Arthur and the Whole Truth/Transcript

Arthur sits at the piano in his pajamas and practices ‘The Entertainer’. He makes plenty of mistakes and eventually slumps on the keys.

Arthur: (sighs)        

His dad looks in carrying a basket of laundry.

Mr. Read: That was pretty good. Keep practicing and I’m sure you’ll have it down in time for the recital.   

He leaves.

Arthur: No, I won’t. I actually think I’m getting worse.

Arthur walks up the stairs while addressing the camera.

Arthur: Mom and Dad are always really supportive, but sometimes I wish they’d just tell me the truth.    

D.W. runs up to him.

D.W.: I’ll tell you the truth. Those pajamas need a wash. I can smell them from here.

Arthur brushes his teeth. When he wants to leave the bathroom, D.W. is waiting for him.

D.W.: What? No flossing? You’ll have dentures in high school.    

She follows him.     

D.W.: Did you know you talk in your sleep? I can hear it through the wall. Bla bla bla, Mr. Ratburn, bla bla bla.

Arthur: Okay, I get it! Now go to bed!    

They have reached Arthur’s bed. D.W. runs out.  

Arthur: (yawns)   

He turns off the light, gets into bed and puts his glasses on the nightstand.    

Arthur: Maybe I was wrong. Sometimes the truth can be a real pain.    

He closes his eyes and opens them to see D.W.’s face right in front of him.      

D.W.: You also snore like a lawnmower.

Arthur: D.W.!

D.W.: (giggles)     

She runs out.

~~~

Title Card: Arthur plays at the recital

~~~

Arthur adds a pipecleaner figure to a diorama in his room.

Arthur: It’s a prehistoric family. See? There’ the cavemama, the cavebaby and that’s the cavedaddy. He’s hunting.

Buster: Is he hunting a giant dustbunny?

Arthur: What? No, that’s a wooly mammoth.

Buster: Oh, I see it now.

Arthur: What do you think?

Buster: It’s pretty cool.   

He pulls out a smartphone and shows a picture of a small sculpture.    

Buster: Hey, check out what I made. Smilodon, the saber-tooth cat. Roar!    

Arthur: Wow, that’s really good.

Buster: And the best part is, I made him out of marzipan. He’s edible. As soon as I get you back from Mr. Ratburn, you’re going into Buster’s belly.

Arthur: Do you think mine is terrible? Maybe I should work on it more.

Buster: It’s fine. I think it’s very creative.

Arthur: Okay. Let’s go watch Bionic Bunny.      

They leave the room. The cavedaddy falls over.

~~~

A few days later, Arthur’s diorama stands on Mr. Ratburn’ desk with a note saying “C+” attached to it. Other kids are also picking up their dioramas.

Arthur: A C+?!

Francine: You should be happy. That looks like D.W. made it.

Buster: Hey, my saber-toothed cat got an A-!

Francine: Can I see it?

Buster: (swallows) Too late.

~~~

Arthur walks home with Francine.

Arthur: I probably should have done more work on it, but Buster said it looked okay.

Francine: Well, of course Buster said that.

Arthur: What do you mean?

Francine: He never disagrees with you. You’re his best friend.

Arthur: Buster disagrees with me.

Francine: Oh yeah? Can you name one time.

Arthur: Well… Not at the moment, but…

Francine: I’m not criticizing him. It’s a fact. He always tells you just what you wanna hear.  

She walks off and Arthur runs after her.

~~~

The Grebelings play against Mighty Mountain. Arthur gets a hit and runs, but the ball gets to first base before him.

Umpire: You’re out!      

Arthur runs to the dugout.

Arthur: That’s so unfair! I was safe!

Buster: Totally! You could have read the whole Henry Skreever series before that kid got the ball.  

He walks to home plate. Francine smiles and shakes her head.

Francine: Told ya.

Arthur: Told me what?

Umpire: Strike one!

Francine: You were out by a mile! Buster just doesn’t want you to feel bad

Umpire: Strike two!

Arthur: Well, I agree with Buster. I wasn’t out!

Francine: Think what you want. I’m just being honest with you.

Umpire: Strike three!     

Buster returns to the dugout.

Buster: Making us play against robots is unfair!   

The Mighty Mountain pitcher pitches and Francine gets a hit.

Buster: I’m sure that pitcher has a bionic arm.

Arthur: Did you really think I was safe?

Buster: Sure! Hey, at least you hit the ball. I didn’t even see it.

~~~

At night, Arthur looks at the diorama in his room. He is wearing pajamas.

Arthur: It really is terrible!   

The wooly mammoth falls over.   

Arthur: Why didn’t Buster tell me.

In his imagination, he is a caveman sharpening a rock. Buster stands on a ladder and paints stickmen and a U.F.O. on the cave wall.

Cave Arthur: Hmm!      Oh, look! Me make spear!  Is good?

Cave Buster: Is best spear ever! No move! Me paint you!     

Arthur poses with the spear, the tip of which is much too big. A trumpeting noise is heard outside.      

Cave Buster: Food! Go hunt!

Arthur runs outside where a wooly mammoth is grazing.

Cave Arthur: Whaaaa!    

He runs at the mammoth and throws the spear which hits the ground right in front of him.        

Cave Arthur: Uh oh!     Aaahh!    

He runs off. The mammoth looks angry and runs after him. Arthur runs into the cave and the mammoth gets stuck in the entrance. Arthur and Buster hide behind a stone table.

Cave Arthur: Spear terrible. Why you no tell me?

Cave Buster: You look so happy. Me no want you feel like doofus.     

A shadow falls on them as the mammoth manages to squeeze inside.

Both: Augh!

The fantasy ends. Arthur throws the diorama in the trash.

~~~

The next morning, Arthur runs into the kitchen where his dad is doing the dishes.

Arthur: Hey dad. Do you know where we put that shirt Uncle Fred gave me? The one he brought back from Las Vegas?

Mr. Read: Probably in the attic. What do you want with that?

Arthur: I need it for an experiment.   

He leaves. His dad looks surprised.

~~~

Buster walks into the ice-cream shop where Arthur is sitting wearing a coat.

Buster: Hey, nice coat. Are we playing spy?

Arthur: No, I was a little chilly, but it’s warmed up now.   

He opens the coat and shows a hideous pink and green T-shirt showing Las Vegas. Buster looks disgusted.

Buster: (gasp)!

Arthur: Oh, what do you think of my new shirt?    

The other customers look horrified.

Young Woman: (screams)

Mother: Sweet Jackson Bollock!

Baby: (cries)

Young Man: (coughs) Check please!

Brain: Ahaah! My eyes!

Arthur: Well, pretty cool, huh?    

The others move away from him. Buster stares at the shirt.

Buster: Um… well, it… it kind of matches your sundae.

Arthur: Aha, you’re lying!! No one likes this shirt, except Uncle Fred and he’s colorblind!

Buster: Okay, you’re right, it’s horrible! Now please, for the love of humanity, hide that thing!    

Arthur closes his coat and walks to the door.

Arthur: Francine was right. You don’t tell me the truth! You just say what you think I wanna hear.

Buster: That’s not true!     

He runs outside, after Arthur.    

Buster: It’s not lying! I just wanna be agreeable!

Arthur: Why?

Buster: I don’t know. I guess I just hate fighting.

Arthur: Buster, saying how you really feel isn’t fighting. You can tell me anything. You’re my best friend.

Buster: You’re right. From now on, I’ll say what I really think.

Arthur: Phew. Great! I’m glad that’s over with. Let’s go back to my house and play Curse of the Moomies. I just downloaded a new level.

Buster: Okay.    Actually, I don’t really like that game.

Arthur: What?? But we played it like a million times.     

They walk down the street.

Buster: And it’s always the same. You zap the zombie bats, then the zombie snakes, then the zombie cows. After a while it’s like doing homework.

Arthur: But it’s a new level. There are zombie hippos.

Buster: Sorry. You wanted me to be honest.

Arthur: I do, I do. Okay, so what do you wanna do?

Buster: Take a shower? I feel like I have to wash the image of that shirt off my eyeballs. I’ll call you later.     

Arthur looks surprised.

~~~

Later, Arthur practices the piano when the doorbell rings. Arthur opens to Buster, who is holding a book called “The Gourmet Ghost”.

Buster: Hey! Here’s that Scare Your Pants Off Book you lent me.

Arthur: Oh yeah, “The Gourmet Ghost”. I really liked it. Until the end.

Buster: Are you kidding? The end was the best part.

Arthur: But the chef wasn’t even a ghost, just an angry dishwasher.

Buster: Yeah, an angry dishwasher who put spider eggs in the soup. I’m never eating gazpacho again!

Arthur: I thought it was disappointing.

Buster: I thought it was great.

Arthur: Really?

Buster: Really.

Arthur: Well, I did read it kind of quickly. Maybe it was better than I thought.

Buster: You don’t have to say that. We just disagree.

Arthur: Right.

Buster: Hey, wanna go for a ride?

Arthur: I have to practice for the recital.

Buster: Oh, okay. Well… knock ‘em dead.   

He leaves.

Arthur: You too. I mean… have a wonderful ride.

~~~

There is a piano recital in the theater. Arthur plays “The Entertainer” on a grand piano on stage. After he finishes, the audience cheers and Arthur takes a bow.

~~~

After the recital, Arthur talks to Francine outside the theater.

Francine: Great job! If you played baseball as good as you do piano, we might actually win some games.

Arthur: Thanks, Francine.     

Francine leaves and Buster comes over.

Buster: Hey, that was amazing.

Arthur: Hêhê. You’re not just saying that, are you?

Buster: Of course not.

Arthur: I was so nervous. I can’t believe I got through it without making a single mistake.

Buster: Um…    

He looks uncomfortable.

Arthur: What?   

Buster shrugs.    

Arthur: You’re not saying something!

Buster: Well, you did make one or two mistakes.

Arthur: No, I didn’t!     

Several kids look at him.

Buster: Just at the beginning. But it was still amazing.

Arthur: You’re only saying that because you’re still angry from our fight!

Buster: Fight? We didn’t have a fight. We just disagreed about that book.

Arthur: You know, there is a difference between being honest and being mean.   

He walks off in a huff.

Buster: But… that’s not fair. You said…  Aw…   

He walks away sadly.

Arthur gets into the car. While buckling up, he sees Buster getting into the Baxtermobile. As it drives past the Reads’ car, Buster waves but Arthur ignores him.

~~~

The Reads drive home.

Arthur: Did I make a few mistakes?

Mr. Read: I didn’t hear any. The whole thing was wonderful.

D.W.: Except for the beginning.

Mr. Read: D.W.!

Arthur: No, it’s okay. I wanna know. What was wrong with the beginning?

D.W.: I’ve had to listen to you play that thing a million times. And the beginning is supposed to go: ba-ba-ba-bump ba-bump ba-bump. You played: ba-ba-ba-ba ba-bump bee-bump.

Arthur: You’re right. I did mess that up. Could we make a stop before going home?

D.W.: Oh, and you were slouching and your bow-tie was crooked and your ears are too big…

~~~

Shortly afterwards, Arthur rings the Baxters’ doorbell. Buster opens.

Buster: I was just about to call you. Before you say anything, I want you to know that I was completely wrong. You were perfect. You didn’t make any m…   

He crosses two fingers behind his back.

Arthur: Your fingers are crossed, aren’t they?

Buster: Aw, I can’t win!

Arthur: It’s okay! In fact, I came to apologize. I asked you to be honest with me and you were. It’s not your fault that I didn’t like the answer.

Buster: So… we’re friends again?   

They shake hands.

Arthur: Besties.

Buster: Oh wait. I forgot to give you something at the recital.    

He gets a small model of a grand piano.   

Buster: I had all this marzipan left over, so I made you an edible piano.

Arthur: Wow, thanks.

Buster: Try it! It’s delicious.    

Arthur eats a small piece and his face freezes.    

Buster: What do you think?

Arthur: Trust me, you don’t wanna know.