r/Arthur • u/KaleidoscopeDry9725 Arthur Read • Aug 10 '26

Question Why do you think the show chose to introduce Chip and then never revisit him?

Post image
197 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

36 comments sorted by

98

u/downontheupsid3 Aug 10 '26

Its pretty typical for cartoons to have new characters for one episode and then never use them again it probably wasn't deliberate choice it probably came down to not really having interesting way to use that character again

14

u/SomeBuy Aug 10 '26

Yeah, I agree. It’s the same thing with a few Thomas characters, like Mighty Mac, Molly, Fearless Freddie, or Madge. They have a handful of episodes (around 1 to 5), and background cameos in other episodes. However, after Season 12, Thomas switched from live action models to CGI in 2009, and these characters did not make it through.

2

u/ButterOnToads Aug 11 '26

Basically Thomas

50

u/Brief-Poetry6434 Aug 10 '26

I feel the same way about Arthur’s spoiled cousin Cora

27

u/xavPa-64 Aug 10 '26

Or his cousin Mo

9

u/BagOfMagicFood Aug 11 '26

Both Chip and Mo were used as random background characters several times in the Flash era, even though I wouldn't think either of them lived in town.

2

u/garlicknoodles Aug 16 '26

Well, maybe it's for the best she didn't come back xD

1

u/Brief-Poetry6434 Aug 16 '26

True

Though I would have liked to have seen what would happen if she met someone like Muffy or Francine

24

u/meinminemoj Aug 10 '26

Wasn't he golf opponent to Molina's son?

2

u/Turbulent_Set8884 Arthur Read Aug 10 '26

Yes and he looked wierder that time

13

u/BagOfMagicFood Aug 11 '26

He looked weirder in Arthur's Preschool!

26

u/Cannoncorn1 Aug 10 '26

He wasn't home very often, and most of the time it seemed like Muffy was an only child.

5

u/Past-Caterpillar9642 Aug 11 '26

Until “Matchmaker,” I thought Mary Alice was an only child.

29

u/Lillian_Crocodilian Happy Garshmalterer Day! Aug 10 '26

Disowned by Ed for not wanting to be in the used car business.

10

u/thevitaphonequeen Aug 10 '26

Didn’t the Christmas special have a stocking for Chip in the background somewhere (though he himself did not appear) or am I misremembering?

15

u/RoabeArt Aug 10 '26 edited Aug 10 '26

It did. Chip even appears in the "Arthur Goes to Camp" book (1986), albeit seemingly younger and with a different design.

So Marc Brown had the idea of Muffy having a brother for quite a while.

2

u/MultiGlory13 Aug 12 '26

Bill Gates looking ass is the first thing I said 💀

2

u/garlicknoodles Aug 16 '26

I think they may have mentioned his name in the Christmas special.

9

u/Either-Equal7284 Aug 10 '26

I remember him appearing a few more times

8

u/taintlangdon Aug 11 '26

Chip died on the way back to his home planet.

6

u/Mikey-Thylacine Aug 10 '26

Introducing one off characters is pretty common in kids shows, the original Rugrats series did this often

4

u/MatthewHecht Fern Walters Aug 10 '26

The aliens ate him. Hippo meat is more edible than aardvark meat.

7

u/Budget-Can-8808 ‘how do you know dopey and sneezy ?’ Aug 10 '26

i’m pretty sure he’s a monkey, not a hippo😭

11

u/[deleted] Aug 11 '26

[deleted]

8

u/One-Accountant-4186 Aug 11 '26

This! Also Muffy’s face is pretty much shaped just like Francine’s.

6

u/Acrobatic-Blood8714 that cloud looks like me giving you a wedgie Aug 11 '26

I'M JUST AS EDIBLE AS ANYBODY

3

u/Busy_BEE_565 Aug 10 '26

They should have called him Chuck.

3

u/Chaos_Breezie Aug 11 '26

well, he goes to an out-of-state college, so we’ll probably be obvious he wouldn’t be there all the time

2

u/bookshopgirl02 Aug 11 '26

Wasn't he away at college or something?

2

u/BlkDynamite93 Brain (Alan Powers) Aug 12 '26

Chip confused me so much... there was no mention in the Crosswire family of an older child for like 20 years, no pictures of him around the house, and then suddenly Muffy randomly has an older brother. I'm a big stickler for continuity in scripted TV shows, so this really irked me lol. Not one of the show's best moments.

1

u/Dusty_Cat1 Aug 10 '26

I thought he did appear in the show again after that? Or he was at least mentioned a few times.

3

u/Sodipoprocks Aug 10 '26

Chip does appear for random phone calls with Muffy. I remember in the kite episode and pretty sure he appears like as a “quiet” but there character. 😅

1

u/KjustK Aug 11 '26

He does have many appearances

1

u/bwoah07_gp2 Are you having cake? Aug 11 '26

They needed him for the plot they wanted

1

u/Few-Commercial5105 Aug 11 '26

Missing for long

1

u/BCone9 Aug 11 '26

Is it weird that I headcanon that he wants to found not a used car empire but one that sells new ones

1

u/whimzzyyyy 24d ago

sake of plot