And Now Let's Talk to Some Kids

Summary
The Magic Toolbox comes to Mr. Ratburn's class to put some of the kids on TV.

Plot
Arthur asked the viewers if they ever noticed that people's personalities fit them perfectly. Then Mr Ratburn says that they needed more homework and quizzes. Then Buster is laughing at a joke from a book he was reading. Then Francine tells Muffy she wasn't going to the mall and that she was going to play soccer and that Muffy was going to play with her. Muffy says that she is so rude. Then Arthur tells the viewers to imagine what it would be like if they had other personalities. It would be weird. In. Busters voice: For tonights homework, find a funny joke. And if they make him laugh, they get an A. Francine says what she said. Then Binky ( in Muffy's voice.) says that she's going to the mall because they have the cutest sneakers. In Arthur's house, Arthur is sleeping on his desk until Pal in Mr. Ratburn's voice questions him if he's doing math or daydreaming and then does the 7 times tables after he says that 7 x 3 is 21. Arthur tells Pal to stop and tells the viewers how weird that would be. Pal then tells Arthur to scratch him behind the ears after homework.

After the title card, Arthur, Buster, and D.W. were watching the Let's Talk to Some Kids segment on the Magic Toolbox. D.W. says if they are gonna choose Arthur. Then she imitates Arthur which makes Buster laugh, but annoy Arthur. The next day, Mr. Ratburn's class were having a quiz when Mr. Haney comes in saying the people behind Let's Talk To Some Kids has chosen Mr. Ratburn's class. At recess, Arthur, Francine, and Sue Ellen gave their ideas, except Brain, who is doing a science project. At home, Arthur and Buster are practicing for their TV appearances, much to D.W.'s annoyance. The next day, Arthur's friends discover he's not gonna be on TV. Arthur's friends try to get Brain TV-interested, but to no avail. The next day, it was time to film Mr. Ratburn's class. It was a success, but Francine was thinking about Brain.

In the future, Brain in his older-self made a teleporter. Arthur and Francine in their older-selves watch the Magic Toolbox on TV, ending the episode.

Main characters

 * Arthur Read
 * Buster Baxter
 * Mr. Ratburn
 * Francine Frensky
 * Alan Powers

Minor Characters

 * D.W. Read
 * Muffy Crosswire
 * Binky Barnes
 * Pal
 * Sue Ellen Armstrong
 * Mrs. Fink
 * Kenny
 * Mr. Haney

Background Characters

 * Alex
 * George Lundgren
 * Jenna Morgan
 * Fern Walters
 * Maria Pappas
 * Unknown Female Aardvark (Number 3)
 * Helen

Trivia

 * On the TV show, Let's Talk to Some Kids that Arthur, Buster, and D.W. were watching, there is an aardvark girl with a hairstyle similar to Francine's and with barrettes, but shorter.
 * During the intro, Pal can be heard talking like Mr. Ratburn, but wasn't officially given the ability to speak until in The Secret Life of Dogs and Babies.
 * There are two parodies of the Arthur intro in this episode: One is when Buster is imagining himself on TV, and the other is when Francine is imagining the Brain having his own TV show. The latter parody also includes a parody of "Arthur's New Puppy" titled "Brain's New Puppy".
 * This episode implies that Arthur and Francine marry in the future and have not seen Buster in a long time.
 * The name of the episode is a play on the phrase, "And now, a word from us kids," referential of the segment featuring actual children shown as interstitial content between stories on most Arthur episodes, save those which featured "Postcards from You."
 * Buster hoping to get his own show is foreshadowing Postcards From Buster (although almost all the kids imagined having their own show).
 * This episode, along with 4A, (Background Blues) both feature scenes that take place in the future, except "And Now Let's Talk to Some Kids" features a future scene at the end, while Background Blues shows it at the beginning.

Cultural references

 * The Magic Toolbox show's title is a parody of that of The Magic School Bus.

Errors

 * Francine mentions that she didn't get a puppy last Christmas, despite the fact that she and her family are Jewish. In the book Arthur's Christmas that was first published fourteen years before this episode went on the air, Francine was seen sitting on Santa Claus's lap, but never revealed which holiday she celebrates with her family.
 * When the kids watch the completed episode of the show in school, Francine's interview comes last. When the elderly Arthur and Francine watch the tape again in the future, Francine appears before Muffy and Buster. (But this could have been editing done after recording the tape)

Home Video
DVD:

VHS:
 * Arthur Goes To Hollywood


 * Arthur Goes To Hollywood