Changes: Arthur's Family Vacation (episode)

	"Arthur's Family Vacation"
	Main image; Title card;
Season/Series:	1
Number in season:	15A
Original Airdate:	October 25, 1996; January 24, 1997;
	Credits
Written by:	Thomas LaPierre
Storyboard by:	François Brisson
	Episodes
Previous; "Arthur and the True Francine"	Next; "Grandpa Dave's Old Country Farm"

Revision as of 08:45, 21 November 2019

This article is about the episode. You may be looking for the book, the VHS, or the DVD.

"Arthur's Family Vacation" is the first half of the fifteenth episode in the first season of Arthur. It is based on the book Arthur's Family Vacation.

Summary

Instead of going with Buster to Camp Meadowcroak this year, Arthur has to go on a road trip with his family. After a series of misfortunes, the vacation may turn out better than he expected.

Plot

The introduction begins with a fantasy showing Arthur and Buster riding a canoe and being stepped on by a giant D.W. In real life, D.W. tells Arthur, that he can’t go to camp this year because the whole family is going on vacation to the beach.

Title card

Buster suggests that Arthur should tell his parents that they need a vacation without the kids to relax.

Arthur tries, but his Dad asks what to do with D.W. and Kate. Arthur has a fantasy of the little girls having a tea party in his canoe. Arthur tries arguing that he is old enough to choose his own vacation and that the beach is dangerous, but to no avail. Mr. Read tries to win him over by promising a lobster dinner.

The next morning the family leaves in their car with D.W.’s huge inflatable shark “Sharky” tied to the roof. They see Buster in the bus bound for camp.

The family makes a bathroom stop and a stop to change Kate’s diaper.

They have lunch at a burger joint. Since they sold the last burgers to a group of bikers, the Reads gets the “Chef’s Special”, which looks disgusting. D.W. starts a conversation with the bikers. When the family drives on, D.W. has a burger while everyone else is munching sadly on chocolate bars.

Mr. Read sees an inflatable shark on a cattle truck and realizes he has not tied up Sharky properly. He races the truck to a gas station, where he gets Sharky back.

The parents tell the kids about the hotel pool and the lobster dinner and everyone has beautiful fantasies.

At the “Ocean View Hotel” they learn that their room has been given to another family, because the journey took so long. They get a shabby small room instead, the ocean is hidden behind buildings, and the pool is the size of a bathtub.

They do go out for lobsters, but D.W. is freaked out by the “giant bug”.

There is a thunderstorm at night and the roof leaks. It also rains the next day, and Arthur wishes he was at camp with Buster. The Reads visit a cow festival and a fudge factory and take a boat trip. They also go to see “Jaws” which makes the kids cringe in their seats. D.W. says that the movie was Sharky’s choice.

Eventually the rain stops and the family do enjoy the beach. Arthur buries D.W. in sand.

Back home Buster tells how the camp was hit by a hurricane and lightning and the lake was contaminated.

Characters

Major

Minor

Sharky (debut)
Buster Baxter
Waitress (Diner) (debut)
James MacDonald
Unknown Male Adult Rabbit (Number 3) (speaking debut)

Cameo

Waiter (Lobster Shack) (debut)
Bill (dog)
Police officer
Mr. Sipple

Trivia

The man in the movie that the Read family go to see at the movies looks like Arthur's former neighbor Mr. Sipple.
This is the only episode written by Thomas LaPierre.
A hurricane actually hit Elwood City in "Shelter from the Storm."
This is one of a few episodes to feature an extremely rare music track. It can be heard after the traffic jams up. The other episodes are "Brain's Shocking Secret" and "Mr. Alwaysright" from Season 11.

Cultural references

The movie shown in the theater is a reference to the 1975 film Jaws.

Episode connections

Arthur previously went to Camp Meadowcroak in "Arthur Goes to Camp."
D.W. takes too many fudge samples to what Buster as well does in Buster's Amish Mismatch.

Differences from the book

This story takes place shortly after the events of "Arthur Goes to Camp," which also takes place before Arthur starts third grade. In the book, the story starts out on Arthur's last day of school in third grade.
In the book, they go to Gatorville.
In the episode, they go to a diner for lunch.
In the book, Buster says that camp was great and that he missed Arthur, while in the episode, Buster says camp was okay until they got hit by a hurricane.
In the book, Kate cries when D.W. announces that the family can't go to the beach because of the rain. In the episode, Kate doesn't cry.

Errors

When Arthur buries D.W. in the sand, an umbrella hides his ears, although he is not standing under it.
While the Read family was leaving the diner, David was holding a candy bar in one hand while he was driving. In the next few seconds, the candy bar is gone and he has both of his hands on the steering wheel.
Sharky's fins change different colors in different scenes.
For one second while Arthur said the word "No," his father had the same clothes like him.
In the closing scene such as where we see Arthur and Buster in the window, Buster is in his regular clothes instead of his camping outfit.

Home Video

VHS:

DVD:

Gallery

Screenshots

References

[1] ttps://web.archive.org/web/19970723021343/http://www.ket.org/Visions/Oct96/VL961025.html

[2] ttps://web.archive.org/web/20120413104003/http://ww3.tvo.org/program/157024/arthur

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 4: / Line 4: @@
 |season = [[Season 1|1]]
 |number = 15A
-|image = Arthur Family Vaccation.png
+|image = 115MainImage.PNG
 |titlecard = 115ATC.PNG
 |prod. code = 11501
@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 ==Summary==
-Instead of going with [[Buster Baxter|Buster]] to [[Camp Meadowcroak]] this year, [[Arthur]] has to go on a road trip with his family. After a series of misfortunes, the vacation may turn out better than he expected.
+Instead of going with [[Buster Baxter|Buster]] to [[Camp Meadowcroak]] this year, [[Arthur Read|Arthur]] has to go on a road trip with his family. After a series of misfortunes, the vacation may turn out better than he expected.
 ==Plot==
+The introduction begins with a fantasy showing Arthur and Buster riding a canoe and being stepped on by a giant D.W. In real life, D.W. tells Arthur, that he can’t go to camp this year because the whole family is going on vacation to the beach.
-Arthur wants to go back to Camp Meadowcroak with Buster for the summer and tries to get out of the family vacation to the beach. However, after his dad mentions wanting to take them all out for lobster dinner, Arthur decides that maybe the beach will be fun after all. After several impediments — including stinky diapers, traffic jams, and unpleasant pit stops — they finally make it to the beach.
+Title card
-However, the Reads lose their hotel reservation and stay in a leaky, rundown hotel. It also rains a lot. However, matters eventually start to get better when Arthur gets an idea from looking in a rolled-up newspaper (which he had originally planned to go after [[D.W]]. with, as she had accidentally hit him on the head while trying to smack a fly). They visit a cow festival, go on a safari, take a tour of Flo’s Fudge Factory, and go to see a movie.
+Buster suggests that Arthur should tell his parents that they need a vacation without the kids to relax.
-On their last day, the sun comes out, and David takes a picture of Arthur burying D.W. in the sand.
+Arthur tries, but his Dad asks what to do with D.W. and Kate. Arthur has a fantasy of the little girls having a tea party in his canoe. Arthur tries arguing that he is old enough to choose his own vacation and that the beach is dangerous, but to no avail. Mr. Read tries to win him over by promising a lobster dinner.
-When Arthur gets home, he asks Buster how it was at camp. Buster says that camp was okay, until the hurricane hit and pretty much ruined everything.
+The next morning the family leaves in their car with D.W.’s huge inflatable shark “Sharky” tied to the roof. They see Buster in the bus bound for camp.
+The family makes a bathroom stop and a stop to change Kate’s diaper.
+They have lunch at a burger joint. Since they sold the last burgers to a group of bikers, the Reads gets the “Chef’s Special”, which looks disgusting. D.W. starts a conversation with the bikers. When the family drives on, D.W. has a burger while everyone else is munching sadly on chocolate bars.
+Mr. Read sees an inflatable shark on a cattle truck and realizes he has not tied up Sharky properly. He races the truck to a gas station, where he gets Sharky back.
+The parents tell the kids about the hotel pool and the lobster dinner and everyone has beautiful fantasies.
+At the “Ocean View Hotel” they learn that their room has been given to another family, because the journey took so long. They get a shabby small room instead, the ocean is hidden behind buildings, and the pool is the size of a bathtub.
+They do go out for lobsters, but D.W. is freaked out by the “giant bug”.
+There is a thunderstorm at night and the roof leaks. It also rains the next day, and Arthur wishes he was at camp with Buster. The Reads visit a cow festival and a fudge factory and take a boat trip. They also go to see “Jaws” which makes the kids cringe in their seats. D.W. says that the movie was Sharky’s choice.
+Eventually the rain stops and the family do enjoy the beach. Arthur buries D.W. in sand.
+Back home Buster tells how the camp was hit by a hurricane and lightning and the lake was contaminated.
 ==Characters==
@@ Line 47: / Line 67: @@
 ==Trivia==
-*The man in the movie that the Read Family go to see at the movies looks like Arthur's former neighbor [[Mr. Sipple]].
+*The man in the movie that the Read family go to see at the movies looks like Arthur's former neighbor [[Mr. Sipple]].
 *This is the only episode written by Thomas LaPierre.
-*A hurricane actually hit [[Elwood City]] in [[Shelter from the Storm]].
+*A hurricane actually hit [[Elwood City]] in "[[Shelter from the Storm]]."
+*This is one of a few episodes to feature an extremely rare music track. It can be heard after the traffic jams up. The other episodes are "[[Brain's Shocking Secret]]" and "[[Mr. Alwaysright]]" from Season 11.
 ===Cultural references===
-*Flo's Fudge Factory could be a reference to ''{{W|Charlie and the Chocolate Factory}}''.
 *The movie shown in the theater is a reference to the 1975 film ''Jaws''.
 ===Episode connections===
 *Arthur previously went to [[Camp Meadowcroak]] in "[[Arthur Goes to Camp (episode)|Arthur Goes to Camp]]."
+*[[D.W. Read|D.W.]] takes too many fudge samples to what [[Buster Baxter|Buster]] as well does in [[Buster's Amish Mismatch]].
 ===Differences from the book===
-*This story takes place shortly after the events of "Arthur Goes to Camp", which also takes place before Arthur starts third grade. In the book, the story started out as Arthur's last day of school in third grade.
+*This story takes place shortly after the events of "Arthur Goes to Camp," which also takes place before Arthur starts third grade. In the book, the story starts out on Arthur's last day of school in third grade.
-*In the book, they went to Gatorville; in the episode, they didn't.
+*In the book, they go to Gatorville.
-*In the episode, they went to the diner for lunch; in the book, they didn't.
+*In the episode, they go to a diner for lunch.
-*In the book Buster says that camp was great and that he missed Arthur, while in the episode, Buster says camp was okay until they got hit by a hurricane.
+*In the book, Buster says that camp was great and that he missed Arthur, while in the episode, Buster says camp was okay until they got hit by a hurricane.
-*In the book, Kate cried when D.W. announced the next morning that the family can't go to the beach because of the rain. In the episode, Kate didn't cry.
+*In the book, Kate cries when D.W. announces that the family can't go to the beach because of the rain. In the episode, Kate doesn't cry.
 ===Errors===
-[[File:Arthur's_Family_Vacation_off-model.png|thumb]]
+[[File:Arthur's Family Vacation off-model.png|thumb]]
 *When Arthur buries D.W. in the sand, an umbrella hides his ears, although he is not standing under it.
 *While the Read family was leaving the diner, David was holding a candy bar in one hand while he was driving. In the next few seconds, the candy bar is gone and he has both of his hands on the steering wheel.
@@ Line 101: / Line 119: @@
 </gallery>}}
 ==References==
-{{Reflist}} {{EpisodeNav|1}}
+{{Reflist}}
+{{EpisodeNav|1}}
 [[Category:Season 1 episodes]]
 [[Category:A to Z]]
 [[Category:Arthur episodes]]
+[[Category:1996]]

"Arthur's Family Vacation"
Main image Title card
Season/Series:	1
Number in season:	15A
Original Airdate:	October 25, 1996^[1] January 24, 1997^[2]
Credits
Written by:	Thomas LaPierre
Storyboard by:	François Brisson
Episodes
Previous "Arthur and the True Francine"	Next "Grandpa Dave's Old Country Farm"