The Magic School Bus Rides Again

This Frizzel is a drizzle!!! The students are boring flat and dull. But we did use it to learn a few things.

It lacks the charm of the original shows. The science lessons seem watered down to squeeze in more wow factor and a little politicizing. The kids don't really figure out the lessons anymore but rather are just shown them while the teacher explains. The rest of the world in the show just accepts the magic bus as normal for some reason.

The new Miss Frizzle feels more random than witty. She still makes lots of puns though. The kids don't have personalities anymore. Instead each episode they pick a kid to be the main "lesson learner" that takes something to excess so they can learn about it. It might have something to do with their personality, or it might not.

The technology element they added in is pretty fun, I think the art is good compared to other modern CG cartoons, It's not too bad on it's own as a show. Miss Frizzle still does the Q&A at the end of the show, which is pretty fun.

I don't think it really compares to the original show though. Still I hope they make more and improve on their formula a little.

Looking for an entertaining, educational and nostalgic TV series on DVD? Well, then the Magic School Bus Rides Again: All About Earth! is perfect for you. Although it is targeted toward a younger audience, I still found myself attentive and interested in the story lines. Each episode has a fun adventure, mixed with an enthusiastic learning experience. It reminds me of how much I liked reading the original The Magic School Bus books when I was younger.

In the four episodes on this DVD, "Pigs in the Wind," "Hides and Seeks," "The Tales Glaciers Tell," and "Tim and the Talking Trees," the characters learn about the Earth's patterns and ways of communicating and how it's important to take care of the Earth. They also learn about wind patterns, how animals camouflage, how oxygen and carbon is preserved in glaciers for thousands of years and how ecosystems communicate with each other. And they also see many sights from different time periods and places that make amazing field trips.

My favorite episode is "Hides and Seeks," especially when half of the kids get to travel to different geographic locations and study animals camouflaging to report back to the other half of the kids. We see animals in the environmental atmosphere blending in, and in contrast we see the kids in their game of hide and seek. This show is for younger audiences, but some of the concepts are explained too quickly for me to grasp and won't make sense to everyone. A few characters are pretty different from the book, which makes them unique in this TV show. The voicing of the characters is realistic and fitting for their personalities. Although there is some repetition in ideas and story lines, it isn't enough to make the show any less fun to watch. I would definitely watch this show in my free time just for fun.

One of the messages in this series is love the earth and to protect it. This inspires people to preserve the wildlife and habitats. We are also shown that you can always find fun in learning and it's easier to learn when you get an inside look and explore things on your own, instead of read about them in a textbook. Sometimes the kids in the show find themselves in a scary situation, but they are never in grave danger. Apart from some concepts being a little hard to understand this series is pretty kid friendly great for school-aged kids.

I give this DVD 4 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 6 to 13. Adults and teenagers may enjoy it too. Reviewed by Rosemary K., KIDS FIRST!

I watched the original Magic School Bus all the time when I was a kid, and... WHY did they flatten, remove, and add characters. In the original, each character had his/her distinct personality that played an important role in each episode, now every episode revolves around one character with the rest just there. Plus, why'd they change/remove Kiesha and Tim, two dark skinned character, and now have none. That seems like a step-down in diversity. WHY use Flash animations!!! They look so flat and boring, and to make up for that, they make all movements bouncy and unnatural. The old animation looked so nice, and the difficulty of true animation keeps weak ideas from ever being animated and released! I think the height of animation was the 90s, with shows like Magic School Bus, and Disney movies like Mulan and Tarzan. WHY are the lesson so bluntly obvious. This is a trend I see in new kid shows, and it kinda stinks. Rather than trying to fit a lesson INTO the story. (which requires decent writing) Kid show writers instead make a flashy, interesting story, and then just add 5 minutes of dry lessons into the show to explain it all. WHY does Netflix keep trying to dug at our nostalgic heart strings so we watch them? Netflix has been making a lot nostalgic tv-shows. Some of them just feel rushed, hoping that the classic name will save them.

Now, as much as I like the modernization of the show, it will seem very dated within a few years, compared to the original. I can only think of one episode from the original that is truly outdated, the computer one. But many episodes of the new one contain unnecessary ties to pop culture that will out date it quicker than you can say "why." 2/10

I think that what is getting lost a lot is that when shows are rebooted, it's done for a new audience, not the same old one.

As such, I'm basing my review on the audience for this new show: young kids whose parents and teachers have grown up watching the original.

My kids are 7 and 4. The elder one was initially exposed to Magic School Bus through her teacher showing the original series as a treat during the very rare "pajama day" at school. The younger one was only exposed to the original insofar as the older one wanted to watch *more* Magic School Bus.

They both love the reboot. They ask to watch it over the original, which the older loved, but which the younger hated because it was "too scary". The reason it was too scary? The kids in the original would be yelling in fear over something every two seconds. In the reboot, the children are on the whole more competent and calm, and overall freak out less. When they find themselves in trouble, they try to figure out solutions on their own before appealing to Ms. Frizzle for help. I can see how it's more appealing to young kids who have grown up being told that anyone can do science, and that unexpected events can be an opportunity to problem solve.

As for Ms. Frizzle? I happen to like that she's not a carbon copy of her big sister. Yes, sometimes her puns are very random, but I think it works to give her a personality of her own. Mckinnon doesn't quite disappear into the character as Tomlin did, but I think for my part it's because I was familiar with her voice beforehand, whereas I didn't know Tomlin before watching the original Magic School Bus. My kids have never heard of SNL, so they don't really have any way of recognizing McKinnon's voice, as it should be. To them, she's just "the new teacher".

If you have kids between 5-9, they'll probably enjoy it regardless of whether they love the original or not.