Arthur's First Day is the seventh Arthur TV special. It aired on PBS in September 2021.
It's the first day of school. Arthur and his friends are ready for fourth grade, but Buster is in a different class. D.W. happily attends kindergarten, but Emily is having trouble. Muffy and Francine sign up for the "Big Buddy" Program to spend time with the kindergartners.
- Accidental Misnaming: Emily's nametag doesn't stick, as one of the first signs that her day won't go perfectly. The kindergarten teacher later refers to her as "Emma," to her frustration.
- Ascended Extra: Alex, the gray rabbit boy in Arthur's class, becomes Arthur's new friend when Buster is assigned to a different class. Arthur lampshades how they've been in the same class for years but have never talked to each other.
- Brutal Honesty: Molly, Rattles, and Slink call out Muffy for losing Emily in school during their Big Buddy session.
- Butt-Monkey: Emily. Almost nothing goes her way the first day of kindergarten. From accidentally splattering paint on herself and other kids, to disgusting the other kids when D.W. accidentally blabs she has a liver sandwich for lunch, to Muffy losing her during their Big Buddy session.
- Continuity Nod:
- Buster asks if Arthur has his lucky pencil from "Arthur's Lucky Pencil." Buster also has his good luck hat from "Friday the 13th."
- Muffy and Francine briefly discuss the blog they created over the summer when Muffy went to Camp Elysium. This happened in "The Last Day," an episode focused on the last day of 3rd grade.
- First Day of School Episode: Arthur and his friends are going into 4th grade, while D.W. and her fellow preschoolers are going into kindergarten.
- Furry Reminder: At one point, Muffy the anthropomorphic monkey is eating a banana in class.
- Foreshadowing: Buster and Samir find a clue that leads them to the Tower of Pain, clueing in the audience that the Tough Customers created the scavenger hunt.
- Given Name Reveal:
- Emily has been a character since the start of the show, but her last name has been a mystery until this point (even being lampshaded in "D.W. Swims with the Fishes"). Muffy's Big Buddy sheet reveals her full name as Emily Leduc.
- The class rosters also reveal the previously unknown last names of both Brain's cousin Cheikh and Alex, the gray rabbit boy in Arthur's class; Diouf and Davidson, respectively.
- Gratuitous Italian: Cressida Billings-Thorpe, one of Buster's new classmates, speaks the Italian phrase "Non prendermi in giro" to him to show off her smarts. She claims the phrase means "You'd better not cheat off of me," but she's incorrect.note
- Significant Name Overlap: Downplayed. There's both Dora Winifred (Arthur's sister, who goes by D.W.) and Dora Velez (the new kindergarten teacher, who goes by Dotty). D.W. doesn't want to use her real name on her nametag, and Dotty understands, as they both dislike their first names. It's somewhat implied that meeting another Dora may be the reason D.W. is finally comfortable with the name in Arthur's plot in D.W. and the Beastly Birthday (though that was All Just a Dream).
- Significant Wardrobe Shift: The major characters have new outfits to show how they've moved up a grade. Arthur's yellow sweater has been replaced by a green sweater, D.W. has a blue dress, Francine now wears an orange shirt, Binky wears a white shirt, etc.
- Wham Episode: After 25 years, Arthur and his friends finally enter the fourth grade.
- Yank the Dog's Chain: Buster isn't in Mr. Ratburn's class with most of his friends, but he sees Sue Ellen and they wave to each other. Unfortunately, the teacher gives assigned seating to better remember the names, making both of them sad.
