Top 10 Most Savage Arthur Moments

Muffy’s personal blog pops off after she announces to her class that she’ll be spending the holiday in Costa Rica. Encouraged by her success online, the anthropomorphic monkey continues to post about her daily life. Her content starts to get stale, however, once she returns to Elwood City. When the third grader asks her friends about a recent upload, their response is lukewarm. Francine offers constructive criticism, but Binky and Buster are way harsher. The aspiring writer learns that when it comes to content creation, boring is the worst feedback you can get.

The best friends take things too far when they try to set up their older siblings. It all starts with Muffy’s brother Chip coming home from college. During dinner with the Frensky family, Chip and Francine’s older sister Catherine seem to hit it off. Noticing this, Francine and Muffy imagine what it would be like to be sisters. Their mutual fantasy plays out in a sitcom-esque style. While at first their future seems playful and cheery, it starts to look more tedious as things get tense in the present day. Francine confronts Muffy about imaginary household chores, but the high-maintenance monkey responds with a vicious read of her roomie’s cooking.

“The Magic Toolbox” is a show within the show that includes a segment similar to “Arthur”’s own “A Word from Us Kids.” It features students in their learning spaces sharing what they know. While watching an episode with Buster and D.W., the titular character expresses interest in the casting process. His little sister sees an opportunity to roast her brother and runs with it. In reality, D.W. 's claim that her brother would be a snooze-worthy protagonist is provably false. A significant chunk of the world’s younger population grew up watching the anthropomorphic aardvark on their television screens. But just like Buster, we find the little sibling’s performance hilarious.

One commonly recurring theme from the children’s television show is sibling conflict. For example, the young aardvark and his little sister can often be seen going at it. From teasing to fighting, it's normal for the children to be at odds. Admittedly, D.W. is usually the antagonizer, but Arthur tends to escalate situations with his response. In this segment, they use their babysitter’s thesaurus to discover new insults. While the resourcefulness is great, what’s really impressive is their creativity. We wouldn’t have thought to compare D.W. 's head to a large fruit, but now we can’t unsee it.

The feisty young aardvark pulls a long con on her brother with this all-encompassing bit. When Arthur insults her interests, D.W. channels her hurt feelings into the performance of a lifetime. She mimics her older sibling, adopting his tastes, habits, and mannerisms. D.W. even goes as far as dressing like Arthur in a yellow v-neck sweater, white collared shirt, and blue jeans. Her mockery reaches its final evolution when D.W. dons a pair of glasses with round frames. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but we’re pretty sure that’s not what’s going on here.

When Francine gets the lead role of Thomas Edison in a school play, she immerses herself in the world of incandescent filaments. Unfortunately for her classmates, she takes her position a little too seriously. The third grader stops participating in other activities, opting instead to research her source material. Muffy and Prunella invite the hard-working thespian to the mall, only to be rejected. When her primadonna best friend calls Edison’s inventions boring, Francine takes personal offense. In retaliation, she hits Muffy back where she knows it’ll hurt most. Prunella’s response says it all.

Compartmentalization is not one of D.W.’s strengths. When the middle child feels left out by kids at school, she brings her frustrations home. No one is safe from the testy aardvark’s surly attitude, not even house guests. But, Arthur’s friend Francine is determined to get to the root of the matter. She directly asks D.W. why she’s acting the way she is, and it does not go well. D.W. gets offended and Francine gets a target on her back. Not even an attempt at an apology can smooth things over. The next time Francine goes over to Arthur’s house, his sister is ready to let her have it.

Arthur isn’t pleased when his family starts shopping for a car. Unable to afford something new, the Reads visit the used car dealership owned by Muffy’s dad, Ed. Even after multiple test drives, nothing gets Arthur’s stamp of approval. That’s when Mr. Crosswire calls in for backup. The next day, Muffy picks up her classmate in an available green hatchback and tries to make a sale. While her pitch to Arthur is a little over the top, we're concerned with her treatment of Buster. The rabbit’s family may not be in the market for a used vehicle, but he probably wouldn’t have minded a ride. Instead, Buster is left to walk to school alone.

Mr. Ratburn unintentionally causes a stir when he gives George an award for his improvement in school. Muffy, who takes a lot of pride in her own trophy collection, feels inclined to express her opinion on the matter. She congratulates her classmate but insists that it should have been Fern who won. The remark could have been meant as a compliment, but it comes out more as a dig. Naturally, Fern insists that trophies aren’t important to her. The concept is inconceivable to the attention-loving monkey. She spends the rest of the episode trying to award the dog a trophy of her own. While the sentiment sounds nice, it says more about Muffy than it does Fern.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

When Arthur Roasted His Own Parents, “Arthur's Eyes”
These Characters Have Been Throwing Shade Since the Pilot

When Muffy Was Considerate of Her Less Fortunate Friends, “Arthur's Perfect Christmas”
Sharing Is Caring, But This Seems Backhanded

When D.W. Used Her Artistic Talent to Criticize Arthur, “Arthur's Almost Boring Day”
They Say a Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words

When D.W. Offered Her Kindness at a Price, “Arthur the Loser”
When Arthur Can’t Stop Losing Things, His Sister Sees an Opportunity for Financial Gain

When D.W. Caught Arthur in the Act, “Arthur's Treasure Hunt”
She Always Assumes the Worst in Her Brother

As we’ve mentioned, sibling relationships are a common theme in the show. In fact, Sue Ellen is one of the few characters to not have a brother or sister. While most of her friends get to participate in the Elwood City Sibling Festival, the anthropomorphic cat feels left out. She offers to be D.W. 's partner in one of the events, only for Arthur to tell her she can’t. D.W. hits a little too close to home when she calls Sue Ellen “lonely.” Her comment is nothing, however, compared to what Arthur says next. The four-year-old aardvark may be a lot to handle, but her brother’s threat is excessive.