Arthur's Perfect Christmas

Arthur's Perfect Christmas is an Arthur special that aired on November 23, 2000. It was written by Peter K. Hirsch. Its storyboard artists included Eric Bergeron, Angus Bungay, Gerry Capelle, Stephanie Gignac, Nick Vallinakis, and Robert Yap.

Recap

The special opens with scenes of citizens of Elwood City busy preparing for Christmas, while Pachelbel's Canyon is played in the background on piano. Arthur then sings the first of many of the special's musical numbers, "Perfect Christmas," in which he lays out his list of the things he wants in the upcoming Christmas:

1. A large amount of snow 2. An amazing dinner-turkey and the whole works 3. A spectacular Christmas tree-most importantly without tinsel 4. Everyone will love the presents he gets for them.

However, things don't always work out quite as we always want them to. Meanwhile, as the special progresses, a number of other storylines are revealed, perhaps so many that the show's younger target audience might find it difficult to follow: D.W. wants a new toy called "Tina the Talking Tabby," for Christmas and Santa Claus is unable to find it at any store as soon as he gets the letter. Uncle Fred is going on a trip to Florida, but his car just so happens to break down in Elwood City on the way there. So for the meantime, he and his dog, Roarie, are staying at the Reads' for Christmas. The timing of Francine's family's celebration of Hanukkah conflicts with that of Muffy's "holiday extravaganza," causing her to miss the party. When Muffy states that Hanukkah isn't as important as Christmas, Francine stops speaking to her. Ever since Buster's parents got divorced, Christmas has been a difficult time for him and his Mom. She wakes up him up early on the days before Christmas and makes him pancakes, thinking that it's Christmas Day. Then he has to explain to her that it isn't yet. Arthur and his friends suggest he create his own holiday-Baxter Day. He is sceptical, but he agrees to give it a try. Every Christmas, Binky volunteers at a homeless shelter with his Dad, and this year, he's trying to bake something special to bring. However, he's been taking cooking lessons from the "Thora Institution" (For example: He makes a pecan pie without shelling the pecans first.) Brain's family is celebrating Kwanzaa. George's family is revealed to be Swedish and they celebrate Saint Lucia Day. In the end, things don't work out quite as everybody may have hoped they would, but it seems to be for the better. Well, maybe, assuming Arthur can ever get D.W. to stop her new toy, "Quackers", from singing "Quick, quack, quaddy-quack."

Trivia

Notes

• Arthur is in either his pajamas or coat in this special.
• The is the third time when Arthur cries. The first was Lost, and the second was Buster's Back. The fourth will be Is There A Doctor In The House.
• When D.W. said that she isn't upset, her mouth started shaking when she starts to cry.
• The snow didn't fall until near the end of the special.
• When Muffy yelled "How Rude," That catchphrase was from Stephanie in Full House.
• When Bitzi Baxter spots a light in the sky and asks Buster if it is a UFO, this is a reference to the bible verse Matthew 2:9-10 ( ⁹ After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.¹⁰ When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. )

Goofs

• When Arthur saw a snowflake, he thought it was going to snow, but there was rain coming in.
• During the scene where Mr. Ratburn eats one of Binky's brownies, we see in the background a brown rabbit on the other side of Mr. Ratburn in his normal wear, but seconds later we see him in a red vest talking to Brain, but when Mr. Ratburn asks him if he put sugar in the brownies, the rabbit is white and is wearing a green shirt.
• Mistake1.jpg

  Unnamed Rabbit wearing usual clothes in background

• Mistake2.jpg

  Seconds later, the rabbit is wearing a vest.

• Mistake3.jpg

  A few seconds later, he is completely different.

Songs

1. Perfect Christmas
2. Sankta Lucia
3. Boogie Woogie Christmas
4. Baxter Day
5. What`s the Use of Presents?
6. Chanukah Blessing
7. Perfect Christmas (Finale with Nu Är Det Jul Igen)

See Also

Arthur's Christmas (book)

Arthur's Perfect Christmas (book adaptation)