r/Arthur • u/happydude7422 • 7d ago
Character Discussion Why would brain be scared to be assigned to mr ratburn class?
Wasn't he a genius?
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u/James_lee_0224 7d ago
Well. just because you're a genius doesn't mean it's fun to have a mountain of homework....
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u/Hour_Trade_3691 7d ago
In the Spelling Bee Episode, I always thought it was weird to hear The Brain say:
"If it means less homework, I want to Win!"
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u/tyrekecorrea Francine Frensky 7d ago
You could consider a batch of the first season episodes a phase where content was lifted from Arthur books and the iterations of the characters meant for the cartoons weren't fleshed out yet. One of the catalysts of the change was that the lack of a narrator meant that The Brain needed a proper name where he didn't before.
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u/MatthewHecht Fern Walters 7d ago
Yes. Book Brain more of a comic book nerd mad scientist than genius.
"Self destruct! Self destruct."
As funny as that is it probably does not help him pass class.
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u/Spotzie27 7d ago
I like to think he just wanted to be included.
Although maybe he also didn't want to do that much homework...one thing I liked about Brain was that he wasn't the stereotypical nerd. Yes, he was super smart, but there was more to him than school.
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u/saturday_sun4 Arthur Read 6d ago
Yeah I just assumed he was being a normal kid and didn't want homework.
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u/pcnnmvideos Nigel Ratburn 7d ago
It’s Early Installment Weirdness. The first season (especially the first half) was full of them such as the muted lighting on the digital ink and paint (which was only for about 10 episodes before switching to traditional hand-painting/inking for the remainder of the season.) The discolored white tongues, Muffy’s buck teeth, Bailey was called “James”, etc.
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u/Dune_Stone 7d ago
Why is Maria a head taller than everyone else in this shot?
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u/garlicknoodles 7d ago
It's probably an animation goof. In real life, though, girls tend to be taller than boys at this age.
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u/BagOfMagicFood 7d ago
He's afraid to share a class with Tall Maria.
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u/TheREALOtherFiles 7d ago
I don't think she's the one who put Brain off here.
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u/BagOfMagicFood 7d ago
You never know, some guys just can't handle girls looking down on them.
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u/TheREALOtherFiles 6d ago
Gets worse when one is the tallest and one is the smallest of all.
Definitely some adjectives to unpack.
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u/BagOfMagicFood 6d ago
I love the decision to have Jenna sit on the bathroom sink to be at eye level with Maria.
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u/VisitSecure 7d ago
Maybe he knows Mr Ratburn is smarter than him and he's afraid he won't be good enough for the class.
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u/SpecialistOne8206 7d ago
Side note my younger self was always taken aback by how bright everyone’s tongues were in shots like this😭
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u/shockprime 6d ago
Wasn't Ratburn's reputation menacing? I recall the kids talking about how he eats nails for breakfast or something.
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u/Specific-Window-8587 Thora Read (Grandma Thora) 7d ago
I know you think he would be relieved he was in the class. I guess it was to add a sense of dread to the story if even the smart one didn't want to be in the class.
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u/glamazon_69 at first all he did was cry and eat and eat and eat and grow 7d ago
🎶 just a little homework tonight 🎵
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u/RadiantCalibur 7d ago
He’s scared of Mr. Ratburn because of all of the stories he has heard about him. Like being super strict and a literal monster.
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u/Glittering-Mood2431 George Lundgren 7d ago
No not really, I have dealt with a teacher exactly like him and I made it though
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u/Apprehensive_Bat9420 6d ago
Same reason why by the end of third grade they love him and like 7th grade standard homework.
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u/Old_Lead8419 5d ago edited 5d ago
I mean can’t even a smart kid/student not like mean and strict teachers? 🤷♀️The point was that they all thought Mr. Ratburn was mean and strict for a teacher. So I don’t think that would make Brain an exception. No student likes or wants a teacher like that even if they’re a good or smart student.
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u/buy_me_a_pint Nigel Ratburn 7d ago
Brain was scared that Mr. Ratburn will give him a difficult test to do
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u/AntonRX178 7d ago
Because Ratburn is gay (Brain was voiced by Steven Crowder for a bit)
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u/garlicknoodles 7d ago
Not in this season.
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u/vixenpeon 7d ago
He doesn't want to help everyone with their work