We found this picture of Arthur all grown up and now we feel really old
Arthur’s recently edged back into the limelight thanks to singer John Legend’s striking resemblance to the popular ’90s character, so it was only a matter of time until someone fleshed out the Arthur story a little further.
And I say HEY!
The good folk over at The Toy Shop took on the task, ageing a whole bunch of popular nostalgic cartoon characters with the help of a talented illustrator. Amidst their mix of grown-up cleverness, it was Arthur who captured our attention.
The animated series Arthur was based on the books by Marc Brown and began airing on telly in late 1996. In this fresh incarnation, our hero Arthur Read has gone from the chipper young aardvark we knew and loved, to a quiffed and sophisticated gent.
Read more about ’90s nostalgia:
- Nine ’90s songs that sum up life with a toddler
- 15 things that made 90s kids hide under their bed
- Favourite 90s teen idols who are parents now
The final result shows Mr Read sitting at a grand piano tinkling the ivories in a depiction that HAS TO BE a hat tip to John Legend himself.
“Ever the bookworm (or book-aardvark, we guess) Arthur uses his skills to help people by sharing his knowledge,” The Toy Shop folk wrote under their Mr Read rendering.
“After finishing his studies, Arthur becomes a librarian and encourages those of all ages to read and expand their horizons. He spends his days sharing his favourite motto, having fun isn’t hard when you’ve got a library card. In his spare time, Arthur still loves tinkling the ivories, making regular appearances at his local jazz club.”
Spot the difference
And yes that’s John Legend – above – with his piano, too. Granted the hair is different but please don’t let that caption pass you by … “And I say hey, what a wonderful kind of day.” *slow nod*
John has confronted his cartoon likeness head-on as recently as Wednesday of this week, appearing on Jimmy Fallon’s show to discuss this and other things.
“One day I’m gonna cover that theme song,” John told Jimmy of Arthur noting his wife was his “number one troll on Twitter.” (See below!)
The Toy Shop has – thankfully – tackled growing-up some other childhood faves too, with The Wild Thornberrys, Rugrats, Hey Arnold and The Powerpuff Girls in the mix. Thanks for the memories, geniuses! See them all here.
John when you tell him he looks like Arthur pic.twitter.com/0NW3NDtAb1
— christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) February 21, 2017
