Recess

Recess is an American animated television series that was created by Paul Germain and Joe Ansolabehere, and produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. Recess focuses on sixelementary school students and their interaction with other classmates and teachers.

Premise

The series is centered around the interaction between the six main characters of the series. Typical plots involved the group banding together in order to unravel government conspiracies, or attempting to outwit their teacher chaperones. Usually, every episode ends with one of the characters learning an important life lesson. Recess is at Third Street Elementary School, and usually focuses on the time the characters spend playing outdoors during recess. The outdoor environment of Third Street Elementary School is littered with typical playground equipment, and obscure structures (most notably the Ashley Clubhouse and the jungle gym, Ol' Rusty). During this time, the children are governed by a pseudo-monarchy, and required to conduct themselves according to a clichéd set of unwritten laws. The Show ends with the episode Halloween, which was just the third and last part of the TV Movie, Recess: Taking The Fifth Grade.

Characters

Main characters

The Six Main Stars Of Recess (actors above, characters below).

Along with the six main characters, Recess featured a plethora of other characters from various socio-economic and cultural backgrounds.

• Theodore Jasper "T.J." Detweiler

Main article: T. J. Detweiler

T.J. is the ringleader of his five best friends. He usually spends time planning pranks against the teachers at which he is quite talented. His siblings include an older sister named Becky who was seen in Recess: School's Out and was voiced by Melissa Joan Hart. T.J. has good leadership skills, and has a talent for speaking in public. He has been shown to have a crush on Spinelli in some episodes. He was voiced by Ross Malinger from 1997-1998, and Andrew Lawrence from 1998-2001.

• Vincent Pierre "Vince" LaSalle

Vince is the most athletic kid at Third Street School. He is very popular among his peers as he was elected Class President every year up until fourth grade. His older brother Chad was thought to be one of the coolest kids on the playground, until he re-visited Third Street and he was revealed as a nerd. Vince was voiced by Rickey D'Shon Collins.

• Ashley Funicello Spinelli

Spinelli is a tomboy and a wrestling fan. Spinelli hates her first name, "Ashley", because of the other 'Ashley girls'. However, she can't bear to change it because she was named after a family hero, her Great-Aunt Ashley. Both of her parents often embarrass her in front of her friends and in public and once her mother forced her to attend Ballet classes to make a girl of her; thus, she does not tolerate much interaction between her parents and friends. In the episode, "Don't Ask Me", Spinelli demonstrated her usage of Savate, a French Martial Art. Spinelli's mother at one point remarks that Spinelli has a crush on T.J., but still gives hints to the audience that she does; however, it should be noted that this assertion is never confirmed or even referred to again in the show. She has twice in the show personally gotten on the good side of Miss Finster, once when Miss Finster babysat her for the weekend and when she rescued Miss Finster's cat from a tree. In the episode "Operation Field Trip", Spinelli tells the gang about what her big brother saw at the museum they were going to visit.

• Gretchen P. Grundler

Gretchen is an academically talented and extremely intelligent and is known as "Smart Girl" on the playground. She has shown the ability to do many academic things that other students in her grade find complicated. Once one of her school projects was confiscated by the government. She is shown to have an overbite. She is also assisted by a calculator sized hand held machine called a Galileo. She was voiced by Ashley Johnson, and Galileo was voiced by Eric Idle.

• Michael "Mikey" Blumberg

Mikey is a chubby, mild-mannered, and philosophical 10-year old. He is good at playing goalie in soccer due to his height. He writes poetry, performs ballet, and believes in notions of peace that are often dismissed by the others. Mikey's speaking voice was provided byJason Davis and his singing voice was provided by Robert Goulet.

• Gustav Patton "Gus" Griswald

Gus is the newest kid in Third Street Elementary. Gus is usually naive to the rules of the playground and its traditions. Gus comes from a very disciplined military family, which caused his family to move around frequently (he has attended 12 schools in 6 years before he began attending Third Street). He is also a master at dodgeball and has never been beaten. At his old school he was known as "El Diablo" (Spanish for "The Devil"). He gave up being a dodgeball pro however, after an incident at a previous school in which he hit a small boy, causing the boy to be too afraid to ever go near the playground again. He always calls his Dad "Sir". Also, in return, Gus' Dad calls him "Private". He was voiced by Courtland Mead.

Other characters

• Muriel P. Finster

Miss Finster (voiced by April Winchell) is an assistant teacher who is the children's constant nemesis on the playground. archetypal authoritarian teacher personality, Miss Finster has a strong desire for a school in which kids aren't allowed to have fun or act like children. She is feared by all the children, and is always closely followed by her teacher's pet, the equally nefarious Randall C. Weems, who is also largely disliked by the other students. In terms of inter-personal relationships, Miss Finster has been shown to have a crush on the school's janitor, Hank and is friends with Spinelli's parents. Of particular note is that she used to have a much sunnier disposition and throughout the series glimpses of this are seen with occasional references to her experiences in Guam. Despite her old age, Finster is an accomplished boxer and is generally in excellent physical condition.

• Principal Peter Prickly

Principal Prickly (voiced by Dabney Coleman) is the principal of Third Street School and is generally a cold authority figure. However it is shown that he cares about his charges, showing leniency and kindness on occasion. He has an older brother who crops up from time to time, a rival elementary school principle, despite this similarity, Prickly's brother is significantly older and nastier. As a child he also attended Third Street Elementary, during which time he was referred to as "Petey", a name that is sometimes referenced.

• Randall C. Weems

Randall (voiced by Ryan O'Donohue) is the resident snitch of the playground. He is at the beck and call of Miss Finster, who rewards him with various confiscated items and cookies. He pesters T.J. and his pals and seems to enjoy his position on the playground. He is hunched over and almost always seen with a notepad or recording device, waiting to report trouble makers. His job as a playground snitch however has made him greatly disliked by his peers. because of this, the students have gotten wise to Randall's spying tactics, and became able to avoid him, threatening his position as Miss Finster's spy on some occasions. Whilst his parents are both relatively kind, they have also been shown to be spying and snitching on their neighbors.

• Theresa "Cornchip Girl" LaMaise

Cornchip Girl (voiced by Aria Noelle Curzon) is a sweet, loving girl who always thinks of other people and also gives people lots of useful advice. Gus is Cornchip Girl's friend and although Gus's father and Cornchip Girl's father were rivals during their military academy years, they now get along and are good friends.

• Menlo

Menlo (voiced by Blake Ewing) is Ms. Lemon's filing assistant, a very organized boy who wears a shirt and tie to school and spends most of his time inside Principal Prickly's office, rarely going outside to recess. Before the current time line he was a rowdy kid, and T.J.'s best friend. Although Menlo is sometimes an antagonist to the main characters, T.J. still attends Menlo's birthday party every year.

• King Bob

King Bob (voiced by Toran Caudell) is the uni browed current ruler of the Third Street playground and the former prankster prince, whose throne sits atop the jungle gym. He is one of the school's older students (he is in the sixth grade). Bob is regularly depicted with a number '8' hockey jersey, and carries a hockey stick as a scepter.

He rules fairly in the hopes of being remembered when he has left the school, though does occasionally take things too far, such as building a pyramid by forcing the playground to build it, but later has to apologize to those he wronged. He is said to be a 6th grader, though he appears in T.J.'s class in at least one episode.

He was known as the former Prankster Prince, a role that he personally bequeaths to T.J. after the latter pulls a prank on him. He initially grows jealous of the attention T.J. receives after gaining the role, but the two later bury the hatchet. King Bob later is shown to be quite fond of T.J., personally inviting him to a roast with the other Elementary School Kings. He later calls T.J. and the gang "his most loyal subjects."

• Earwin Lawson

Lawson (voiced by Erik Von Detten), as he is always known, is the fifth-grader archenemy of T.J. and his gang. Like T.J., he usually wears a baseball cap, but unlike him, Lawson's visor sticks out in front and he is tall and lanky. He bullies Gus and athletically competes with Vince. When against Vince he always loses but still thinks he is better than him.

• Alordayne Grotke

Miss Grotke (voiced by Allyce Beasley) is the fourth-graders' teacher. She is adored by her pupils because she is possibly the only teacher who stands up for the kids^{[citation needed]}. She performs magic tricks at clubs as a hobby. Miss Grotke loves to meditate and she has anover bite like Gretchen. When she was absent from school for a few days everyone except T.J. forgot her until T.J. presented his independent studies project, a get well card. Her hippie outlook is reflected in her appearance with her long robe-like dress.

• Ms. Lemon

Principal Prickly's old and miserable^{[citation needed]} secretary. She is always seen at her typewriter and co-ordinates Menlo's schedule. Ms. Lemon (voiced by Tress MacNeille) is a multi-divorced woman, thought to be divorced three times, that might be the reason she is so down.

• The Ashleys

The Ashleys are a secretive group of students named Ashley A.(voiced by Anndi McAfee), B.(Francesca Smith), Q.(Rachel Crane), and T.(Ashley Johnson), four gossip girls who are known to shout "Scandalous!" in unison. In the playground, their secret club house on the outside is a pile of tires, with a lavish interior.

They each also have a younger brother all equally named Tyler. Like The Ashleys, the Tylers have catchphrases which they say in unison. The Tylers say "Notorious." The Ashleys also each have a sister in Kindergarten named Britney. The Megans, who are four girls very similar to the Ashleys, were only seen in the episode "Ludicrous".

As an in-joke by Disney, Ashley A. once referred to the creators of the show by expressing her horror at the thought of dating boys named "Paul" or "Joe".

• The Kindergartners

Making up their own unique group among the students, the kindergarteners live as uncivilized and even dangerous little urchins that wearface paint, carry tribal weapons, and harass the older children. Most of them are voiced by Elizabeth Daily, Pamela Segall, and Kath Soucie. Two kindergartners are on good terms with the main characters of the show though.

• Gelman

Gelman is the chubby 5th grade bully of third street school who bullies Gus. He is voiced by Justin Shenkarow.

• Brandon the Singer

Brandon (voiced by Michael Shulman) is the boy in a red sweater and slicked back hair. He is the prized vocal performer in school. He often sings instead of speaking, much to the annoyance of his fellow students.

• Sam and Dave the Diggers

Two boys (voiced by Klee Bragger and Ryan O'Donohoe) who enjoy digging holes. They are close friends with T.J. and his gang.

• Swinger Girl

A girl (voiced by Francesca Smith)who likes to play on the swings every recess. She wears her trademark pilot's outfit.

Her ultimate goal is to swing so high that she loops the swing set bar, but has never yet achieved it. She nearly made it once, but jumped off before she made it because she left for a vacation, causing Spinelli to think that she went into another dimension.

• Phil the Woodchuck Scout

A woodchuck scout, who is known for his trademark Scout like costume. At one point, Mikey and Gus decide to join the troop and Phil puts them through extremely difficult trials to get them to give up wanting to be scouts. When the high scout master demands to know why he denied Mikey and Gus membership to his troop, he admits he likes being the only Woodchuck Scout at Third Street and yields to letting Mikey and Gus join.

• Upside Down Girl

A girl who hangs upside down on the monkey bars every recess. As a result, her pigtails always stand up.

• The Hustler Kid

Francis, the Hustler Kid (voiced by Michael Shulman), is a kid that offers the children of the playground trivial toys and food, often discreetly. Sometimes however, the items he sells are actually a scam. In one episode, Gus begins working for Hustler Kid to earn a replacement glider for the one he broke (taken out of his house without his father's permission). Gus really gets into being a hustler but starts working on his own when he and Hustler Kid disagree on selling fake hall passes (Hustler Kid insists it's against the Hustler code and refuses to sell them but Gus sees them as good merchandise). By the end of the episode, the gang figures out how to get Gus back by creating a demand on the playground for short-string paddle ball toys that he can't fill so he quits hustling for good.

• Hector

Hector (voiced by Elizabeth Daily) is a kindergartner who calls Gus "Safety Man". He was part of a group that the kids mentored. In the episode where Gus refused to wear his glasses (enjoying the new found popularity received from not wearing them), Hector was the only one who could convince Gus to wear them, insisting that he was no longer "Safety Man" without them because he couldn't see, making him careless (he almost walked out in the street in front of a car).

• Butch

Bearer of bad news and keeper of local tales of the school, he tells the kids horror stories from when his brother was in school. He has a white streak in his hair caused from seeing his brother kiss a girl^{[citation needed]}. He was voiced by Kath Soucie.

• Gordy

The only kid who does not like T.J. despite the fact that when they were in detention, T.J. tried his best to force Gordy to like him.

• Knarf

The nerd who usually hangs out in the school basement during recess with his three nerdy friends playing RPG games, reading comic books, and collecting trading cards. He is friends with T.J. whom he refers to by his name backwards as J.T. His true name is Frank. He was voiced by Eddie Deezen.

• Kelso

Kelso is the local shopkeeper of a Corner store.

• Jared

The perfect boy who can beat everyone at everything. At first everyone hates him, but then they start to like him. He appeared for only one episode because the president of the UN requested his help.

• Guru Kid

A boy who offers Buddha-like wisdom to kids who seek his advice. He wears a pair of striped shorts and his shirt on his head as a turban. Spinelli takes his place at recess one day so he can use the bathroom and starts giving advice to the kids of the playground as they ask for it and Guru Kid returns from the bathroom to find the kids like her advice more than his. However, Spinelli's combative attitude reflects in her advice to the kids and leads to an all-out playground brawl. Despite how violent the playground got however, Guru Kid did not step in for quite some time, until at least when a large crowd formed to beat up Spinelli for the advice she gave people to use against them. His real first name is Jimmy.

• Bob and Flo Spinelli

Spinelli's parents (voiced by Katey Sagal and Gregg Berger) who have the marked tendency to embarrass her in public. Also, they are secret agents, a fact unknown to all other characters.

• Tubby

Tubby (voiced by Jason Davis) is a red haired, overweight kindergartner who yet is really fast as shown in the episode titled "The Kindergarten Derby". He is one of Mikey's best friends. Upon seeing Mikey for the first time, another kindergartner asked Tubby if Mikey was his "daddy". Tubby is talented at burping. In the episode titled "The Breakup", when Spinelli became leader of the kindergartners, Tubby once scared T.J. and Randell away screaming "RUN!! RUN!!".

• Captain Sticky

Captain Sticky is the king of the kindergartners and has purple around his lips from eating candy and wears a paper crown. T.J. calls him Captain Sticky "for obvious reasons" (he saw Captain Sticky eat candy, then wipe his hand on himself).

• Conrad Mundy

Mundy is a bad kid. According to Gretchen, he's the second worst kid in the school. He makes frequent visits to the principals office. He was banned from Kelso's for stealing. Mundy's insecure due to having a gap in his teeth. His dream is to do something so rotten that it would make the news. In one episode, he became known as a nice person after he stopped a ball from hitting a few children. Despite his best efforts, he could not regain his bad boy reputation.

• Greg Skeens

Greg Skeens is known around the playground as graffiti kid. He hangs out behind the school with his four friends Lazy Kid, Mundy, Sue Bob Murphy and Kurst the Worst. He was banned from Kelso's for stealing. He is the 3rd worst kid in the school.

• Lazy Kid

Lazy Kid is a kid who hardly gets any sleep. He's the fifth worst kid in school. He was banned from Kelso's for stealing. He also caused trouble on the playground once by falling asleep right in front of the door to the kindergartners, leading them to riot. The gang moves him out of the way, quelling the ensuing riot.

• Kurst the Worst

Kurst the Worst (voiced by Mayim Bialik)is commonly seen as the worst kid in the school. She is commonly found stealing food from the cafeteria. In the episode "Kurst The Not-So-Bad", she befriended Mikey when she discovered he also liked Shaleili Sundaes (a green sundae at a local restaurant that only she and Mikey can stomach), and started to act nicer.

• Sue Bob Murphy

Sue Bob Murphy (voiced by Christine Cavanaugh) is a bad kid who is seen in the principal's office a lot. She is the fourth worst kid in the school^{[citation needed]}. Presumably, she was also banned from Kelso's for stealing.

• Señor Fusion

Señor Fusion or Fusion (voiced by Frank Welker) is a comic-book hero, loved by all the kids and even Principal Prickly. He is a hero with bullfighter's gown and mask.

• Adam Abel

The boy who is always called upon first by the teachers in school because he is first in alphabetical order, in front of Ashley A. He is usually a background character and doesn't speak, although he once commented "Why couldn't I have been born Zedidius Zwick?".