".

text: Rapty[edit]

text: Rapty is Bud's imaginary friend. He is a big green dinosaur He is actually a toy, although Bud imagines him as real. In "D.W. & Bud's Higher Purpose," it is shown that he can communicate and talk to Nadine.

text: Ghosts[edit]

text:
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: (Bruce Dinsmore) A ghost that appears as Binky Barnes wearing a black robe. He can tell anybody what they are about to eat. Also known as The Ghost of Bicycles Never Ridden.

text: Animals and pets[edit]

text:
Amigo: (Robert Brewster) the Molinas' pet bulldog. Like Pal, Amigo has been shown to speak in some episodes. "Amigo" means "friend" (or "pal") in Spanish.
Fur Elise: Dr. Frederique Fugue's pet cat from the Arthur episode, "D.W.'s Furry Freakout." Named after Für Elise by Beethoven.
General Higgins: Ladonna's pet rat. He can do tricks, and is very smart for a rat.
Killer: (Melissa Pirrera) 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.
Mr. Toad: Stereotypical business investor who invested in "The Sock Market" as well as "The Lint Rush". Husband of Toady Wartface.
Nemo: (Greg Kramer) 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.
Pal Read:[14][15] (Simon Peacock, main speaking voice, from season 6 onwards, Michael Yarmush from season 1, Arthur Holden from season 3, Yvette Kaplan in "Arthur's Missing Pal", vocal effects by Frank Welker) Arthur's pet puppy. He is a mixed breed of English Setter (from dad[16]) and St. Bernard[citation needed]. D.W. often refers to him as "Arthur's crazy dog". In earlier episodes, 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.
Pepe: (Rick Jones) 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".
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.
Pixel: Pet dog of Capri DiVapida.
Rory: Pet dog of Uncle Fred in Arthur's Perfect Christmas.
Sebastian Winkleplotz: An award-winning poodle voiced by Alan Cumming.
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.
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.
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.
Walter: (Michael Yarmush) 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.


document_title: John Wick

question_text: how did john wick's wife die in the movie

question_tokens: how did john wick 's wife die in the movie

root

text: John Wick

text: Plot[edit]

text: After John Wick loses his beloved wife Helen to a terminal illness, he receives a beagle puppy named Daisy, per Helen's instructions, to help him cope with her death. He connects with the puppy and they spend their day driving around in his vintage 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1. At a gas station, he encounters a trio of Russian gangsters whose leader, Iosef Tarasov, insists on buying his car, but John refuses to sell it. The mobsters follow John to his home that night, knock him unconscious, steal his car, and kill Daisy.

tag: p

text: Iosef takes the Mustang to a chop shop run by Aurelio to have the VIN changed. Aurelio recognizes the car and, upon learning that Iosef stole it from John, punches him before throwing him out of his shop. John visits Aurelio, who tells him Iosef is the son of Viggo Tarasov, the head of the Russian crime syndicate in New York City. Viggo, informed by Aurelio of Iosef's actions, beats and berates Iosef, explaining to him that John Wick was his best assassin, nicknamed "Baba Yaga." When John wanted to retire and marry Helen, Viggo gave him an "impossible task", implied to involve multiple assassinations. John succeeded, establishing the Tarasov syndicate.

text: Viggo tries to talk John out of seeking retribution, but John silently refuses. Viggo then sends a twelve-man hit squad to John's house, but John kills them all and has the bodies professionally removed. An unsurprised Viggo places a $2 million bounty on John's head and personally offers the contract to Marcus, John's mentor. John seeks refuge at the Continental Hotel, which caters exclusively to the criminal underworld and permits no "business" on its premises. Viggo doubles the bounty for those willing to break the rules to kill John at the Continental.

text: John learns from Winston, the Continental's owner, that Viggo has Iosef protected at his nightclub, the Red Circle. John enters the Red Circle and kills his way to Iosef, but Viggo's henchman Kirill waylays John, allowing Iosef to escape. John retreats to the Continental to tend his injuries. Ms. Perkins, an assassin and former acquaintance, sneaks into John's room to kill him, but Marcus alerts John, allowing him to subdue Perkins. He forces Perkins to reveal the location of Viggo's front, knocks her unconscious and leaves her with fellow assassin Harry to await punishment. However, Perkins frees herself and kills Harry.

text: John travels to the Little Russia church which serves as Viggo's front and destroys Viggo's cache of money and blackmail material. When Viggo and his team arrive, John ambushes them, but he is subdued and captured. Viggo taunts John for thinking he could leave his old life behind. Before John can be killed, Marcus intervenes again, allowing John to free himself, kill Kirill, and accost Viggo. Under John's gunpoint, Viggo reveals Iosef's location to him. John then travels to Iosef's "safe house" and kills him.

text: Perkins sees that John and Marcus have been in contact and tells Viggo, who has Marcus tortured before executing him in his home. Viggo calls John to report this, planning to have Perkins ambush him. Perkins, however, is called to a meeting with Winston, who has her executed for breaking the Continental's rules.

text: Winston calls John to inform him that Viggo is planning to escape by helicopter, and John races to the harbor, killing Viggo's remaining henchmen before engaging Viggo in a fistfight on the dock. Viggo pulls a knife and John allows himself to be stabbed, surprising Viggo. John then disarms and fatally wounds Viggo. Wounded himself, John stops at a waterfront animal clinic to treat his wound and takes with him a pit bull puppy which was scheduled to be euthanized. John and the dog walk home on the boardwalk where he had his last date with Helen.

text: Cast[edit]

text: Keanu Reeves as Jonathan "John" Wick

tag: ul

text: Michael Nyqvist as Viggo

text: Alfie Allen as Iosef

text: Adrianne Palicki as Ms. Perkins

text: Bridget Moynahan as Helen Wick

text: Dean Winters as Avi

text: Ian McShane as Winston

text: John Leguizamo as Aurelio

text: Willem Dafoe as Marcus

text: The cast also includes David Patrick Kelly as a "cleaner" named Charlie, Randall Duk Kim as a doctor with a select clientele, Lance Reddick as Charon, a concierge at The Continental Hotel who always seems to know what the client needs, Munro M. Bonnell as a Russian Orthodox priest who protects the vault where Viggo stores his valuables,[48] Omer Barnea as Gregori and Toby Leonard Moore as Victor, Iosef's friends and bodyguards,[48] Daniel Bernhardt as Kirill, Viggo's henchman;[49] Bridget Regan as Addy,[48] Keith Jardine as Kuzma,[49] Tait Fletcher as Nicholai,[49] Thomas Sadoski as Jimmy,[49] Clarke Peters as Harry,[48] Kevin Nash as a bouncer named Francis at the Red Circle nightclub,[50][51] Gameela Wright as a delivery woman,[49][52] Vladislav Koulikov as Pavel,[49][52] Pat Squire as an elderly woman,[49][52] Vladimir Troitsky as a team leader,[49][52] and Scott Tixier (uncredited) as a violinist.[53][54]

text: Production[edit]

text: Development[edit]

text:
"Making a movie is actually fairly easy. Making a good one is much harder. It was a huge learning experience and I'm very proud of it. We stretched our schedule to the absolute limits. We fought for what we believed in, and chose to make a story-driven, character-driven action movie. That's why I chose to do it. This was an opportunity to do something that wasn't just about cars, explosions, fire and fights. Yes, John fights; yes, he shoots guns; and he drives a car very fast, but the focus was always trying to do something cinematically different."

— Chad Stahelski, on the experience of directing John Wick[17]

tag: div

text: The premise for John Wick was conceived by screenwriter Derek Kolstad who began work on a treatment about a retired contract killer coming out to seek vengeance, entitled Scorn.[55] After one month of work, he had completed the first draft of the screenplay and once he had addressed several issues he pitched the script to various clients, garnering at least three offers.[56] When he first started thinking about writing the script, Kolstad was influenced by film-noir classics and the themes of revenge and the antihero and the occurrences of what may play out if "The worst man in existence found salvation […] When the source of his salvation is ripped from him […] Do the gates of Hades open?"[17][57] For Kolstad, both Alistair MacLean and Stephen King were influences in the creating of the story of John Wick in terms of characterisation and world-building, stating, "[…] MacLean could build a world, and King could surprise you by what the main character truly was capable of."[28]

text: On December 3, 2012, it was announced that Thunder Road Pictures had bought the script with discretionary funds, with Kolstad agreeing due to Thunder Road's plan to make the film straight away.[7][56][58] When Basil Iwanyk, head of Thunder Road Pictures, had first read Kolstad's original screenplay, he was immediately drawn to the main character of Wick, stating, "The tone of the script was subversive and really fun."[19] He also admired the emotional weight and action theme of the piece. After Thunder Road had optioned the script, Kolstad spent additional months refurbishing the script with them. In the original script, the character of John Wick was written with "a man in his mid-sixties" to play the role, given the title character’s fabled reputation as a revered and respected assassin.[19] However, Iwanyk was of the belief that this was irrelevant and bent the original vision ever so slightly, stating, "Instead, we decided to look for someone who is not literally older, but who has a seasoned history in the film world."[59]

text: On May 7, 2013, it was announced that Keanu Reeves began negotiations to star in the piece in April, and was later confirmed as the film's male lead, after Iwanyk and Peter Lawson of Thunder Road showed him the script,[17] to which he thought to be full of potential and further stated, "I love the role, but you want the whole story, the whole ensemble to come to life."[60] Reeves and Kolstad had worked closely together on further developing the screenplay and the story,[56][61] with the screenwriter stating, "We spent as much time developing the other characters as we did his. [Keanu] recognizes that the strength of the storyline lies in even the smallest details."[62] The title of the film was later changed from Scorn to John Wick, as according to Kolstad, "Keanu liked the name so much, that Reeves kept telling everyone that he was making a film called 'John Wick'", and the producers agreed, changing the title.[27]

text: During story discussions for John Wick, Reeves contacted Chad Stahelski and David Leitch, who he originally met on the set of The Matrix,[63] to see if they were interested in choreographing or directing the action of the piece.[15][64] Reeves admired Stahelski and Leitch's work performing, choreographing and coordinating, stating that, "When I got the script... I immediately thought of Chad and Dave for the action design, but I was secretly hoping they'd want to direct it."[64] he then added, "I knew that they would love the genre and I knew that they would love John Wick. And I thought the worlds that get created – the real world and then this underworld – would be attractive to them, and it was."[15][64] After reading Kolstad's script, Stahelski and Leitch, told Reeves they wanted to tell the story of John Wick, as they both had a desire to get involved with a project as directors. Impressed with Reeves' enthusiasm and the quality of the script, Stahelski and Leitch, told him that they wished to direct the film and later presented him with their version of the story which was based on "[…] the idea of [Wick] as an urban legend, a thriller assassin movie with a realistic vibe and an otherworldly setting."[17] Impressed with their concept, Reeves supported the pair, and Stahelski and Leitch pitched the idea to the studio, who hired them to direct, contrary to their initial request of directing the film's second unit.[15] On 7 May 2013, it was announced that Stahelski and Leitch were to direct the film together as a team,[65][66] though it was later ruled by the Directors Guild of America that only Stahelski would be given the director credit.[6] Leitch was credited as a producer.[67]

text: Stahelski acknowledged the challenges in balancing the action with that of both the pace and tone,[46] stating "we're good at doing that for a particular scene when doing action, but here, we had to take a through-line for the entire film." He acknowledged also that action itself should be a collaborative entity with the story, as opposed to being a thing of its own: "If you're clever with the story and clever with the action, they can fuse together."[68] "We don’t see any real separation that the story stops, and then we just wow you with action. If it all fits and weaves together and helps you love the character, that's what we want to do. … Demand more out of your action, as an audience."[45][68]

text: It was remarked by Kolstad, once Reeves, Stahelski and Leitch were officially on board, that during the period of January 2013 to September 2013,[69] he was still working on the final drafts of the screenplay and the modifying of it, to which he described in the general sense a rather "relentless process" further stating, "[…] it needs to be in order to get everyone’s vision in check."[69][70]

text: On September 12, 2013, Willem Dafoe was confirmed to have been cast in the role of Marcus "[…] a close friend of Wick. He was the one who encouraged Wick to leave the life after his wife dies."[71][72] On 19 September 2013, Michael Nyqvist, Alfie Allen, Adrianne Palicki and Dean Winters were later confirmed to be a part of the film's supporting cast.[73][74] On 14 October 2013, Bridget Moynahan had joined the cast of Stahelski and Leitch's film in the role of John Wick's wife from whom "the beagle puppy, Daisy, was a posthumous gift to John."[75][76][77] On 15 October 2013, Jason Isaacs had joined the cast, portraying David.[78][79][80] On 27 November 2013, Daniel Bernhardt was confirmed to have joined the cast of Stahelski and Leitch's John Wick, playing Kirill, "a formal Russian military commander who is Viggo's henchman."[81] Stahelski and Leitch are hoping for more opportunities behind the camera,[82] with Stahelski himself stating, "Our focus has always been to be filmmakers first and department heads second" and "Now we're following our passion and our dream".[83][84]

text: Filming[edit]

text: Principal photography was confirmed to have begun in New York City, with an expected late 2014 release, with an original shooting schedule meant to have occurred from 25 September to 5 December.[85][86] On 14 October 2013, shooting began in Mill Neck, New York,[87] with the filming process scheduled to continue in and around New York City and greater New York area.[76][88]

text: On August 26, 2013, Lionsgate announced that they were looking for "a high-end glass house with a water view" that was located in Nassau County where the 'Intruders' sequence was ultimately filmed. Both interiors and exteriors of the house were used. Additionally with a scene or two being shot in Long Island.[89] On October 6, 2013, filming occurred next door to the Flatiron School, on 11 Broadway.[90] Filming moved to Brooklyn on October 24, with filming occurring on 6th Avenue between Union and Carroll Street, President Street between 6th and 7th Avenues and Carroll Street between 6th and 7th Avenues.[91] Additionally filming later occurred at the St. Francis Xavier Church on 6th Avenue.[92][93] On October 28, 2013, a scene was shot CITGO gas station, 501 N. Highland Ave in Upper Nyack, whilst also shooting footage at Route 9W and Christian Herald Road.[94][95]

text: On November 1, 2013, filming took place in lower Manhattan at 1 Wall Street Court, was used for the exterior of The Continental hotel. On November 12, 2013, some scenes were shot on 25 Broadway,[96] and in downtown Manhattan on Beaver Street by Broad Street.[97] Filming also took place at W 43rd Street and 8th Avenue, on November 13, in Manhattan,[98] and club scenes for John Wick have been filmed on W 27 Street, with November 15 being the last night schedule at the location.[99] On November 21, 2013, it was announced that a bath house scene was scheduled to be filmed on November 24, December 4 and December 5.[100] Other shooting locations included Tribeca, on November 20, which a chase scene was filmed on Church Street.[101] It was also reported, on November 27, that filming had been set up on E 83rd and 3rd Street on the Upper East Side.[102][103]

text: On December 2, 2013, a three-week Upper East Side shoot was scheduled until December 22, with Keanu Reeves and Willem Dafoe filming several scenes.[104] Filming continued to shoot in Tribeca from December 3 to December 5, with the notification placed on Church and Franklin.[105] After the Tribeca shoot, the crew moved to Long Island on December 6 to film a funeral scene.[106] Additional filming was reported on December 13 for Chambers Street, Worth Street and Lafayette Street.[107] On December 19, Reeves was filming in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn.[108]

text: Principal photography was confirmed to have ended on December 20, 2013,[109] with post-production beginning on January 10, 2014.[110]

text: According to directors commentary, their first cut of the movie was 2 hours and 20 minutes long. They didn't reveal much about approximately 39 minutes of footage that was cut out of the movie but they did mention that the ending fight between John and Viggo was longer but was cut down after they both acknowledged that Viggo shouldn’t really pose a big physical threat to Wick. Also, David Leitch said how "There’s a ton of great shots on the cutting room floor that’s just Keanu walking in cool environments."[111]

text: Cinematography[edit]

text:
"Having the ALEXA XT with in-camera ARRIRAW is like going to back to an ARRICAM or an ARRIFLEX 435, which is amazing."

— Cinematographer Jonathan Sela, on the usage of ALEXA XT on John Wick[112]

text: The film was shot digitally with Arri Alexa XT in a distributed aspect ratio of 2.39:1.[113] Cinematographer Jonathan Sela himself chose to work with Arri Alexa XT cameras due to discussions regarding the look of the film John Wick, thus he pushed for a mix of ARRICAM and ALEXA which allowed, in turn, the blend of film and digital.[112] "Everybody loved the idea but when you run the numbers of having two packages and also the cost of film, it gets too expensive, so we decided to work entirely with the ALEXA. It's the camera I've used on commercials so I knew I was comfortable with the ALEXA and I knew I liked it."[112] Sela spoke of the idea that Stahelski, Leitch and himself wished to achieve a visual contrast between John Wick's normal life and the other of which he's drawn back into the underworld of assassins. "We wanted the first look to be soft and clean, and the second to be grittier, darker and sharper. For cost reasons we were shooting with just the one camera format, so I used different lenses and contrasting camerawork to create these two distinct looks." He describes the first section of the film as being far more static by stating that, "the camera never stops moving".[114] For John Wick he had decided on using both anamorphic and spherical lenses, to which he combined a set of Hawk V-Lite Vintage '74 anamorphics with that of Cooke S4 sphericals. The initial plan was to use the anamorphic and spherical lenses in the first and second parts, respectively, to create the visual contrast, however, he decided against such a course of action, as he stated, "[…] once we were shooting we felt that the camerawork was enough to separate those two worlds and we ended up using the anamorphics mainly for day work and the sphericals for night work."[112] Sela praised Hawk's Vintage '74 as "beautiful", however, highlighting that they flare considerably which would have become overbearing during night-time shooting. Equally, Sela added, "In daylight they gave us a hazy look and reduced the contrast, which helped make the day scenes seem much more cinematic to me."[112]

text: According to Sela, on-board ARRIRAW recording with the ALEXA XT cameras made a considerable difference with camerawork, stating, "Having the ALEXA XT with in-camera ARRIRAW is like going to back to an ARRICAM or an ARRIFLEX 435, which is amazing." There was a considerable amount of handheld camera work on the second section of John Wick and usage of the ALEXA M allowed filming "to squeeze through the window or into restricted spaces" to occur, especially for the car scenes.[112] Sela was recording ARRIRAW and used the whole sensor area of ALEXA's 4:3 for the anamorphic scenes, which allowed for the maximisation of the image quality for a 4K cinema release. Of such a decision the following was stated, "Shooting in ARRIRAW and having that extra sensor area helps most when you need to manipulate the image; you'll notice it when you have to adjust the color or contrast in a scene because you simply have more information to work with."[112]

text: Design[edit]

text: Costume design[edit]

text: Costume designer Luca Mosca explained that Wick had to possess a piece of attire that had to be worn throughout almost the entire production of the film, to which he then added, "Then we had to tailor it perfectly and make it sleek and timeless enough to fit into this perfect world." Due to the nature of the world Stahelski and Leitch created, Luca had to create a statement for every character based on their costume.[18] Reeves remarked praise for the costume designer, to which he highlighted Luca's ability to give the pieces of clothing meaning, if only subtle; "All the different shades of black that Luca used gave it a lot of overtones. It's funeral and it's priestly. It's also very chic, but it doesn't call attention to itself. When I put on the suit, it definitely affects me."[43] Initially the idea was to place the villains of the piece in combat gear, but later they decided against that due to the principle that they have to be placed in suits, with Leitch quoting Luca, "It is about men in suits."[115]

text: Production design[edit]

text: John Wick features not two worlds, but instead "two of everything", stated production designer Dan Leigh on the contrast of the worlds, speaking in jest.[18] Leigh added, "I approached the story as more of a fable, which ties into the graphic-novel idea. The visual manifestation of that is something that transcends reality. The light is a little bit different. There’s texture in the air. There are unexpected objects everywhere."[116]

text: Sound design[edit]

text: James Bolt and Martyn Zub were the re-recording mixers. Mark Stoeckinger was the supervising sound editor.[117]

text: Production sound mixer Danny Michael had used Sound Devices' 788T-SSD Digital Recorder[118] and CL-WiFi[118] as sound devices, additionally with a Lectrosonics VRT-Venue System, Lectrosonics radio mics, Schoeps CMC-6U and CMIT-5U microphones, a Cooper Sound 208 mixer, Blackmagic dual seven-inch monitors and a Denecke Dcode GR-1 as the main time clock for John Wick.[118] Due to John Wick being an action-oriented piece, it required a lot of sound effects, as well as "file-based workflow".[119]

text: For Michael, the 788T-SSD's ability to swap removable storage was an advantage, due to him simply supplying his CompactFlash to the post-production company Light Iron, in order for them to process the raw unedited footage on the set.[119] Michael stated, "I was basically handing over my sound every time a camera roll changed, to a person who was literally five feet away from me" adding that,[120] "They then took my material and synced it with what was coming off the cameras, on the spot. We would rotate CF cards throughout the course of the day."[120]

text: Visual effects[edit]

text: Jake Braver was the overall Visual Effects Supervisor and visual effects company Spin VFX worked on most of the visual effects on John Wick.[121]

text: Music[edit]

text: The musical score to John Wick was composed by Tyler Bates and Joel J. Richard, with on-screen violin music performed by Scott Tixier.[122] The film also features a few pieces of additional music such as Marilyn Manson's "Killing Strangers" and T-Bo and Bengie B's "Get Money". The original soundtrack album, John Wick: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, was released digitally on October 21 and received a physical format release on October 27 by Varese Sarabande Records.[123] In addition to Bates and Richard's score, the album features music by artists such as Ciscandra Nostalghia, The Candy Shop Boys, and M86 & Susie Q. Le Castle Vania also provided additional music for the score.[122][124]

text: Influences[edit]

text: Director Chad Stahelski said influences on John Wick included The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966), Point Blank (1967), Le Cercle Rouge (1970), and The Killer (1989).[125]

text: Stahelski said about The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, "Look at Clint Eastwood in [the film] – there is so much back-story unsaid there. We're big fans of leaving it to your imagination. We just give you some gold coins, and then it's, "Where do the gold coins come from?" We'll get to that. Have your imagination do some work there."[25] He also said Point Blank (1967) influenced John Wick: "One of the biggest inspirations for the film was Point Blank. We watched it on a loop in our office and there are a couple homages to that [in John Wick]."[126] Park Chan-wook's The Vengeance Trilogy (2002–2005) and Lee Jeong-beom's The Man from Nowhere (2010) influenced the film due to "[their] minimalist composition and graphic nature."[127]

text: For screenwriter Derek Kolstad, both Alistair MacLean and Stephen King were huge influences in the creation of the story of John Wick in terms of characterisation and world-building, stating, with himself stating, "MacLean could build a world, and King could surprise you by what the main character truly was capable of."[128] Outside of films, Stahelski and Leitch drew inspiration from the visual stylings of the '60s and '70s as well as cinematic influences, including Sergio Leone, Akira Kurosawa, Steve McQueen, Lee Marvin, William Friedkin and Sam Peckinpah.[25] With Stahelski himself stating, "All the way back to Kurosawa up to Sergio Leone. We like the spaghetti western sensibility there, some of the composition." Albeit inspiration and emulation from the noir film genre, Stahelski too added that, "Noir maybe was sort of less impactful for us than the other sort of westerns and Kurosawa and things like that. I think we wanted to make this hard-boiled character."[125][126][129]

text: Marketing[edit]

text: The official website for John Wick debuted on August 15, 2014 introducing a marketing campaign and interactive layout to promote the film. The website streamed an audio file as well as containing interactive games such as "The Red Club Club" and "Revenge Ride".[130] Lionsgate also provided information on the cast and crew as well as a gallery and video section.[131] The first images debuted on August 21, 2014 featuring Reeves' as Wick.[132] With the release Liongate confirmed the film being set for a "sudden release" on October 24, 2014.[133] On September 10, 2014, the teaser poster was released as well as the confirmation date of the expected teaser trailer.[134] The teaser trailer for John Wick debuted September 12, 2014.[135] The theatrical release poster and the final theatrical trailer were both released on September 30, 2014, by both Stahelski and Leitch on an 'Ask me anything' Reddit session.[136]

text: Lionsgate had provided Collider.com and Moviepilot, on October 2, 2014, with a prize pack to give away to various readers, which included Assassin's Creed Unity, a Fandango gift card for $25, a Lionsgate DVD 3-pack with Dredd, Gamer, and Rambo, and a John Wick poster and T-shirt.[137][138] On October 6, 2014, the official website for John Wick had been updated to include three trailers, photographs with John's story as well as individual cast photos and mini-biographies.[139] The IMAX TV spot trailer for John Wick debuted October 6, 2014, featuring new footage of the film.[140] Carl F. Bucherer was the official partner of the John Wick premiere in New York City on October 13, 2014. Keanu Reeves sported a Manero AutoDate with a light dial, Willem Dafoe wore a Manero AutoDate in classic black, and Daniel Bernhardt with a Patravi ChronoGrade.[141] An IMAX Featurette was released on October 22, 2014 featuring clips relating to the film, accompanied by statements by Reeves, Stahelski, and Leitch.[142]

text: On October 16, 2014, John Wick was featured on the week’s issue of Entertainment Weekly.[143]

text: As part of a cross-promotion deal with Overkill Software, Lionsgate and Thunder Road Pictures, on October 21, 2014, John Wick was added as a playable character in the online game Payday 2, and other elements from the film, including Wick's signature weapons, and skill tree that allowed for dual-wielding of certain firearms.[144] Additionally, Fandango offered people who purchase tickets online at select theaters a free download of Payday 2 through Steam.[145] Variety described Liongate's deal as a "pretty imaginative marketing move".[146] Danielle DePalma, Lionsgate's EVP of Digital Marketing, stated, "We're big fans of Payday 2 and the team at Starbreeze, and we're thrilled to kick off our partnership with such a cool movie"[147] and Bo Andersson Klint, Starbreeze CEO, stated, "We've finally got a real hitman on our team. Being able to play as John Wick in Payday 2 ahead of the movie's release is a great reward for our loyal Payday 2 community."[147]

text: Release[edit]

text: John Wick premiered at the Regal Union Square Theatre, Stadium 14 on October 13, 2014 in New York City,[148] after screening at the Austin Fantastic Fest on September 19,[149][150] where it opened the official sidebar section, Special Gala Screening, to an astounding reception,[151] and the ArcLight Hollywood in Los Angeles on October 22, 2014.[152] John Wick had its television premiere on USA (Channel) on March 12, 2017.

text: Pre-release screenings[edit]

text: Prior to John Wick's public release, an advance screening of the film was shown on October 9, 2014 at Regal Oakwood in Hollywood, Florida.[153] A screening was shown in advance at the UA Court Street in Brooklyn, New York on October 14.[154] Glendale Designs sponsored a private screening on October 16, 2014 at Harkins Arrowhead in Peoria, Arizona.[155] BackstageOL and Lionsgate hosted an advance screening on October 21, 2014 at Edwards Greenway Grand Palace Stadium in Houston, Texas and at the Santikos Embassy 14 in San Antonio, Texas. Additionally, Lionsgate had announced 40 additional advanced screening's at selected theatres in the United States from October 21 to October 22., as part of a national campaign to promote John Wick.[156] Entertainment One Films held advance screenings in Toronto, Ottawa, Halifax, Calgary, Edmonton, Victoria and Vancouver between October 20 and October 23.[157]

text: Theatrical run[edit]

text: John Wick began a wide theatrical release in the United States on October 24, 2014,[158] expanding in successive weeks to France, Australia and Netherlands,[159][160] ahead of a bow in the United Kingdom on February 2, 2015 after expanding throughout Europe.[161][162]

text: On May 22, 2013, Liongate had sold more than $250 million in territorial rights to nine titles at the Cannes Film Festival, including John Wick.[163] Studio Canal will distribute the piece throughout Germany,[164] Metropolitan Filmexport acquired the French distribution rights to John Wick from Lionsgate,[165] Acme Film acquired the distribution rights throughout the Baltic region,[166] Monolith Films acquired the film rights in Poland, Imagem had acquired the Latin American distribution rights,[164] Orange Sky Golden Harvest obtained the film rights in Taiwan and Hong Kong,[162] and Media Pro acquired the rights in the regions of Czech, Romania, Hungary, and Bulgaria.[162] Entertainment One Films picked up the Canadian distribution rights.[167] On 10 June 2014, Belga Films had acquired the rights to distribute the film within the Benelux region.[168] On 2 July 2014, MK2 Pictures were confirmed to have acquired the Italian distribution rights to John Wick.[164][169] On 8 May 2014, the Huayi Brothers picked up the Chinese distribution rights to John Wick, being one of only four films in the United States that were picked up, with a planned 2015 limited theatrical release.[170] On 11 August 2014, Lions Gate Entertainment acquired from Thunder Road Pictures the distribution rights to John Wick in the United States, with a planned 2014 limited theatrical release,[171][172][173] and in October, Summit Entertainment, a Lionsgate company, distributed the film in the United States[174] On 31 October 2014, it was announced that Warner Bros. Pictures would be distributing the film within the United Kingdom.[175][176] It was later announced that the release date in the United Kingdom was moved back from the first weekend of 2015 to 10 April 2015.[177]

text: On October 2, 2014, Summit Entertainment announced that John Wick would be released in IMAX.[178] Phil Groves, Senior Vice President of IMAX Corp and Executive Vice President of Global Distribution, IMAX Entertainment, stated, "John Wick is a fun action romp, complete with a tremendously entertaining performance by Keanu Reeves that is perfect for IMAX fans."[179] further adding, "There's no better place for audiences to experience the film's stylized storytelling than in IMAX theatres."[180]

text: Box office[edit]

text: John Wick earned $14.4 million from 2,589 locations on its opening weekend,[181] compared to the $7–8 million opening most analysts projected the film would make.[182] By the end of its theatrical run, John Wick grossed $45.7 million in North America and $43 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $88.8 million, against a production budget of $20 million.[183]

text: The film had a wide release in the United States and Canada in selected theatres on October 24.[184] The film earned $5.45 million on its opening day,[185] including $875,000 from Thursday night previews,[186] which was the second highest opening of that weekend, at an average of $5,465 per theater.[187] The film grossed $2.5 million from 347 IMAX locations that weekend, which represented 17.7 percent of the film's overall gross for its opening weekend.[188] The audience was 60% male and 77% were older than 25.[189][181]

text: Outside North America, the film took $1.4 million during its international opening weekend.[190] The film's highest-grossing debuts were in France, Australia, Thailand, Mexico, and the United Arab Emirates.[190] On its second week, it added $6.7 million from 33 territories.[191] The film went number one in France ($1.2 million) from 300 screens, number three in Australia ($961,000) from 177 screens, and number ten in the Middle East ($1 million) from a total of 80 screens.[191]

text: Reception[edit]

text: John Wick received generally positive reviews. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 86% based on 194 reviews, with an average rating of 6.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Stylish, thrilling, and giddily kinetic, John Wick serves as a satisfying return to action for Keanu Reeves – and what looks like it could be the first of a franchise."[192] Metacritic, another review aggregator, assigned the film a weighted average score of 68 out of 100, based on 39 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[193] CinemaScore reported that audiences gave the film a "B" grade, on an A+ to F scale.[194][195]

text: Peter Travers of Rolling Stone praised the piece by stating, "John Wick is the kind of fired-up, ferocious B-movie fun some of us can't get enough of" and praising the "juicy performances" from Dafoe, Leguizamo, and McShane.[196] Richard Corliss of Time magazine wrote, "Action movies are about movement, and John Wick pursues that goal with remorseless verve."[197] Ignatiy Vishnevetsky of The A.V. Club gave the film an "B+" rating, stating, "An underworld fantasy that grafts crisp action on to Rian Johnson-esque world-building, producing one of the more fully realized shoot-'em-up flicks in recent memory." He continued by praising the script of Kolstad, citing that it "distinguishes itself by carefully defining the boundaries of its universe".[198] Chris Nashawaty of Entertainment Weekly gave the film an "A-" rating and called Kolstad's screenplay, "a marvelously rich and stylish feat of pulpy world-building."[199]

text: Justin Lowe of The Hollywood Reporter granted the film praise, "After a marked absence from the genre, Reeves resoundingly returns with an effortless, kinetic style that positions the film extremely well for any potential follow-ups."[200] Peter Debruge of Variety spoke highly of the film, "Back in action-hero mode, Keanu Reeves joins forces with his Matrix stunt double to deliver a slick and satisfying revenge thriller" and described "what a thrill well-choreographed action can be when we're actually able to make out what's happening".[201] Stephanie Zacharek of The Village Voice said that, "Reeves is wonderful here, a marvel of physicality and stern determination – he moves with the grace of an old-school swashbuckler."[202] Bilge Ebiri of Vulture commented, "It's a beautiful coffee-table action movie."[203]

text: Jeannette Catsoulis wrote, in her review for The New York Times, "Harboring few ambitions beyond knock-your-socks-off action sequences, this crafty revenge thriller delivers with so much style – and even some wit – that the lack of substance takes longer than it should to become problematic." Catsoulis praised Dafoe and Leguizamo as "bringing real subtlety to an all-too-brief scene" and Nyqvist as "marvellous", as well as Stahelski's direction and Sela's cinematography.[204] Forrest Wickman of Slate noted, "John Wick offers a slow burn, sizzling in a manner true to its hero’s surname."[205] Jordan Hoffman of The Guardian scored the film four out of five stars, writing, "A slick, propulsive and ridiculous crime picture that strides like an automatic machine gun."[206]

text: However, Peter Bradshaw, also reviewing for The Guardian, gave the film 2 out of 5 stars and stated "... Reeves's semi-deliberate zonked deadpan style only really works in juxtaposition with funny dialogue – and this is a pretty humourless and violent film, which grinds on and on with more and more gleaming black SUVs getting trashed."[207] Ealasaid Haas of San Jose Mercury News described John Wick as a "disappointingly standard revenge movie."[208] John Semley of The Globe and Mail called the title "the new name in crummy action cinema," giving it one-half out of 4 stars.[209]

text: Video game[edit]

text: On August 7, 2015, Lionsgate and Starbreeze Studios announced a partnership to develop a first-person shooter virtual reality game based on the film for the HTC Vive/Steam VR. Development was to be headed by Grab Games, with Starbreeze set to publish. WEVR was to develop an introductory experience for the game. The game was released on February 9, 2017, with the name John Wick Chronicles.[210] and have a standalone narrative based on the Continental Hotel.[211][212] Additionally, John Wick content – a free Character Pack and a chargeable Weapons Pack – was released for the Payday 2 games on October 20, 2016, as cross-promotion.[213][214]

text: Sequels[edit]

text: A sequel was released on February 10, 2017,[215] and at the 2016 CinemaCon, Reeves hinted that more sequels had been planned.[215] Following the release of John Wick: Chapter 2 it was reported that a third film is currently in development with a target release of May 17, 2019.[216][217]

text: TV series[edit]

text: In June 2017, it was reported that a prequel series titled The Continental is in active development. The series will focus on the hotel chain that acts as a neutral ground for assassins, as opposed the character John Wick.[218]