Wahoo!!! Today is the day, our latest Magic School Bus Rides Again special “The Frizz Connection” is NOW live on Netflix! 

Please note, seatbelts are DEFINITELY required for viewing our new feature because in this Magic School Bus adventure there is not one, not two, but THREE Ms. Frizzles ready for action!

That’s right, you get a Frizzle, she gets a Frizzle, WE ALL GET FRIZZLES!

“In a flash of lightning, the Magic School Bus is split into three pieces and the class is scattered across the globe. But that’s not the biggest shock: Ms. Frizzle has been split into three too! Now, the class has to master the global air currents to bring themselves, the Bus, and the Frizzles back together before it’s too late.”

You might be wondering, what exactly happens when you split the world’s most beloved science teacher into three separate versions of herself? 

So, we thought it might be fun, to take a closer look and get to know the three faces of Ms. Frizzle! And who better to help us understand Ms. Frizzle’s fragmented self, then the series' Art Director Jordan England and Lead Designer Hyera Lee.

Frizzle 1 – The Reliable Teacher aka Ms. Frizzle

This Frizzle, is the calm, clear, and reliable side of Ms. Frizzle, the teacher who only wants to learn and observe from a safe distance. Think all things logical and analytical, facts are her playground. And her unwavering calm demeanor under pressure is her superpower!

From the Design Team:

“To create all our different Ms. Frizzles we started by looking at what we call the character’s Master Design Pack (MDP), which is essentially the blueprint for a character’s design, outlining how their features, hair, and clothing should appear in most circumstances throughout a series. So, for our more serious teacher fragment of Ms. Frizzle, we muted down her regular colours outfit colours and swept her hair back into a clean bun to give her a more subdued and austere look. 

We also chose to put her in a suit, and though one of Ms. Frizzle’s signature looks is her swirly skirts, we decided to opt against putting her in a pencil-suit skirt, and instead went for pants, as it would allow for her to have more flexibility in her movements.”

Frizzle 2 – The Whacky Goofy Professor aka The Frizz! 

This Frizz can be found cartwheeling across the schoolyard while strumming a ukulele. And she likely has a pun in her polka-dotted pockets for all occasions!

From the Design Team:

“When it came to designing The Frizz, this time we went back to her MDP and made her colours more saturated, bolder, and brighter. We let her hair run wild and free but gave her a pop of added colour with the bright yellow flower in her hair. 

We took her regular outfit and gave it a more off-beat and whacky flair - with fun bike shorts a bright belt, and a yellow polka-dotted over-shirt whose colors were inspired by the Magic School Bus. A quick note on using prints in animation. Prints can add an extra layer of additional complexity when you are animating a character, you must consider how a print will shift, rotate, and move across a character’s body when you are in the design phase. A more complex print can add time to the animation pipeline, and so it’s something to consider when you are at the start of your design and planning process.”

Frizzle 3 – The Daring Adventure Seeker aka Fiona! 

Fiona is the daredevil side of Ms. Frizzle. She has been known to jump out of a floating air balloon and into a roaring river - all in the name of teaching! Hello, can you say extreme lesson planning!

From the Design Team:

“For our final fragment of Ms. Frizzle – Fiona – our goal was to create a confident, powerful, fearless, and adventure bound teacher! For Fiona’s look we washed out her MDP colours to achieve a more rugged look. Her hair was tied back into a tight braid, which is a much more suitable style for someone who is scaling mountains and diving into waterfalls. We also gave her a classic adventurer look outfitting her in cargo pants and boots! Plus, since this Fiona has to do some very extreme and daring activities in this special, we needed her clothing to be fitted to give her even more flexibility in her movements during the animation process.”

So, there you have it, three fragments of Frizzle. On their own, each possesses their own unique charm and special abilities, but when you combine them back together again, the result is everyone’s favourite super teacher – Fiona Frizzle!

Now it’s time to go and watch The Frizz Connection and find out what happens when three Ms. Frizzles flying around the world! Spoiler alert, you have an even more excellent science-filled adventure!

“The Magic School Bus Rides Again: The Frizz Connection” stream now on Netflix.