Brown Is Still Around
Despite published reports, 'Arthur' author will not retire
Staff -- School Library Journal, 3/1/2000
Early this year, newspapers reported that Marc Brown, the creator of Arthur, was retiring. The reports--completely erroneous--sent shock waves rippling through the devoted fans of the world's best-known aardvark, and caught Brown off guard, too. "Imagine my surprise, going to work one morning, and I read I've retired," quips the bestselling author. Brown spoke to us from his studio in Hingham, MA. Why did you decide to make Arthur an aardvark? Why not? (He laughs.) There are too many bunnies in the world. How much input do you have into Arthur's TV series? My agreements with WGBH and PBS included approval over practically every element that goes into the show--even choosing the voices for the characters and the animators...So I see all the elements that go into the show. Have you ever nixed an Arthur episode? I'll tell you one example; this is for next season...One of the things that the producer...thought we might deal with that was helpful to kids and families was the subject of head lice... I was very, very skeptical. And I said, "Let's see how the script turns out." The script came in...and it opens with these little creatures--there's a general and a lieutenant--and they're discussing strategy. They're in this big forest, and as you pull out, it's the top of Muffy's head. The show is so clever, so well done.
