Popular Girls Arthur

# Every day you walk down the street Everybody that you meet

# Has an original point of view

-# And I say, hey!

-Hey!

# What a wonderful kind of day We can learn to work and play

# And get along with each other

# You gotta listen to your heart Listen to the beat

# Listen to the rhythm of the street

# Get together and make things better By working together

# It's a simple message And it comes from the heart

# Believe in yourself For that's the place to start

-# And I say, hey!

-Hey!

-What a wonderful kind of day

# We can learn to work and play And get along with each other

# What a wonderful kind of day - hey! What a wonderful kind of day - HEY! #

-Hey, DW!

-Hey...

Oh...

During spring vacation, we get a week off school and go to day camp.

We do lots of fun, new stuff. Our group did Shakespeare.

Macbeth finds the witches in their lair.

Macbeth, you're scared. ..Witches, you're scary.

Hubble, bubble, toil and trouble...

Buster's group collected cool ancient things.

"A look at...antiquities."

CHILDREN GASP IN WONDER

MUSIC PLAYS

Prunella's group did clay sculpture.

How did I end up in THIS group?

Wait until you see what MY group is doing next!

Oh, no! Not that!

You're making musical instruments?

Sue Ellen says it's easy. Our group will have the best project! Thanks!

CLANKING AND RATTLING

-What's that sound, Arthur?

-Stuff to make musical instruments.

You're lucky. At least Sue Ellen likes to do cool stuff.

Buster and I want to make a futuristic suit of armour,

but Muffy wants to weave baskets! ALL: Yeuch!

Wait till I show you how to make instruments!

It might be good if we read a poem while we played the instruments.

-No-one would hear the poem over the music.

-Oh. I guess you're right.

OK, here's the stuff from my dad.

I've made my own home versions of each of these. It's really easy!

RATTLING

This is Katherine's stuff! We must have taken each other's backpacks!

What's this? Popular Girl?

This is a teenage girls' magazine.

They have strange and mysterious articles.

"Get a prom date in 12 days or less." What's a prom?

-Are you reading Popular Girl?

-Not me!

I can't wait till I'm old enough to know what they're talking about!

Then I'll be just like that model!

Hey, is that Popular Science? ..Oh. Never mind.

Here's a quiz. "How likable are you?"

Let's take it. I bet these tests are really scientific.

We don't need a dopey test to tell US if people like us. ..Come on.

"If you were a sandwich, your friends would be -

"A) potato chips, B) diet soda, C) the plate?"

-A!

-If we end up eating our friends, do we fail the test?

"Your idea of fun is - A) going to a big party, B) going shopping,

"C) going to the library?" I like these tests!

Question 2...

Well, that's the end of that.

That test was weird! Who thinks of their friends as potato chips?!

-It was written for teenagers. They think differently.

-It's scary.

Sometimes I look at Katherine and think about being her age.

I can't fall asleep for hours!

-What are you doing?

-I kind of wanted to see how likable I am.

-Aren't you curious?

-No.

Well...maybe a little.

Seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven...

I scored twelve! "If you scored less than twenty,

"you are too quiet. Nobody can like you cos nobody knows you're there."

It's my worst nightmare!

Binky...Buster...Muffy...

-Where is Fern? She's been absent for four days.

-Here I am.

I'm gonna have to call her parents.

This is so depressing.

"The solution? Be strong.

"Say what's on your mind whether anyone wants to hear you or not."

My turn. I scored 125.

-"If you scored over 100..."

-You scored way over 100.

"..you are too good to be true. You scare people with your excellence.

-"Tone it down."

-You ARE good at everything, Sue Ellen.

-SHE PLAYS COMPLICATED SOLO

-Yeah!

What's the point?! I'll NEVER be as good as Sue Ellen!

I'm frightened by her excellence!

I might as well never blow again!

But I don't get it! We have friends!

-Why do they like us?

-Well, this magazine is for teenagers,

so it must be predicting our future.

We have to change NOW or we'll be friendless!

This morning, we focus on karate.

Let's have a demonstration from our expert - Sue Ellen.

Expert? Me? I'm only average! Or less.

Buster, step on up.

Me? Against her? ..Well...OK.

I flipped Sue Ellen.

-Wow! I flipped Sue Ellen! I must be good!

-See? It's working.

-If HE can do that,

-I

-can do that!

Ohhh.

This victory feels...hollow.

-Don't you feel good about yourself?

-You weren't trying!

-Try ME!

-Huh?

You flipped Sue Ellen, but Fern flipped YOU!

It feels like the world's turned upside down.

Everyone's staring at us. That means we're likable.

I hope you're right. I'm sore all over!

Here's Sue Ellen. She'll know.

Our group is weaving a futuristic fabric.

Do you know any reliable loom techniques?

Well, what I saw...

Oh. Um...no. Any ideas you have would be much better than mine.

Silver?! Puh-lease! Go with red!

What's with them? Sue Ellen said our ideas are best, so do what I say.

-Sue Ellen, you were going to show us how to make idiot phones.

-Ideophones!

I mean, that's what I thought the word was. I'm probably wrong.

TING!

-Is this right?

-Er...yes! Excellent.

Ow!

OK, potato chips! I've decided I'LL read a poem. You can accompany me.

Wait! When did we decide that?

-You didn't!

-I

-did! This group need MY leadership!

-This group doesn't need a leader. ..Right, Sue Ellen?

-Well...

Sue Ellen has no opinion on this!

-If you want to boss people about, get your own group.

-This used to be fun.

Do you think I was strong enough?

Oh, yes. They definitely know you're there now.

This is working out well. Isn't it?

Who does that Fern think she is anyway?

Get this stuff off me.

This is all Sue Ellen's fault. She sabotaged us.

Binky, move! We have to finish our Trojan Horse!

Why did she do it? Why? I don't understand.

Sue Ellen wasn't making fun of you. Get up!

She faked the fall. She doesn't even think I'm worth flipping any more!

We're so good at being likable, everyone hates us.

We followed what it said. How come we're not like this?

-You did this because of that stupid magazine?

-It said we're not likable.

Did you answer that your friends were diet soda?

-That magazine is goofy.

-You don't think I'm too quiet?

-Or I'm too good to be true?

-No!

Now, will you come in so we can do our project right?

Yee-ah!

Let's finish this horse!

How can we split this? It won't cut.

Success!

Greeks rule and Trojans drool!

THEY PLAY MUSIC

I can't believe we acted so dumb! I like being good at what I do.

And I HATE telling people what to do.

How can anyone take a test like that seriously?

"If you scored over 200..."

Oh, I have a lot of work to do.

According to this, I don't give out enough homework!

Subtitles by Mary Easton BBC Scotland - 2001

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