‘The Magic School Bus’ Ended 25 Years Ago: 13 Stars Who Voiced Characters
Seatbelts, everyone! We’ve got another anniversary to celebrate.
If you are old enough to remember your elementary-school teacher putting VHS tapes into the VCR, there’s a good chance one of those tapes was The Magic School Bus.
Based on the book series of the same name by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen, The Magic School Bus was an animated educational children’s series that starred Lily Tomlin as the voice of Ms. Frizzle, a teacher who took her students on the most exciting of field trips.
The original series aired 52 episodes across four seasons on PBS, before signing off 25 years ago, on December 6, 1997. And many of those episodes boasted the voices of established or future stars. Here are some of the biggest names on the Magic School Bus cast list.
Kevin Zegers
This star of The Rookie: Feds recurred as Mikey Ramón, younger brother of Carlos (Daniel DeSanto).
Swoosie Kurtz
The Mike & Molly alum and two-time Tony winner voiced Dorothy Ann’s (Tara Meyer) mom in two episodes.
Tyne Daly
This Cagney & Lacey and Judging Amy actress voiced Dr. Tennelli, mother of Ralphie (Stuart Stone), in two installments.
Tony Randall
Most famous for starring in TV’s The Odd Couple, Randall voiced Ms. Frizzle’s mechanic, Radius Ulna “R.U.” Humerus, in the episode “Flexes Its Muscles.”
Rita Moreno
Well after she became an EGOT winner, this West Side Story actress voiced the paleontologist Dr. Carmina “Bonesy” Skeledon in the episode “The Busasaurus.”
Noah Reid
This Schitt’s Creek alum was all of 10 years old when he voiced a caller in two Magic School Busepisodes.
Jessica Walter
The late Arrested Development star voiced Ashlee Walker Club Dupree, great-granddaughter of Walkerville’s founder, in the episode “Rocks and Rolls.”
Dolly Parton
This country singer — Tomlin’s 9 to 5 costar — lent her voice to Ms. Frizzle’s cousin Katrina Eloise “Murph” Murphy in the episode “The Family Holiday Special.”
Ed Asner
The seven-time Emmy winner of The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Lou Grant voiced the sci-fi movie character General Araneus in the episode “Spins a Web.”
Alex Trebek
The longtime Jeopardy! host voiced an announcer for the International Show-and-Tell Competition in the episode “Shows and Tells.”
Eartha Kitt
The “Santa Baby” singer and Batman actress guest-starred in “Going Batty” as Mrs. Franklin, grandmother of Keesha (Erica Luttrell).
Edward James Olmos
This Miami Vice and Battlestar Galactica actor also voiced a character in “Going Batty,” taking the role of Mr. Ramón, father of Carlos and Mikey.
Tom Cruise
In his Jerry Maguire era, this blockbuster movie star apparently played himself in the Magic School Bus episode “Goes Cellular” — the role appears his IMDb filmography!
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