Recess: School's Out/Heartwarming

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


  • The ending.
  • This troper for some reason finds the whole scene where the main six are in the treehouse singing "John Jacob Jinglehimer Shmidt" pretty sweet, especially Gretchen and Gus wrapping their arms around each other happily.
  • Principal Prickly's speech which manages to convince TJ not to give up saving summer vacation, while revealing the fact that Prickly himself was once a carefree kid just like TJ.

Prickly: "I'll let you in on a little secret, Detweiller. Every adult you've ever known was a kid at sometime in his life. You think we don't remember summer vacation? Riding our bikes down the creek. Catching polliwogs in a jar. Camping out under the stars. Well you're wrong! Sometimes I sit there in my office, looking out at you kids in the playground and I think, "They don't know how good they got it. In a few years, they'll be grownups like me and all those good times will be memories for them, too". So go ahead. Put a whoopie-cushion in my chair. Put fake vomit on my carpet. Make fun of my "big, saggy butt". But don't ever say I don't care about summer vacation, 'cause those memories are the last part of childhood I got left."

    • Doubles as a Tear Jerker.
    • REALLY hit this troper, who used to watch this all the time as a kid and is now grown up herself (wanting to be a teacher of all things). Just really made her realize how old she's getting.
  • Most of the teachers' reactions to the kids leaving are pretty indifferent. Miss Grotke on the other hand, is crying. D'aww.
  • TJ's friends call his older sister, Becky, to get help, but she's still mad at TJ from an earlier event and yells "Give me one good reason why I should help!" Mikey simply responds with this: "Because he's your little brother, and he needs you." There's a pause, followed by Becky saying that she'll be right over.