Review of Arthur's Missing Pal (2006) by Zachary C — 28 Jul 2013

I grew up watching a few TV shows (I was usually on the computer playing Backyard Sports all the time usually.) and one of the few TV shows that has left a huge impression on me, that show was Arthur, started airing in 1996. I still like the Arthur TV show, even if season 16 is starting to mark a similar route like Spongebob Squarepants did after it's own movie in 2004, but that is besides the point.

Arthur's Missing Pal was riding on the shoulder's after a the well received Arthur's Perfect Christmas (2000) and Arthur It's Only Rock and Roll (2002). However, being the kid I was back in those days, I did not see it when it aired on TV, I only saw it after I found the movie on Youtube. I watched it... and there is only one thing to say: They tried.

The plot is simple enough, Pal goes missing while Arthur is part taking in a water balloon fight, and then he along with Buster Baxter try to find him, simple enough... there was a few things that bugged me about it though.

First was the character of D.W. Read (Luciano Rauso), she was a complete annoyance almost every time she was on screen, it could be the way her voice sounds but she was a huge flaw to get over to enjoy it... but it did not end there, they had to put in one too many songs in there and all except one of them were terrible.

I know it is just a minor inconvenience to other people, but the ENTIRE voice cast for this are not the same people who voice them in the TV series, the old quote goes: "If it isn't broken, do not bother to fix it." Come on, the only people who got their voices right are Arthur, Buster, Binky and David (Arthur's Dad), the rest of them do not match at all...

I would have also enjoyed it more if the falling action did not meet the conclusion by dumb luck, like I usually do, I do not give the ending away, but if I can say one thing about it, it is just a weird coincidence that one of the main character's houses was a few feet way from where the plot device was supposed to get to.

Overall, it is not really a thing for me, it could be because of my age... but for some reason, I was expecting something better. Maybe next time, I guess?