Recess is an American animated television series created by Paul Germain and Joe Ansolabehere (credited on marketing materials and late-series title cards as "Paul & Joe") and produced by Walt Disney Television Animation, with animation done by Grimsaem, Anivision, Plus One Animation, Sunwoo Animation, and Toon City. The series focuses on six elementary school students and their interaction with other classmates and teachers. The title refers to the recess period during the daily schedule, in the North American tradition of educational schooling, when students are not in lessons and are outside in the schoolyard. During recess, the children form their own society, complete with government and a class structure, set against the backdrop of a regular school.

Recess premiered on September 13, 1997, on ABC, as part of Disney's One Saturday Morning block (later known as ABC Kids). The series ended on November 5, 2001, with 65 half-hour episodes and four seasons in total. The success and lasting appeal of the series saw it being syndicated to numerous channels, including

ABC's sister channels Disney Channel and Toon Disney (which later became Disney XD).

In 2001, Walt Disney Pictures released a theatrical film based on the series, Recess: School's Out. It was followed by a direct-to-video second film entitled Recess Christmas: Miracle on Third Street that same year. In 2003, two more direct-to-video films were released: Recess: All Growed Down and Recess: Taking the Fifth Grade. The characters made their final appearance in a crossover episode for Lilo & Stitch: The Series until Vince returned in an episode of Chibiverse.

Overview

Recess portrays the lives of six fourth graders— mischievous and troublemaking lovable rogue Theodore Jasper "T.J." Detweiler (Ross Malinger, Andrew Lawrence), jock Vince LaSalle (Rickey D'Shon Collins), tomboy Ashley Spinelli (referred to by her last name) (Pamela Adlon), wise fool Mikey Blumberg (Jason Davis), nerdy child prodigy Gretchen Grundler (Ashley Johnson), and awkward new kid Gus Griswold (Courtland Mead)—as they go about their daily lives in a school environment at Third Street Elementary School. During recess, the children form their own society, complete with its own government, a class system, and set of unwritten laws set against the backdrop of a regular school. They are ruled by a monarch, a sixth grader named King Bob, who has various enforcers to make sure his decrees are carried out. The society has a long list of rigid values and social norms that imposes a high expectation of conformity upon all the students.

Recess is illustrated to be a symbol of liberty—a time when children can express themselves and develop meaningful relationships. Most episodes involve one or more of the main six characters seeking a rational balance between individuality and social order. They are often defending their freedom against perceived threats by adults and school administration or social norms. The series ended on November 5, 2001; reruns continued to air on UPN until 2003 and ABC until 2004.

Disney Channel added Recess to their lineup on September 6, 2003. Fillmore!, The Legend of Tarzan, and Buzz Lightyear of Star Command were all pre-empted in favor of a 90-minute showing of the series. It temporarily ceased airing on September 2, 2005, but resumed on August 26, 2008 replacing The Buzz on Maggie, and continued until June 30, 2010.

Toon Disney aired the show from September 1, 2003 to February 12, 2009. When Toon Disney was converted to Disney XD, the series was carried over and aired from April 14, 2009 to October 27, 2011.

The creators were credited by their first names only due to concerns by Disney to not put their full names on the series as not to overshadow Walt Disney's name.

Episodes

Crossover with Lilo & Stitch

Lilo & Stitch: The Series featured an episode titled "Lax" that featured the cast of Recess, when T.J. and the gang go on a school vacation to Hawaii. Notably, Recess was the only series that crossed over with Lilo & Stitch: The Series that was not a Disney Channel Original Series, and whose production had already ended before Lilo & Stitch: The Series first aired.

Disaster strikes when Dr. Hämsterviel and his henchman, Gantu, try to use an escaped alien experiment to make everyone relaxed while he takes over the world. Luckily, Gretchen saves the day, since she believes work is relaxing.

Films

Recess: School's Out

Recess: School's Out is an animated film directed by Chuck Sheetz and is based on the television series where the characters must intercept a gang of anti-recess terrorists plotting to bring about a new ice age to eliminate the institution of summer vacation. The film was produced by Walt Disney Pictures and was released theatrically nationwide on February 16, 2001.

Recess Christmas: Miracle on Third Street

Recess Christmas: Miracle on Third Street is a second direct-to-video animated film released by Walt Disney Pictures and Paul & Joe Productions, produced by Walt Disney Television Animation, Plus One Animation (Korea) Co., Ltd. and Grimsaem Animation, Korea Co., Ltd., released to VHS and DVD on November 6, 2001 by Walt Disney Home Video. The film is a direct-to-video compilation of four unrelated episodes: "Principal for a Day", "The Great Can Drive", "Weekend at Muriel's", and the series' Christmas special "Yes, Mikey, Santa Does Shave", told as flashbacks by the school faculty members while stuck in a snowstorm. The video includes the voice talents of Dick Clark, Robert Goulet and James Earl Jones as well as many of the series regulars.

Recess: All Growed Down

Recess: All Growed Down is a Disney direct-to-video animated film released on December 9, 2003. After being kidnapped by kindergarteners, the main characters recall stories about how they used to get along with each other. It is a compilation of the episodes "The Legend of Big Kid", "Wild Child", and "The Kindergarten Derby", plus a new story showing the main characters as kindergarteners.

Recess: Taking the Fifth Grade

Recess: Taking the Fifth Grade (also known as Recess: Taking the 5th Grade) is a 59-minute Disney direct-to-video animated film released on December 9, 2003. It is a compilation of "No More School", "Grade Five Club", and "A Recess Halloween", three new stories that involve the main characters in fifth grade. The film serves as the series finale and the sequel to Recess: School's Out.

Home media

DVD

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center"

|-

! rowspan=2|Title || rowspan=2|Episode count || colspan=1|Release date || colspan=3|Episodes include

|-

! Region 1 || Season || Ep# || Title

|-

| School's Out || 1 || August 7, 2001 || || M1 || School's Out

|-

| rowspan=5|Miracle on Third Street || rowspan=5|5 || rowspan=5|November 6, 2001 || DTV || M2 || Miracle on Third Street

|-

| 1 || 22 || "The Great Can Drive"

|-

| rowspan=3|2 || 44 || "Weekend at Muriel's"

|-

| 47 || "Yes Mikey, Santa Does Shave"

|-

| 50 || "Principal for a Day"

|-

| rowspan=8|All Growed Down || rowspan=8|8 || rowspan=14|December 9, 2003 || rowspan=2| DTV || rowspan=2| M3 || All Growed Down

|-

| "Chief Mikey"

|-

| 1 || 16 || "The Legend of Big Kid"

|-

| rowspan=3|2 || 35 || "The Challenge"

|-

| 36 || "Wild Child"

|-

| 43 || "The Story of Whomps"

|-

| rowspan=2|3 || 64 || "One Stayed Clean"

|-

| 54 || "Kindergarten Derby"

|-

| rowspan=6|Taking the Fifth Grade || rowspan=6|6 || rowspan=4|DTV || rowspan=4|M4 || Taking the Fifth Grade

|-

| "No More School"

|-

| "Grade Five Club"

|-

| "A Recess Halloween"

|-

| rowspan=2| 1|| 1|| "The Break In"

|-

| 2 || "The New Kid"

|}

Video-on-demand

Every episode of Recess is available on Disney+ in several countries, including the US, along with most of the direct-to-video films. Similarly to Pepper Ann, the third and fourth seasons are paired together on the site, and are currently listed out of order.

Critical reception

Television critics Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz wrote favorably about Recess in their 2016 book TV (The Book), stating that the series is "Easily one of the smartest, most prankishly playful adult cartoons ever passed off as children's entertainment.... Recess is a highly ritualized bit of entertainment that strikes the same notes over and over again, but always in infinite variation and with a surprising eye for psychological grace notes, especially when characters you thought of as brusque and one-dimensional reveal their fears and dreams to one another."

Possible revival

In 2022, Joe Ansolabehere revealed that he and Paul Germain had been working on a potential revival stating, "We've come up with several different angles and we've tried different things. It's been four years that we've been working on it, but that's an example of how things have changed... things are slower."

Notes

References

  • Recess at Don Markstein's Toonopedia.