Recess (TV series)

The main characters of the series. From left to right: Vince, "Spinelli", Mikey, T.J., Gretchen, and Gus.

• Theodore Jasper "T.J." Detweiler (voiced by Ross Malinger, Seasons 1–2; Andrew Lawrence, Seasons 2–6): T.J. is the main protagonist of the series. He is the leader of his five best friends, and usually spends time planning pranks against the teachers. He is rarely seen without his red baseball hat, which he always wears backwards. His catchphrase is "Whomps", which he uses as a child-friendly substitute swear word for something unpleasant as well as "Tender" whenever something good happens. T.J. has excellent leadership skills, confidence with public speaking, quick wit and ability to talk his way out of any situation, as shown in "Good Ol' T.J.". Despite his precarious acts, T.J. is a hero, as he is concerned about the well-being of his fellow peers at his school, and often rallies them and convinces them to work together to stand up for their rights. His only sibling is an older sister (around 17 or 18) named Becky, who was seen in Recess: School's Out (voiced by Melissa Joan Hart) and Recess: Taking the Fifth Grade (voiced by Tara Strong).
• Vincent "Vince" Pierre LaSalle (voiced by Rickey D'Shon Collins): Vince is the most physically fit student at Third Street School. Along with his superior athletic ability comes a bit off as a "Jock", but in the end he always knows to make the best choice to help others. His athletic/competitive skills are far superior, so much so that he seems to excel at most, if not all, challenges, such as cooking, golf, and even improvised playground games. He has a rivalry with Erwin Lawson, a fifth grade jock bully. He has an older brother named Chad who he thinks is the coolest boy he knows, even if his peers see him as a geek. His catchphrase is "Whompinbobyulah!" to exclaim surprise. Respected and brave, he is T.J.'s right-hand man.
• Ashley Funicello Spinelli (voiced by Pamela Adlon): Usually going simply by her last name, Spinelli is a wrestling fan and is the tomboy of the group. Although short in stature for her age, she maintains a tough-guy image, is powerful and often tries to use violence to solve her problems. During the gang's misadventures, Spinelli is the one who gets reluctant kids to talk, usually by threatening or intimidating them during interrogation. With her reputation, a lot of Spinelli's problems happen when she is shown to have a weakness, as she prefers to be unflappable and strong-willed. While she doesn't dislike her first name since she was named after her great aunt, the first woman to win the Iditarod Sled Race, she kept it hidden because she doesn't want to be associated with "the Ashleys", the school's clique of snobby girls. She has a talent for art, though she claims she "only does it to blow off steam". Her fiery and fearless personality has gotten on the good side of Miss Finster multiple times as well as her bad side. It is revealed on Parent-Teacher Night, by Spinelli's mother, that Spinelli has a crush on T.J.
• Gretchen Priscilla Grundler (voiced by Ashley Johnson): Gretchen is an academically gifted and an extremely intelligent student. A child prodigy, she has shown the ability for academic feats that other students in her grade find difficult. She is still a young kid at heart and her imagination sometimes gets the best of her, as she is quite naive despite her high IQ. She is assisted by an interactive, calculator-sized, hand-held machine called a Galileo (voiced by Eric Idle), which she is very protective of. Though her friends don't share her passion for science, Gretchen considers the gang much more important than finding intellectual colleagues. She also has a unique talent with yo-yo's.
• Michael "Mikey" Blumberg (voiced by Jason Davis; singing voiced by Robert Goulet): Mikey is an overweight, kind-hearted, and philosophical 9-year-old. He is good at playing goalie in soccer due to his towering height and body power. He writes poetry, performs ballet, and believes in notions of peace that are often dismissed by the others. Though Mikey is known for being a "sweet-souled giant", he is also an incredibly talented singer, possessing a baritone opera voice that stands in stark contrast to his normal speaking voice.
• Gustav Patton "Gus" Griswald (voiced by Courtland Mead): Gus is a new student in Third Street Elementary. He was absent in the first episode but was introduced in the following episode as "The New Kid". Gus is usually oblivious to the rules of the playground and its traditions. Gus comes from a military family, and therefore had to move around frequently (he has attended 12 schools in six years before he began attending Third Street). Although he is a shy, meek boy, he has great leadership abilities when in the face of danger which are equal to T.J.'s. He is exceptionally skilled in dodgeball, once feared at another school as "El Diablo", however when he made a boy cry, he stopped playing it in shame. In Recess: All Growed Down, it was revealed that Gus had also attended Third Street for a few days as a kindergartener. This was confirmed by Finster apparently bearing a grudge towards him at the end of the film.
• Muriel P. Finster (voiced by April Winchell): Miss Finster is an elderly assistant teacher who monitors the students during lunch, recess, and in the halls. She is an assertive authoritarian feared by the students, and seeks to keep them in line and maintain order, with her teacher's pet Randall Weems reporting to her on any wrongdoing. She was a Navy commodore in the 1950s, frequently reminiscing her time in Guam, and has worked at Third Street since the 1960s. Though she is often at loggerheads with the students, Finster has been shown to genuinely care about their safety. In a few of the series' episodes and in the film Recess: School's Out, she is revealed as having been attractive and popular when she was young but eventually became a strict, grouchy and fussy figure as she grew older. She becomes the gang's fifth grade teacher in the film Recess: Taking the Fifth Grade. In the film Recess: All Growed Down it is revealed that she was the gang's kindergarten teacher and she was pleasant but became hot-tempered and intimidating after seeing her kindergarten students all messy and having fun during recess.
• Principal Peter Prickly (voiced by Dabney Coleman): Principal Prickly is the principal of Third Street School. A former student at the school, he became a teacher out of a desire to help children and has been principal of Third Street since 1968. He is frequently angered by the children's antics, and ultimately seeks to become principal of a middle school. He has a strong rivalry with his older brother Paul, who is also a school principal. While frequently portrayed as a heartless authority figure, Prickly has been shown to have a more friendly, laid-back personality and ultimately tries to protect the student's welfare. He is also a secret fan of Señor Fusion, a comic book hero.
• Randall J. Weems (voiced by Ryan O'Donohue) is a fourth grade student at Third Street. He is well known as the playground snitch, informing Miss Finster of any playground misbehavior. He is disliked on the playground as a result but will ally with his classmates if the situation calls for it.
• Miss Alordayne Grotke (voiced by Allyce Beasley) is the 4th grade teacher of the main cast. She is known for her mild-mannered, yet eccentric personality, basically being that of a hippie, including her vocabulary. She is well loved by her students, especially for her tendency to stick up for their rights and encourages them to express themselves. Her dialogue establishes her as an advocate for the environment and race/gender rights. She also moonlights as a magician.
• Erwin Lawson (voiced by Erik von Detten) is a fifth grader. He is primarily a bully to the younger students and serves as a rival to Vince and T.J. at various sports and games. He is portrayed as unintelligent.
• King Robert "Bob" (voiced by Toran Caudell) is a sixth grader and the "King of the Playground". He enforces the unwritten rules of the playground established by other previous playground kings and acts as the primary authority of playground disputes. He was previously a renowned playground prankster, holding the title of "Prankster Prince" before becoming King. He has bequeathed the title to T.J. He is also incredibly respectful and reminiscent of previous playground kings, which can be seen in episodes such as "Pharaoh Bob" and "The Rules".
• The Ashleys, a group of four girls (Ashley Armbruster, Boulet, Quinlan, and Tomassian) who usually go by Ashley A, B, Q, and T respectively. The girls, while usually acting like the stereotypical popular girl cliché, including being well-off and obsessing with fashion and beauty, often put down others either verbally or through a variety of underhanded schemes, resulting in them being seldom popular with anybody except during their occasional moments of kindness. They are even ostracized by many of their classmates (though they do maintain an air of superiority). They have a mutual despisement with Spinelli, due mainly to her first name being Ashley and her outright refusal to join their group as well as her frequent hostility towards them. Their catchphrase is saying "ooh, scandalous!" as well as constantly using the preposition like in unison. They each have a little brother named Tyler who are collectively known as "The Tylers", and a little sister named Brittany who are collectively known as "The Brittanys". The Ashleys are probably based on the titular characters from the 1988 film Heathers.

• Hustler Kid is the playground's supplier of contraband goods and other hard to get merchandise for the right price. In "Hustler's Apprentice", he is revealed to be part of an association of hustlers from every school and his real name is revealed to be Francis.
• Guru Kid is the source of spiritual advice for the other students. He always sits in a meditative pose with his shirt wrapped around his head like a turban.
• Swinger Girl is, as her name suggests, a girl who is always at the swing set and whose ultimate goal is to swing over the top of the swing set. She dresses like a WWII fighter pilot.
• Upside Down Girl spends her time hanging upside down from the jungle gym.
• Menlo is a student who works as an office aid to the school secretary Miss Lemon and is obsessed with organization. He was once good friends with T.J. before they drifted apart, but T.J. still attends Menlo's birthday parties in honor of that friendship.
• Megan, a girl with brown hair in pigtails, and wears a red jacket (like T.J.) appears as a background character, though occasionally speaks. Not much is known about her, but she is seen hanging with several other background girls.
• The Diggers are a pair of kids who spend their time at recess digging holes in the dirt and are dressed as miners. One is named Dave and the other is named Sam, and despite looking alike they aren't related.
• Kristen Kurst, "Kurst the Worst", is a gluttonous and messy girl bully who often times can be found stealing food from the cafeteria. She once befriended Mikey over their shared love of desserts.
• Cornchip Girl, whose real name is Theresa Laverne LaMaise, is a sweet and polite little girl known for throwing corn chips to mark the arrival of King Bob at events. Her father is in the Navy.
• Butch is a boy who often times pops up to tell the kids about bad experiences. He wears a leather jacket and has a white streak in his hair.
• Singing Kid, real name Brandon, is the school's official singer.

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.

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 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.[8]

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 (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.

Every episode of Recess is available on Disney+ in several countries, including the US and UK, along with most of the direct-to-video films.[13]