My Movie Review on Recess: School’s Out · 10:34pm Aug 23rd, 2019
Aloha, my good peoples.
This is your all-out friendly film, TV show, and episode reporter here with another review.
Today, I'll be giving you guys an analysis on a film that I grew up with and absolutely adored: "Recess: School's Out".
Here's the summary of this film:
With Summer finally here, TJ Detweiler, and his friends Vince LaSalle, Ashley Spinelli, Gretchen Grundler, Mikey Blumberg, and Gus Griswald have officially graduated from the 4th grade at 3rd Street School. But just when TJ was really looking forward to Summer Vacation, his friends reveal that they'll be spending the vacation at some summer camps, leaving TJ in the neighborhood alone.
However, TJ suddenly discovers some strange happenings inside the school, and to top it all off, Principal Prickly suddenly vanishes without a trace.
Believing some kind of evil conspiracy is going on in the school, TJ gathers his friends together from camp so that they can investigate what's going on.
Will the kids be able to figure out what the people inside are up to? And even if they do, how will they stop it? And where's Principal Prickly?
I really must say, the film is not just something for the fans of the show this film was based on, it's also something perfect for newcomers to start with. It helps people who are new to the franchise itself to become acquainted with what the series is about, while also introducing new things that weren't incorporated before.
It's rare for a film that's based off a show to be able to do what I stated above, and that's coming from a guy who hasn't seen the "Recess" show itself yet.
Here's why I think so:
In other TV show-based films, new people likely have a hard time getting precisely what the original characters are like and what they often do. In this film, though, the writers were able to provide the old characters with such unique introductions that you can immediately get what they're like and what it is they often did in the school year. They were even able to give each character the right amount of dimensionalism required for a film, and they did an amazing job at doing it.
It was the further exploration on Principal Prickly and his character development that I found myself particularly commending. As the film progresses and he begins to remember why he became principal of the school, as well as what he values the most, I found myself fondly rooting for him every step of the way. Additionally, Dabney Coleman did an awesome job portraying Principal Prickly, giving the character brilliant personality, emotion, and heart, as well as a great sense of humor and comedic-timings. Each of which I'm pretty sure Coleman was able to do in the show.
The new characters that were introduced in the film were likewise nicely done. The creative efforts that the production team made on them were able to showcase a clear reputation of the series, which is that the team often puts a lot of effort into making characters old and new fully realized, with the voice actors incorporating their own creative flair and bringing personality into them.
The best of the new characters, in my opinion, was Phillium Benedict. As the main antagonist, he had a large amount of complexity and life, particularly aided by his backstory and point of view. Likewise, James Woods did a wonderful job portraying the character. He incorporated magnificent personality into Benedict, giving the newly-created character an intimidating and authoritative air of menace, an arrogant and vain side, and a consistently funny sense of humor.
The rest of the cast members and character developments were great too, if I might add.
The direction by Chuck Sheetz, the story by Paul Germain, Joe Ansolabehere, and Jonathan Greenberg, and the screenplay by the latter, were also mind-blowing.
Every step of the way, the quartet was able to maintain what it is that obviously made the TV show so special, which was not just enough to make fans overjoyed, but enough to help newbies easily discover the big picture. The humor that the film had was all-out hilarious and well-thought, and the dramatic and heartfelt moments were extremely soul-tugging. There was even an astounding moral, which is to cherish being a child while you can before thinking about the future and to never forget your time as one.
For a TV show-based film, the animation was additionally impressive. It may not measure up to the level of other hand-drawn animated efforts done by Disney, particularly the films of the Disney Renaissance, but...it's eye-catchingly enough to stand as something of its own. The animators did a marvelous job at maintaining the style and look of the series while upgrading it for a film-going experience.
The music by Denis M. Hannigan was likewise amazing, and that's coming from a guy who recently learned he composed for the show too. Going from show to movie composer, Hannigan gave the music a perfect cinematic-feel. In several moments of the film, such as the beginning, the music even had a nicely done military vibe to it. The film's use of 20th century songs, such as Three Dog Night's "One" and Steppenwolf's "Born to Be Wild", was also really fun.
In conclusion, "Recess: School's Out" is an absolute treat that you can celebrate your Summer Vacation with. It's something everyone can have fun with, and it can even make people who are no longer kids wish that they were children again.
So, I rate "Recess: School's Out" a solid five out of five stars. I'm definitely hoping to see the "Recess" TV series soon, I'll tell you guys that.
I remember seeing this movie. I was actually surprised that I liked it because I didn't have much interest in the show growing up.
I’ve never heard of this before. It sounds pretty good, I’ll probably watch it eventually.
This is not a bad movie, especially the backstories were a nice touch.
This was an enjoyable movie.
Never heard of this show before. But then, I didn't watch cable or channel TV at all when I was a kid. Still don't, actually. My parents decided that it would be better to be able to choose what to watch as opposed to sitting through all the other junk on TV.