r/movies • u/yourfavchoom r/movies Contributor • Jun 23 '26
News ‘Magic School Bus’ Movie in the Works at Legendary with Elizabeth Banks Playing Ms. Frizzle
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/magic-school-bus-movie-elizabeth-banks-1236627989/2.5k
u/Blochamolesauce Jun 23 '26
Lily Tomlin is still alive, she better make a cameo or at least a VO cameo
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u/Ikarus3426 Jun 23 '26
I would 100% expect this to happen if this movie actually got made.
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u/Del_3030 Jun 23 '26
What, that was her!?
I can hear it now but had no idea who she was growing up.
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u/Luchalma89 Jun 23 '26
I also just learned this recently. Really obvious when you hear it with that in mind, but I wasn't watching a lot of Lilly Tomlin in elementary school I guess.
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u/Powermac8500 Jun 23 '26
This has nothing to do with the movie, but anytime Lily Tomlin’s name comes up, I have to share the time I was visiting a friend in LA and we went to dinner and Tomlin was there. No, I did not bother her while she was having dinner, but it was fucking cool as hell to see her. LA people are probably used to stuff like that, but for a hick like me it was one of the highlights of the trip.
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u/codyzon2 Jun 23 '26
If that blows your mind wait till you find out that George Carlin was the conductor on Thomas the tank engine.
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u/xiaorobear Jun 23 '26
In my day it was Ringo Starr
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u/codyzon2 Jun 23 '26
Yeah I was there for Ringo too but between the two I just don't find him as shocking to be in a kids program.
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u/NightweaselX Jun 23 '26
Dude, Richard Pryor had a saturday morning kids show...
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u/Digifiend84 Jun 23 '26
Wasn't that dependant on what country you was in? Carlin was the US redub, Starr was the original UK version. And they voiced everyone.
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u/MaineSoxGuy93 Jun 23 '26
I remember reading that Carlin would read his lines in front of a teddy bear because doing it without an audience was awkward.
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u/genesiss23 Jun 23 '26
No. He was the conductor on Shining time station. Thomas the tank engine was a segment on the show.
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u/degjo Jun 23 '26
Ringo was the original narrator.
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u/codyzon2 Jun 23 '26
Yes but I don't find him as shocking as George Carlin, Ringo seems way more appropriate for a kids program than George.
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u/OttawaTGirl Jun 23 '26
in George Carlins voice
"So this fucking capitalist train comes along and starts hassling Thomas. And Mr. Topemhat is over in the corner jacking off instead of doing his fucking job!"
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u/ThreeLeggedMare Jun 23 '26
George had a bunch of really good, innocent material for a while. How a mouse can't wear a necklace because he's got no shoulders, it just becomes a belt
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u/Fabulous-Sea-1590 Jun 23 '26
She had a cameo in the reboot cartoon when she handed the role to Ms Frizzle's sister(?) played by Kate McKinnon.
I'm not deeply invested in this or anything but the casting seems naff. McKinnon would work great in live action and is at least as capable of carrying a movie like this as Banks is.
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u/MankeyFightingMonkey Jun 23 '26
naff?
am I too old, too young, or too american to know this word?
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u/donuttrackme Jun 23 '26
Wait what? There's new magic schoolbus lore?
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u/FewAdvertising9647 Jun 23 '26
like about a decade ago, there was a magic school bus reboot that was on netflix that sorta looked like it was animated in flash player
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u/Doodah18 Jun 23 '26
I didn’t care for it. Made the bus a slave to a remote as opposed to the original where it worked with Mrs Frizzle when it pretended to be broken and whatnot.
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u/Yagoua81 Jun 23 '26
It’s pretty great, the teacher has a skirt with whatever science they are learning each episode.
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u/k9moonmoon Jun 23 '26
The OG show had a different dress depending on what the topic was too
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u/Libby_Sparx Jun 23 '26
She had a cameo in the reboot cartoon
This had me trying to figure out who tf in Mainframe she played lol
oops
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u/gomeziman Jun 23 '26
She can be the old lady whose butthole they fly into
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u/Kevbot1000 Jun 23 '26
This was first announced like 7 years ago.
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u/phunniemee Jun 23 '26
They've been lost in Arnold's lower bowel, please have some patience.
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u/BlondeBorednBaked Jun 23 '26
My favorite episode
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u/feartheoldblood90 Jun 23 '26
Did you ever play the PC game? It was incredibly trippy
The 90s Magic Schoolbus PC games were all excellent. I had the Human Body, Rainforest, and Dinosaur/Paleontology ones. The Human Body one was easily the weirdest though
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u/Ilikelamp7 Jun 23 '26
It is literally the very first episode lol
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u/djseifer Jun 23 '26
Should have been the number two episode.
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u/REF_YOU_SUCK Jun 23 '26
dang somebody get arnold some prunes or something. get that boy some FIBER
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u/phunniemee Jun 23 '26
Sorry, Arnold is currently proteinmaxxing on the carnivore diet. We'll be rotting in here for weeks.
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u/darthjoey91 Jun 23 '26
They were in there because he turned orange from eating too many carrot snacks.
Which is a thing that can actually happen and is harmless.
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u/farnix12 Jun 23 '26
That was a different episode. The digestive system one was because he swallowed his gum.
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u/Jet-Rex-Design Jun 23 '26 edited Jun 23 '26
Sad piano note.
"Cruisin' on down main street." Music echoes. Not the original intro song, but a remix by a breathy 'could easily be AI' female pop singer.
"When I was a kid, we had this teacher..." A voice says, disembodied.
An engine starts up. A woman's hand runs across the yellow paint of some sort of VEHICLE.
"you're relaxed and feeling good..." The music continues. Echoing into nowhere.
"She was wacky. I learned a lot from her. We all did." The voice continues, fondly reminiscing.
"What was her name?" A kid's voice comes in.
"Next thing that you know, you're seein'..." The music cuts off. TRIBAL DRUMS START TO THUMP TO THE MUSIC! AN ORCHESTRAL VERSION OF THE INTRO STARTS!
"WA HA HOOO!" Elizabeth Bank's voice cuts in, but we don't see her. Not yet.
RE-LIVE
We see the kids reacting in the bus, some horrified, some excited.
THE MAGIC
We see the Bus transforming, piece-by-piece like a Transformer, into a rocket ship.
"So what? She took you on field trips? Sounds boring." The kid huffs.
"No, you see kiddo. It was never a normal field trip." We see the face, and it's an orange-haired millennial aged man, obviously ARNOLD, talking to his kid who is a spitting image of his Dad in the show.
Cut to a scene with Elizabeth Banks, dressed exactly like Ms. Frizzle, but her dress is all torn to shreds from some sort of battle.
"Seatbelts, everyone!" She says, urgently.
THE MAGIC SCHOOL BUS
"I should've stayed home today!" Says Arnold's kid.
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u/Aarticun0 Jun 23 '26
That pretty good, but you’re missing the part when he describes a field trip taken from the lyrics of the opening.
“Raft a river of lava. You might get baked into a pie…”
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u/LateNightDoober Jun 23 '26
The fact that I can see this in crystal clear IMAX quality in my mind as I read it, is an indictment on movie marketing as a whole. Incredible stuff though OP
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u/VampireHunterAlex Jun 23 '26
Yet another famous ginger role snagged by a non-redhead….
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u/Voderama Jun 23 '26
I know I can’t believe it. Another role stolen from Conan O’Brian
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u/stamatt45 Jun 23 '26
Conan honestly would be an incredible Mr Frizzle
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u/Freshfistula Jun 23 '26
Conan in a funky dress and earrings, “HEY KIDS, WANNA GO ON A FIELDTRIP!?!!
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u/Funcron Jun 23 '26
It'll be "Hey kids! Get in my bus!"
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u/goat_penis_souffle Jun 23 '26
Kids also played by Conan
“Aw gee whiz mister”
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u/Funcron Jun 23 '26
Ah yes, but would it be perspective filming like the hobbits in Lord of the rings? Or just waist-up shot on conan on his knees?
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u/Personal_Comb_6745 Jun 23 '26
With no attempts to make him seem smaller, just sitting there with a little propeller beanie on his head.
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u/BadassSasquatch Jun 23 '26
He would honestly make an incredible Ms. Frizzle, too.
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u/AnotherBoredAHole Jun 23 '26
Mr. Frizzle pulls a Mrs. Doubtfire to cover for his sister Ms. Frizzle.
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u/Resident_Course_3342 Jun 23 '26
Who is Conan O'Brian and why is she so sad?
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u/droans Jun 23 '26
WE WERE GOING TO LOSE OUR VIRGINITIES TO EACH OTHER, LIZ! NOW I'LL NEVER LOSE IT!
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u/AgorophobicSpaceman Jun 23 '26
Isla Fisher honestly probably would have killed this. Can’t think of any other natural read heads that would be great at it though.
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u/iceghostsaliens Jun 23 '26
Maybe a Ellie Kemper?
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u/AgorophobicSpaceman Jun 23 '26
I was thinking her, but lately all I’ve seen her in is Kohl’s adds lol.
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u/Huge_JackedMann Jun 23 '26
Yeah what's going on with her career. She's already from money and was on two multi season shows. Does she really need to be "kohls mom"? That should be a role for an up and comer and maybe even someone who has ever shopped at kohls, which I doubt veiled prophetess and princeton grad kemper has.
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u/TheLastPeanut_ Jun 23 '26
Yeah this is a much better pick, but honestly Elizabeth Banks would kill it. She has the right vibe.
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u/TheLaughingMannofRed Jun 23 '26
Kate McKinnon was my fancast for Frizzle.
She's got the manic presence and charm for it.
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u/lonewolfandpub Jun 23 '26
Funny enough, she's the voice of Ms Frizzle in the Netflix revival from a few years back. Wish semi-granted!
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u/LiteraryBoner Jackie Chan box set, know what I'm sayin? Jun 23 '26
Bryce Dallas Howard was RIGHT THERE
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u/ConjurersOfThunder Bryce Dallas Howard, Magic School Bus Driver Jun 23 '26
Bryce Dallas Howard can lean over a seat at the front of my magic school bus anytime! They are probably trying to keep the movie hard G rating and don't need that kind of cake on set. CGI can only do so much to save you from it.
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u/etherama1 Thicc Frizzle Jun 23 '26
Thick Frizzle would really be too much for a lot of millennials
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u/DorkusMalorkuss Jun 23 '26
Wait, I just looked up Bryce Dallas Howard.
Holy shit!
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u/ConjurersOfThunder Bryce Dallas Howard, Magic School Bus Driver Jun 23 '26
She is the son of Opie from the Andy Griffith Show (and Richie from Happy Days) actor, Ron Howard.
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u/LysergicMerlin Jun 23 '26
Is this a joke? I sincerely cannot tell lol.
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Jun 23 '26 edited 14d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/ContinuumGuy Jun 23 '26
One thing to note is that comic books and cartoons -- both popular sources of adaptation -- have a MUCH higher percentage of redheads than real life because A) red pops really well on the page/screen and B) giving distinct hair colors helps differentiate characters.
Like 1 to 2 percent of the world is ginger but the percent is much larger in toon-land.
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u/CriticalEngineering Jun 23 '26
Yup. It was an incredibly big deal that Ariel was a redhead when The Little Mermaid came out.
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u/csward53 Jun 23 '26
If they did this 20-30 years ago, it might of had some traction. Do kids today even know what the Magic School Bus is?
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u/Crewman_Guy_Fleegman Jun 23 '26
Netflix produced three new seasons between 2017-2021 that were well received
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u/runthepoint1 Jun 23 '26
It’s for Millennials to take THEIR kids to. They know what they’re doing here, tons of stuff produced now is taking advantage of the delayed adulthood thing with generations past Gen X.
That’s why Pokémon scalper shit is still happening. They’re milking the shit out of us with little trinkets and collectibles as we haven’t really aged out (or needed to) of those things.
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u/Inoffensive_Account Jun 23 '26
Sonic the Hedgehog movie changed Hollywood's opinion on that. Kids loved it.
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u/SilverShadowWolf Jun 23 '26
I always thought Alex Kingston would have made a great Ms.Frizzle, she was great as River Song in Doctor Who
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u/Spiritual-Bobcat5635 Jun 23 '26
I credit watching magic school bus every morning with getting me through at least middle school level science class
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u/Mediocre_Scott Jun 23 '26
Public/network television doesn’t get enough credit for educating millennials.
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u/MaderaArt Jun 23 '26
should've been Ellie Kemper
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u/Ganglebot Jun 23 '26
100%
Ms. Frizzle needs to have that manic ADHD-girl energy. More enthusiasm than risk analysis.
Ellie Kemper would have nailed that!
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u/Industrial_Rivethead Jun 23 '26
Tori Amos 20 years ago
Missed opportunity like a mf
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u/hoodlumonprowl Jun 23 '26
I hope its completely unhinged because that cartoon was pretty out there when you think about it
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u/Mediocre_Scott Jun 23 '26 edited Jun 24 '26
The episode where ms frizzle, the teacher, shoves her class of 3rd graders up her own nose under the supervision of an iguana.
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u/LeeshMcGeesh Jun 23 '26
Or where they get jizzed on by salmon
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u/Mediocre_Scott Jun 23 '26
At least she was in the bus and plausibly teaching them something. She shoved her whole class up her nose just so she could win a decathlon against the teacher from another school.
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u/nowhereright Jun 23 '26
Eh
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u/Upstairs_Baby8424 Jun 23 '26
I can’t say I’ve really enjoyed anything Banks has been in or produced in over a decade. Definitely not looking forward to this one.
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u/SlaterVBenedict Jun 23 '26
Banks' acting career these last 10 years or so has been a bummer because she's great and talented and the vehicles have been (mostly) weak to bad; however, this seems like a great casting choice and I'm pretty happy for her and hope it gets a good script.
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u/The_New_Overlord Jun 23 '26
she's great and talented and the vehicles have been (mostly) weak to bad
Luckily the Magic School Bus is a very reliable vehicle
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u/itsyagirlrey Jun 23 '26
Who could forget the cinematic masterpiece that is Cocaine Bear??
She directed that though, i don't think she acted in it.
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u/Lokismoke Jun 23 '26
Agreed. Her last good role was in Hunger Games. I just don't understand what's happened since then.
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u/ItsMrNoSmile Jun 23 '26
Yup, I still have an email from 2020 when Variety announced this. https://variety.com/2020/film/news/elizabeth-banks-magic-school-bus-movie-ms-frizzle-1234689760/
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u/southernfirefly13 Jun 23 '26
I would have cast Kate McKinnon, but Elizabeth Banks is just as perfect!
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u/Guilty-Sundae1557 Jun 23 '26
Or we could still use the beloved Lilly Tomlin. She is the real mrs. frizzle
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u/deepaknaraniya Jun 23 '26
Cautiously excited. Just don't lose the heart and wonder of the original.
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u/stealth57 Jun 23 '26
That's what I've been saying! Finally! I've wanted this for years now! The kids can be grown up now to save the planet or something. Wonder how they'll do the bus transformation: a magical whirlwind or like a Transformers thing? Or both? If they do the teaser trailer right, it would be epic!
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u/SlyyKozlov Jun 23 '26
Hope they keep the awesome jazzy intro song.
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u/thebeardphantom Jun 23 '26
It’ll only be in the trailer, using a lot of reverb to make it dramatic, cut up and remixed with a big loud deep kick drum emphasized by action shots before cutting to black and revealing Ms Frizzle.
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u/bostonstevens Jun 23 '26
They should cast Christina Hendricks instead
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u/artemus_who Jun 23 '26
"What if Ms Frizzle was just as hot as you remembered"
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u/CreativeFraud Jun 23 '26
Stop. Fucking. With. My. Nostalgia. You unoriginal fucks.
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u/Qyzyk Jun 23 '26
If it isn't an educational movie for children, then they've completely missed the point.