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YMMV / Recess: School's Out

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  • Accidental Aesop: "Don't let your personal baggage influence your strategy." It's pointed out several times that many of Benedict's struggles and setbacks stem from his insistence on using Third Street School as a base of operations—solely because he's still bitter about losing his job as principal of the school. But if he hadn't tried to carry out his plan in a public elementary school in the middle of a heavily populated town, he probably would have had a much easier time keeping his plan secret...and it probably would have worked.
  • Adaptation Displacement: After Recess was cancelled, many fans were introduced to the show through the film from seeing it on video/DVD or on TV. Unfortunately, this has caused many young children to come upon reruns of the show (if it does air again, anyway) and think it's based on the film (though they'd be forgiven for thinking such a thing, since Disney frequently makes television series based off of their animated films).
  • Awesome Art: The backgrounds in the film are very well-made and detailed, compared to the series, and they look great.
  • Awesome Music: The entire soundtrack, composed largely of awesome '60s pop and psychedelia.
    • Special mention to the background music that plays whenever T.J. has a plan... a beefed-up, more badass version of the regular BGM.
    • The background score was really nice in the show, but the movie's background score is really impressive.
    • The movie closes on easily the best song, Robert Goulet (as Mikey) covering Lemon Pipers' "Green Tambourine."
  • Cult Classic: While not as commercially mainstream as other Disney films, for a certain generation who grew up with the film, it's one of Disney's best animated movies, especially in the 2000s when Disney's regular animation department was going through an Audience-Alienating Era.
    • And for said certain demographic, it's considered the film to watch at the end of the school year.
  • First Installment Wins: Out of all three Recess films, the others being Recess: Taking the Fifth Grade and Recess: All Growed Down note , this one is the most well-known and well-received among Recess fans and the only one to get a theatrical release.
  • Harsher in Hindsight:
    • Benedict's plot in the movie is to increase standardized testing and get rid of recess in order to improve grades in American schools. Fast forward fifteen years to the present and the American government in many states has received much criticism for placing more focus on standardized testing than actual applied learning and not allowing recess in some areas.
    • During his "The Reason You Suck" Speech to TJ, Prickly says that, at one point in the school year, he got busted by the FBI because TJ informed them that Prickly was working with the Chinese as a double agent, all because he was giving the students a speech about personal hygiene. This can bring to mind the scandals involving college professors leaking intel to China.
    • As a child viewer, Miss Finster taking such glee in selling back ice cream to the district for chalk and erasers comes off as typical Kids Versus Adults conflict, with the adult valuing something boring over something fun. As an adult viewer, particularly one familiar with the American school system, the need to get funding for basic supplies necessary for teaching makes a lot more sense. In a bad way.
  • Hilarious in Hindsight: This wouldn't be the last time a character played by Ashley Johnson dealt with a villain who wanted to mess with a moon during a major astrological event.
  • Memetic Mutation: "Hello, boys!"
    • "BOMBARDMENT!"
  • Moral Event Horizon: Though at first Dr. Benedict simply wished to get rid of recess, he decides to destroy summer vacation. And those paying attention will quickly put together that it won't end there; see Nightmare Fuel above.
  • Narm:
    • Right after T.J. and Principal Prickly's guard disguises fail T.J. yells "RUN!", but is still oddly smiling, possibly due to an animation error.
    • When the gang discusses the song Becky taught them back in her nicer days, their almost awestruck expressions and remarks before they go into song are hilariously awkward.
    • One of the early trailers (seen on the Air Bud: World Pup VHS) has a scene where the kids are about to break into the school with T.J. saying "Cover me, I'm going in", which is obviously recycled from the first episode. This is especially conspicuous because T.J. had a different voice actor in season one.
  • Signature Scene: Everyone who's seen this movie remembers the "Green Tambourine" sequence from the credits.
  • Squick: The fact that Dr. Benedict still has the hots for Muriel Finster, despite the blindingly obvious fact of how much she's changed with age. Fortunately for the kids, it's a good thing that Finster rightfully refuses to hear a word from him about it, considering that she is fully aware that his Evil Plan already established just how insane he was.


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