Wahoo! ‘The Magic School Bus’ Drives Onto the Big Screen

Families, get ready to take chances, make mistakes, and get messy!

Scholastic Ent., Brownstone Productions, Marc Platt Productions, and Universal Pictures have partnered to bring The Magic School Bus to the silver screen in its first feature-length film.

Elizabeth Banks will play everyone’s favorite teacher in the live adaptation of the series that has made science exciting for the past 26 years. The mysterious antics of Ms. Frizzle continue to make learning fun for kids and the name evokes nostalgia for many adults who can still quote all the major catchphrases.

The bus first transformed from a series of children’s books into an Emmy-award winning animated series in the ’90s. In 2017, it was updated with The Magic School Bus Rides Again on Netflix, featuring Kate McKinnon (Saturday Night Live) as Ms. Frizzle’s sister and a theme song from Lin Manuel-Miranda (Hamilton).

There’s no word yet on when it will take off but we’re sure there will be plenty of kids (and adults) on board.

About the author

Nicole Savas

As a kid, Nicole either wanted to be a professional toy player-wither or a writer. Somehow, as social media editor for The Toy Insider, The Toy Book, and The Pop Insider, she’s found a career as both. She's grateful to work somewhere that she can fully embrace both her love of teddy bears and her admiration for the Oxford comma. When she's not playing with toys at work, she's playing with her baby girl at home.