The Magic School Bus is a Canada-U.S. animated series based on the book series of the same name by Joanna Cole. It is notable for its use of celebrity talent and combining entertainment with an educational show, according to an article in Animation World Magazine by Annemarie Moody incorporating an interview with Executive Producer Deborah Forte. Broadcasting & Cable said the show was "among the highest-rated PBS shows for school-age children."
In 1994, The Magic School Bus concept was made into an animated series of the same name by Ellipse (France), Nelvana (Canada), and Scholastic Studios (USA-Canada), which premiered on Saturday, September 10, 1994. Forte says that adapting the books into an animated series was an opportunity to help kids “learn about science in a fun way”. Around that time, Forte had been hearing concern from parents and teachers about how to improve science education for girls and minorities. Each episode of the show ran about 30 minutes. In the United States, the show originally aired on PBS, through South Carolina's SCETV network; it was the first fully animated series to be aired on PBS. The last episode was released on Saturday, December 6, 1997, when the series stopped production. The Fox Network also had the series on it's schedule, after it acquired the rights from PBS, on Saturday, October 10, 1998; it ran on that network until Saturday, January 5, 2002.
The Magic School Bus was also seen on TLC and Discovery Kids in the U.S., TVOntario and the Knowledge in Canada, Pop and CITV in the United Kingdom, with no plans to make more episodes, on November 9, 2002. In 2005, Nelvana sold the show to Cartoon Network. The series continued on these six stations until February 4, 2006.
When The Magic School Bus is syndicated on commercial networks, the Producer Says segment at the end of each episode is cut out to make space for commercials. The Producer Says segments are only seen when the series is shown on non-commercial networks (e.g. PBS and the Knowledge) and children's networks (commercial breaks are shorter).
The show's theme song called "Ride on the Magic School Bus" was written by Peter Lurye and performed by rock 'n' roll legend Little Richard.
The show's voice director is Susan Blu.
Two of the writers for the show were Brian Muehl, and one of the Fraggle Rock creators Jocelyn Stevenson.
The series was released on VHS by Lyrick Studios and HiT Home Entertainment on Tuesday, March 30, 2001, KidVision between Tuesday, December 13, 1994 and Tuesday, March 3, 1998 and by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment between Tuesday January 12, 1999 and Tuesday, April 2, 2002, and on DVD by Warner Home Video between Tuesday, May 9, 2006 and Tuesday, August 4, 2009. Only the DVDs contain the funding credits. In the VHS and DVD releases, all the episodes are uncut with the Producer Says segments intact.
In fall 2010, The Magic School Bus will begin airing on the Qubo channel.
In 1994, The Magic School Bus concept was made into an animated series of the same name by Ellipse (France), Nelvana (Canada), and Scholastic Studios (USA-Canada), which premiered on Saturday, September 10, 1994. Forte says that adapting the books into an animated series was an opportunity to help kids “learn about science in a fun way”. Around that time, Forte had been hearing concern from parents and teachers about how to improve science education for girls and minorities. Each episode of the show ran about 30 minutes. In the United States, the show originally aired on PBS, through South Carolina's SCETV network; it was the first fully animated series to be aired on PBS. The last episode was released on Saturday, December 6, 1997, when the series stopped production. The Fox Network also had the series on it's schedule, after it acquired the rights from PBS, on Saturday, October 10, 1998; it ran on that network until Saturday, January 5, 2002.
The Magic School Bus was also seen on TLC and Discovery Kids in the U.S., TVOntario and the Knowledge in Canada, Pop and CITV in the United Kingdom, with no plans to make more episodes, on November 9, 2002. In 2005, Nelvana sold the show to Cartoon Network. The series continued on these six stations until February 4, 2006.
When The Magic School Bus is syndicated on commercial networks, the Producer Says segment at the end of each episode is cut out to make space for commercials. The Producer Says segments are only seen when the series is shown on non-commercial networks (e.g. PBS and the Knowledge) and children's networks (commercial breaks are shorter).
The show's theme song called "Ride on the Magic School Bus" was written by Peter Lurye and performed by rock 'n' roll legend Little Richard.
The show's voice director is Susan Blu.
Two of the writers for the show were Brian Muehl, and one of the Fraggle Rock creators Jocelyn Stevenson.
The series was released on VHS by Lyrick Studios and HiT Home Entertainment on Tuesday, March 30, 2001, KidVision between Tuesday, December 13, 1994 and Tuesday, March 3, 1998 and by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment between Tuesday January 12, 1999 and Tuesday, April 2, 2002, and on DVD by Warner Home Video between Tuesday, May 9, 2006 and Tuesday, August 4, 2009. Only the DVDs contain the funding credits. In the VHS and DVD releases, all the episodes are uncut with the Producer Says segments intact.
In fall 2010, The Magic School Bus will begin airing on the Qubo channel.
Magic School Bus: Gets Lost In Space Part 1
Magic School Bus: Gets Lost In Space Part 2
Magic School Bus: Gets Lost In Space Part 3
Magic School Bus: Gets Lost In Space Part 2
Magic School Bus: Gets Lost In Space Part 3
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