Third Street School's 25th Annual Kindergarten Derby is on, and most of the kids of the playground are eager to participate in it... except for Mikey.
Tropes:
- Acrofatic: Tubby, he's true to his nickname but with some training and motivation from Mikey he's one of the finalists left and is the one to win the derby.
- An Aesop: As Mikey teaches Tubby, just because someone treated you badly doesn't mean you should repeat the cycle by treating the younger generation badly. By example, Mikey treats Tubby as his own person, despite that the previous generation didn't treat him nicely.
- Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Exploited in the field of distraction, in which shiny objects and toys spread all over as a means of distracting the kindergarteners. King Bob expects this and puts blinders on his kindergartener for this reason, but unfortunately the Recess gang's kid gets distracted, losing the race.
- Awesome, but Impractical: The Ashleys' high sense of fashion does Captain Sticky no good during the Kindergarten Derby. In fact, he is one of the first to lose out.
- Big Brother Instinct: Mikey was willing to simply sign up Tubby for the Kindergarten Derby without betting on him, on the principle that he's a person and his little brother figure rather than chattel. But when all the other kids mock that Mikey didn't bet because there's no way a "husky" child like Tubby would win, Mikey coldly bets everything he has on Tubby in order to defend his honor.
- Determinator: Mikey instills in Tubby that winning the Kindergarten Derby isn't nearly as important as finishing it. Tubby holds this virtue to heart so much that he forgoes picking up a wrapper in the field of distraction.
- End of an Era: Tubby's wish to forever end Kindergarten Derby marks the end of older kids exploiting the kindergarteners for this race.
- Extreme Omnivore: Mikey has to remind Tubby that he shouldn’t eat a food wrapper.
- Flashback: In the middle of the episode, we are treated to one where Mikey didn't finish the Kindergarten Derby because he was humiliated for being bigger than the other kindergarteners.
- Freudian Excuse: When pressed for a reason why he doesn't like the titular Kindergarten Derby, Mikey reluctantly explains to Tubby that when he was a kindergartener, he never finished the Kindergarten Derby. And it didn't help that the older kids mocked him for his husky figure when he failed one of the obstacle courses.
- Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: When King Bob points out to Tubby that all of them were forced to participate in the derby by older kids when they were his age, Tubby tells him that the older kids are just continuing The Chain of Harm and their own mistreatment does not justify doing the same to other kids now that they're the ones in power.
- Hope Spot: Cindy, the kindergartener picked by TJ, is about to overtake Gilbert, but she's soon distracted.
- Humble Goal: All the other kids wants their chosen kindergartener to win the derby, but once convinced to participate as well, Mikey teaches Tubby that winning isn't as important as the principle of finishing the derby.
- Hypocritical Humor: This scene:Spinelli: Hey, he's got a 37 Winger Dinger ticket at 99-to-1.
Mikey: It matters not. I only made this bet to support my young charge.
Gretchen: But Mikey, at those odds, you could win enough Winger Dingers to get you through high school!
(Beat)
Mikey: RUN, YOU LITTLE WHOMPER! RUN TO WIN! - Kids Are Cruel: Generally, the episode is about how the third graders and older kids treat the kindergarteners like chattel to pick and bet on for the Kindergarten Derby, despite they themselves were treated like this when they were kindergarteners.
- Opinion Flip Flop: When the others see Mikey's betting slip, he says he only made it to support Tubby and that it doesn't matter if he loses. Only for him to shout for Tubby to win when Gretchen points out that with the bet, he will have enough Winger Dingers to get him through high school.
- Skewed Priorities: The Ashleys when Captain Sticky gets his laces caught in an obstacle.Ashley B.: Oh, no! This is terrible!
Ashley A.: Yeah! Those laces cost a fortune! - Soapbox Sadie: Mikey thinks that the Kindergarten Derby is exploitation of little children, so it's abolished by the end of the episode.
