Recess: School's Out! (G, 2001)

Disney's RECESS: SCHOOL'S OUT! begins as T.J. and his five pals engage in some last-minute hijinks before on the last day of school before summer vacation. T.J. is looking forward to a long, lazy summer with his friends, but finds that all of them are being sent off to enrichment summer programs at various camps. When T.J. sees something suspicious at school, he rounds up the gang to investigate. It seems that there is an evil plot to do away with summer vacation for good, so that students throughout the country will have better test scores. T.J. and his friends have to come up with a plan to rescue the school, the principal, and, most important, the summer.

Recess: School's Out! is simply an episode of the popular television series blown up for the big screen. It has higher-quality music (including baby-boomer re-treads like "Born to Be Wild," and "Let the Sun Shine") and more expensive voice talent (James Woods as the bad guy, Robert Goulet for some songs). But the plot, dialogue, and animation are no better than the low standards of Saturday morning television. At best, it's innocuous fun and the show's creators have a gift for remembering details about being a kid.

Judging by the reaction of the kids in the screening I attended, it is a crowd-pleaser, especially when T.J.'s gang uses the ultimate kid weapons -- water balloons, silly string, etc. -- on the bad guys. The movie, like the show, is racially diverse and has girl characters who are smart, strong, and capable. The kids are loyal to each other and show cooperation and teamwork. On the other hand, the movie assumes that all children and teachers hate school and that there is nothing interesting to learn and no value from education. Adults are ineffectual, uninterested, or dim. And T.J. forces his big sister to help him by threatening to put her diary on the Internet.

Studio: Walt Disney Pictures
Director: Chuck Sheetz
Cast: Andrew Lawrence, Ashley Johnson, Rickey D'Shon Collins
Genre: Family and Kids
Run time: 82 minutes
Theatrical release: February 16, 2001
DVD release: August 7, 2001
MPAA Rating: G