Arnold Perlstein

"Holy cow. It's Arnold Perlstein, the only freckled, green-eyed, glassed kid who thinks and knows that he should've stayed home anytime when there was a dangerous field trip... be it here in Beacon Academy, or there in my village. Does this mean I think it means? I hope he's not doomed."

--Su Ji-Hoon, Operation: Invasion Der Zukünftigen Akademie

Arnold Matthew Perlstein is a fictional character in the animated children's series The Magic School Bus and The Magic School Bus Rides Again. He is voiced by Amos Crawley in season one (1) of The Magic School Bus, Danny Tamberelli in seasons 2 (two)-4 (four) of The Magic School Bus and Miles Koseleci-Vieira in The Magic School Bus Rides Again.

In When the Cold Breeze Blows Away, he serves as a sword wielder and an archer of Team Magic School Bus.

If Miles Koseleci-Vleira hits puberty, there should be a replacement to voice him in a Korean drama version of When the Cold Breeze Blows Away.

Background/Personality
Arnold generally does not like Ms. Frizzle's field trips. Most of the time, he is usually an unwilling participant. Despite his usually timid moments and some nervous breakdowns, he has shown to be brave when he's needed to, and he's very loyal when it comes to his classmates, even taking up a leadership role a number of times. He has a huge interest in rocks and minerals and is the youngest member of an organization called GRANITE (the Great Rock Admirers' National Institute of Tectonics Experts). He also mentions an interest in colors. He has shown interest in conserving the environment, as he wanted to save the rotting log in a "Meets the Rot Squad" and have the class collect stuff for recycling in "Holiday Special."

Despite his dislike for the Friz's field trips, he does love having her as a teacher and deep down enjoys the adventures, but is too nervous to show it and he doesn't usually like surprises. He even stood in her defense when the class went on trial during "In a Pickle" and when his cousin Janet tried to show off and say that her teacher is better than his, Arnold interrupted her before she could finish and said that "nobody is better than Ms. Frizzle" during "Gets Lost in Space." This trait is seen better in The Magic School Bus Rides Again, as we see more of Arnold's character and he just likes to stay safe because of all the dangerous happenings, but deep down, he genuinely and deeply does care for his friends and teacher and enjoys a wonderfully wild ride on the Magic School Bus.

In When the Cold Breeze Blows Away, he now likes to fight in World War III, but he doesn't like being alone. Also, he is more willing than what he was back then, and is more braver than ever. He is now less nervous and likes surprises too.

Appearances
Arnold wears round glasses, a yellow and white striped long sleeved shirt, blue jeans and navy and white sneakers.

His signature colors are yellow and blue.

In the new series, The Magic School Bus Rides Again, Arnold's hair is straight and he wears more squarish glasses with dark frames, and a yellow shirt, a green sweater, blue jeans and brown work boots.

His new signature colors are green and blue.

In When the Cold Breeze Blows Away, he now in a Marine Corps Combat Utility Uniform (MCCUU) with a green-and-blue camouflage. He wears also bonnie hat. Underneath the blouse, he has a light green crew-neck T-shirt.

Season One (The Magic School Bus)
Arnold introduces his cousin, Janet, to his class in a The Magic School Bus episode, "Gets Lost In Space," and he tries to keep the peace when Janet's arrogance sours the rest of the class. It's when Janet talks down on Ms. Frizzle that he shows his loyalty to his teacher and suggests a field trip to the "bigger" planetarium, showing Janet that "nobody is better than Ms. Frizzle." Arnold unknowingly eats the class in another The Magic School Bus episode, "For Lunch." He's happy to have stayed behind while the others go on a field trip, but after finding out where they went, he swears never to miss a field trip... at least, not until after the "next one" (Ms. Frizzle's dinosaur dress foreshadowing their next trip). He and Keesha find themselves in a difficult situation when they forget their partner report in another The Magic School Bus episode, "Gets Eaten." He loses Wanda's bullfrog, Bella, in "Hops Home" and tries to keep her out of harm when they look for Bella, as Wanda's too distracted to realize she's about to walk off of a tree or get swept down a river. In another The Magic School Bus episode, "Meets the Rot Squad," he tries to convince everyone to leave the rotted-out log on the abandoned lot the way it is. Everyone is shocked when he suggests a field trip to the desert in "All Dried Up" after Phoebe declares they need to help the animals there. He feels confident about the trip, thanks to his Field Trip Survival Guide.

Season Two (The Magic School Bus)
While on a field trip to a dinosaur dig in a The Magic School Bus episode "The Busasaurus," Dr. Carmina Skeledon lets Arnold see the fossilized egg Ms. Frizzle found. He still has it when they go back in time, and when he lets Phoebe look at it, she loses it to an ornithomimus. He ends up squaring off with a tyrannosaurus rex after Ms. Frizzle makes him giant-sized, saving the class. In another The Magic School Bus episode, "Butterfly and the Bog Beast," he's the only one not to side with Janet against Phoebe when the former suggests "Bog Beast" for the school mascot. His main reason is because he doesn't know what a bog beast is. He's caught by his crush, Tiffany, when he and Wanda get water from the girls' bathroom in another The Magic School Bus episode "Wet All Over." Despite the embarrassment, it's implied at the end that Tiffany likes him, too. He serves as Ms. Frizzle's defense attorney in another The Magic School Bus episode "In a Pickle." While in the bus' gas tank, Arnold says that he hates the smell of gasoline and was out on the engine telling the class what was going on while they were in the cylinder in The Magic School Bus episode "Revving Up."

Season Three (The Magic School Bus)
After losing the heat from his hot cocoa, Ms. Frizzle takes the class to the Arctic ("In the Arctic"). When Ralphie, Phoebe, Liz, and the bus get stranded on an ice flow, Arnold makes it his responsibility to save them while also trying to keep everyone else warm. He and Dorothy Ann compete in the 10th Annual International Show & Tell Competition in a The Magic School Bus episode, "Shows and Tells," but instead of bringing a rare collection of rocks, he brings some artifacts he found in his attic that belonged to his great-aunt, the famous archeologist Arizona Joan (a parody of the film character Indiana Jones). In another The Magic School Bus episode, "Rocks and Rolls," he fears that the statue he was supposed to carve (not by hand) is ruined, but instead, the rock slide the class caused on the side of a mountain carves a monument of the town founder. For the class' last day before winter break in another The Magic School Bus episode "Holiday Special," Arnold made the suggestion they collect recycled goods to take to the recycling center. He accidentally puts Wanda's beloved toy soldier in the pile, causing her to blame his "crummy idea" and wish that recycling had never been invented.

Season Four (The Magic School Bus)
Ralphie teases Arnold in "Meets Molly Cule" after the famous rock star, Molly Cule, calls him "Sugar," this caused Arnold to blush. However, this is what helps him figure out that her hood ornament was made of sugar. In a The Magic School Bus episode, "Cracks a Yolk," Arnold helps hatch the chick the class planned to replace Mr. Ruhle's lost rooster, Giblets, and the success prompts Dorothy Ann to kiss him. When Giblets returns, Mr. Rhule gives the chick to Dorothy Ann and Arnold, the latter suggesting they name it "Arnold Jr." In another The Magic School Bus episode, "Goes Cellular," he's completely orange on the night he's to receive GRANITE's Rocky Award. The class tries to compare his skin to Phoebe's, only to learn his favorite snack food made him turn orange. He's happy when Ms. Frizzle's electrician wants to buy all the light bulbs the class was trying to sell for Valentine's Day ("Gets Charged"). He becomes a fox along with Phoebe and Tim in another The Magic School Bus episode, "In the City," and he's partners with Phoebe in another The Magic School Bus episode, "Takes a Dive."

The Magic School Bus Rides Again
After a summer break, an "upgraded" Arnold is thriled to be back in Ms. Frizzle's class. He is delighted to see nothing has changed, except that his old friend Phoebe has went back to her old school and replacing her is Jyoti Kaur.

Arnold and the other students in Ms. Frizzle's science class give her a tour and explain how the "ecosystem" of their classroom is- perfectly balance, nothing to change it.

Soon a woman with red hair arrives and knows everybody's names, what they did over the summer, and their hobbies. Arnold is startled until Dorothy Ann explains that it's a totally different Frizzle. Arnold is very scared and asks where his old teacher is, and then Valerie appears and explains that Fiona is her younger sister and will be taking over, while she and her tamarin companion Goldie have adventures of their own. ("Frizzle of the Future")

Saving Beacon Academy
"Damn Nazis. They sure are hellish out there in Beacon Academy.​​​​​"

--Arnold Perlstein to himself about the Wehrmacht, Operation: Invasion Der Zukünftigen Akademie

When Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Yang Xiao Long and Blake Belladonna came to Walkerville Elementary School, along with 10 (ten) Space Marines, 15 (fifteen) Exeron fighters, 30 (thirty) Blasters, 25 (twenty-five) Atlas soldiers, an Atlas sergeant, Jaecob Abhel, 8 (eight) Battle Fortresses, 4 (four) Arctic Battle Fortresses, 17 (seventeen) Atlesian Knight-200s, 5 (five) Baneblades, 6 (six) D77-TC Pelicans, and 10 (ten) Atlesian airships, along with MERC and the Preschool Girls,