The Magic School Bus Rides Again is a Canadian-American animated children's web series, based on the book series of the same name by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen. It also serves as a continuation of the 1994–1997 PBS series The Magic School Bus, with Lily Tomlin reprising her role as Ms. Frizzle. The series premiered on Netflix on September 29, 2017. The second season premiered on April 13, 2018.
After a two and a half year hiatus, a 45-minute special, titled Kids in Space, premiered on August 7, 2020. Another special, titled The Frizz Connection, was released on October 20, 2020.
Premise
In the sequel to the original series, Valerie Frizzle retires from teaching and passes the keys of the Magic School Bus over to her younger sister, Fiona Frizzle, to embark on new adventures with her class. As they journey on their exciting new field-trips, they discover new locations, creatures, time periods and more to learn about the wonders of science, educating viewers along the way.
Criticism
After the series' announcement and the release of its trailer, there was initial resistance to the new art style, absence of Lily Tomlin as Ms. Frizzle, and fear it would not live up to the original series. AOL accused the show of giving Ms. Frizzle a nose job. Bustle put this down to fans of the show being "protective of its legacy". Despite this speculation, the series has been critically acclaimed upon release.
Trivia
- This was the only "Netflix Original Series" to premiere on Qubo.
- This marks the sixth spin-off/reboot series of an existing Qubo series that premiered on the aforementioned channel.
- The theme song (a rendition of the original series' theme song) was performed by Lin Manuel-Miranda, an American composer, lyricist, actor, singer, rapper, producer, and playwright, responsible for Broadway musicals such as In the Heights and Hamilton, which he also starred in.