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Recess: School's Out
Metascore
43 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 20 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 20
  3. Negative: 3 out of 20
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  1. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Christine Dolen
    75
    If your kid is a fan of Disney's "Recess," one of the hotter properties on ABC's Saturday morning cartoon lineup, the new inspired-by-the-TV-show movie, Recess: School's Out, will be quite a hit.
    All this publication's reviews
  2. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Carrie Rickey
    75
    Refreshingly subversive.
    All this critic's reviews
  3. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Wesley Morris
    75
    It's fun, it's kind of somber and it succeeds in making you think about how you might be squandering middle age.
  4. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Desson Thomson
    70
    The movie's great fun, particularly for kids used to that satirically hard-edged kind of kid show.
  5. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    63
    It's fast-footed and fun. "Rugrats in Paris" had charms for grownups, however, Recess: School's Out seems aimed more directly at grade-schoolers.
  6. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Loren King
    63
    An amusing and entertaining animated feature, and it's harmless enough for the elementary-school set.
  7. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Lou Lumenick
    63
    A reasonably entertaining cartoon feature.
    All this critic's reviews
  8. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Elizabeth Weitzman
    50
    Seems to have been made entirely for people who were kids during the Johnson administration.
  9. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Mike Clark
    50
    The result is passably speedy on the level of other TV retreads that seem miscast on the big screen.
  10. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Lisa Schwarzbaum
    50
    Creator producers Paul Germain and Joe Ansolabehere have come up with some unexceptional children and underdeveloped adults.
  11. Film.com
    Reviewed by: Sean Means
    50
    For 8- to 12-year-olds and the grownups who love them, Recess is a pleasant Saturday-matinee diversion. The fact that it doesn't aim to be anything more is, in its own way, a blessed relief.
  12. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: Paula Nechak
    42
    Pretty silly stuff, designed to appeal more to older kids and adults than the toddler brigade.
  13. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Frank Lovece
    40
    The movie's uninspired animation (including primitive, blocky computer imagery) doesn't help, nor do its astonishingly stereotyped characters.
  14. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marrit Ingman
    40
    The film never gets too far beyond disposable youth fare, best consumed like mouthfuls of sugary cereal.
  15. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Paul Malcolm
    40
    It boasts none of the studio's high-gloss animation. That said, Recess is not without its charms.
  16. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Miles Beller
    40
    Complacent yet competent animation kids will enjoy despite its mundane nature.
  17. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Lisa Alspector
    40
    A cute send-up of preadolescent stereotypes.
  18. Mr. Showbiz
    Reviewed by: Michael Atkinson
    31
    The movie is so slovenly in its animation and graceless in its writing that few viewers over the age of 9 are likely to notice.
  19. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: A.O. Scott
    30
    The unfortunate thing is that children will probably waste their summers indoors watching "Recess" over and over again.
  20. Variety
    Reviewed by: Todd McCarthy
    20
    Animation is dull and characterless, and vocal talent has evidently received blanket direction to, when in doubt, shout.
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