Recently re-watched "The Magic School Bus Gets Lost In Space". I'd forgotten how well they used the character of Janet to improve the storytelling.
They establish character so well that by the end of 3 minutes, we already dislike Janet and want her to suffer. From there, Janet's character stays consistent until she has a moment so traumatic that it makes sense for her character to grow.
Her personality causes the inciting incident as her arrogant need for proof drives even Arnold to asking Ms. Frizzle for a not-so-normal field trip.
Her personality causes a lot of conflict between her and the other students even before Ms. Frizzle left.
Her personality leads to the other kids accidentally manipulating her into causing a lot of the conflict when they say other people might ask her for proof of her space exploration.
That conflict builds a little at a time (because of Janet's personality) until we reach a climax that feels well-deserved because of the episode's pacing.
In the end, the antagonist experiences genuine character growth for understandable reasons and we get a very good idea of what her life will be like in the future and a very good idea of the theme.
Not only was "The Magic School Bus Gets Lost In Space" mildly educational about the pre-1999 solar system, but throughout the episode, Janet's character almost completely drives the plot and all the conflict to deliver impressive character-based storytelling.
Now is there other good children's storytelling? If so, prove it.
They establish character so well that by the end of 3 minutes, we already dislike Janet and want her to suffer. From there, Janet's character stays consistent until she has a moment so traumatic that it makes sense for her character to grow.
Her personality causes the inciting incident as her arrogant need for proof drives even Arnold to asking Ms. Frizzle for a not-so-normal field trip.
Her personality causes a lot of conflict between her and the other students even before Ms. Frizzle left.
Her personality leads to the other kids accidentally manipulating her into causing a lot of the conflict when they say other people might ask her for proof of her space exploration.
That conflict builds a little at a time (because of Janet's personality) until we reach a climax that feels well-deserved because of the episode's pacing.
In the end, the antagonist experiences genuine character growth for understandable reasons and we get a very good idea of what her life will be like in the future and a very good idea of the theme.
Not only was "The Magic School Bus Gets Lost In Space" mildly educational about the pre-1999 solar system, but throughout the episode, Janet's character almost completely drives the plot and all the conflict to deliver impressive character-based storytelling.
Now is there other good children's storytelling? If so, prove it.
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