Lily Tomlin Struggled To Convince Kids That She Was The Magic School Bus' Ms. Frizzle

"The Magic School Bus" has been bringing adventure and learning to children for decades. What began in 1986 as a book series written by Joanna Cole and illustrated by Bruce Degen was adapted into a TV series in 1994, with Lily Tomlin voicing Ms. Valerie Frizzle, a teacher who takes her class on field trips to places like the prehistoric era and outer space courtesy of the Magic School Bus.

Known for her brightly colored hair and whimsical dresses, Ms. Frizzle became one of the best '90s animated heroes of all time. But while Tomlin's voice is iconic to the role, some kids have been skeptical about her claim to the show upon meeting the actor in person.

Tomlin told The A.V. Club that she visited a third-grade class that enjoyed the show, but not everyone believed that she was the beloved teacher. "In fact, they asked, 'So what do you do when you're not Ms. Frizzle?' And this is after it'd already taken a lot of convincing to get them to even buy that I was Ms. Frizzle. I had to say this thing and that, and they had to think it over and had to decide if it really sounded like Ms. Frizzle," she said.

That's not the only time that Tomlin has struggled to convince children of who she is, however, with the actor noting frequent skepticism even after parents explain it to their kids. "In fact, they're kind of scared," she laughed. Even children in her own family have been skeptical of her role.

Lily Tomlin told Vanity Fair that playing Ms. Frizzle on "The Magic School Bus" has made for some interesting family moments, recalling a time when she was in the room with young relatives while they were watching the show. "Ms. Frizzle would come on, and they'd listen to it, and they'd look at me, and they'd look back and they'd say, 'Now you say it,'" she said.

Interestingly, Tomlin was not always convinced that she was right for the role of Ms. Frizzle. Although she loved playing a female science teacher, she was initially hesitant upon receiving Scholastic's call to do the show. "I said, 'Oh, God, I'm not good at any kind of voice-over. ... So I said, 'I'm going to send you a tape and see if you think it's okay,' 'cause I didn't want to get a job that they're not happy with it when they were offering me the job," she said.

But Scholastic was so happy, in fact, that while "The Magic School Bus" ended in 1997, Tomlin was asked to reprise her role on Netflix's "The Magic School Bus Rides Again," with the former teacher now known as Professor Frizzle. Fortunately, there's a new Ms. Frizzle making sure that elementary school is fun for the next generation: the character's younger sister, Fiona (Kate McKinnon).