Minggu, 22 Desember 2013

Recess: Yes Mikey, Santa Does Shave

This was the first Christmas special for Disney's animated series Recess, which had a spiritual successor with Miracle on Third Street which had a structure like a Disney sequel (the canned three episode genre). I decided with this instead of Miracle on Third Street because 1) the three episodes only one of them is Christmas related and 2) I think this one is more sentimental than Miracle at Third Street because it looked more like a money grabber. So is this special as fun as recess itself, or is it as bad as having a ton of maths homework for the weekend? Let's find out!

Story: The plot mostly revolves around Mikey wanting to prove to TJ and the gang that Santa does exist when he finds out they don't believe in Santa Claus anymore. He goes to lengths to prove it including taking them to a shopping mall when it turns out it's a man in a suit, stopping a parade to talk to him only to find out it's Mayor Fitzhugh pretending to be him for a political sham and even goes to a radio station thinking Santa is there when it's really a radio  DJ imitating him. Mikey gives up until he comes across a man who reminds him the true meaning of Christmas. This intertwines with a subplot of the school doing a school pageant which is being broadcast and Mikey is Santa in it. When he gives up hope on Santa, he decides not to do the show and Randall takes his place, but gets overcome by stage fright just in time for Mikey to come on. Although Mikey's belief can be considered annoying and naive, at least it is heartwarming at the end and it shows it's good for kids to believe in Santa.




Animation: Since it's the same quality as the cartoon, the animation is pretty subpar. The backgrounds aren't detailed, it kind of has a rough feeling, in that the lines aren't that smooth. Same goes to the character designs and animation. Speaking of the designs, they're pretty cliche like the characters themselves, but it's good that they look distinct and recognisable. Another issue I have is it can get quite infrequent by going from rough to a bit cleaner, but them again, it's quite decent for a cartoon and it is Disney.


Characters: Remember when I said? Mikey is the protagonist going to extreme lengths to convince the others there is a Santa, which can make him come across as very annoying! The rest of the group TJ, Gus, Vince, Spinelli and Gretchen are their same selves and try to convince Mikey to pretty much grow up and accept there's no Santa. The man who Santa comes across who may or may not be Santa is likeable, sweet and motivates Mikey to do the right thing and get the true meaning of Christmas. Principal Prickley, Miss Finster & Miss Grotke are their same selves and Randall was just annoying, but it's funny that it came back to bite him in the ass later!




Overall, it's a mixed bag with an pretty good story for kids, cartoon quality animation & some good characters. I'd only really recommend this to fans of the show, like me, or those who like that good feeling when watching Christmas specials. And one shout out is the bit where Robert Goulet as Mikey's singing voice sings White Christmas at the end of the episode! It's really harmless, and I actually enjoyed it a bit more than I thought I was going to when rewatching it!
Story: 7/10

Animation: 5/10
Characters: 7/10
Overall: 6/10

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