Review of Recess: Taking the Fifth Grade (2003) by Michael M — 29 Mar 2017

I feel like this was an attempted Recess reboot that failed and instead they just released it as a movie, kinda like the Atlantis "sequel" being a failed TV pilot and a couple episodes. There's nothing here to warrant it being a movie, the stakes just aren't as high as they were in the movie School's Out. It's three distinct stories loosely tied together by throwaway comments about events from the last "episode", and a final narration from T.J. that could very well have been the "look at all the adventures we have coming up!" monologue at the end of a reboot pilot.

Still, if you like Recess, you'll probably like it. It's about as good as an above average episode of the TV show, and it was nice catching up with these characters after their theatrical movie. I really appreciated how the character development we saw in the movie was still there. Rather than just hitting the reset button like most cartoons, they acknoladge what they've been through, and are changed people from it. You'd think this would be a given, but almost no other shows (especially cartoons) do this, and I never would have expected Recess to be the one to break the mold.

It's still Recess as you remember it, all the characters are here with all their quirks, and it's surprisingly very funny at times. I was blown away by how many times I actually laughed-out-loud, it's genuinely smart and clever. I remember being a kid watching this show, and it was one of the cartoons my dad liked to watch with me. Not just for father-sone bonding time, but because he was a genuine fan and there were plenty of references to movies and politics that were just for him. Now I'm an adult, and I totally get it.

I also liked how there's commentary here about growing up. The final segment takes place on Halloween, and all the kids are coming to terms with the fact that Halloween doesn't have the same charm that it did when they were younger. I won't spoil the conclusion, but it's an intelligent commentary, and absolutely true.

I loved Recess when I was younger, it was one of my favorite shows. Watching this movie kind of felt like catching up with old friends and seeing what they've been up to since we last met. It was nice to see they're the same characters I've always loved, just getting into all new shenanigans. As a film, it's structure is flawed and the animation isn't that great. As a present for Recess fans though, it's about all you could ask for.