Arthur and Los Vecinos

Summary
Mr. Sipple from next door is moving away and Arthur wonders—who will be the new neighbors? When Alberto and his family settle in, Arthur makes a new friend and learns about a different culture ... and about a comic book character named Conejo Bionico, which is Spanish for Bionic Bunny!

Plot
The episode starts with workers moving things out of Mr. Sipple's house as Arthur and D.W. watch. Mr. Sipple thanks Arthur and D.W. for being good neighbors, and he gives them Thelma, a singing fish on a plaque. D.W. says goodbye as Mr. Sipple gets in the moving truck, and Arthur explains that he didn't always like Mr. Sipple. He cooked fish late at night, and sang loudly in the shower, but at least they will have Thelma to remember him by. D.W. claims Thelma as her pet while Arthur rolls his eyes.

Arthur and Los Vecinos

Arthur and D.W. are having a staring contest outside the house. D.W. wins and Arthur accuses her of "half-blinking," but this argument is interrupted when Arthur sees Pal barking at a strange dog, who then licks D.W. A man walks down the street and explains that the dog (Amigo) belongs to him, and that Amigo is harmless, before introducing himself and his family as Arthur and D.W.'s new neighbors, the Molinas. He says that he has a 13-year old son named Alberto and a 3-year old daughter named Vicita, and tells Arthur and D.W. that they, along with their parents, are invited to dinner next weekend. D.W. is excited to meet someone younger than her, while Arthur is afraid that Alberto will have nothing in common with him.

Arthur and Buster spy on Alberto through binoculars, seeing that Alberto is practicing. Buster thinks that this is cool, although Arthur is afraid that Alberto will give him a wedgie, although neither Buster nor Arthur know what that is. Meanwhile, D.W. decides that she wants to play Tower of Cows with Vicita, because Confuse the Goose is too confusing and "she probably doesn't even know what a goose is!" D.W. imagines teaching Vicita how to ride a bike, be a good younger sister (pinning her mistakes on her older brother), and play games.

The Read family go to the Molinas’ house, with Arthur complaining about being forced to wear a suit and bow tie, and D.W. upset about not being able to bring Thelma. After ringing the doorbell, Jane says to David, “If I pull my ear, it means the kids are exhausted and we have to go home.”

With that, Ramón welcomes them in and serves them food. Vicita brings D.W. up to her room to play Pick-Up-Ticks, although she explains and plays the game so quickly that D.W. doesn’t have time to react. Back downstairs, Ramón tells Alberto that he should show Arthur his room. When walking upstairs, Arthur imagines Alberto’s room having pictures of bands “or worse, girls!” Alberto’s bedroom turns out to be full of Bionic Bunny merchandise, much to Arthur’s delight.

Back downstairs, Jane and Mrs. Molina are talking about a glass bird, Arthur and Alberto are playing chess, David and Ramón are having a discussion, and Vicita and D.W. are playing Hot Tomato. Vicita wins again, and D.W. asks her mom if they can go home. When they leave, Alberto gives Arthur a Spanish Bionic Bunny comic. As he walks home, Arthur comments that Alberto is “so cool!” Mom even says, “They were so nice, and I didn’t even have to pull my ear.”

The next day, D.W. is trying to teach Vicita to flip on a trampoline, although Vicita flips perfectly on her first try. Arthur gives Alberto one of his Bionic Bunny Walkie-Talkies. However, Arthur constantly calls to ask what the Spanish words in his Bionic Bunny comic mean in English, much to Alberto’s annoyance.

D.W. and Vicita are playing Tower of Cows at the Molinas’ house. Vicita manages to stack the cows perfectly in less than eight seconds, before D.W. even teaches her how to play. D.W. gets mad and tells Vicita that she should have let her explain the game before perfecting it.

Arthur is walking Pal on the street when he notices the Molina family having a party in their backyard. Arthur goes to his house and announces the party, and he is going to it. Jane tells him that the party is probably private, and D.W. claims that he wasn’t invited because he annoys Alberto. Arthur initially says, “I don’t bug Alberto” but then changes his mind and asks “Do I?”

D.W. is angry at Vicita because “some people are so bossy!”

David smells chicken cooking and wants to ask Ramón which seasoning he's using before Jane quickly distracts them from the party.

Arthur plays basketball in front of his house, and Alberto walks up to him, holding a bag. Alberto reveals that the party was a house-warming party with his grandparents and cousins, and he tells Arthur that the bag has some leftover chicken from the party. Alberto also has a gift for Arthur: a Spanish-English dictionary, so Arthur will learn to translate the Spanish words in the Bionic Bunny comic book into English (while also learning about translating between Spanish and English).

D.W. is taking Thelma for a walk by tying a rope around her, when she notices Vicita screaming during a meal. She is freaking out because her peas are in her mashed potatoes. D.W. quickly separates the food with a dinner knife from Mrs. Molina, claiming that green and white foods can never touch each other. This calms Vicita down, and she eats her food. D.W. explains to Vicita that she has had the same experience before, and Vicita excitedly asks D.W. to also teach her how to blow bubbles, and whistle, and tie her shoes...

The episode ends with Pal and Amigo barking at the moon — with Pal teaching Amigo to bark in English, and Amigo teaching Pal to bark in Spanish.

Major

 * Arthur Read
 * D.W. Read
 * Jane Read
 * David Read
 * Alberto Molina
 * Vicita Molina
 * Ramon Molina
 * Mrs. Molina

Minor

 * Pal
 * Kate Read
 * Amigo
 * Mr. Sipple

Trivia

 * This episode marks the first appearances of the Molina family.
 * This is the first episode written by Cusi Cram.
 * When fully translated to English, the title reads, "Arthur and the Neighbors"
 * The Justin Bradley version of this episode story is available on the VHS and DVD editions of Arthur's Family Fun.

Cultural references

 * In the swimming title card, Arthur says “Hola!”, which is Spanish for “Hello!”


 * At one point, Arthur remarks, “The only people who wear bow ties are nerds and waiters and that science guy on TV.” This is a reference to.


 * When Arthur goes up the stairs to Alberto’s room, he speculates on what it would be like, assuming there would be posters of bands. In his fantasy, one of the posters reads “Mute Cheetah,” a parody to the band “.”


 * The hot tomato is a parody of “.”

Episode connections

 * Confuse the Goose from "Sue Ellen Gets Her Goose Cooked" appears again.
 * D.W. wants to teach Vicita how to ride a bike. She learned how to ride her bike in "D.W. Rides Again."

Goofs/Errors

 * If one looks closely as the camera pans to the right while Vicita is bouncing on the trampoline, it can be seen that the ripple effect on the trampoline stops.
 * The matte line of the background is clearly visible on the right when the Read family first arrive at the Molina residence.
 * The Hot Tomato goes from 36 seconds to just three seconds when it is in a closeup.