I always wondered what they told Michael Yamush - the first voice actor for Arthur - to do for these moments. "Maybe combine a gasp with a wheeze and then make it sound like you're out of breath at the same time..."
Arthur's Eyes - 0:13 Arthur's Spelling Trubble - 0:26 D.W. the Copycat - 0:32 Francine Frensky Superstar - 0:43 Arthur's Cousin Castrophe - 0:52 Arthur's Baby - 1:03 Arthur and the Crunch Cereal Contest - 1:18 Arthur's Chicken Pox - 1:30 Sick as a Dog - 1:38 Arthur's Almost Boring Day - 1:49 Bully for Binky - 2:01 D.W. Thinks Big - 2:23 Arthur Cleans Up - 2:36 Play It Again D.W. - 2:46 Buster Hits the Books - 2:57 Buster's Back - 3:06
It’s like Finn from Adventure Time’s signature scream and Stitch’s iconic “Hiiiii” They all get reused over and over because they’re too iconic to be re-recorded and replicated
2:27 Brain: What's up with san lung? Arthur: you know what sup with san lung, he always changed kids from shaolin than different between us. Francine: San? San lung was always on his own, always out for self. Master sanryu: That's the surest path to hail, man. Well - that or fourteen microsage and an once of a misery.
Reminds me of how in Caillou, they would reuse the same crying sound clip of Caillou in Season 1. Rosie also had sound clips they would reuse in Season 1 as well.
Most likely, the voice actor only ever recorded this gasp once; the show just reused it over and over. This is common practice for trademark screams, gasps etc. in animation, because it preserves the actors' vocal cords. Note how Arthur's gasp sounds exactly the same every time.