Arthur (season 16) facts for kids

The 16th season of the popular TV show Arthur first aired on PBS in the United States. It ran from October 15, 2012, to May 10, 2013. This season had 10 episodes, each usually split into two shorter stories.

This season was special for a few reasons. It was the first time the show was handled by a new company, 9 Story Media Group. Also, the animation style changed. Instead of the older, traditional animation, they started using Flash animation. This allowed the show to be made in a wider screen format (16:9), which is what most TVs use today.

What Happened in Season 16

Season 16 introduced some exciting new characters and explored many everyday challenges. The episodes often taught important lessons about friendship, honesty, and growing up.

New Friends and Big Changes

One big change was the arrival of a new girl named Ladonna. She moved to Elwood City from Louisiana with her younger brother, Bud. Ladonna loved telling stories to make new friends. Sometimes, she even made up parts of her stories. This led to some funny and tricky situations. Bud, her brother, also tried to make friends, especially with D.W.

School and Life Lessons

The kids at Lakewood Elementary faced many interesting challenges.

• In "Based on a True Story," Ladonna learned that honesty is always the best policy.
• "Flippity Francine" showed Francine dealing with an embarrassing video. She wanted to be known for something she was proud of instead.
• "Muffy Takes the Wheel" taught Muffy about doing her own work. Her dad tried to help too much with a school project.
• "Get Smart" featured Mr. Ratburn's class testing a new smart board. Brain had to prove that even technology can be wrong sometimes.
• "So Funny I Forgot to Laugh" was an important episode. Arthur learned about the impact of his words. He realized that teasing can really hurt someone's feelings.

Fun with D.W. and Friends

D.W. also had her own adventures.

• In "All About D.W.," she really wanted a part in the preschool play. She learned about being an understudy.
• "Blockheads" showed D.W. and Emily working together. They built their dream house out of blocks.
• "Night of the Tibble" was about D.W. and Emily trying to protect James. They were worried about his sleepover with the Tibble twins.
• "Read and Flumbergast" saw D.W. acting as a judge. She helped solve a mystery about a missing cupcake.

Sports, Books, and More

The season also covered other fun topics.

• "Baseball Blues" was about George learning to play baseball better. He already knew a lot about the sport.
• "Buster's Book Battle" explored the challenge of reading for fun versus reading for points.
• "On the Buster Scale" showed Buster and Brain disagreeing. They had different ideas about how to rate movies.
• "Fern and the Case of the Stolen Story" taught Fern about respecting other people's ideas.
• "Sue Ellen Vegges Out" explored vegetarianism. It showed how friends can influence each other's choices.

New Voices for Familiar Faces

This season brought some changes to the voices of your favorite characters. Several voice actors were replaced.

• Drew Adkins became the new voice of Arthur.
• Jake Beale started voicing D.W. (He had previously voiced James in earlier seasons).
• Siam Yu took over as the voice of Brain.
• Jacob Ewaniuk became the voice of Timmy.
• Robyn Thaler began voicing Catherine.

This season also introduced the voices for the new characters. Krystal Meadows voiced Ladonna Compson, and Julie Lemieux voiced Bud Compson.