The Magic School Bus Family Holiday Special
Original airdate: December 25th, 1996
Subject: Recycling
Focus Student(s): Wanda, Arnold
Thank goodness no one was wearing clothes made out of recycled materials!
While the class prepares to deliver recyclables to a plant, Wanda's in a hurry to donate her toy nutcracker to see its namesake Tchaikovsky ballet. Things go From Bad to Worse when Arnold accidentally tosses in Wanda's toy with his recyclables, and Wanda blames the idea of recycling.
Producers Segment
Murph is the one who answers fictional viewers' questions while Liz sorts the papers that she needs to recycle.
Tropes
- Bait-and-Switch Comment:Wanda: It's okay, Arnold. I don't blame you.Arnold: You don't?Wanda: (angrily) No, I blame your crummy idea!The rest of the class: Oops.
- Ballet Episode: The plot centers on Wanda wanting to go see The Nutcracker. Music from the show even plays at several points in the episode, such as when the toy soldier is recycled, when the Bus goes on an unrecycling frenzy, when new toy soldiers are molded, when Arnold explains why he isn't joining the rest of the class for the ballet, and when Arnold is looking at the toy soldier Wanda had given him.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Wanda wishes that recycling was never invented. She comes to regret it.
- Berserk Button: Don't call recyclable materials "junk" in front of Murph. Luckily, all she does is tell offenders to watch their language.
- Chekhov's Skill: The class is able to restore the bus by melting all the products it was turned into, and pouring the liquids into molds. Later on, Arnold suggests doing the same thing with the plastic pellets to get Wanda's toy back, and his idea is a success.
- Christmas Episode: A holiday special. The word "Christmas" is only ever mentioned at the end, when the whole class cheers "Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Happy Kwanzaa!!" and Hanukkah gets a few passing mentions, but the only celebration that's brought up is a long school break, something a child of any faith can enjoy.
- Daydream Surprise: The episode starts with Wanda watching The Nutcracker ballet, and her clapping to the ending movement. Then she's snapped out of it and realizing she's crushing a plastic bottle.
- Don't Call Me "Sir": Murph doesn't want to be called "Ms.", hence when Phoebe called her "Ms. Murph", Murph told her to "Save the Ms. for the Friz".
- Green Aesop: Naturally. It's an episode about the importance of recycling.
- Hidden Depths: The entire class is surprised that tomboyish Wanda is looking forward to seeing The Nutcracker.
- Hope Spot: Discussed; Arnold and Wanda after the recycling plant is un-recycled think that maybe her toy is at school since it got changed back. When they go, however, the bus then converts the school into a dump site - without recycling, all that waste had to go somewhere.
- It's a Wonderful Plot: When Wanda loses her nutcracker, she wonders what the world would be like without recycling. Murph is against the idea but encourages Liz to turn the bus into an "un-recycling" machine to show what happens.
- Misplaced Retribution: After her nutcracker is turned into plastic pellets, Wanda says she doesn't blame Arnold (which she should since it was his fault), but instead "his crummy idea" and the idea of recycling.
- Musical Episode: After all, it would be a waste to have Dolly Parton as a guest star if she didn't get to sing!
- My God, What Have I Done?: Wanda regrets all the damage she caused due to getting rid of recycling, especially when the bus hits itself with the "un-recycling ray". Likewise, she feels guilty when she sees Arnold's gift after chewing him out for most of the episode.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Arnold including Wanda's toy with the recyclables in his bin leads to it getting turned into plastic pellets, and kicks off the plot.
- Oh, Crap!: Keesha, after the Bus unrecycles itself.Keesha: Oh, bad! Oh, bad! Oh, bad, bad, BAD!
- She Cleans Up Nicely: Everyone except Arnold gets dressed up for the ballet, before Wanda decides they should be there for Arnold instead.
- Special Guest: Dolly Parton as Ms. Frizzle's cousin Murph. She previously appeared with Lily Tomlin in 9 to 5, so this is also a case of I Want You to Meet an Old Friend of Mine.
- Throw the Dog a Bone: Instead of going to see the ballet, the whole class accompanies Arnold on a lonely train ride to see his sick grandmother, Wanda included.
- Tomboy with a Girly Streak: Turns out Wanda, the class's token tomboy, loves ballet. She even does a brief imitation of the dancers when describing the Nutcracker event she's planning to go to.
- To the Tune of...: The songs are about recycling, but sung to the tune of Christmas Songs, plus one Hanukkah song and one fully original song. The songs parodied are "The 12 Days of Christmas,"note "Jingle Bells,"note "Here We Come A-Caroling,"note and "I Had a Little Dreidel."note
- Why We Can't Have Nice Things: Liz recycles the paper that Cousin Murph was going to use to write a letter to the Producer, going through a long process to turn a newspaper into a sheet of reused paper. Liz then blows her nose on the paper, making it, "reduced, reused and recycled." Murph then decides to contact the Producer via voicemail.
