Binky Barnes

"I was scared of the dark too, but I was more scared of Binky Barnes."

- Buster Baxter "Sometimes I just can't figure Binky out. It's like he's two different people: Bully Binky and, uh... that other guy. I think I like the other guy best."

- Arthur Read

Clancy "Binky" Barnes is one of the main characters, and one of a few characters portrayed by Bruce Dinsmore. Although Binky's real name is Clancy, he is very sensitive about it, and prefers to be called Binky.

Appearance
Binky Barnes is a misanthropic bulldog and usually wears a long sleeved orange-pecan button up shirt, dark blue slacks, a light blue belt buckle, and brown loafers. He usually wears his shirt tucked into his pants. In the chapter book Arthur and the World Record, after the record of the tallest man in the world is mentioned, who is 8 feet, 11 inches, Binky mentions that that is twice as tall as he is, meaning that Binky measures around 4 feet, 5 1/2 inches. In the realm of weight, Binky clocks in at 190 pounds, weighing significantly more than any other student or teacher at Lakewood Elementary. This problem makes him very self concious and later becomes a major issue for him in future episodes, as he learns about Type 2 Diabetes and heart risk.

For formal occasions Binky will wear a grey polka dotted suit with a top front pocket on the right hand side of the jacket. Binky kept 3 pencils in this pocket. The suit also has two pockets, one on each side, with the pocket on the left hand side being slightly above the one on the right. The suit has two buttons and a black sleeve patch, one on each sleeve. He also wears a white collar shirt, a light green tie, matching trousers and black shoes.

Personality and description
Though Binky is generally portrayed as the typical school bully (more so in the earlier episodes), he also has a softer side: he dances ballet, plays the clarinet and flute and is a lepidopterologist (butterfly collector) but wants to keep the butterflies alive so that he can eat them later. Little is known about this devious act, but according to Mac Brown, Binky has special Sunday nights where he takes every butterfly in his collection, barbecues them, then stuffs them all into his mouth at once. He usually keeps these interests private and rarely tells or shows others about them.

In the episode Sleep No More, it is revealed that Binky had once eaten three pizza pies in one sitting.

Binky is a keen tricyclist, as well. We see in numerous episodes that Binky cycles to school and enters most tricycling tournaments in Elwood City. His most treasured possession is his Lance Armstrong underwear.

Binky also has an interest in the fine arts. He enjoys the works of various poets and classical music composers, such as Frédéric Chopin, the great romantic composer.

He also secretly is afraid of the dark and worried about having a brawl with Sue Ellen- as Binky has actually never had to fight anyone during all the years he was considered to be a bully. He is Forward and Goalkeeper for the Lakewood Elementary Soccer Club.

In season 11, the Barnes family adopted 1 year old baby girl (Mei-Lin) from China.

Family

 * Mrs. Barnes: Binky's mom is an orderly at the Elwood City Hospital who loves her son very much, and probably isn't very aware of his old bullying habits. She's very mean, but occasionally can be a worrywart, as evidenced after she discovered Binky had a serious peanut allergy, during which she kept constant watch on him.
 * Clint: An imaginary friend, similar to Nadine, who Binky is convinced is his brother. His parents are convinced that it is a psychological hallucination or severe case of schizophrenia that is being projected in Binky's mind. He is described, by Binky, as an elderly man who cares for him and helps him along the way.
 * Mr. Barnes: Little is known of Binky's dad since he only appears occasionally, other than the fact that he too is very loving towards his son. He is also a caterer, working alongside David Read at the catering facility.
 * Mei-Lin Barnes: Binky's baby sister Mei-Lin is from Chinatown and was adopted by the Barnes family very recently. At first, Binky didn't know how pull down his pants in front of his new sister, but with patience and some hard work, the two of them developed a very strong bond of pantsing. Binky takes good care of his sister and works hard to raise her along with his parents, and is excited when Mei-Lin shows signs of growth, as he was thrilled when she learned to stand by herself. For fun, although only revealed off-screen by executive producer Marc Brown, Binky farts in her face for laughs.

Voice Acting History

 * Bruce Dinsmore: Primary Voice Actor
 * Bruce Smithee: Arthur's Missing Pal

Future Life

 * If the intro to the episode, "The Election" happens, he will be a member of The United States Secret Service.
 * He later becomes a hacky-sack salesman in Ann Arbor, Michigan
 * He attends Ball State University for college

Trivia

 * In the earlier seasons, Binky usually hung out with the Tough Customers, but in the later seasons he seems to hang out with Arthur and his friends more often.
 * Binky weighs approimately 190 pounds, about how as much as an amateur sumo wrestler.
 * According to the chapter book "Arthur and the World Record" Binky is 4.458 feet (about 4 feet 5 ½ inches), which makes his friends and Arthur around 4 feet each.
 * Binky was held back in the third grade do what was implied to be his poor academic performance, a fact he is not very proud of. Thus, he should have been in the fourth grade with the Tough Customers and Prunella. He is 9 years old and not the same age as the other 3rd graders, though in "Binky vs. Binky," a form he has says he is 10 years old.
 * He is allergic to peanuts as revealed in "Binky Goes Nuts."
 * He is considered one of the two best members of the school band due to his expertise with the flute, rivaled only by Sue Ellen on the saxophone.
 * In the episode "Bully for Binky," Binky seems to not like ballet. But in the later seasons, Binky has grown to have an affinity for it and is shown to be extremely talented at ballet.
 * In the episode "Arthur's Faraway Friend," Binky was miscolored when he was waving to Buster.
 * Binky is just a nickname. His real name is actually Clancy, named after his great-grandfather as revealed in "What's in a Name?".
 * Binky hates going on the Science Museum field trip because he was held back and already knows what will happen.
 * Binky's Birthday according to him is next month in "Brother Can You Spare a Clarinet?, when you calculate Arthur birthday plus the time Arthur said, you could determine that Binky's Birthday is in October because the episode is based in September. It is confirmed that Binky's birthday is sometime between September and May, because a score card in "Binky vs. Binky" says that he was 10 in that episode, which took place in May.
 * Binky's email address is begins with "binkybowns@" The ending of it is unknown, as we only see Binky writing the beginning.
 * Despite bullying George a lot, Binky has been seen hanging out with him. In some episodes he's even seen deer and bird hunting with him.