Reviewing “Arthur” Episode: ‘When Carl Met George’

Today, we are moving to the second post for this year’s Autism Acceptance Month in The Autistic Animator’s Desk! I’m going to be reviewing a very nice episode from an animated series I used to watch, when I was very little. Last week, I have already published the first topic for Autism Acceptance Month 2024 on autism and mental health, so if you haven’t read it yet, please feel free to check it out.

So, the second Autism Acceptance Month post is sharing my review on an episode from the PBS animated TV series, Arthur, and it’s titled: ‘When Carl Met George’. This features an autistic character named Carl, who has Asperger Syndrome.

Arthur is an animated kids’ TV program airing for PBS Kids segment on PBS, and it is based on the Arthur book series by Marc Brown.

I used to watch Arthur, when I was a little kid, and I remember I used to own some of the books, and I’m pretty sure I’ve read one of the books in school, too. Not only did I had few of the books, but I also used to own one VHS copy of Arthur, which I think it only had three episodes. The VHS copy was like a special reward for me and my brother, like if we did things like following the rules we’re supposed to do at home and if we follow the rules and did a good job, we can watch Arthur on the VHS. Of course, I used to have the D.W. doll. However, the most beloved memories I had for having one of the Arthur merchandises were the CD-ROM games. In my time, way before iPads were invented, the CD-ROM games were made for young kids to play on the computer, and not only do they play games, but these computer games were also made for educational process, such as reading, math, writing, etc. I had only two Arthur CD-ROM games, when I was a kid, and I remember one was on Arthur playing the Deep Dark Sea Adventures on the computer, and D.W. being a picky eater and refusing to eat vegetables or other certain foods she can’t stand it.

Those were the days. Of course, there were other fun shows I also have watched on PBS, when I was little, besides Arthur, such as Sesame Street, Wishbone, and Zoboomafoo with the Kratt Brothers. Even as I was growing up from teenager to an adult, I haven’t been watching Arthur on TV, but one episode that somehow had me reunited with the show was ‘When Carl Met George’, and that was when I begin to discover that it featured an animated autistic character. I would definitely recommend Arthur to any families with young kids, and to young kids with disabilities. The animation is great, you have memorable characters, and I think you can learn something from Arthur and his family and friends about life.

My Thoughts on the Episode ‘When Carl Met George’

‘When Carl Met George’ is the first half of the sixth episode in season 13 of Arthur, and it first aired on April 5th, 2010.

The story follows one of Arthur’s friends named George, whose dad works as a teacher in a wood-working class. Meanwhile, in the wood-working class, George was asked by his dad to go and find another bottle of glue from one of the classrooms, and in that one classroom, he meets a boy named Carl. Carl comes to the classroom with his mother every Tuesdays and Thursdays, where he can do a puzzle. He has Asperger Syndrome, a form of autism, and in part of his autism, Carl’s interests are trains, his favorite activities are doing puzzles and drawing, based on his love for trains, and prefers drinking apple juice in a box, not a bottle. One night at home, George finds a missing piece of Carl’s puzzle in his pocket, which it fell, after bumping on the table. The next day, he comes back to Carl’s classroom to return the puzzle piece back to him, but George accidentally scares Carl with his giraffe dummy, Wally, and caused him to have a panic attack. Carl’s mother tells George that it wasn’t his fault and explains that her son has Asperger Syndrome that leaves him overwhelmed by things that aren’t unfamiliar to him.

In the ice cream parlor, George tells Brain about what happened with Carl and his condition, which Brain was very familiar with it, because his uncle has Asperger’s, too. He had won a Crown City Physics Prize, but according to Brain, his uncle still has trouble being around with other people, because his brain works differently than those who aren’t autistic.

In the imagination scene, Brain explains to George on how autism works, based on how his uncle described to his nephew. He says that you just imagined that you have landed in an alien planet that looks like Earth, but there are lots of differences. Any people you meet and talk to may sound very like, which you have Arthur and Francine for examples in the imagination sequence. Even though you both speak the same language, there are some sentences you may have a hard time understanding the meaning, and if there’s a person whom you think looks so funny, he or she won’t find it very funny, and not understanding your idea on this person. Brain explains that you wanted to know about the strange planet and wishing the scientists would have given you a guidebook, but you don’t have it with you, and that’s when you have to learn it by yourself. A great example shows how autistic people found their idea of interest, and only study just exact interest, and little by little, people will learn to understand you a bit more. In the end you will learn how to fit in, but always feel a little different.

George goes back to Carl’s classroom to give the puzzle piece back to Carl, who now completes the puzzle of the Golden Bullet X97 train, and with that, George also gives Carl an illustrated book on trains as a gift, and the two become friends. In the end of the episode, George concludes his story on the lessons he learned from Carl, such as speak quietly, be clear, and not to take things personally, even if Carl ignores him.

My first discovery of this episode from Arthur was probably seeing a video clip on Facebook. I think one of my friends might have posted, I don’t remember, but I do remember finding out on Facebook. I didn’t expect to learn that there is a character in Arthur who has Asperger Syndrome, and not only that, just finding out that he is autistic. To me, I think this was my first time seeing an animated character with autism, and I think Carl became the first autistic animated character I discovered, probably a year before discovering the Pixar short, Loop (2020) with Renee, who became Pixar’s very first autistic character. For me, I first discovery about my autism identity was from the HBO movie, Temple Grandin (2010), which is based on Temple Grandin’s life story, and in animation, for me, it was Carl in Arthur and then, Renee in Loop. Before Carl and Renee, I didn’t know any animated autistic characters.

I wasn’t able to watch the entire episode yet, but I remember watching parts of it from a YouTube video, and it also shows information on Asperger Syndrome, like an educational video. Later on, I was able to watch the full episode on YouTube, and really enjoyed it. I think the story artists and animators who have worked on Arthur have really showed the real description of autism, and they really animated on Carl’s character brilliantly. The autistic traits, like Carl’s interests and obsessions in trains and his sensory issues were portrayed very real, and there’s nothing fake about it.

I do really like George narrating his story in the episode, as a great way to explain young viewers on how he met Carl, how they became friends, and how he was able to understand on Carl’s autism, as well as what he had learned from him in the end of the episode. I also really liked the animation of the imagination scene, when Brain was explaining to George about Asperger’s Syndrome, following from his uncle’s description on what it feels like to be on the spectrum, and how you see the characters used their imagination to see what it feels like to have autism, and how they can learn to understand it.

I really like this episode. It’s heart-warming, inspiring, and wonderful, and I think it’s a nice and great way to teach kids on learning about autism and what can they do to help an autistic child. It may not be the easy task, but the best thing to do is to be patient, calm, clear, and most of all, be kind and don’t judge by his or her character. One of the best things about animation, whether it’s done in film or television, is that it’s very educational for kids to learn things about life and the world and teaching them about doing the right things. Of course, it’s not just teaching kids, but for kids and adults. If you have an autistic child and want to learn about autism, I highly recommended watching this episode from Arthur.

The full episode of ‘When Carl Met George’ is available to watch on the PBS Kids website, which I have left the link here, and it’s on YouTube, too. I watched it on YouTube twice, for my rewatch on this episode, in preparing for this topic. I hope you have enjoyed reading my review of this episode from Arthur, as well as this second topic for Autism Acceptance Month.

Coming up next, after this one, is the third and final post for Autism Acceptance Month 2024, and I will be reviewing the beautiful film documentary, Life, Animated (2016). If you don’t want to miss that upcoming post, please check out the trailer in the link, and the film is available to watch on Tubi. Don’t forget to subscribe to this blog, and you can follow me on Instagram and Facebook.

Link: