An Arthur Thanksgiving is the sixth Arthur TV special. It aired on PBS in November 2020.
On Thanksgiving, Arthur and his class put on a play for the parade, Pal tries to bring a nice meal to an animal shelter, and D.W. and Bud don't approve of Aunt Minnie's visit.
An Arthur Thanksgiving contains examples of:
- Book Ends: The special starts and ends with Arthur at his Thanksgiving dinner, talking to the viewer.
- Foreshadowing: The dog tells Pal that the turkey is made of tofu, so it has no bones. This is instrumental to how Pal gets the turkey over the fence to the shelter, by ripping it apart and launching pieces over.
- Fractured Fairy Tale: The float for Hickory Dickory Dock is changed from "the mouse ran up the clock" to "the moose ran up the clock" after Mr. Ratburn gets antlers instead of mouse ears.
- How We Got Here: The special starts with Arthur's Thanksgiving dinner, and how he observes the guest table (firefighters, a goat, neighbors, dogs) and wonders how they all got there. The special shows the entire build-up to this moment.
- Malicious Misnaming: D.W. and Bud call Aunt Minnie "Aunt Meanie" when she won't let them have any fun.
- Mistaken from Behind: Pal runs towards what looks like Arthur and his parents walking on the sidewalk, only for it to turn out to be a different family entirely when he sees them from the front.
- Remember the New Guy?: D.W. doesn't even remember that she has an Aunt Minnie, and doesn't trust her at all. The special explains that she lived in France and is visiting for the holidays. Aunt Minnie has a minor role in The Rhythm and Roots of Arthur at the family reunion, so this isn't her first appearance on the show, though this special does recitify this, as Arthur's Thanksgiving" takes place before the Rhythm and Roots''.
- Similar Item Confusion: As part of their play for Hickory Dickory Dock, Mr. Ratburn orders mouse ears. He comes out with a box of antlers, and realizes he got moose ears. However, the kids like this and wear the antlers anyways.
- Thanksgiving Episode: While one of the original-series Arthur books is about Thanksgiving, this special has a much different plot and is the first one for the show. Plot points involve turkey, Thanksgiving dinner, relatives visiting, and a parade.
