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Difference between revisions of "Nigel Ratburn"

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{{character infobox
{{character infobox
|character name = Nigel Ratburn
|character name = Mr. Ratburn
|image = Nigel Ratburn.png
|image = Nigel Ratburn.png
|gender = Male
|gender = Male
|animal = Rat
|animal = Rat
|portrayer = '''[[Arthur Holden]]''' (TV series)<br>[[David Kessler]] ([[Living Books]])
|voice_actor = '''[[Arthur Holden]]''' (TV series)<br>[[David Kessler]] ([[Living Books]])
|family = [[Rodentia Ratburn]] (sister)<br>[[Lisa Ratburn]] (mother)<br>[[Otto Ratburn]] (father)<br>[[Rodentia Ratburn's Child]] (niece or nephew)
|family = [[Rodentia Ratburn]] (sister)<br>[[Lisa Ratburn]] (mother)<br>[[Otto Ratburn]] (father)<br>[[Rodentia Ratburn's child]] (niece or nephew)<br>[[Olga Ratburn]] (grandmother)<br>[[Hans Ratburn]] (grandfather) <br> [[Patrick Ratburn]] (husband) <br> [[Patty Ratburn]] (sister)
|favorite color = Magenta<ref>http://pbskids.org/arthur/print/tradingcards/cards.html#pg-ratburn2</ref>
|favorite color = Magenta<ref>http://pbskids.org/arthur/print/tradingcards/cards.html#pg-ratburn2</ref>
|cartoon first appeared = "[[Arthur's Eyes (episode)|Arthur's Eyes]]"
|cartoon_debut = "[[Arthur's Eyes (episode)|Arthur's Eyes]]"
|book first appeared = [[Arthur and the True Francine (book)|Arthur and the True Francine]]
|book_debut = [[Arthur and the True Francine (book)|Arthur and the True Francine]]
|job = Teacher
|job = Teacher
|eye = Brown<ref>"[[Buster's Growing Grudge]]"</ref>
|eye = Brown<ref>"[[Buster's Growing Grudge]]"</ref>
|hair = Brown<ref>"[[The Buster Report]]" - he grew out his hair when he was in the band.</ref>
|hair = Brown<ref>"[[The Buster Report]]" - he grew out his pube hair when he was in the band.</ref>
|residence = [[Nigel Ratburn's House]], [[Elwood City]]
|residence = [[Mr. Ratburn's House]], [[Elwood City]]
|book last appeared = [[Arthur Turns Green]]
|book last appeared = [[Arthur Turns Green]]
|complexion = Brown <small>(s1-s5, s16-present)</small><br>Orange <small>(s6-s15)</small>
|complexion = Brown <small>(s1-s5, s16-present)</small><br>Orange <small>(s6-s15)</small>
|age = Around 37<ref>Nigel was in the same high school band class as [[Bailey]] ("[[The Butler Did... What?]]"). Bailey is 37 ("[[Caught in the Crosswires]]").</ref>}}
|age =  
'''Nigel Charles Ratburn'''<ref>"[[Bitzi's Beau]]"</ref> (formerly '''Emil Ratburn'''<ref>in "[[Arthur's Baby]]" and "[[Background Blues]]"</ref>) is a 3rd Grade teacher at [[Lakewood Elementary School]].
}}'''Nigel'''<ref>"[[Dancing Fools]]": "That was Nigel Ratburn and Paige Turner dancing the tango."</ref> '''Charles'''<ref>"[[Bitzi's Beau]]" in 2000 (Priest: "Do you, Nigel Charles Ratburn, take Bitzi Lynn Baxter, to have and to hold, for better or for worse, through sickness and in health, from this day forward, til death do you part?")</ref> '''Ratburn''' (formerly '''Emil Ratburn'''<ref>in "[[Arthur's Baby]]" in 1996 ([[Arthur's Baby (episode)/Transcript|Ratburn's Mom: "Emil, what are you doing?!!"]]) and "[[Background Blues]]" in 1998</ref>) is a third grade teacher at [[Lakewood Elementary School]]. In "[[Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone]]," Mr. Ratburn married a [[Patrick's Chocolates|chocolate shop]] owner named [[Patrick Ratburn|Patrick]].
 
==Biography==
===Past life===
When Mr. Ratburn was a baby, he wore on a light blue sweater with a white collar, a red bow tie, white cloth diapers with pins, and bright red shoes and blue socks. At the age of one or two, he was already able to write multiplication problems.
 
As a kid, he had three outfits. Two of them were the [[Glenbrook Academy|Glenbrook Academy's]] uniforms. Then, he had casual clothes that he wore to events, like the Father's Day picnic. They consisted of a blue buttoned shirt with a white shirt under it and blue pants.
 
In the episode "[[Arthur Weighs In]]," it is revealed that as a child he used to be overweight (a "fatty rat" as he put it when talking with Arthur) until he began exercising more while learning to play ping-pong.
 
As a young adult, he attended [[Elwood City High School]] with [[Bailey]],<ref>"[[The Butler Did... What?]]"</ref> [[David Read]],<ref>"[[Arthur's Almost Boring Day]]"</ref> and [[Mr. Haney]].<ref>"[[Arthur's Almost Boring Day]]"</ref> In "[[Arthur's Almost Boring Day]]", it is revealed that he was a member of the Elwood City High School football team.
 
In college, he was in a band called the "[[The Ratburn Rats|Ratburn Rats]]."<sup><ref>The Buster Report</ref></sup>
 
===Future life===
Mr. Ratburn announces that he will become a fourth grade teacher during the upcoming school year in "[[The Last Day]]". Besides this, not much is known about Mr. Ratburn's future outside of what is depicted in dream sequences. During the futuristic scene in the episode, "[[Buster Makes the Grade (episode)|Buster Makes the Grade]]", it is suggested that Mr. Ratburn will continue his career as a teacher at Lakewood Elementary for many years to come. [[File:Rat1.jpg|thumb|220x220px|An alternate future Ratburn in Arthur's dream]]In Arthur's dream in "[[D.W. and the Beastly Birthday]]", Mr. Ratburn is seen four years in the future, with a beard and glasses. He wears a black suit and turtleneck sweater.


==Physical appearance==
==Physical appearance==
<gallery type="slideshow" widths="200px" position=left>
<gallery type="slideshow" widths="200px" position="left">
Nigel s1.png|Ratburn in seasons 1-5
Nigel s1.png|Ratburn in seasons 1-5
The Buster Report 17.jpg|Ratburn in seasons 6-15
The Buster Report 17.jpg|Ratburn in seasons 6-15
Ratburn s16.png|Ratburn in seasons 16 to present
Ratburn s16.png|Ratburn in seasons 16 to today
</gallery>
</gallery>
Mr. Ratburn's appearance consists of a green suit complete with a solid yellow shirt and bright red necktie (in the books, his uniform ranges to different colors). Being a rat, he has long whiskers, which he appears to keep trimmed.
Mr. Ratburn's appearance consists of a green suit complete with a solid yellow shirt and bright red necktie (in the books, his uniform ranges to different colors). Being a rat, he has long whiskers, which he appears to keep trimmed.
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He has brown clumps of hair in the books; although, in the cartoon show, his hair was restricted to thin black lines. He also wears his shirts tucked into his pants and always wears a belt buckle with his pants. He also wears blue pajamas and in one episode he wore a turquoise night shirt and another episode he also wore a tan colored sweater and black pants and wear brown or black slippers.
He has brown clumps of hair in the books; although, in the cartoon show, his hair was restricted to thin black lines. He also wears his shirts tucked into his pants and always wears a belt buckle with his pants. He also wears blue pajamas and in one episode he wore a turquoise night shirt and another episode he also wore a tan colored sweater and black pants and wear brown or black slippers.


His casual clothing consists of a cream-colored T-shirt and faded blue jeans. For formal occasions, Mr. Ratburn wears a charcoal or black Tuxedo jacket with a white Tuxedo shirt black bow tie and charcoal or black Tuxedo trousers.
His casual clothing consists of a cream-colored T-shirt and faded blue jeans. For formal occasions, Mr. Ratburn wears a charcoal or black Tuxedo jacket with a white tuxedo shirt black bow tie and charcoal or black tuxedo trousers.


When outdoors for something like fossil-hunting, Mr. Ratburn wears a dark brown hat with a yellow line on the bottom of the tip of the hat going all around the tip. He also wears a very light yellow or beige shirt a dark blue scarf tucked into the shirt.
When outdoors for something like fossil-hunting, Mr. Ratburn wears a dark brown hat with a yellow line on the bottom of the tip of the hat going all around the tip. He also wears a very light yellow or beige shirt a dark blue scarf tucked into the shirt.
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==Personality==
==Personality==
He tends to give out a lot of homework to the kids in his class. Sometimes he assigns two research projects in the same week. Because of these tendencies, he's considered the strictest teacher at Lakewood Elementary School often.
Mr. Ratburn is primarily known for being a strict teacher, but he has many other hobbies outside of the classroom, including puppetry, playing in a [[The Lost Teachers|rock band]], and bird-watching. He is also seen as a role model by several students. For instance, he encourages Arthur to be more physically active in "[[Arthur Weighs In]]," and he is able to relate to Maria's stuttering problem in "[[Maria Speaks]]."


And yet, many of Arthur and his friends find out he's not as bad as they first thought after he explains about organization, self-discipline and how they can do their homework in time for things they like to do. Although the Brain seems to have no problem with him, but Buster has the strongest dislike for homework. But even though he's calm and cool, he cackles uncontrollably in the dream sequences that the other characters have involving him.
He tends to give a lot of homework, projects and tests to the students in his class, which leads many to believe that he is the toughest teacher Lakewood Elementary School. Despite the heavy amount of school work to do, many of his students come to find out he is not as bad as they initially thought after he explains about organization, self-discipline, and how they can do their homework in time for things they like to do. Arthur, Buster, and Brain consider Mr. Ratburn their friend, and Arthur goes to greet him when he sees him in public.<ref>"[[Lend Me Your Ear]]"</ref>


He struggles with modern technology at times, such as computers, though finally became acclimated to a tablet device called the [[BoysenBerry]].
Even though Mr. Ratburn is calm and cool, he cackles uncontrollably in the dream sequences that the other characters have involving him.


===Past life===
Mr. Ratburn is often friendly, helpful and good-natured, rarely showing any hint of malice, and has shown that he truly cares about his students time and time again. In "[[The Last Day]]" and the song "[[Pop Quiz from Ratburn]]," Mr. Ratburn explains that his schoolwork is difficult because he wants to challenge his students and knows they can handle it. Mr. Ratburn takes his role as a teacher seriously and often tries to mentor his students, occasionally in non-academic fields. When the roof of his house collapses, Mr. Ratburn stays with the Read family, and is shown to enjoy watching ''[[Spooky Poo]]'' and other fun things, to Arthur's surprise.<ref>"[[The Rat Who Came to Dinner]]"</ref>
When Mr. Ratburn was a baby, he wore on a light blue sweater with a white collar, a red bow tie, white cloth diapers with pins, and bright red shoes and blue socks.


As a kid, he had two outfits - a school uniform that was colored blue like Glenbrook Academy's dress code and the uniform that had the school's badge on it. Then, he had casual clothes that he wore to events, like the Father's Day picnic. They consisted of a blue buttoned shirt with a white shirt under it and blue pants.
He frequently struggles with new, modern technology, such as using computers, the Internet and his classroom's new interactive "smart" board; for example, the first time he used the Internet, he fell for multiple scams.<ref>"[[Muffy and the Big Bad Blog]]"</ref> This may be why he often uses an old film projector during his class lessons. He does become a bit more acclimated to some technology in various situations, however. He learns to use a tablet device called the [[BoysenBerry]], and he manages to purchase a canoe online in "[[Best of the Nest]]."


He used to be a "fatty rat" (in his words when talking with Arthur in [[Arthur Weighs In]]) until he learned how to play ping-pong.
==In other media==
In the [[Living Books]] computer games, he came out in ''[[Arthur's Teacher Trouble (computer game)|Arthur's Teacher Trouble]]'', even though there's a shadow look-alike of him walking outside while [[Arthur Read|Arthur]] and [[Jane Read|Jane]] are out shopping for party supplies in ''[[Arthur's Birthday (computer game)|Arthur's Birthday]]''. He was voiced by [[David Kessler]] before the [[Arthur (TV series)|cartoon show]] replaced him with [[Arthur Holden]].


As a young adult, he attended [[Elwood City High School]] with [[Bailey]],<ref>"[[The Butler Did... What?]]"</ref> [[David Read]],<ref>"[[Arthur's Almost Boring Day]]"</ref> and [[Mr. Haney]].<ref>"[[Arthur's Almost Boring Day]]"</ref>
In the later computer games (such as ''[[Arthur's Thinking Games]]''), Mr. Ratburn's appearance is the same as in the show.


In college, he was in a band called the "[[Ratburn Rats]]".
==Students==
 
''See [[Nigel Ratburn's Class]].''
=== Future Life ===
Not much has been seen about Mr. Ratburn's future. But if the future in the episode, "[[Buster Makes the Grade]]" happens, Mr. Ratburn will continue his career as a teacher at Lakewood Elementary. He becomes a 4th-grade teacher in season [[Season 19|19]].
 
==In Other media==
In the [[Living Books]] computer games, he came out in ''[[Arthur's Teacher Trouble (computer game)|Arthur's Teacher Trouble]]'', even though there's a shadow look-alike of him walking outside while [[Arthur Read|Arthur]] and [[Jane Read|Jane]] are out shopping for party supplies in ''[[Arthur's Birthday (computer game)|Arthur's Birthday]]''. He was voiced by [[David Kessler]] before the [[Arthur|cartoon show]] replaced him with [[Arthur Holden]].


In the later computer games (such as ''[[Arthur's Thinking Games]]''), Mr. Ratburn's appearance was the same as he looked in the cartoon show.
==Relationships==
 
*[[Paige Turner]] - They have danced together.
==Students==
*[[Mr. Marco]] - They have watched [[Dark Bunny]] together.
''See [[Nigel Ratburn's class]].''
*[[Francis Haney|Mr. Haney]] - They went to college together.
*[[David Read]] - They went to college together, he loves David's cooking, and was invited to stay with the Reads when his roof caved in.
*[[Bailey]] - They went to college and also high school together.
*[[Rodentia Ratburn]] - His sister
*[[Patty Ratburn]] - His sister
*[[Patrick Ratburn]] — His husband


==Jobs==
==Jobs==
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==Trivia==
==Trivia==
* Outside of school, Mr. Ratburn is shown to enjoy many jovial pursuits, such as magic, puppeteering, and camping.
* The car that Mr. Ratburn drives is a red roadster convertible.
* The car that Mr. Ratburn drives is a red roadster convertible.
* Mr. Ratburn is a fanatic of ''[[Spooky-Poo]]'', a play on the [[wikipedia:Hanna-Barbera|Hanna-Barbera]]-based ''[[wikipedia:Scooby-Doo|Scooby-Doo]]'' show.
* In "[[Cents-less]]”, Mr. Ratburn is shown feeding two goldfish, whom he calls [[Vladimir and Estragon]]. It would seem that Mr. Ratburn has named his pets in honor of two characters from [[Samuel Beckett]]'s ''[[Waiting for Godot]]''.
* A running gag is Mr. Ratburn knowing nothing about computers or the Internet.
* For the first few seasons, he has brown skin then changed to orange in the next few seasons and back to brown in [[Season 16]].
* Another running gag is his love (almost obsession) of desserts, especially for cake.
* In "[[Cents-Less]]," Mr. Ratburn is shown feeding two goldfish, whom he calls [[Vladimir and Estragon]]. It would seem that Mr. Ratburn has named his pets in honor of two characters from [[Samuel Beckett]]'s ''[[Waiting for Godot]]''.
* For the first few seasons, he has brown skin then changed to orange in the next few seasons and back to brown in season sixteen and seventeen.
* It is revealed in [[Arthur's Baby (episode)]], he knew how to write multiplication sentences at age 1 (or possibly 2).
* He went to high school at the same time as David Read and Mr. Haney.
* He may or may not be part Native American (specifically {{W|Cheyenne}}).<ref>{{refquote|In fact, that Ratburn fellow looks a lot like a Cheyenne I used to know named Tahmelapachme. That means "dull knife." (chuckles)|[[Sitting Bull]]|"[[On This Spot]]"}}</ref>
* He may or may not be part Native American (specifically {{W|Cheyenne}}).<ref>{{refquote|In fact, that Ratburn fellow looks a lot like a Cheyenne I used to know named Tahmelapachme. That means "dull knife." (chuckles)|[[Sitting Bull]]|"[[On This Spot]]"}}</ref>
* He is named after [[Marc Brown]]'s 7th grade math teacher, Mr. Gary Rathbun.<ref>https://www.wgbh.org/programs/2019/12/27/marc-brown-arthur-and-the-real-mr-ratburn-the-rewind</ref>


==Episode Appearances==
==Appearances==
*Specials
**[[Arthur's Perfect Christmas]]
**[[Arthur - It's Only Rock 'n' Roll]]
**[[D.W. and the Beastly Birthday]]
**[[Arthur and the Haunted Tree House]]
*Season 1
*Season 1
**[[Arthur and the Real Mr. Ratburn]] 102a
**[[Arthur's Eyes (episode)|Arthur's Eyes]] (Cameo) 10101
**[[Arthur's Spelling Trubble]] 102b
**[[Francine's Bad Hair Day]] 10102
**[[Buster's Dino Dilemma (episode)|Buster's Dino Dilemma]] 103b
**[[Arthur and the Real Mr. Ratburn]] 10201
**[[Arthur Accused! (episode)|Arthur Accused!]] 106b
**[[Arthur's Spelling Trubble]] 10202
**[[Buster Makes the Grade (episode)|Buster Makes the Grade]] 107b
**[[Buster's Dino Dilemma (episode)|Buster's Dino Dilemma]] 10302
**[[Arthur's Almost Boring Day]] 120a
**[[Arthur's Lost Library Book]] 10402
**[[My Dad, the Garbage Man]] 126a
**[[Locked in the Library! (episode)|Locked in the Library!]] 10601
**[[Arthur's Substitute Teacher Trouble]] 127b
**[[Arthur Accused! (episode)|Arthur Accused!]] 10602
**[[I'm a Poet]] 128a
**[[Buster Makes the Grade (episode)|Buster Makes the Grade]] 10702
**[[Francine Frensky, Superstar]] 11002
**[[Arthur's Baby (episode)|Arthur's Baby]] 11101
**[[Arthur Writes a Story (episode)|Arthur Writes a Story]] 11201
**[[Buster's New Friend (episode)|Buster's New Friend]] 11302
**[[Meek for a Week]] 11701
**[[Arthur's Almost Boring Day]] 12001
**[[The Half-Baked Sale]] 12002
**[[Sue Ellen Moves In]] 12101
**[[Team Trouble]] 12202
**[[Misfortune Teller]] 12302
**[[Arthur's Tooth (episode)|Arthur's Tooth]] 12401
**[[My Dad, the Garbage Man]] 12601
**[[Arthur's Substitute Teacher Trouble]] 12702
**[[I'm a Poet]] 12801
**[[My Club Rules]] 12901
**[[Stolen Bike]] 12902
*Season 2
**[[Arthur Meets Mister Rogers]] (Cameo) 20101
**[[Draw!]] 20102
**[[Arthur's Lucky Pencil]] 20202
**[[Arthur's Underwear (episode)|Arthur's Underwear]] 20501
**[[Arthur's TV-Free Week]] 20701
**[[Night Fright]] 20702
**[[The Big Blow-Up]] 20802
**[[The Short, Quick Summer]] 20902
**[[Arthur's Mystery Envelope (episode)|Arthur's Mystery Envelope]] 21002
**[[Buster Hits the Books]] 21102
**[[Fern's Slumber Party]] (Cameo) 21502
**[[Love Notes for Muffy]] 21601
**[[D.W. Blows the Whistle]] 21602
**[[Arthur the Loser]] 21702
**[[Arthur vs. the Very Mean Crossing Guard]] 21801
**[[How the Cookie Crumbles]] (Mentioned) 22001
*Season 3
**[[I'd Rather Read It Myself]] (Mentioned) 30202
**[[Arthur Goes Crosswire]] 30301
**[[Sue Ellen and the Brainasaurous]] 30302
**[[Background Blues]] 30401
**[[And Now Let's Talk to Some Kids]] 30402
**[[The Chips are Down]] 30501
**[[Binky Rules (episode)|Binky Rules]] (Cameo) 30601
**[[Meet Binky]] (Cameo) 30602
**[[Arthur Rides the Bandwagon]] 30701
**[[Dad's Dessert Dilemma]] 30702
**[[Popular Girls]] 30801
**[[Buster's Growing Grudge]] 30802
**[[Arthur's Treasure Hunt]] (Cameo) 30901
**[[The Return of the King]] 30902
**[[Attack of the Turbo Tibbles]] (Mentioned) 31001
**[[Arthur's Almost Live Not Real Music Festival]] 31102
**[[Clarissa is Cracked]] 31202
**[[Mom and Dad Have a Great Big Fight]] 31401
**[[Arthur and D.W. Clean Up]] 31501
**[[The Long, Dull Winter]] 31502
*Season 4
**[[D.W.'s Library Card (episode)|D.W.'s Library Card]] 40101
**[[Arthur's Big Hit]] 40102
**[[Muffy's New Best Friend]] 40202 (Cameo)
**[[The Blizzard]] 40501
**[[The Rat Who Came to Dinner]] 40502
**[[Prunella Gets it Twice]] 40602
**[[Binky Barnes, Wingman]] 40701
**[[To Beat or Not to Beat]] 40702
**[[1001 Dads]] 40801
**[[Prunella's Prediction]] (Mentioned) 40802
**[[What is that Thing?]] 40901
**[[That's a Baby Show!]] 41002
*Season 5
*Season 5
**[[The Lousy Week]] 505a
**[[Double Dare]] 50102
**[[You Are Arthur]] 505b
**[[Kids are from Earth, Parents are from Pluto]] 50201
**[[Nerves of Steal]] ((Fantasy) 50202
**[[It's a No-Brainer]] 50301
**[[The Shore Thing]] 50302
**[[The World Record]] 50401
**[[The Cave]] 50402
**[[The Lousy Week]] (Cameo) 50501
**[[You Are Arthur]] 50502
**[[The Election]] 50601
**[[Sleep No More]] 50701
**[[Bitzi's Beau]] 50802
**[[Just Desserts]] (Fantasy) 50901
*Season 6
**[[Sue Ellen Gets Her Goose Cooked]] 60101
**[[Best of the Nest]] 60102
**[[Prunella's Special Edition]] 60301
**[[The Boy Who Cried Comet]] 60501
**[[Citizen Frensky]] 60601
**[[The Boy with His Head in the Clouds]] 60701
**[[Rhyme for Your Life]] (Cameo) 60801
**[[The Good Sport (episode)|The Good Sport]] 60901
**[[Crushed]] (Cameo) 60902
**[[Friday the 13th]] 61002
*Season 7
**[[Ants in Arthur's Pants]] 70301
**[[Elwood City Turns 100!]] 70500
**[[Jenna's Bedtime Blues]] 70602
**[[Buster's Amish Mismatch]] 70702
**[[The World of Tomorrow]] 70801
**[[April 9th]] 71000
*Season 8
*Season 8
**[[Bugged]] 803b
**[[Dear Adil]] 80101
**[[Desk Wars]] 807a
**[[Bugged]] 80302
**[[Muffy's Art Attack]] 808a
**[[Fernkenstein's Monster]] (Cameo) 80401
**[[D.W., Dancing Queen]] 80402
**[[Vomitrocious]] 80501
**[[Desk Wars]] 80701
**[[Muffy's Art Attack]] 80801
*Season 9
*Season 9
**[[Castles in the Sky]] 901a
**[[Castles in the Sky]] 90101
**[[Tipping the Scales]] (flashback) 901b
**[[Tipping the Scales]] (Cameo) 90102
**[[George Blows His Top]] 902b
**[[George Blows His Top]] 90202
**[[Arthur Weighs In]] 903a
**[[Arthur Weighs In]] 90301
**[[The Law of the Jungle Gym]] 903b
**[[The Law of the Jungle Gym]] (Cameo) 90302
**[[Buster's Green Thumb]] 904a
**[[Buster's Green Thumb]] 90401
**[[All Worked Up]] 905b
**[[All Worked Up]] 90502
**[[A is for Angry]] 907b
**[[A is for Angry]] 90702
**[[The "A" Team]] 908a
**[[The "A" Team]] 90801
**[[D.W. Beats All]] 909a
**[[D.W. Beats All]] (Cameo) 90901
**[[Breezy Listening Blues]] 910b
**[[Breezy Listening Blues]] 91002
*Season 10
*Season 10
**[[Happy Anniversary]] 1001
**[[Happy Anniversary]] 100100
**[[Desert Island Dish]] 1003a
**[[The Squirrels (episode)|The Squirrels]] 100201
**[[Family Fortune]] 1004b
**[[Desert Island Dish]] 100301
**[[D.W., Bossy Boots]] (prologue) 1007b
**[[Family Fortune]] 100402
**[[Do You Speak George?]] 1009a
**[[D.W., Bossy Boots]] (prologue) 100702
**[[What's Cooking?]] 1010a
**[[Do You Speak George?]] 100901
**[[Buster's Special Delivery]] 1010b
**[[What's Cooking?]] 101001
**[[Buster's Special Delivery]] 101002
*Season 11
*Season 11
**[[Germophobia]] 1101b
**[[Germophobia]] 110102
**[[Phony Fern]] 1104a
**[[Mind Your Manners]] (Cameo) 110202
**[[Brain's Shocking Secret]] 1104b
**[[Prunella Packs It In]] 110302
**[[Dancing Fools]] (cameo) 1106b
**[[Phony Fern]] 110401
**[[Mr. Alwaysright]] 1107b
**[[Brain's Shocking Secret]] 110402
**[[Francine's Pilfered Paper]] 1108a
**[[Dancing Fools]] (Cameo) 110602
**[[Mr. Alwaysright]] 110702
**[[Francine's Pilfered Paper]] 110801
*Season 12
*Season 12
**[[Is That Kosher?]] (Cameo) 120101
**[[The Frensky Family Fiasco]] 120202
**[[D.W.'s Stray Netkitten]] 120301
**[[For the Birds]] 120401
**[[Ungifted]] 120402
**[[The Chronicles of Buster]] 120501
**[[On This Spot]] 120502
**[[The Cherry Tree]] 120601
**[[War of the Worms]] 120701
**[[Do You Believe in Magic?]] 120902
**[[Do You Believe in Magic?]] 120902
**[[The Perfect Game]] 121001
**[[The Perfect Game]] 121001
*Season 13
**[[The Great MacGrady]] 130100
**[[Arthur's Number Nightmare]] 130301
**[[Brain Gets Hooked]] 130302
**[[MacFrensky]] 130401
**[[The Good, the Bad, and the Binky]] (Cameo) 130402
**[[No Acting, Please]] 130501
**[[A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Tibble]] 130701
*Season 14
**[[The Buster Report]] 140102
**[[Muffy and the Big Bad Blog]] 140702
**[[Arthur Unravels]] 140801
**[[All the Rage]] 140802
**[[D.W., Queen of the Comeback]] (Flashback) 140901
**[[The Long Road Home]] 141002
*Season 15
**[[Fifteen]] 150100
**[[I Wanna Hold Your Hand]] 150201
**[[Cents-less]] 150401
**[[Buster the Lounge Lizard]] 150402
**[[S.W.E.A.T.]] 150502
**[[Prunella the Packrat]] 150701
**[[What's in a Name?]] 150702
**[[Muffy's Classy Classics Club]] (Cameo) 150801
**[[Through the Looking Glasses]] 150902
**[[The Butler Did... What?]] 151001
**[[The Trouble with Trophies]] 151002
*Season 16
**[[Flippity Francine]] 160201
**[[Muffy Takes the Wheel]] 160202
**[[Get Smart]] 160401
**[[Buster's Book Battle]] 160801
**[[So Funny I Forgot to Laugh]] 161001
**[[The Best Day Ever]] (Flashback) 161002
*Season 17
**[[All Thumbs]] 170501
**[[Pets and Pests]] (Mentioned) 170701
**[[Framed!]] 170902
**[[Brain Freeze]] (Cameo) 171002
*Season 18
**[[The Case of the Girl with the Long Face]] 180301
**[[The Substitute Arthur]] 180302
**[[Best Wishes]] 180401
**[[The Tardy Tumbler]] (Cameo) 180402
**[[Arthur Calls It]] 180502
**[[Arthur Read: Super Saver]] 180801
**[[Shelter from the Storm]] 1810
*Season 19
**[[Brain Sees Stars]] 190102
**[[Maria Speaks]] 190601
**[[Carl's Concerto]] 190701
**[[Too Much of a Good Thing]] 190702
**[[Mr. Ratburn's Secret Identity]] 190901
**[[The Last Day]] 1910
*Season 20
*Season 20
**[[Buster's Second Chance]] 2001a
**[[Buster's Second Chance]] 200101
**[[That's MY Grandma!]] 200402
**[[Lend Me Your Ear]] 200501
**[[Prunella's Tent of Portent]] 200601
**[[The Hallway Minotaur]] (Cameo) 200701
**[[Ladonna's Like List]] 200702
*Season 21
**[[Binky's 'A' Game]] 210101
**[[Brain and the Time Capsule]] 210102
**[[Francine & the Soccer Spy]] (Cameo) 210301
**[[Sue Ellen & the Last Page]] (Cameo) 210302
**[[Muffy Misses Out]] (Cameo) 210401
**[[Slink's Special Talent]] 210402
*Season 22
**[[Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone]] 220101
**[[The Feud]] 220102
**[[When Rivals Came to Roost]] 220201
**[[Muffy's House Guests]] 220301
**[[Binky Can't Always Get What He Wants]] 220302


==Gallery==
==Gallery==
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==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}
{{Ratburn family}}
[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:Lakewood Elementary Staff]]
[[Category:Lakewood Elementary Staff]]
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[[Category:Male]]
[[Category:Male]]
[[Category:Brown hair]]
[[Category:Brown hair]]
[[Category:Characters with known ages]]
[[Category:Original Characters]]
[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:Pages with Wikipedia links]]
[[Category:Characters with medical conditions]]
[[Category:LGBT Characters]]

Latest revision as of 11:48, 6 October 2022

Nigel Ratburn
Nigel Ratburn.png
Gender Male
Animal Rat

Eye color Brown[1]
Hair color Brown[2]
Complexion Brown (s1-s5, s16-present)
Orange (s6-s15)
Favorite color Magenta[3]
Residence Mr. Ratburn's House, Elwood City
Family Rodentia Ratburn (sister)
Lisa Ratburn (mother)
Otto Ratburn (father)
Rodentia Ratburn's child (niece or nephew)
Olga Ratburn (grandmother)
Hans Ratburn (grandfather)
Patrick Ratburn (husband)
Patty Ratburn (sister)
Job Teacher
Book debut Arthur and the True Francine
Cartoon debut "Arthur's Eyes"
Voiced by Arthur Holden (TV series)
David Kessler (Living Books)

Nigel[4] Charles[5] Ratburn (formerly Emil Ratburn[6]) is a third grade teacher at Lakewood Elementary School. In "Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone," Mr. Ratburn married a chocolate shop owner named Patrick.

Biography

Past life

When Mr. Ratburn was a baby, he wore on a light blue sweater with a white collar, a red bow tie, white cloth diapers with pins, and bright red shoes and blue socks. At the age of one or two, he was already able to write multiplication problems.

As a kid, he had three outfits. Two of them were the Glenbrook Academy's uniforms. Then, he had casual clothes that he wore to events, like the Father's Day picnic. They consisted of a blue buttoned shirt with a white shirt under it and blue pants.

In the episode "Arthur Weighs In," it is revealed that as a child he used to be overweight (a "fatty rat" as he put it when talking with Arthur) until he began exercising more while learning to play ping-pong.

As a young adult, he attended Elwood City High School with Bailey,[7] David Read,[8] and Mr. Haney.[9] In "Arthur's Almost Boring Day", it is revealed that he was a member of the Elwood City High School football team.

In college, he was in a band called the "Ratburn Rats."[10]

Future life

Mr. Ratburn announces that he will become a fourth grade teacher during the upcoming school year in "The Last Day". Besides this, not much is known about Mr. Ratburn's future outside of what is depicted in dream sequences. During the futuristic scene in the episode, "Buster Makes the Grade", it is suggested that Mr. Ratburn will continue his career as a teacher at Lakewood Elementary for many years to come.

An alternate future Ratburn in Arthur's dream

In Arthur's dream in "D.W. and the Beastly Birthday", Mr. Ratburn is seen four years in the future, with a beard and glasses. He wears a black suit and turtleneck sweater.

Physical appearance

  • Ratburn in seasons 1-5

  • Ratburn in seasons 6-15

  • Ratburn in seasons 16 to today

Mr. Ratburn's appearance consists of a green suit complete with a solid yellow shirt and bright red necktie (in the books, his uniform ranges to different colors). Being a rat, he has long whiskers, which he appears to keep trimmed.

He has brown clumps of hair in the books; although, in the cartoon show, his hair was restricted to thin black lines. He also wears his shirts tucked into his pants and always wears a belt buckle with his pants. He also wears blue pajamas and in one episode he wore a turquoise night shirt and another episode he also wore a tan colored sweater and black pants and wear brown or black slippers.

His casual clothing consists of a cream-colored T-shirt and faded blue jeans. For formal occasions, Mr. Ratburn wears a charcoal or black Tuxedo jacket with a white tuxedo shirt black bow tie and charcoal or black tuxedo trousers.

When outdoors for something like fossil-hunting, Mr. Ratburn wears a dark brown hat with a yellow line on the bottom of the tip of the hat going all around the tip. He also wears a very light yellow or beige shirt a dark blue scarf tucked into the shirt.

There is also a short-sleeved beige jacket with two pockets one on each side of the jacket and two shoulder straps one on each side of the jacket. He also wears blue shorts very light yellow or beige socks and light brown boots. He always carries a briefcase with him to class.

Personality

Mr. Ratburn is primarily known for being a strict teacher, but he has many other hobbies outside of the classroom, including puppetry, playing in a rock band, and bird-watching. He is also seen as a role model by several students. For instance, he encourages Arthur to be more physically active in "Arthur Weighs In," and he is able to relate to Maria's stuttering problem in "Maria Speaks."

He tends to give a lot of homework, projects and tests to the students in his class, which leads many to believe that he is the toughest teacher Lakewood Elementary School. Despite the heavy amount of school work to do, many of his students come to find out he is not as bad as they initially thought after he explains about organization, self-discipline, and how they can do their homework in time for things they like to do. Arthur, Buster, and Brain consider Mr. Ratburn their friend, and Arthur goes to greet him when he sees him in public.[11]

Even though Mr. Ratburn is calm and cool, he cackles uncontrollably in the dream sequences that the other characters have involving him.

Mr. Ratburn is often friendly, helpful and good-natured, rarely showing any hint of malice, and has shown that he truly cares about his students time and time again. In "The Last Day" and the song "Pop Quiz from Ratburn," Mr. Ratburn explains that his schoolwork is difficult because he wants to challenge his students and knows they can handle it. Mr. Ratburn takes his role as a teacher seriously and often tries to mentor his students, occasionally in non-academic fields. When the roof of his house collapses, Mr. Ratburn stays with the Read family, and is shown to enjoy watching Spooky Poo and other fun things, to Arthur's surprise.[12]

He frequently struggles with new, modern technology, such as using computers, the Internet and his classroom's new interactive "smart" board; for example, the first time he used the Internet, he fell for multiple scams.[13] This may be why he often uses an old film projector during his class lessons. He does become a bit more acclimated to some technology in various situations, however. He learns to use a tablet device called the BoysenBerry, and he manages to purchase a canoe online in "Best of the Nest."

In other media

In the Living Books computer games, he came out in Arthur's Teacher Trouble, even though there's a shadow look-alike of him walking outside while Arthur and Jane are out shopping for party supplies in Arthur's Birthday. He was voiced by David Kessler before the cartoon show replaced him with Arthur Holden.

In the later computer games (such as Arthur's Thinking Games), Mr. Ratburn's appearance is the same as in the show.

Students

See Nigel Ratburn's Class.

Relationships

Jobs

Mr. Ratburn has numerous jobs. In "Arthur and the Real Mr. Ratburn", it's revealed that Mr. Ratburn's a teacher, a basketball coach, and works on the school newspaper. In his spare time, he administers puppet shows that are popular among young kids. In "The Short, Quick Summer," Mr. Ratburn got a summer job at Jack's Joke Shop, where he worked as a cashier and helped Sue Ellen learn a card game magic trick.

Trivia

  • The car that Mr. Ratburn drives is a red roadster convertible.
  • In "Cents-less”, Mr. Ratburn is shown feeding two goldfish, whom he calls Vladimir and Estragon. It would seem that Mr. Ratburn has named his pets in honor of two characters from Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot.
  • For the first few seasons, he has brown skin then changed to orange in the next few seasons and back to brown in Season 16.
  • He may or may not be part Native American (specifically Cheyenne).[14]
  • He is named after Marc Brown's 7th grade math teacher, Mr. Gary Rathbun.[15]

Appearances

Gallery

Ratburn card.gif
The full image gallery for Nigel Ratburn may be viewed at Nigel Ratburn/Gallery.

References

  1. ↑ "Buster's Growing Grudge"
  2. ↑ "The Buster Report" - he grew out his pube hair when he was in the band.
  3. ↑ http://pbskids.org/arthur/print/tradingcards/cards.html#pg-ratburn2
  4. ↑ "Dancing Fools": "That was Nigel Ratburn and Paige Turner dancing the tango."
  5. ↑ "Bitzi's Beau" in 2000 (Priest: "Do you, Nigel Charles Ratburn, take Bitzi Lynn Baxter, to have and to hold, for better or for worse, through sickness and in health, from this day forward, til death do you part?")
  6. ↑ in "Arthur's Baby" in 1996 (Ratburn's Mom: "Emil, what are you doing?!!") and "Background Blues" in 1998
  7. ↑ "The Butler Did... What?"
  8. ↑ "Arthur's Almost Boring Day"
  9. ↑ "Arthur's Almost Boring Day"
  10. ↑ The Buster Report
  11. ↑ "Lend Me Your Ear"
  12. ↑ "The Rat Who Came to Dinner"
  13. ↑ "Muffy and the Big Bad Blog"
  14. ↑ "In fact, that Ratburn fellow looks a lot like a Cheyenne I used to know named Tahmelapachme. That means "dull knife." (chuckles)" — Sitting Bull, "On This Spot"
  15. ↑ https://www.wgbh.org/programs/2019/12/27/marc-brown-arthur-and-the-real-mr-ratburn-the-rewind



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