The Magic School Bus/WMG

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


The book The Magic School Bus In the Time of the Dinosaurs features a Stable Time Loop.

The paleontologists discover Maiasaura bones but can't find their nests. The class goes back in time to find the nests, inadvertently leading a Troodon pack to the nesting grounds. The Maiasauras are driven away from their nests and are ultimately eaten by the Troodons. This causes their fossils to end up far away from their nests, leading to the paleontologists' original conundrum.

The producer portion at the end of each episode is set in a universe where the series follows the Literary Agent Hypothesis.

Liz is consistently shown to exist in this universe, and several other characters from the series do as well. They have the same names in the producer universe, indicating they are the actual people and not the actors who play them. It's also been mentioned that Ms. Frizzle is real in this universe.

Since this portion is also animated, and the producer is often seen on the "sets" used in the episode, the series is live-action in this universe; it's obviously produced on a much higher budget than the series in our world. Presumably, the series there is about Ms. Frizzle's actual teaching methods, but it's Very Loosely Based on a True Story. This is why people always call in to complain about how unrealistic it is.

    • Or the show is accurate, and the producer is keeping up The Masqurade.
    • There is a woman who is "officially" recognized as Ms. Frizzle in Real Life, and she signs books. So, anything is possible.

The bus is an immigrant (import?) from the Cars universe.

It has a face, it definitely has a personality, and it has the rounded overall look of the non-model-specific vehicles from the Cars 'verse. It doesn't talk around the kids because that would scare them.

  • What about hurtling them to the edge of the solar system, back to the age of dinosaurs, and to the bottom of the ocean? Isn't all that slightly more scary than the bus talking?
    • Nope. We prefer our transportation non-sentient, thank you very much...
  • On the other hand: It's from the Transformers universe. But it doesn't transform, for some reason.
    • No, it does transform, it's just that the various transformations all retain a general bus-shape.

The Magic Bus is a relative of Bertie The Bus.

The MSB does look like it has an "Advance-Design" era Chevy chassis. If Bertie's a Bedford chassis, that would make them "relatives."

The bus is a Ganmen.

It makes sense. It's clearly powered by Spiral Energy, as the bus can do whatever is coolest. It also has a face like a Ganmen's, though it doesn't mouth out what Frizzle says. This all means that Ms. Frizzle is a retired Spiral Warrior; Liz is her Boota. Just imagine it...

  • The only problem with this is that the wheel was never invented in the Gurren Lagann-verse.
  • WAHOO THE HELL DO YOU THINK WE ARE!!?!!?

The bus is an Autobot

Obviously. What are you, stupid?

The bus is related to the Yellow Submarine

They're both yellow. They both travel through time. They both fly. They both have extremely complicated controls. They both have extremely vague origins.

The bus even turns into a yellow submarine a few times. Compare this image [dead link] with this one.

Ms. Frizzle is some other type of non or supra-human

Maybe she's really an alien ala Washu (though Washu turns out to be much more then that), and the bus is a science expiriment, or maybe she's an offshoot of what happens when a witch lives in America, and doesn't get her acceptance letter- or a product of an American school of witchcraft and wizardry~!

  • Oh, please. She's obviously a Time Lord, and the bus is her TARDIS (albeit a different model entirely to the Doctor's).
    • The Doctor's Daughter after her first regeneration. She found a way inside the Time War and took a TARDIS. And Liz is her companion.

Dorothy Ann's surname is Ann.

Well, she is the only one in the series with no last name, but she does go by 2 different names. It only makes sense that her last name is Ann. Making her parents Mr. and Mrs. Ann.

  • Actually, we don't know Tim's last name either.


"Tim" is derived from the character's last name, Thomas.

His real first name is Dean. Three years after being in Ms. Frizzle's class, he moves to Britain and starts attending Hogwarts. Twelve words: Black kid with no character traits aside from being good at drawing.

Ms. Frizzle is into Vorarephilia

Whenever a hungry carnivore shows up shes like "let's get eaten". So yeah...

    • Dude, Not Funny.
      • It was not supposed to be.
      • Rule 34 is never funny. It's sad, really, that this makes some sense. Childhood officially ruined.

The kids are in an alternative class... [1]

...That's why it's such a small group of kids. The class is designed for children who have social needs, or can't be in what we consider "normal" classes. Some (possible) examples are as follows...

  • Arnold
    • Phobias. Full stop. Something happened in his childhood that no-one in his family will talk about. As such, he has grown up with so many phobias/neurosis that he used to have trouble in "normal" society. He got a *little* bit better when he was able to channel some of his energy into geology and paleontology, but he still has trouble when he isn't focusing on those things. Ms. Frizzle's class is helping him get over that.
  • Phoebe
    • Chronic shyness (except when she focuses on something), and an inferiority complex.
      • While Phoebe isn't as outgoing as say Wanda, shy is not a word that can describe her. She draws attention to herself quite often.
  • Carlos
    • Possibly A.D.H.D. Possibly.
  • D.A.
    • OCD that manifests with her need for knowing facts, and always having her book bag & books. She has to have them OR. ELSE.
  • Ralphie
    • His love for comics/sci fi/fantesy/etc. lead him to not focus in school/get his homework done/etc. He has no drive, and was flunking out (of second grade? Yeah- it's possible). So he was moved to the "special" school in the hopes that he wouldn't fail.
  • Wanda
    • No self-control. She was too much of a problem for her "normal" teachers due to her lack of empathetic self-control, and her selfish bravado around other kids. As such, she was sent to the "Alternative" school.
    • ...Or she just got into a fight, and caused problems.
  • Tim
    • Mild form of Aspergers, manifests through his drawings... And the fact that he doesn't talk enough to *have* a personality. [2]
  • Keesha
    • Keesha is/was a dancer based on her outfit. (Yeah, it's WMG time all the way). Either that, or she was a young beauty queen a la Jon Benet Ramsey. It gave her a complex, and she tried not eating... In 2nd grade. As soon as her parents realized what they had done to her, they pulled her from the dancing/modeling/pagenting route (and weren't jerkasses about it. However, a psychologist still recommended that she not be around the other students for... Some reason. (Keesha, like Tim, doesn't really seem *do* a lot, does she...?)
      • Keesha herself mentions she is taking dance lessons in one episode. Thus, it is unlikely she has any problems related to being a dancer.
  • Or alternately; they all have aspergers, are high functioning. Nah nah I kid; although it honestly wouldn't surprise me if this was some kind of accelerated class.
  • Also note that the bus has only four sets of windows, as in a short bus. *Progression of thoughts proceeds in head*...oh, God, what have I done?
  • Leading to...

The class is a 'special class' for children with brain damage.

  • Similar to above reasons for being a "special class," only its a special class specifically for children with Pediatric Schizophrenia or other some sort of brain damage. That's how they think that they have 'magical' adventures and transform into various animals and objects that they are learning about. Mrs. Frizzle only goes along with their own preconceptions, which explains why she's so calm...

Alternatively, and much more pleasantly, the class is a gifted class.

Some of the class may be eccentric, but they're all geniuses. Ms. Frizzle wouldn't teach them otherwise. She uses being the gifted teacher as a cover for her crazy field trips that the school most definitely does not know about. This explains why the class is so small (they're the only ones who tested gifted), and how they're able to absorb all the information from these field trips.

When he was younger, Arnold became SEVERLY tramautized.

Picture the scene, chibi!Arnold (maybe 5/6) wants to go somewhere with a family member (mother/father/aunt/uncle/whatev). He is very insistant about it, and eventually said family member gives in and takes him on their errand. Unfortuneatly, while there, Arnold witnessed something horrible. Maybe there was a bank robbery or whatever, but it scarred him for life. Now whever he says "I wish I would've stayed home today", he is unconciously referring back to the trip that he took when he was young that scarred him.

Miss Frizzle is Arnold's daughter.

She came from the future to do something to/about her dad. Possibly to keep him from getting scared so easily, or to be closer to him, whatever.

  • ...Woah... I want to read that fic. (Sort of. Maybe. I'm a little bit afraid of that, to be honest...)

Miss Frizzle is a Time Lord.

Because she is flamboyant and showy, like all Time Lords. Also, the bus is her TARDIS, since it can travel through time.

    • Not only that, but she came to the Magic Schoolbus Universe, and her TARDIS looks so cartoony because she's in a cartoon.
    • The Bus is a TARDIS, Liz is her companion, and (for the sake of fandom tradition) Ms. Frizzle is an incarnation of The Rani.
      • Romana of course

Ms Fizzle is a spark

the bus and liz are her constructs. She was experimenting with time travel some day and accidentally transported herself to a different universe. Then she got a job as a science teacher doing what she loves. It also explains her borderline insanity. The only other character that is more excited than science than the frizz is Agatha.

Ms. Frizzle is like Willy Wonka

She's basically a magic schoolteacher who takes the kids on the field trips so that she can find a successor to be the next driver of the Magic School Bus, of course. The class is so small because she sees the most promise out of them. Mikey and Janet she sees promise in, but not as much as Arnold, Ralphie, or Dorothy Ann.

Miss Frizzle from The Magic School Bus is a Time Lord. The School Bus is her TARDIS. Liz the Lizard is her companion.

There's two ways this could work.

1. Frizzle and Liz got in some trouble and used the Chameleon Arch to transfer her Time Lord identity. She now acts as a teacher to hide and unknowingly use the TARDIS to take this kids on adventures.

2. She is fully aware of what is going on. She decides to use her vast knowledge and become a teacher so that she can take kids on trips using her TARDIS's vast power. This explains why she's so eccentric and out there.

Ms. Frizzle is a witch. Her lizard, Liz, is really her familiar.

Now that you mention it, who reminds you that has that kind of hairdo? Some peculiar looking witch? Umineko no Naku Koro ni

Miss Frizzle from The Magic School Bus is not a Time Lord. The School Bus is, however, her TARDIS.

There have been humans who can pilot a TARDIS, and does anyone else think that Ms. Frizzle looks sort of like Professor River Song? My theory: Professor Song decides she needs to get away for a while, maybe to lay low from the cops looking for her after her latest prison break-out, and so she finds a TARDIS and hides in the mid-nineties in America. She takes a job and changes her name to Ms. Frizzle.

  • Partially Jossed. River Song was recently revealed to be a Human-Time Lord hybrid caused by being conceived aboard a TARDIS in-flight.

The school is a private school.

A simpler explanation for the small class size is that the kids go to a private school; many American private schools limit the number of students and keep class sizes to a minimum so that each student can have more individual attention. At an elementary school level, a class size of eight wouldn't be unusual in a small private school. Pheobe's old school was a public school, which is why she is so baffled by how things are done at her new school.

  • Phoebe's old school is shown to be relatively close to her new school lending support to this theory.

Ms. Frizzle is Carmen Sandiego

Search your feelings. You know it to be true.

And she steals stuff just to give children a covert geography lesson.


Ms. Frizzle is an embodiment of one of the 4 fundamental forces

In her case, electromagnetism, which explains the name somewhat. It explains why she can do things like drift from the asteroid belt to Pluto and survive crashing on it all within a minute or two. And many other god-like abilities. The question is, who are the other 3 forces?

The theme song is instructions

For the longest time, I wondered exactly where it was telling you to go. But now I know for sure, that it is telling you how to get to Sesame Street. You want it to be true.

  • Wait a second. "Cruisin' on down main street, you're relaxed and feelin' good. Next thing that you know you're seeing (WAAHAAHOO!) octopus in the neighborhood!". I'm not sure I understand.
    • Take a left at your intestine, take your second right past Mars." ...Ew...

The bus was invented by Phineas and Ferb

It's the most logical answer I can come to.


Some of Ms. Fizzle's class grew up to become Planeteers.

Arnold, Wanda, Tim, Carlos, and Dorothy decided to change their names at some point in their teens, then took up the cause to protect Earth under the wing of Captain Planet. Proof

  • Out of all of Ms. Frizzle's students Phoebe is the one who would make the most sense as a Planeteer (especially for Heart). Her absence is beyond conspicuous. I've heard a theory that the Planeteers were brainwashed and Phoebe was able to resist the brainwashing, but that would have merely resulted in her being Not Brainwashed.
  • Alternatively, Ms. Frizzle's students are the children of the Planeteers. D.A.'s mom looks like Linka with longer hair.

Where's Walkerville?

Let's hear some guesses!

  • Suburban Vancouver. They're shown to be close to both the ocean and high mountains. The portrait we see of the founder of the town in the background also looks like a Canadian Mountie. And though when they're in the lost and found in another episode we clearly see an American penny, and made a moment of it, doesn't necessarily mean that they're in America. Canadian coins get mixed in with change at least as far south as Rhode Island. And also, the show was produced in Canada using mostly Canadian voice actors. Chances are it's in Canada.
    • Jossed, in the "The Magic School Bus Out of This World", Walkerville is explicitly stated to be in the U.S.A. According to Wikipedia there are two cities named Walkerville in the United States, one of these is in Montana which is also close to the ocean and mountains.

The titular Magic School Bus really does operate through scientific means.

But they're far, far too complicated to explain to children, so Ms. Frizzle just calls it "magic".

Teacher's owning school buses is normal in this universe

In one episode it's noted that "a teacher would never abandon her bus". Suggesting that teachers owning school buses is normal.

Most of the field trips are completely unauthorized

Several field trips are shown to be completely impromptu, so it would be impossible for the parents to even sign a permission slip. And we know permission slips exist in this universe because Arnold mentions them during one field trip. The field trip in question was suppose to be to a museum so it was likely one of the few that was authorized.

Ms. Frizzle's Aunt Beatrice is Beato from Umineko no Naku Koro ni

They have similar hair colors, magic powers, and it would also explain why Ms. Frizzle remains calm in the most dangerous of circumstances. Death Is Cheap.

The Magic School Bus 360° will remake the Solar System field trip.

While in the Asteroid Belt the class will see Ceres leading one student to assert it's a very small planet while another asserts it's a really round asteroid. D.A. will explain that according to her research it's a Dwarf planet. Which will lead to arguing about whether Dwarf planets are major or minor planets. Ultimately, the class will learn that it doesn't matter since the designation doesn't have any effect on the Dwarf planets themselves.

  • Phoebe will say something to the the effect of "At my old school we had nine planets, and none of them were Dwarf planets".
  • Rather then covering the Solar System in a single episode field trip. It will instead either be covered in a two episode field trip, or two different single episode field trips. Thereby allowing each planet to be covered in more detail
    • The first one will the Inner Planets and Asteroid Belt.
    • The second will cover the Outer Planets and the Kuiper Belt.

D.A. isn't human, she is some kind of supernatural being

Consider her pigtails. No matter what she wears they remain uncovered. In one episode she has to remove her hair bands. She is reluctant to do so, and when she does her pigtails remain intact. Her pigtails are a Glamour Failure. This also explains "According to my research, after chewing comes swallowing!" Whatever D.A. really is, she isn't something that eats like humans do. As for D.A.'s family they are just ordinary humans who adopted her so she could enjoy life as a normal girl.

D.A. is a paper master.

Not only is she obsessed with books, but in the volcano episode she realizes she can learn without books, and decides to write a book about what she learned.

The school bus's molds are magical.

The recycling episode establishes the bus is made out out of mundane materials. So its magic must come from how it's made rather then what it's made out of.

The Daleks really hate Ms. Frizzle.

One of the bus's many features is the ability to accelerate time in a limited area. This is due to being equipped with a modified Dalek Time Destructor. However, rather then using it to destroy she does just the opposite with it, for example accelerating the recovery of a coral reef her ancestor had accidentally harmed.

Ms. Frizzle's students will become mild Extreme Omnivores.

That is to say they will eat things that are nutritious, but considered too gross to eat by most humans, such as insects. When they are changed into animals, they rarely show any aversion to eating whatever the animal normally eats. This will eventually affect their willingness to eat such foods while human.

  1. ↑ I haven't watched this show in a while, so I apologize if some of my characterization of the kids is wrong
  2. ↑ I'm not saying that is a characteristic of *all* Aspies- just that it's how *he* manifests it


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