Now before I review The Magic School Bus Rides Again, let me stop and talk about my personal life with The Magic School Bus.
I was first exposed to The Magic School Bus when I was in Kindergarten, through one of those old CD Rom games that taught me various things about science. I was also exposed to some of the books that the franchise started out as, and they helped me with science. And when I was in 1st grade, when I had to do science one day, there was a TV brought out, and guess what we watched that day, much to my puzzlement and surprise! That's right! An episode of The Magic School Bus, and that's how I found out there was a TV show about it. I tell you, it was like going on a field trip without actually going anywhere. And all thanks to this franchise, I've learned all kinds of science, from the Solar System and the Human Body to Dinosaurs and Ocean Wildlife. The main reason I got into The Magic School Bus was not because of its interesting diverse cast, the purpose of the series being to teach kids about science or because of its charming sense of humour, but because it's an anthropomorphic bus, and as a kid, I was always fond of kids' shows about anthropomorphic vehicles.
One evening, I was researching The Magic School Bus, only to find out that Netflix would be bringing it back for a new series. I was all "Please let this be a decent sequel or reboot!" "With Netflix?" "NO WAY!" "Aw!"
The real question is does this sequel series live up to its predecessor? Step inside for a wilder ride! So, get ready to be Frizzled! Here are my thoughts on The Magic School Bus Rides Again! Blog, do your stuff!
First of all, you might be asking me "Why are you calling this a sequel instead of a reboot?" Dorothy Ann. Do your research please.
Yes, Dorothy Ann, thank you. The Magic School Bus Rides Again, despite being made 20 years after the original show ended, is intended to be a sequel to the original show, a bit like Samurai Jack Season 5. Even though the characters and Bus look different, they're still the same, the class is the same (except for one kid who I'll get to later), the school's the same, and some elements of the original show are present in this; Like Ralphie's superhero Weatherman, Arnold's love of rocks, Arnold's big-headed showoff of a cousin Janet, Wanda's mum and little brother William, etc.
Let's move on to the theme song. It's a techno remix of the original Magic School Bus theme. It's sung by Lin Manuel-Miranda. The theme does sound alright. But it's not as catchy as the original theme song that was sung by Little Richard.
Let's go over to the character designs. I'm not too keen on the new designs for Tim, Carlos and Arnold. I'm fine with the new designs for Liz, Professor Valerie Frizzle (Who I'll get to later), Ralphie (even if he does look 6 now), Keesha (even if she does look a bit like Dora the Destroyer now) and Wanda (even if she's now just as tall if not taller than Carlos), and for some reason, I like the new design for Dorothy Ann.
Hmm....I wonder why they look different. Keesha. Will you sum up everything for us?
Excellent observation, Keesha! It's true. The original cartoon was co-produced by Nelvana, which followed the original books to an extent, while this sequel series is co-produced by 9 Story. I'm going to guess this is the reason the character designs are different. Of course the original show was supposed to be 3rd Grade while this sequel is supposed to be 5th Grade.
Onto the teacher. The new teacher is Ms Frizzle's sister, Miss Frizzle. Yep, Miss Fiona Felicity Frizzle is the new teacher and voiced by Kate McKinnon. Lily Tomlin, who voiced Ms Valerie Felicity Frizzle in the original show, is reprising her voice and now her character is a professor. The "Is This The Magic School Bus? I want The Magic School Bus!" segments from the original show are still present, but the Producer is replaced with Professor Valerie Frizzle who is answering these phone calls now. She still gives out scientific facts. I think that's a nice touch.
Of course this sequel series touches on scientific facts the original show didn't touch on, like magnetism, climate change (one thing that's ultra important to learn now), electric energy, wind, water depths and the nervous system.
Now, there is only one major downside I have with this sequel series.
Of course this sequel series touches on scientific facts the original show didn't touch on, like magnetism, climate change (one thing that's ultra important to learn now), electric energy, wind, water depths and the nervous system.
Now, there is only one major downside I have with this sequel series.
Phoebe is nowhere to be seen in this sequel series. Reason? Because she was transferred back to Phoebe's Old School. I'm going to guess it's because she'd said "At my old school," so many times, they thought of transferring her back. Now something I don't understand. If Phoebe went back to her old school, probably because of how much she reminisced about it, then why didn't Arnold get home schooled? I'm asking because of how much he'd say "I should've stayed home today!" whenever something too scary, surreal or downright unpleasant would happen to him or is about to happen to him. Unless they wanted to keep the theme song in this sequel faithful to the original with "Please let this be a normal field trip!"
Now let's go over to Phoebe's replacement. Her name is Jyoti Kaur, who is an Indian-American. She's a very intelligent student and knows very much about technology and has even made a robot she named Naniben, which means "Little Sister" in Gujarati. She's a likable relate-able character, but the only other thing I can say about her is she's no Phoebe.
Let's also mention one thing about the characters' catchphrases. They still use their catchphrases, but now, only every once in a while. Arnold still says "I knew I should've stayed home today!", Dorothy Ann still says "According to my research," but now, she pronounces research /riːsərtʃ/ instead of /rɪˈsərtʃ/ as she did in the original show, Carlos still makes puns like "Thanks for aspen!" causing everyone to groan "Carlos!".
Also, the characters still have their personality traits. Arnold's still the self-aware kid. Dorothy Ann's still the intelligent kid who does research, but now she uses a tablet instead of carrying books around considering how much technology has evolved. Carlos, as I said before, still cracks jokes and puns. Tim still draws pictures. Ralphie still daydreams. Keesha still practical. Wanda's still the tomboy. Liz is still the anthropomorphic non-speaking chameleon. Janet's still a stuck-up, probably even more so than she was originally. Also, Miss Fiona Frizzle is using traits her big sister used when she was teacher.
So what do I think of The Magic School Bus Rides Again as a whole? It's okay. Sure, the animation seems cheap, some of the character designs are off, Janet's more stuck-up than she was originally, and Phoebe isn't present, but overall it's a very harmless sequel. Today's kids will enjoy it, probably even more than the original show, considering they're into pretty much anything Flash animated nowadays and they will learn and be entertained by it. I will agree with many others who grew up with the original that the original's better, due to its semi-fluid animation, likable characters, charming surrealism, nice sense of humour and well executed science lessons, but the sequel's alright by me. See? My reason to prefer the original isn't even because of nostalgia!
So there you have it. Those are my thoughts on The Magic School Bus Rides Again so far. Just wanted to give away my opinion on it and I wanted to explain that I too prefer the original. If you're willing to go on a nostalgia trip (no pun intended), revisit the original Magic School Bus. If you're willing to step inside for a newer wilder ride, give The Magic School Bus Rides Again a try. If you have seen this sequel series, tell me your opinion on it. To me, it's harmless. At least it's the original class albeit Jyoti instead of Phoebe.
No comments:
Post a Comment