The Magic School Bus: The Complete Series

DVD Details For An Impressive Set That Advocates Active Learning And Parental Involvement
For four fact filled seasons from 1994 to 1998, "The Magic School Bus" paved the way for kids to believe that science was cool. As the television landscape continues to devolve, it's refreshing to see the Bus resurface in this Complete Series collection. Charming and educational, this animated delight is comprised of 52 thirty minute episodes. Ms. Frizzle (voiced by the distinctive and invaluable Lily Tomlin) takes her class of enthusiastic students on trips filled with fantasy and wonder. Astronomy, biology, geology, physics, chemistry, paleontology, and just about every other "ology" gets a visit or two through the course of the various field trips. However, if you're shopping "The Magic School Bus: The Complete Series," you probably want to know what is included with your investment.

Packaging: The box set looks great. The cover is done in a 3-D lenticular design that already ups the cool quotient. Each of the eight DVDs is enclosed in its own case within the set...

Wahoo!
"Magic School Bus" was a major part of my TV-watching experience when I was a child. So honestly, watching the series today is a trip down memory lane -- and despite some scientific changes (such as computer advances or Pluto being exiled), "Magic School Bus: The Complete Series" still stands as a good, educational show for kids.

The story series around Ms. Valerie Frizzle (Lily Tomlin), an eccentric elementary-school teacher who dresses according to the episode's theme. She has a sentient lizard named Liz, and a school bus that can transform into whatever the episode requires.

She has a class of about eight students, who never seem to have math class or anything that requires them to actually stay in the building. Instead, Ms. Frizzle takes them on daily field trips, which the shape-shifting/time-traveling/shrinking bus allows them to do... in a very hands-on manner.

So the class goes on adventures in the digestive system, the bloodstream, a pickle...

rare and wonderful - I LOVE THEM ALL
Suitable for ages 3+ these animated adventures combine entertainment with education to help kids "learn about science in a fun way". Each episode is a half-hour long. Only 54 were made in the mid-1990s, with no plans to make any more, unfortunately, as they are wonderful. I LOVE THEM ALL.

Joyful and uplifting, The Magic School Bus children's cartoon series is rare because it is one of the few completely free from violence and brutality. (Studies have found that youngsters tend to mimic "fantasy" negative behavior seen on TV - which anyone with some common sense knows - so why is there so much, and for decades? Especially since, as other research shows, children actually prefer non-violent entertainment.)

Recently I sent a relative the full set of 54 for her grandchild (aged 4, whom she was looking after while her daughter had to be away on mid-wifery training) and was told "She has watched and watched the Magic School Bus over and over, all of them"...

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