Relive your childhood with a grown-up perspective! Join us as we explore the hidden gems and clever references in the beloved cartoon "Recess." From Cold War motifs to adult themes, we'll uncover the layers that make this show a timeless classic for all ages.
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00:00Now, let's read about how the barbaric Europeans stole this country from the Native Americans.
00:04Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the references and details you only notice re-watching Recess as one of those dreaded grown-ups.
00:13In a few years, they're all going to be grown-ups like me, and all those good times will just be memories for them, too.
00:20Number 10. The Prison Break Intro
00:23It might be one of the most memorable openings to a Disney Channel show ever.
00:27Not only does it have a super catchy tune, it also serves as a brilliant introduction to our host of characters and the antics they'll get up to in the series.
00:36The intro itself is a self-contained attempt at a prison escape.
00:39We get the sound of marching thanks to drumming in the composition and a characteristic whistling, both of which seem to con out jail.
00:47When the plan fails in the end, the kids are sent back inside in single file and Ms. Finster slams the door shut, which sounds a lot more like a jail door than a school door.
01:02The whole thing hinges on the idea of school feeling like prison when you're a kid.
01:12Number 9. The Characters
01:14It's no coincidence that our main six are so different from each other.
01:23On one level, it's easier for young minds to distinguish between them, but there's also something to be said about the message of getting along with people who are so different from you.
01:33While each member of the gang has their own thing, they're connected by their shared values.
01:45Recess is also one of the few kids' cartoons of the 90s to let their characters grow as the show progresses and ebb out of their stereotypes.
01:54Vince isn't just the athletic kid. He also likes to cook, for example.
01:59Each little character trait makes it clear a lot of thought and love was put into these characters in the writing room.
02:05Number 8. The Kids Being Kids
02:15Some of the best humor in this show stems from the gang reminding us of their age.
02:26So much of the series tackles adult frameworks that it's easy to forget these are a bunch of fourth graders.
02:32Every once in a while, though, the writers remind us with a quick joke or two.
02:40For instance, in the episode, The C-Note, TJ finds a big one tucked away in an envelope outside the school.
02:47When he offers to split it with his friends, the kids go off about all the lavish things they'll do with the money.
02:54As a kid, you're right there with them.
02:56But as an adult, it cannot be more endearing to remember their age and realize they have no actual concept of money yet.
03:07Number 7. Principal Prickly and Miss Finster's Pasts
03:17While Authority serves as the major antagonist in the show, Recess dedicates entire segments to humanizing its inhibitors of fun.
03:25We get glimpses of their pasts, of the kids they used to be before they inevitably had to grow up and get jobs and all the rest of it.
03:32It's not that the concept is lost on the younger viewers, but it hits a lot harder for adults who might see themselves in the uptight Miss Finster or grouchy Principal Prickly,
03:50whose name is also something adults might cock their heads at, by the way.
03:54Youngsters might sympathize with the adults a little more, but we feel a whole other level of sadness for who the system has managed to turn them into.
04:03So go ahead, put a whoopee cushion in my chair, cover my carpet with fake vomit, make fun of my big, saggy butt,
04:10but don't you ever say I don't care about summer vacation, because those memories are the last part of childhood I got left.
04:17Number 6. Adult Themes
04:19We touched on it briefly, but Recess is known for its clever, if startling, reproductions of adult concepts in ways children can make sense of.
04:28In the episode Economics of Recess, TJ returns to school after a week out sick to discover that everyone is now operating through the exchange of stickers.
04:58The story effectively explores reckless capitalism, greed, and the dangers of investing in fads.
05:13Then there was that episode that scared every kid out of their wits, where Miss Finster comes up with a punishment akin to solitary confinement.
05:21TJ totally loses it after he's sent in.
05:24It's horrible seeing what he becomes afterward – completely indoctrinated and petrified of the box, but it's even worse when you remember it was inspired by real life scenarios.
05:54Number 5. Miss Grotke Knows What's Up
05:57Miss Grotke was always our favorite teacher, mostly because she's such a stark contrast to Finster, and it was always obvious she cared about her students.
06:09Watching the series back, though, we find out just how progressive she is.
06:14Representing the counterculture of the 60s hippie movement, Miss Grotke is as liberal as they come.
06:26On one occasion, she can be heard teaching off-the-record history and highlighting a version of events we know is closer to the truth than what's been recorded in American textbooks.
06:36And so the noble Native Americans share their bountiful foodstuffs with the undeserving European savages.
06:42Elsewhere, she's seen teaching about global warming, a reminder that this series aired from the late 90s to the early 2000s, a time when these topics weren't nearly as talked about as they are today.
06:53Now remember, class, please take this new history book with a grain of salt, since it focuses primarily on the history of white Western males.
06:59Number 4. Cold War Motifs
07:02I say we tell Finster he's a communist!
07:04If you're a history buff, you'll see Cold War motifs absolutely permeate this show.
07:14In some episodes, government officials actually make an appearance, and they don't come to just talk, either.
07:20The themes are perhaps most apparent in the episode where the 3rd Street Gang suspects Grotke of being an anti-American spy,
07:27or maybe in the one where TJ pretends to be a Soviet spy in order to get two military personnel to reconcile.
07:34With Recess having been released a few years after the fall of the Soviet Union, it's clear the conflict was still greatly present in the global consciousness,
07:42giving us tons of tongue-in-cheek quips and cementing the show as an insightful reflection of its time.
07:55Number 3. All the References
07:57Jefferson always thought that was a statue of the Headless Horseman from Irving's Immortal Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
08:02If you first watched Recess as a kid, we're willing to bet you didn't realize just how many references are sprinkled throughout.
08:09From throwaway lines to entire episodes dedicated to a particular piece of media, the references feel endless.
08:16In one episode, TJ and Vince take on the personas of their in-universe version of the Hardy Boys.
08:22In another, Gus rules like King Solomon.
08:30The episode A Genius Among Us is an homage to Good Will Hunting.
08:34Meanwhile, School World is an homage to 2001 A Space Odyssey.
08:44Even in the Halloween episode, Terrifying Tales of Recess parodies three classic spooky stories.
08:50We'd be here forever if we tried to list them all, but it's a lot of fun to re-watch the series with a broader knowledge of pop culture staples.
08:58Number 2. The Schoolyard Hierarchy
09:05Probably one of the first major gags you notice watching the show is the whole hierarchical system among the kids.
09:19It's a reflection of human society, especially through history as they're ruled by a monarch, King Bob.
09:25There's also a small nod to ancient Rome in the intro, as we see a child awaiting judgment and King Bob ultimately giving a thumbs down.
09:33There's a set of laws everyone on the playground follows, as well as social norms.
09:37There are also roles some of the kids have adopted, like the Diggers or the Hustler Kid who's always trying to sell something.
09:43It's essentially the dynamic that drives the show, creating many of the conflicts and overall story of the gang trying to survive out there in the fourth grade.
09:52Some Dumb Kid? Who does he think he is calling TJ Some Dumb Kid?
09:56Now Spinelli, you promised!
09:58You sit there on your sixth grade butt, ruling over the playground like some sort of big shot.
10:03Well, let me tell you something, Mr. Playground King, you're nothing but some dumb kid.
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10:29Recess as a practice is a break from something, like classes, or prison if we're going off the intro.
10:35Those who worked on the cartoon seem to have crafted narratives with exactly this symbol of liberty in mind, and that's not a stretch either.
10:43Sure, Gus, but a trip to the boys' room can't buy back what they took from me.
10:46What'd they take?
10:47They took my word. They made it into something ugly and unclean. Well, two can play that game.
10:52Many of the storylines focus on the gang grappling with individuality and freedom in the social order of the playground, or even that of school administration.
11:01Like in the episode where TJ inspires a sit-in to save the school's jungle gym.
11:05All these kids unified against the forces of oppression.
11:09It's so beautiful.
11:10Yeah, yeah, real beautiful. But what's the man up to now? That's what I want to know.
11:15While in the show, Recess only sends the kids from one system into another, there's something amazing about seeing the kids try their best to navigate their society, just like we're all doing in the adult world.
11:26Yeah, and if you think about it, we're all just some dumb kid to somebody in this crazy mixed-up universe.
11:32Are you more of a TJ, Spinelli, Vince, Gretchen, Mikey, or Gus? Let us know in the comments.
11:39So next time you go around calling a guy some dumb kid, just remember this, you're one too.
11:46And let's face it, Bob, if us dumb kids don't stand up for each other, who will?
11:51Do you agree with our picks? Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo.
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