Bruce Dinsmore (TV series) Jonathan Morris (Living Books) Robin Arthur (Computer Games) Ed Gory (ASCC)
"Sometimes I just can't figure Binky out. It's like he's two different people: Bully Binky and uh, that other guy. [...] I think I like the other guy best." – Arthur Read, "Brother, Can You Spare a Clarinet?"
Shelley[9] "Binky" Barnes is a student in Mr. Ratburn's class at Lakewood Elementary School. He is one of Arthur's friends. However, Binky is also the leader of a club of bullies called the Tough Customers. He ends up in Mr. Ratburn's class for three straight years, since Binky is repeating the third grade, and then continues with Mr. Ratburn into his fourth-grade class the following year.[10]
Binky Barnes is an anthropomorphic overweight bulldog with a mustard-yellow complexion, a large, wide face with small eyes and three snaggle teeth rising from his lower lip. Binky usually wears a long-sleeved pecan-orange button up shirt, dark blue slacks, a cyan belt, and brown loafers. His shirt is typically tucked into his pants. In the chapter book Arthur and the World Record, Binky says that the tallest man in the world (8 feet, 11 inches) is twice as tall as he is, meaning that Binky measures around 4 feet, 5-1/2 inches.
Binky in seasons 1 to 5
Binky in seasons 6 to 15
Binky in seasons 16 to 25
1/3
For formal occasions, Binky will wear a gray polka dotted suit with a top front pocket on the right-hand side of the jacket. Binky kept three pencils in this pocket. The suit also has two pockets, one on each side, with the pocket on the left-hand side being slightly above the one on the right. The suit has two buttons and a black sleeve patch, one on each sleeve. He also wears a white-collar shirt, a light green tie, matching trousers and black shoes. Binky wears green pajamas and green slippers for bed.
Personality
While Binky is generally portrayed as a school bully (more so in the earlier episodes and books). In reality, he is very soft and kind-hearted. Binky often maintains his bullying reputation as a form of pride and distrust towards other people, as he does not want others to mock him for being soft. This is especially true, as Binky will often threaten anyone who discovers his true persona[11][12], though this is done more for them to stay silent from the matter, rather than to intimidate them for pleasure.
In "Bully for Binky," it is revealed that Binky has never fought anyone. During all his years as a "school bully", the victims were typically too scared to do so and usually ended up running away. However, when Sue Ellen finally stood up to Binky and challenged him to a fight and Binky later discovered that Sue Ellen took martial arts lessons (specifically Tae Kwon Do, which Binky later saw on television), Binky started getting worried that Sue Ellen could potentially beat him in a fight.
The most prominent part of Binky's soft side is that he is unable to hurt other people in a deliberate manner. In "Arthur's Big Hit", despite being shocked from overhearing that Arthur hit D.W., Binky expresses hesitation and faces peer pressure from his friends when they urged him to hit Arthur for his wrongdoings. After doing so, Binky walked away from his friends, feeling extreme guilt and shame for what he did to Arthur. To reflect on Binky's soft side, he enjoys many hobbies such as ballet, playing the clarinet, and catching butterflies before releasing them. Binky usually keeps these interests private and rarely tells or shows others about them.
Binky is also a keen cyclist. He cycles to school and enters most cycling tournaments in Elwood City. His most treasured possession is his Vance Legstrong t-shirt.
Binky enjoys the works of various poets and classical music composers, such as Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven (Binky said, “…just you, me, and Beethoven,” before sitting down to practice clarinet), and Frédéric Chopin, the great romantic composer.
Binky is secretly afraid of the dark and is also abnormally afraid of Santa Claus (but claims not to be). He is the forward and goalkeeper for the Lakewood Elementary Soccer Club. Binky took great pains to avoid letting Arthur know that he liked to read, feeling that he had a reputation to maintain.
Binky seems to thoroughly enjoy art as one time he put a lot of effort into correcting a picture in an art gallery, which was hung in a different way to that which the artist intended.
Family
Mrs. Barnes - Binky's mom is a nurse who loves her son very much, and probably is not very aware of his bullying habits. She is very well-meaning, but occasionally can be a worrywart, as evidenced after she discovered that Binky had a peanut allergy, during which she kept a constant watch on him. Binky seems to love her very much, as he made put a lot of effort trying to make her a rhyming greeting card for her birthday.[13]
Mr. Barnes - Little is known of Binky's dad since he only appears occasionally, other than the fact that he is very loving towards his son.
Mei-Lin Barnes - Binky's baby sister from China who was recently adopted by the Barnes family. At first, Binky did not know how to open up to her, but with patience and some hard work, the two of them developed a very strong bond. Binky takes good care of his sister and works hard to raise her along with his parents and is excited when Mei-Lin shows signs of growth as he was thrilled when she learned to stand by herself.[13]
Friends
Arthur Read - During the early seasons, Arthur had a lot of fear towards Binky due to his bullying reputation. However, ever since "Bully for Binky", Arthur discovers his soft and kind-hearted nature and realizes Binky is not really a bully as what he initially thought. Binky has been even given few opportunities to deliberately harm Arthur, as seen in Arthur's Tooth and Arthur's Big Hit. However, more often than not, Binky will instantly waver that he cannot do it. Because of this, Arthur has become more comfortable in interacting with Binky as the seasons progress, to the point they become close friends. However, Binky will still inspire fear towards Arthur sometimes as seen in "Arthur's Lost Library Book" and "Night Fright", although it is usually done to not have Arthur reveal any of his secrets that he just discovered.
Buster Baxter - Before getting to know him, Buster admits that he was really scared of Binky due to his bullying persona.[14] However, after seeing that Binky is a soft person, Buster has become more comfortable enough to consider Binky as a friend. Binky often acknowledges the jokes Buster makes, to the point, he would always laugh from them. However, as seen in "Buster's Growing Grudge", Buster developed a deep grudge towards Binky for wrongfully using his King Tut joke on his Christopher Columbus report. After Binky realizes the error of his ways, he attempts to make it up for Buster by giving him $0.73, a sticker of a cool car, and a button. Buster and Binky have become friends ever since.
Alan "Brain" Powers - As mentioned in the opening of "Sue Ellen Moves In", Binky would sometimes pick on the Brain, even when they were in preschool. While they may not be the best of friends, they learned to work things out. This is more evident in "Water and the Brain", as Binky intended to throw water balloons as revenge for ditching out from Muffy's Water Party, only to discard the idea in tearful guilt after failing to realize that Brain suffered from aquaphobia.
Francine Frensky - Like the boys in her school, Francine knows better not to confront against Binky. However, there are occasions when Francine is bold enough to confront him, as seen in the introduction of "To Beat or Not to Beat". Despite this, the two often get along at times.
Jenna Morgan - In "Muffy’s New Best Friend", it showed Jenna and Binky playing soccer together. In the same episode, they had the same taste on movies. In "Binky Goes Nuts", Jenna helps Binky with his allergies, and even goes to the library and gives a book about allergies for him. She also showed concern for his well-being when he accidently bought peanut products.
Sue Ellen Armstrong - At first, the two of them are enemies as shown in "Bully for Binky" as Sue Ellen is the only one who stands up to Binky. However, the two of them are shown to get along later. In "Sue Ellen's Lost Diary", Binky believes that Sue Ellen has a crush on him suggesting that he likes her. In "Binky Barnes, Wingman", Sue Ellen is also partly responsible for convincing Binky to develop an interest on butterflies.
Molly - Molly and Binky are good friends, as they are both Tough Customers. However, in some episodes, like "Take A Hike Molly", Binky and the Tough Customers avoid Molly until she learns to apologize, but they still remain friends.
D.W. Read - They become friends after they realized they both ate a green potato chip, because Arthur tricked D.W. by making her think that green chips are poisonous in the "The Chips Are Down". They continue being friends in "Revenge Of The Chip". While they spent their “last days” together they realized it was a prank that green chips were poisonous. They still remain friends, and even had done ballet together in "D.W. Dancing Queen". In "Arthur’s Big Hit", Binky is in complete shock after hearing Arthur hit her. D.W. gives a unicorn for his recently baby adopted sister’s Bia Jei Bei, in "Big Brother Binky".
Emily Leduc - Binky babysits Emily in "The Good, the Bad, and the Binky" and teaches her wrestling moves. The two of them are shown to get on well and Binky gifts her his old "Uncle Slam" jacket. He later goes with Emily and her mum to see the "Mice on Ice" show, instead of the wrestling match he originally planned to go to.
Maria - Maria encouraged Binky after he missed his opportunity to star in a TV commercial.
George Lundgren - In some episodes, Binky bullies George. However, in later episodes, they are friends, like "Crime and Consequences". Binky is also seen to have had a change of heart and supports George and Francine in their dancing competition in, "Dancing Fools."
Muffy Crosswire - In "Muffy's New Best Friend", Binky is Muffy's last choice as her replacement best friend. Binky is also invited to Muffy's party in, "Water and the Brain." Binky also invites Muffy round to listen to his CD of "Carmen" in "Lights, Camera... Opera!" Although the two are not regularly seen together, they are still friends.
Future Life
Binky as a teenager
In the intro to the episode "The Election," it is revealed that Binky will be a member of The United States Secret Service. At the end of "The Contest," Binky is shown to have updated his wardrobe as a teenager to incorporate a leather jacket, a white shirt, jeans, and sunglasses.
Binky later becomes a newscaster in the flash forward featured in the series finale and regularly uses wrestling lingo during his broadcasts.
"Sometimes I just can't figure Binky out. It's like he's two different people: Bully Binky and, uh... that other guy. I think I like the other guy best." – Arthur Read, "Brother, Can You Spare a Clarinet?"
Binky had to repeat third grade due to what was implied to be his poor academic performance, a fact he is proud of, given certain circumstances. Thus, Binky should have been in the fourth grade with the Tough Customers and Prunella. He is nine years old and not the same age as the other third graders, though in "Binky vs. Binky," Binky fills out a form saying he is 10 years old.
Binky is allergic to peanuts, as revealed in "Binky Goes Nuts." However, he was originally allergic to pollen in "Francine's Bad Hair Day," but in later episodes, Binky has a love for flowers (especially during the song "Library Card" in "Arthur's Almost Live Not Real Music Festival") and has no allergic reactions to pollen. This inaccuracy is not noted in the series. However, one possibility is that Binky has allergies.
Binky is considered the best member of the school band due to his expertise with the clarinet, rivaled only by Sue Ellen on the saxophone, coming at a close second to Binky.[16][17]
In "Bully for Binky," Binky hated ballet. But after the events of "The Chips Are Down" and in the later seasons, Binky has grown to have an affinity for it and is shown to be extremely talented at ballet.
According to Binky, his birthday is next month in "Brother, Can You Spare a Clarinet?," when you calculate Arthur's birthday plus the time Arthur said, you could determine that Binky's birthday is in October because the episode is based in September. It is confirmed that his birthday is sometime between September and May because a score card in "Binky vs. Binky" says he was 10 in that episode, which took place in May.
Despite bullying George a lot, Binky has been seen hanging out with him.
As seen in "Night Fright," Binky is revealed to have a nightlight so that he would not have nightmares. Binky also sings about this in the song "My Night Light."
Binky's character was based on a fourth grader known to Marc Brown with a potato-like nose who bullied him and his classmates at recess.[18]
In "The Long, Dull Winter," is revealed that Binky weighs more than Sue Ellen, Muffy, and Fern combined, as he was still at the bottom on a see-saw with all of the girls on the other side. However, the see-saw may have been frozen in place by the cold weather, so he may not actually weigh that much.
In "Sue Ellen's Lost Diary," it is strongly implied that Binky has a crush on Sue Ellen.
In "S.W.E.A.T." Binky mentions that one time while playing his clarinet in front of an audience, his hands got sweaty that he ended up dropping his clarinet on his big toe of his right foot. And he also claims that he has the scar as well.
During the first five seasons, Binky has a dull, orangish-tan complexion. Beginning with Season 6, this changes to a bright, yellow complexion for the remainder of the series.
Binky had an Ultra-Bouncy ball that was confiscated by Mr. Ratburn.[19]
Binky is nine years old at the start of Grade 3, while the other students are eight and students should be eight (or sometimes seven) when entering the third grade. This could be for his bad behavior and having to redo a grade. Furthermore, in season 10, Binky is 10 years old and is still in the third grade, which proves even further that he had to repeat a previous grade.
A talent that Binky has is belching. As seen in The Good, Bad, and the Binky, Binky ate Arthur's cheese and burped loudly. In "Do You Speak George?", he tried to make a language that involved burping. In "Baby Steps", Mei Lin pulled Binky's finger, and he did a loud burp.
The original Binky model sheet features a fish on Binky's back.
In early production stages of season 1, Binky's model sheet mistakenly features a fish on the back of his shirt, which ended up appearing in the original completed animations of some scenes done by AKOM. These scenes had to be reanimated to remove the fish.[citation needed]
↑"Brother, Can You Spare a Clarinet?" - Arthur says his birthday (May 25th) isn't for 7 more months, meaning the episode takes place in October. When they give Binky the repaired clarinet, Binky says his birthday is next month.
