The Magic School Bus (TV series) facts for kids
The Magic School Bus is a popular animated TV show for children. It's based on a series of books by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen. The show is known for being both fun and educational. It teaches kids about science in an exciting way. Many people praised the show for using famous voices and making learning enjoyable. A new version of the show, called The Magic School Bus Rides Again, started on Netflix in 2017.
Making the Show
The Magic School Bus books were turned into a TV show by companies like Scholastic Entertainment, Nelvana, and PBS Kids. The first episode aired on September 10, 1994. Parents and teachers wanted shows that helped all children, especially girls and minorities, learn about science. The creators of the show wanted to help kids "learn about science in a fun way."
Each episode of the show was about 30 minutes long. At the end of each episode, there was a special part called "Producer Says." This part was usually shown when the episodes didn't have commercials. It was a short message from the show's creators. If the show had commercials, the "Producer Says" part was often removed to make room for ads.
The catchy song at the beginning of the show is called "Ride on the Magic School Bus." It was written by Peter Lurye. The famous rock and roll singer Little Richard sang the song. Brian Muehl and Jocelyn Stevenson helped write the show. They also worked on another well-known children's show called Fraggle Rock.
Where the Show Aired
In the United States, The Magic School Bus first aired on PBS. It was part of their children's programming block, PBS Kids. This show was special because it was the first fully animated series to be shown on PBS. The last new episode aired on December 6, 1997. Reruns of the show continued on PBS until October 1998.
Later, the show also aired on other channels. From 1998 to 2002, Fox Kids Network showed reruns on weekdays. This helped them meet rules for educational TV. From 2010, the show began airing daily on Qubo in the US. It also appeared on NBC on Saturday mornings.
The Magic School Bus was also seen in many other countries. In Canada, it was shown on CBC, TVOntario, and the Knowledge Network. In the United Kingdom, it aired on channels like Pop, Channel 4, and CITV. It was also popular in Latin America, Australia, Spain, and India.
Watching at Home
You could watch The Magic School Bus episodes at home on VHS tapes and DVDs. These home versions usually included the full episodes with the "Producer Says" parts. In 2012, a complete collection of all the episodes was released on DVD.
In 2013, Scholastic announced that the entire series would be available to stream on Netflix. This made it easy for even more kids to watch the show.
Fun Games
Many computer and video games based on The Magic School Bus were released between 1994 and 2001. These games often combined stories from the original books and the TV show. They were published by Microsoft Home and were made to be educational.
A video game called The Magic School Bus: Oceans came out for the Nintendo DS in 2011. This game was probably based on the book The Magic School Bus On the Ocean Floor and the TV episode The Magic School Bus Gets Eaten. It was the only game from the series released for a Nintendo system.
The New Series
On June 10, 2014, Netflix and Scholastic Media announced a brand new series. It was first called The Magic School Bus 360°. This new show features a modern Ms. Frizzle and a high-tech bus. It focuses on new inventions like robots and camera technology. The creators hoped to get kids excited about science and technology.
The new series is produced by 9 Story Media Group. Stuart Stone, who voiced Ralphie in the original show, said that some of the original voice actors would return in different roles. The voice actors for the show work in both Los Angeles, California, and Toronto, Ontario.
In February 2017, Netflix announced that Kate McKinnon would voice Fiona Felicity Frizzle. She is the younger sister of the original Ms. Frizzle. Lily Tomlin returned to voice the original Ms. Frizzle, who is now Professor Frizzle. Lin-Manuel Miranda, famous for Hamilton, performs the theme song for the new show. The series, now called The Magic School Bus Rides Again, started on Netflix on September 29, 2017.
