Do You Believe in Magic?

"Do You Believe in Magic?"
Season/Series:	12
Number in season:	9B
Original Airdate:	April 23, 2009 February 23, 2009 April 22, 2009
Credits
Written by:	Jonathan Greenberg
Storyboard by:	Daniel Decelles
Episodes
Previous "Home Sweet Home"	Next "The Perfect Game"
Read transcript

"Do You Believe in Magic?" is the second half of the ninth episode in the twelfth season of Arthur.

Summary

Arthur is jealous of Buster when his friend's magic tricks outshine his own.

Plot

In the introduction, Arthur and D.W. do a magic show in which Arthur accidentally pulls first a lion and then Buster out of his hat.

Do You Believe in Magic?

Because of rain, the kids have to spend recess in the cafeteria. Arthur performs a magic card trick he learned from his grandfather. Everyone is impressed.

The next day, Buster comes to school as the Great Baxterini. He performs a trick he learned from Harry Mills that is even better than Arthur's, which makes Arthur jealous.

The Reads are preparing for D.W.’s half-birthday party. She wants the unicorn that Emily had.

Arthur gets books on magic from the library. He tries out several tricks, but they all go wrong. Buster, on the other hand, is asked to perform for the kindergartners when a professional magician cancels his act.

Arthur tries to learn a disappearing trick. Buster visits him and when D.W. is sad because the unicorn cancelled, Buster performs a magic trick for her and is hired for the party.

Arthur watches a Bionic Bunny episode in which the villains Clown Face and Punchinello plan to expose Bionic Bunny's secret identity. Arthur has a fantasy in which he embarrasses Buster by exposing his tricks.

At D.W.’s party, Buster’s performance is a success until Buster notices that his wand is missing, which causes him to lose track during the disappearing trick that Arthur was learning. Bionic Bunny and Clown Face appear as shoulder angel and devil, respectively. Clown Face encourages Arthur to embarrass Buster, while Bionic Bunny tells Arthur not to do, and that Buster is his friend. Arthur walks up to Buster and secretly whispers instructions to help him finish the trick.

After the show, Arthur brings back Buster’s wand, which was chewed on by Pal. He asks Buster to teach him tricks. Buster instead invites Arthur to perform together with him for the Tibble twins.

Characters

Major

• Buster Baxter
• Arthur Read
• Francine Frensky
• D.W. Read
• Binky Barnes

Minor

• James MacDonald
• David Read
• Jane Read
• Nigel Ratburn
• Francis Haney
• Bionic Bunny

Cameo

• Bitzi Baxter
• Sue Ellen Armstrong
• George Lundgren
• The Brain
• Otis
• Emily
• Helen
• Mrs. Terrasini
• Brian
• Jenna Morgan
• Maria Pappas
• Fern Walters
• Nancy
• Luke
• Steve
• Norman Hedgehog
• Jack Weasel
• John
• Prunella Deegan

Trivia

• The back of Arthur's library card resembles a playing card.
• Timeline: This episode takes place in early September.
• Moral: Dont steal the attention for your own benefits.
• Karma: Buster stole Arthur's attention, so he was in troble with the party guests.

Episode connections

• D.W. is the second character to have celebrated a half birthday in the series; the first was Prunella in "Misfortune Teller." D.W.'s half birthday is mentioned again during this season in "Never, Never, Never".
• Arthur's interest in magic tricks was previously alluded to in "Attack of the Turbo Tibbles".

Cultural references

• This episode's title is a reference to the song "Do You Believe in Magic" by the Lovin Spoonful.
• Buster mentions Harry Houdini.
• The opening sequence is a reference to a commonly-used transition scene of "The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show".

Production notes

• After Arthur performs his magic trick in the cafeteria and Buster doing his own magic, D.W. is heard saying "woah" twice, this line is delivered twice by Michael Caloz, her voice actor from Season 1-3, instead of Robert Naylor.

Gallery

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  Title Card

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  Joker cat vs. Bionic Bunny

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  Buster showing off his magic

References