Top 10 Times Recess Tackled Serious Issues
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- čas přidán 5. 04. 2023
- For all the hijinks, "Recess" tackled a lot of serious issues. For this list, we’ll be looking at the most notable moments from Disney’s “Recess” that weren’t just a time to play, but also a time to learn valuable lessons. Our countdown includes freedom of expression, discrimination, dealing with death, and more! Which of these has stuck with YOU the most? Speak up in the comments!
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Which of these Recess moments has stuck with YOU the most? Let us know below, and check out our video of the Top 10 Savage Moments on Recess - czcams.com/video/LQQLpgkTly0/video.html
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The episode where Spinelli had to stay at Miss Fenster's house for the weekend because her parents went out of town. The part where Miss Fenster was teaching Spinelli the hula was the funniest! The other kids took one look at Miss Fenster's outfit and swore to never tell anyone what they saw!
@@melissacooper8724 The Villain in the 2002 movie was voiced by James Woods!! a.k.a Hades!!
I liked the episode about censorship, where TJ got in trouble for using a word he made up because someone else decided it was bad. The Superintendent has a really good line at the end of the episode that I think more people need to hear: “Anyone who finds a dirty meaning to this word probably has a dirty mind to begin with.”
Not just the main theme in this episode, but the it was the overreaction of the adults that also stuck with me about this episode. TJ literally tells them "We made up 'whomps' specifically to avoid using bad words when we express ourselves, because you said it was bad" and challenges them on the sincerity of their pearl-clutching. Like, the adults went _out of their way_ to find some reason to label them as problematic, and every time the kids tried to adjust the adults would find some other fault with their behavior. It's just something that always stuck with me about the episode.
I love that this was a show aimed for kids yet they had the playground set up like a society with leaders, rules, different sections, as well as the occasional life lesson or issue. It’s really entertaining and heartwarming. I’m glad Disney decided to something similar today with Bluey where kids just play while learning about the real world, it really makes a difference
My mum always said Recess was the most enjoyable kids show for this reason.
@@ChrisThorne19 Your mom was pretty sharp then, I always felt like Recess is one of the nicer shows Disney had going in for TV that wasn’t for Disney Channel and such.
This was the reason why this show was so great
i love the show but that its so stupid, yeah is just a cartoon but come on, a king in the playground? kids need to obey not only their teacher but a bratty dude, ridiculous
@@verguco6051 "muh realism" coming to a cartoon near you.
Recess and Hey Arnold were neck-and-neck on the entertaining moral lessons; both shows were really great about never talking down to their audience.
Two of my favorite cartoons of all time
My sister loved recess and I loved Hey Arnold
They were both great shows.
Recess, Hey Arnold and Life with Louie were three amazing shows with similar tones.
@@razielbaykin2455 I loved both recess and Hey Arnold. My favorite episode of recess was big brother Chad when Vince's brother stands up for him and his friends. As for Hey Arnold, my favorite episode is cool party when Rhonda labels everyone except Arnold geeks and he's the only one invited to her party.
Weekend at Muriel's is a favorite of mine. Miss Finster is put in charge of babysitting Spinelli and at first it is not as fun as she thought it would be, but after Miss Finster realizes that what's fun for her may not click with Spinelli she decides to loosen up and she bonds with Spinelli. It's a great lesson about not stereotyping people and not being afraid to try something new.
Still my favourite show - have shown my niece's this show and there are 13 yrs between me and my oldest.
(I still sing "I'm a hula hula baby, In the hula navy".)
The most memorable part was when Spinelli's friends see Miss Finster in a grass skirt and coconut bra! TJ says to the others, "We will never speak of this again!" 😆
@@melissacooper8724 You left out "never".
The list was missing the episode where Spinelly was pressured on what she wants to do when she grows up after the school had that career day assembly. Latera that guy who fled the assembly to speak gave her the greatest advice that you don't have to decide on what you wanna do for the rest of your life right away, especially when you're just a kid. That episode was my favorite ❤
@Steven Universe Even Recess: School’s Out shows that lesson about you’re only a kid once, as the others focus on their futures which worries TJ for sure.
There's also the episode where she was forced into the Ashley friend group purely because of her name and it made her miserable. Don't let anyone tell you how to live your life.
The advice he gives Spinelli pairs well with the line I always remember from Daria about "My goal is not to wake up at forty with the bitter realization that I've wasted my life in a job I hate because I was forced to decide on a career in my teens."
Did you also notice in the show how all the main kids had European ancestry? TJ and Mikey were German, Gus was Polish, Gretchen was Irish, Spinelli was Italian and Vince was French.
I thought Vince was from Louisiana.
And that matters because??
@@fantasyfiction101 Diversity, duh! The same with The Weekenders, all except Carver, who had Haitian heritage, were of European parentage.
@@fantasyfiction101 the writers of the show are very smart. By purposefully making these characters identified as European rather than white American it puts a purposeful distance between them and the problematic nature of whiteness and white supremacy.
@@Komicklepto And Tish's family were immigrants. Like, how many cartoons do that omg
I remember an episode where TJ was punished and he had to stand in a tiny circle at recess. It gave off some very solitary confinement vibes. Real deep for a kids show. ❤
The Box.
That episode was truly memorable.
Circles protect against Sea Bears, The Box is for punishment......and so are ovals
@@karatesoccerbaseball I misremembered, but it was still a dark punishment for the show and it was definitely deep af
I miss these days where kids’ shows were not afraid to touch on serious issues that kids needed to learn. Everyone is so offended nowadays by everything and I feel like if kids shows like this were being made, the world would be a better place.
I mean they still do touch on real subjects, just people call them "woke" if they do.
@@rhanetreece2301 yep, that part!
This is actually what Disney should do, because I've been hearing that The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder have been "woke".😒
@@bennymora3086 It HAS been woke!! While it did touch on sensitive subjects like autism (funny episode BTW) it mostly dealt with BLM stuff! Heck, one of the episodes did a musical number denouncing the Founding Fathers
Have you seen Bluey?
I like how nuanced this show was, like how Miss Finster was treated as a necessary evil (a harsh disciplinarian, sure, but kept the kids safe and played no favorites).
Prickly was also great. He was grouchy and always talked about hating kids and waiting for a middle school opportunity. But at the end of the day, he was stressed-out because of a job he was never properly prepared for, he felt pressure from the school board, he often fell victim to the kids' pranks, and he missed his own childhood and Hippie period, but also cared about the kids deep down and didn't tolerate injustices
Finster became my favorite when I grew older. When you think about it, a school full of kids is always a few steps away from chaos. It needs someone there to maintain order so kids can actually learn not just their lessons but also the fact that their actions have consequences and they can't do whatever they want. Some one like her is vital to education.
Except her narcs.
I wouldn't even say she was a "necessary evil", but that she's very much written from a child's viewpoint. She's a mean authority figure who's just there to kill your fun. Kids don't always consider safety or order, so it's easy to not appreciate or even recognize those goals if you're a kid looking at Miss Finster.
Recess was such a good show.
It really was, is 90's and 00's kids were definitely lucky to grow up with it!
@@trinaq👍👍
Totally
It sure is
@chasewolfsaveukraine9601 👍👍👍
This is the thing that I LOVE about this cartoon from the 1990's. This cartoon was not afraid to deal with serious topics like discrimination and death. Cartoons nowadays would not even think about doing that. Also, this cartoon is the reason why I miss my childhood and glad that I was a child during the 90's. Recess, you guys rock and I will continue to watch this amazing cartoon. Have a nice day!
Same. I use to have an obsession with it back in 1st grade. Then we had Phineas and Ferb which is even better.
They actually do, you just either aren't watching modern cartoons or you aren't watching the right ones.
Have...have you actually watched any modern cartoons?
There are a few modern cartoons that do that though. It's just hard to find them because they're overshadowed by the randomness and comedy and action and whatever mainstream bs there is general audiences keep watching
And let me guess ther3 are 2 people on this thread that are one of them
Crazy how Gelman had the same voice as fellow animated school bully Harold from Hey Arnold
Though unlike Harold, who had more moments of him being less of a bully and more of a companion
Gelman was a straight up bully through and through
Such a classic show, I loved that they talked about subjects such as death, discrimination, or apparent slurs. I hope that they never try to reboot or remake it.
Supposedly a reboot is happening
A lot of kid shows back then would talk about serious subjects like this one, Rugrats, Boy Meets World
@@Omar-wq9dzI'd say Boy Meets World wasn't so much a kids show as it was primarily a universal sitcom that taught lessons appropriate for generations young and old.
I agree. I'm not a fan of any of the reboots.
I can think of many more, including--Hunger and Poverty (the episode about the Thanksgiving Can Drive), Gender Stereotypes (Spinelli the Dancer and the Beauty Pageant), and probably my favorite lesson, the importance of making learning fun (Mr. Dude).
The dance episode was one of my favorites. I wish they would have kept that bit going
It was a show about kids, but it never talked down to us. Recess treated their audience like the maturing, growing folks they were- and I adore the show for doing that. It was also hilarious, wasn't afraid to let the cast make mistakes, and even had a diverse group of kids before it was cool. Even the adults who were often villainized were allowed to be human, and School's Out showed a great side to the teachers and faculty that I'll always love.
TJ and Spinelli are still the GOAT.
I felt so bad for Gus because he got beaten up by the bully. And Vince is another one with peer pressure.
Speedy was also a kid-friendly representation of the tomb of the unknown soldier. Ex-fourth-grade students take time to recognise what Speedy did for them, even when they don't know the current hamster; this mirrors how people recognise the contribution of soldiers/naval personnel/ air force members by honouring the war dead, and the unknown soldiers who were entombed in nameless graves across the world.
What bugged me about "The Ratings Game" is that the Ashley's pretty much got away with causing all of the trouble.
Honestly they would get away with causing trouble most of the time (which irritated me), or am I wrong? I haven’t seen the show in years.
@A Suicune On The OBX even Spinelli hated being an Ashley lol.
And yet, it's pretty true to life.
I hated them most when they jinxed Gus. And in the end, they shrug it off like nothing until they got their well-deserved karma.
Recess was a staple of my childhood, and I was religious in watching it every Saturday morning in the ABC lineup.
And what's funny is I've gone back and watched it as a parent myself and it ages so well for both adults and kids. I legitimately get misty when I watch it now.
Not to mention it has outstanding music!
Genuinely good shows stand the test of time.
TJ's advice is so perfect in Gus and Misdemeanors. "Yeah, but what's worse, Gus? Getting in trouble or knowing he did wrong for the rest of his life?" Even if you get away with a bad deed, you still have to live with it and that's worse than whatever punishment you receive.
Words could never be more truely spoken.
My best show to watch during weekdays with an unsurprising amount of great lessons thrown into the mix. Recess is GOLD!
Recess was one of my favorite shows growing up and it still is. I'm glad that I'm able to share it with my nieces and nephews.
Disney Channel should air reruns of Recess on Saturday mornings. Why you ask? The answer is pretty self-explanatory. It teaches kids the harsh truths of life and isn't afraid to talk about serious issues. Something missing from most cartoons except for Bluey.
Is it on Disney +?
@@sweets_Cat88 yes it is
With all of the shows & films Disney has rebooted or made live action I'm surprised they haven't done so with Recess.
and let's hope it stays that way.
They would try to botch it like they’ve been doing with every reboot.
Side note I saw the board of investors leak for Disney it wasn’t pretty.
Let’s just say Iger got exposed.
I’d be alright with them just re airing it along with other shows no alteration needed.
The thing is, the playground in Recess was very intentionally a microcosm of the real world, and you a reboot would require you keep that core trait. There's a lot of.....really rough subjects out there right now though. Like if they rebooted it these days, they'd HAVE to do an episode on school shootings, and that would be rough AF to both make and watch.
It's not to say I don't think it would be good to have a show featuring those conversations, just that I'm not sure I trust them to do it right (like OG Recess would have) in today's overly "kids can't see anything sensitive, they're too delicate" landscape.
It was amusing because, like Gus, I went to a lot of different elementary schools. Five in fact. By middle school however, the town I was in EXPLODED in growth and we were getting new kids every single day. One day, we got a new kid, and 15 minutes later, they had lost that title, and was replaced by a new new kid. Rather than have “new kid,” and “new new kid” titles, we gave the new student the title of “old new kid,” but that only lasted a day.
Fill a balloon with shaving cream and give'm the business
@@dsxa918 actually, having been there, I was of the belief that these kids were desperate for a friend, any friend (since back then, moving meant never seeing your old friends again) so I would try to become their new friend. It usually worked for a week until they would get cliquey, and only be friends with other “new kids.” In their defense, they all tended to live in the same neighborhood anyway, so they probably spent more time together than the short time at school I had.
You made the transition a lot easier for them. You did good
This was one of my favorite shows growing up. I learned a lot about a variety of things when I watched Recess
Recess had a heavy rotation on Toon Disney in the 2000s.
I loved this show so much as a kid and still remember it fondly, I really hope the news that it’s being revived is true!
I didn't knew that one of my favorite childhood show could tackle serious issues, but , thanks to this video, now i know it. So, thank you Ms Mojo, and a happy thursday to you as well (and to anyone who's watching) God bless you and i hope to see you soon for more, take care, and greetings from Colombia to you as well.
I loved the freedom of expression ❤
An episode that always stuck with me was the one where Randall finds the joke book and starts picking on Mikeys weight in front of everyone. I loved how the gang and cornchip girl help deal with situation and stand up for their friend Mikey. That episode was great with a good meaning and its always been one of my favourites. Love this show
Muriel: a mean teacher
Elsewhere
Muriel: sweet old lady
Muriel's line "Is it true, Muriel? Have you become boring?" was a tear jerker even as a child
I love how seamless the lessons are. They don't hammer it in its natural and the kids feel like real kids!
This show is a classic.
This show is so underrated!
Of course it is, it hasn't been on in years lol, Back in the day it was very popular, it wasn't underrated at all.
One thing i looked for in the show when watching with my sister and little brother.
whether this show or clifford the big red dog. I would always asked my siblings, what morals did the show tell you? Over time they got it.
Cliffrod taught me that if you have a 50 foot dog no one will fuck with ya
Old cartoons have many lessons to learn.
Got to kind of give a shoutout to the time it was revealed TJ had been at one point BFF’s with one of the kids who was always sucking up to and reporting him to the teachers. But it wasn’t just a case of a falling out, it was two childhood friends who just drifted apart as they got older. And said more about what TJ was like to all his friends past and present.
Not quite a serious issue but thought it was handled well and lessons could be learnt from it.
Fun Fact: The New Kid was the pilot episode.
If you saw the hypnotist episode, it tackled issues some adults have. Compared to being a kid, being an adult is often much more difficult which is why Principal Prickly didn’t want to be unhypnotized.
Man!
I forgot how many awesome lessons this show had in it!
Recess was one of my favorite cartoons. I loved how it tackled many issues, like No Recess.
I love Recess, but never realised it was so deep 😅
Standing up for yourself.
A true classic ❤
I love this show so much. Best Disney Animated Series ever.
I love this show.
Thank you for explaining the background to these episodes. The "big six" represents each and everyone of us. The vicious Ashley's in their plastic pumps and their well-decorated lounge are a great representation of the "uppity class" whose intake of oxygen is different from the man in the street. The creators of "Recess" did a swell job. This is a classic show for every generation. I enjoy every episode.
I love this show 💙
I really love this show, 90's cartoons all the way!
Anyone who’s ever been transferred to another elementary school defiantly understands the “new kid” episode because that episode is 100% accurate. Good Times. 😂
Recess was such an awesome show growing up
Top 10 Times The Powerpuff Girls(1998) Tackled Serious Issues
Top 10 Most Savage The Powerpuff Girls(1998) Moments
5:00 "Who would've thought little Belgium winning over big Germany!"
"Winning? Ha! They got the stuffing kicked out of them!"
My favorite Disney shows are Recess, The Owl House, The Proud Family, Amphibia, American Dragon Jake Long, Phineas & Ferb, The Ghost & Molly McGee, Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur, Lilo & Stitch and Gravity Falls.
Mine are Recess, TGAMM, Phineas and Ferb, Kick Buttowski, Dave the Barbarian, Gravity Falls, and Kim Possible. On an unrelated note, I also remember seeing a Kim Possible colouring book in a dollar store back in 2012.
Both of your lists are surprisingly short of Wander Over Yonder. But that's all right. Wander still loves you and wants you to be happy.
I loved this as a kid, it taught me to be kind to others, reminds me of My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic
Yeah, before it went downhill halfway through the series 😤
Man, I remember watching this show a lot as a kid. It's amazing to realise how many lessons it likely taught me.
This show also taught me not to pretend something I'm not and stand up for myself because when I was in grade school I made sure nobody in school ever disrespected or mistreat me in any other way and I made sure of it
They weren't afraid to point out anything in this show & that's what made it so relatable
Man I wish they made shows like this where we talk about issues that kids were, and still are, going through. But they weren’t labeled as “controversial topics” because some prejudice people aren’t comfortable talking about them. While in reality they don’t want to have their hateful ignorance getting thrown in their faces
This was the best way of showing diversity and other morals and lessons, they don't know how to do this today because all they do is rant saying who is wrong, who's to blame, and to hate them.
The importance of friendship
Let me just say that Recess handled the shoplifting episode WAY better than Arthur did that's for sure lol
The part with speedy is so good because the teacher is so straight forward about it when they figure it out
TJ's speech is still the best moment that Recess ever had and it's a lesson we all need to learn from.
You're gonna need to be more specific. TJ gave a lot of speeches in his time, lol.
I love life lessons from Recess.
The Ratings Game is definitely an episode that stuck out to me even as a kid. The numbers were like labels that everyone immediately accepted, even if it meant tearing apart the deepest bonds. Not just the main six cast members either, we see the Diggers hugging each other before parting ways because they were one number apart, and other friends separate too. Gus even goes into a depression because he got the only 0, meaning as far as the Ashleys are concerned, the world wouldn't change at all if he never existed. Thankfully as always, TJ stepped in to challenge that system, even if it meant his own reputation was damaged.
I loved recess as a kid
My favorite moment is probably the one when rusty is being torn down. It’s just cool how the parents help
I remember watching this show and I miss watching the show.
I remember watching this with my dad and looking back I would be surprised if when reached the year someone is elected king of play ground TJ is the one chosen (and I would put it past him to give his team positions of leadership to help him out).
Every episodes was so well made that a single 10 minute felt like a 30 minute show.
Recess was overall an amazing show. Cartoon whymsy combined, with relatable experiences and settings, good messages, lots of good humor, great characters, holy cow it was amazing.
The episode Big Brother Chad was clearly a thinly veiled "coming out episode". From Vince's shock at finding out that his brother is a "geek", to his denial of Chad's geekiness, to Chad telling Vince that he "always knew" he was a geek, the whole episode is just chock full of tropes that follow those seen in coming out episodes of prime time shows of the era.
This show always made me happy.
core memory unlocked x3 i loved this series growing up
Another good episode I’m surprised didn’t make this list is the one where Gus loses his glasses and becomes popular so he stops wearing them. Then when he walks his kindergarten friend Hector home he walks into the street and almost gets hit by a car. He almost died to become popular which was a good lesson not to compromise your well being for social status.
I loved the one were they fix the bus for thier bus diver after seeing how much she loves her bus
Here are my 4 favorite morals and life lessons in Recess:
- "Prickly is Leaving"
When Principal Prickly gets a better job offer, everybody celebrates that he's leaving. Then when they see his substitute, they all want Prickly back. "You never realize the value of what you have until you lose it" + Miss Finster teaches us here that if you truly care about someone, you should think about his own good and not yours.
- "Economics of Recess"
TJ becomes rich by owning all those monster stickers. Even though he's the most ethical and deep guy in the show, he loses control and becomes a man hungry for power and riches, and prioritizes money and power over people and most importantly his friends. It's a good thing he becomes "poor" again. Something similar happens to Gus when he learns hustling from the hustler kid in "Hustler Gus".
- "King Gus"
Gus has always been the weak scaredy cat.. so peaceful and so moral.. But when he substitutes King Bob on the throne, he becomes a dictator and almost wants kids to worship him, even his friends. This proves that gaining power can change your morals, or maybe reveals your true colors.
- "Nobody doesn't like TJ"
It turns out that one guy in the whole school doesn't like TJ, which drives TJ crazy. He couldn't believe it and tries so desperately to please that guy, but all for nothing. This teaches us that no matter how nice and lovely you are, there is always someone who doesn't like you. It's okay if some people don't like you. You're not supposed to please anybody or prove your worth to people who cannot see it.
I was not expecting my heart to melt all over the floor at this recap. ❤️I forgot how wonderful this show is.
That masterpiece episode at the start, was the one episode that i always remember.
That, and the episodes where every kid in the school goes crazy for collecting stickers, and TJ, basically makes his way from the bottom of the pecking order to the top dog sticker king of the playground, only to suddenly lose it all, when the other kids start collecting different stickers! Totally reminded me of Pokemon cards on the playground when i was a kid!
I loved this show growing up! I'll be showing my son now 😊
How about that time TJ was sent into a "forced isolation" Square? Or that time when there was a Pokémon Fever's parody?
@A Suicune On The OBX yeah, one of the worst human experiments in history
Ah Recess! A show that wasn’t afraid to tackle serious subjects and actual life lessons to children. Back in the day where there were no agendas, no identity politics, no lessons on sex and genitalia to underage groups, no Mary Sues, no guilt tripping white people for being white, just kids being kids with a satirical nature on politics and social economics. This is why Recess still holds up.
(And I know someone’s gonna say it, yes Miss Grotke consistently acted like an SJW in the show but her mannerism wasn’t the focus and they were mostly throwaway jokes to display her hippy style nature).
There should be more kids shows that tackle issues like the way bluey does. It's wholesome and it makes sure kids get the idea at the same time
I loved this show
The way Lane Toran voices King Bob at 3:36 is so satisfying.
Finally a recess video(finally phoebe is back)
finally they done it before
it did show many different issues and serious thing it taught me a lot as a kid
Classic Disney show! Love this series!
Spenneli was Tuff but had a heart just like miss Finster . Honorable mention all the Zombie Finsters.
I'll add it as a separate thing but WoW Mikey's voice. UwU.
Please do top 10 times My Little Pony Friendship is Magic Equestria &Girls tackled serious.
You can have to do it sometime
One of my favorite shows hands down.
Love it ❤
Recess was sooo good and even as an adult I don't mind seeing the episodes again.
02:30 social crediting is wrong
The recess is my childhood favorite underrated series on old Disney afternoon days and top subject issues on life issues is awesome to learn on subject matter of life on this show 😊
They did technically somewhat cover the risk of being over worked and mental burnout by having the school board (or whoever it was) remove Recess from the school day and make the kids have back to back lessons and extra tests all day. And the kids after a while are mentally drained, exhausted, speaking in fragmented sentences, the smart one can’t answer any questions she’s given and no longer acting like themselves. Even if technically it was adults doing it to the kids and not themselves.
Even their teachers were beginning to crack from not being able to leave the classroom.
Yeah the episode was a precursor to the premise of the movie.
I'm surprised that the parents didn't get upset or protest because of what was happening to their kids! I mean wouldn't the parents have noticed their kids strange behavior at home?
This was one of my favorite Saturday morning shows on Disney’s One Saturday Morning.