Recess: Taking the Fifth Grade
Wow ... fifth grade! But what good is practically being a grown-up when the teacher's a big sourpuss?
2003 | 62m | English
Popularity: 2 (history)
| Director: | Howy Parkins |
|---|---|
| Writer: | Bart Jennett, Elijah Aron |
| Staring: |
| Everyone's favorite fourth graders have graduated! It's an all-new school year for the kids — and the gang hits the fifth grade running! But they're stopped in their tracks when they discover some unwelcome changes — no pizza, no playground... no lockers! And to make things worse, their teacher turns out to be the cantankerous Miss Finster! It's all too much for T.J., who is determined to find a way to stand up for what the gang believes in and improve the school they love! The fifth grade brings out the best in everyone... even Miss Finster and Principal Prickly! | |
| Release Date: | Dec 09, 2003 |
|---|---|
| Director: | Howy Parkins |
| Writer: | Bart Jennett, Elijah Aron |
| Genres: | Animation, Family, Comedy |
| Keywords | |
| Production Companies | Disney Television Animation, Paul & Joe Productions |
| Box Office |
Revenue: $0
Budget: $0 |
| Updates |
Updated: Aug 10, 2025 (Update) Entered: Apr 13, 2024 |
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| Rickey D'Shon Collins | Vince (voice) |
| Jason Davis | Mikey Blumberg (voice) |
| Myles Jeffrey | T.J. Detweiler (voice) |
| Ashley Johnson | Gretchen (voice) |
| Courtland Mead | Gus (voice) |
| Pamela Adlon | Spinelli (voice) |
| Allyce Beasley | Miss Grotke (voice) |
| April Winchell | Miss Finster / Mrs. Detweiler (voice) |
| Dabney Coleman | Principal Prickly (voice) |
| Gregg Berger | BoE Agent #4 (voice) |
| Mayim Bialik | Kurst the Worst (voice) |
| Klee Bragger | Digger Sam (voice) |
| Clancy Brown | BoE Agent #1 (voice) |
| Corey Burton | Newscaster (voice) |
| Dan Castellaneta | BoE Agent #2 (voice) |
| Lane Toran | King Bob (voice) |
| Danny Cooksey | Greg Skeens (voice) |
| Rachel Crane | Ashley Q (voice) |
| Aria Noelle Curzon | Cornchip Girl (voice) |
| E. G. Daily | Cap'n Sticky (voice) |
| Blake McIver Ewing | Menlo (voice) |
| Tom Kenny | BoE Agent #3 (voice) |
| Charles Kimbrough | Mort Chalk (voice) |
| Tress MacNeille | Lunchlady Irma / BoE Agent #2 / Intercom Voice (voice) |
| Anndi McAfee | Ashley A (voice) |
| Sam McMurray | Bob Spinelli (voice) |
| Ryan O'Donohue | Digger Dave / Randall Weems (voice) |
| Katey Sagal | Flo Spinelli (voice) |
| Justin Shenkarow | Gelman (voice) |
| Michael Shulman | King Freddy II / Hustler Kid (voice) |
| Francesca Marie Smith | Ashley B / Upside-Down Girl / Swinger Girl (voice) |
| Kath Soucie | Hector (voice) |
| Tara Strong | Becky Detweiller (voice) |
| Robert Vaughn | Mr. White (voice) |
| Erik von Detten | Erwin Lawson (voice) |
| Jonathan David Cook | Additional Voices (voice) |
| Christopher Rodriguez Marquette | Additional Voices (voice) |
| Miles Marsico | Additional Voices (voice) |
| Jonathan Osser | Additional Voices (voice) |
| Patrick Renna | Additional Voices (voice) |
| Aaron Spann | Additional Voices (voice) |
| Warren Sroka | Additional Voices (voice) |
| Frank Welker | Additional Voices (voice) |
| Paul Willson | Mr. Detweiller (voice) |
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| Elliot Anders | Sound Mixer |
| Marilyn Graf | Foley |
| Bart Jennett | Writer |
| José Zelaya | Character Designer |
| Elijah Aron | Writer |
| Howy Parkins | Director |
| Richard L. McCullough | Supervising Editor |
| Denis M. Hannigan | Original Music Composer |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Bart Jennett | Producer |
| Organization | Category | Person |
|---|
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | 11 | 18 | 6 |
| 2024 | 5 | 13 | 19 | 9 |
| 2024 | 6 | 12 | 23 | 6 |
| 2024 | 7 | 14 | 24 | 7 |
| 2024 | 8 | 10 | 16 | 8 |
| 2024 | 9 | 9 | 13 | 5 |
| 2024 | 10 | 9 | 15 | 6 |
| 2024 | 11 | 10 | 28 | 5 |
| 2024 | 12 | 10 | 14 | 7 |
| 2025 | 1 | 10 | 22 | 6 |
| 2025 | 2 | 7 | 11 | 3 |
| 2025 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 1 |
| 2025 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 1 |
| 2025 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
Trending Position
Thankfully better than <em>'Recess: All Growed Down'</em>, but <em>'Recess: Taking the Fifth Grade'</em> is still a bit of a chore to watch. This again features a couple of different stories, though to be fair their integration into the film is much improved if still a bit messy. The cast are as ... they've always been, solid but not exactly memorable. Animation-wise it's decent. This is more on the level of <em>'Recess Christmas: Miracle On Third Street'</em>, yet still miles off <em>'Recess: School’s Out'</em>. I simply don't understand why they didn't create three unique stories for these sequels, as they did for the original production. Compiled stories are, in my opinion, lazy. Not a series of films that I'll be revisiting, but they are ones that have pretty respectable ratings across a few platforms so it seems I'm in the minority. Each to their own, as always!