Recess: Taking the Fifth Grade

The first episode begins on the first day of the new school year. This year the Recess gang is in fifth grade. At first, the six are very enthusiastic and optimistic about the new school year because at Third Street School, fifth and sixth graders receive additional privileges and accommodations that are not given to the lower grades. However, they soon discover that all of their expectations would not become reality in the new year. First, Ms. Finster is the gang's the fifth grade teacher, since the apparently kind and popular Mrs. Milkie decided to transfer to another school. The lockers, which were especially spacious and well designed for the fifth and sixth graders, have been removed to make space on the hallway walls for posters promoting learning. All the delicious cafeteria food such as pizza, meatloaf, mashed potatoes, French fries, and fried chicken have been replaced by a low quality and unpalatable standard school meal called nutrition paste. Worst of all, all the play structures including the iconic jungle gym Old Rusty are being dismantled and the entire playground is being paved over to be converted into a barren blacktop lot. The gang, as well as probably most of the other students, are completely devastated by the terrible new changes to the school.

In response to these horribly unpopular and unreasonable changes to the school, T.J. goes to see Principal Prickly, who agrees with T.J. and sympathizes with the students, but admits that he couldn't do anything because all the changes that have made Third Street School a miserable learning institution were the school board's decision. T.J. rebels against the school board's new policies by staying in his room the next day and refusing to go to school any more. The other five members of the gang find out about T.J.'s plan and spread the word to all the other students, compelling the entire Third Street student body to leave school and gather at T.J.'s house. Upon seeing that all the students are missing, Prickly, Finster, and the other teachers find out about T.J.'s rebellion and also go to T.J.'s house. After Prickly unsuccessfully tries to persuade T.J. to give up his plan and come out of his room, the school board finds out about the situation and summons Board of Education chairman Mr. White (who previously appeared only once in the series, in the episode "The Story About Whomps") to deal with the matter.

Mr. White arrives at T.J.'s house in his helicopter and enters the house after informing T.J.'s mother about his intentions. Outside T.J.'s bedroom door, Mr. White tells T.J. that he won't try to force him to come out of his room, but simultaneously warns T.J. that the school board is about to enact more policies that will make life even more miserable at Third Street, and probably the entire district. T.J. then seemingly concedes, allowing Mr. White in his room. Mr. White discovers that has T.J. climbed out his bedroom window and is attempting to get onto the roof. Mr. White intends to land on the roof with his helicopter to pursue T.J., and T.J. almost falls off the roof. Before T.J. can fall off or Mr. White can get into his helicopter, Prickly climbs onto the roof and saves T.J. Prickly then decides to join T.J.'s protest, announcing that he would rather be fired from his job as principal than have to enforce the school board's unreasonable and counterproductive policies.

The board members then come to the realization that none of them like the policies either, but because they were ideas recommended by some unnamed but undoubtedly reputable "experts" on education, the board members were afraid to object to them. They then vote to undo the policies, which makes everyone except Mr. White very happy. Mr. White is furious not only because he is disappointed that the policies (which he apparently still supports) have been rescinded, but also because he is humiliated by having been beaten a second time by T.J. on moral grounds in a policy battle. With the bad policies undone, Third Street school is a pleasant and enjoyable learning environment again, aside from Ms. Finster still being the fifth grade teacher.

In the second episode of the movie, the gang is introduced to the fifth and sixth graders' club, where both grades can interact. At first T.J. and the gang think that they are going to like it (in part because Randall is banned for being a snitch), but they soon start getting sick of it. However, Mikey and Gus still like to hang out with the other fifth graders. T.J., Spinelli, Gretchen, and Vince start getting tired of the jokes everyone makes about the younger students. In response, they get King Bob (the former King) to get them into the fifth and sixth graders' club before everyone else arrives. But T.J. and the gang bring two first graders, Tubby and Hector, who were Mikey and Gus' respective friends. King Freddie II bans them from the Fifth and Sixth graders club, but they are glad that everything is back to normal.

In the third and final episode of the movie, Spinelli and her parents go to a pumpkin patch where Spinelli picks an ugly pumpkin for Halloween. Lawson and his gang are also at the patch, telling Spinelli that she is too old for Halloween and that they are only there to throw the pumpkins, not make them into lanterns. She too believes that she is too old for Halloween, and consequently asks her parents to leave. However, her parents tell her that they have to get a picture of her sitting on a giant pumpkin like they have done since she was a baby. Guilted into it by the baby pictures, Spinelli sits on the pumpkin, but it gives way and bursts under her weight. Seeing this, Lawson begins to laugh at Spinelli.

Back at school, T.J. and the gang are talking about Halloween, Gus stuck on what he is going to wear. Spinelli comes in and says that she is too old for Halloween, eating her lunch and going away. The gang remembers all the good times they had with her on Halloween.

Halloween finally comes and Spinelli's parents are going out while she is staying home. While she is watching a movie, the Diggers knock on the door, see her expression, and tell her that they will tell the other tweens to skip her house because she is not in the Halloween spirit. They shortly tell her about the experience they had with the Gordons. Spinelli explains to them that the Gordons are from Massachusetts. However, she tells them not to warn the other tweens so that she can pretend she is scared. When the next lot of tweens come and she pretends to be scared, the tweens are not meant to be scary. In return, she scares them by wearing a scary mask and screaming "Take candy and go to the next house". She then closes the door smiling. When the next group of tweens comes, she gives them tips for being dinosaurs by putting ketchup over their suits and telling them to roar from the stomach. The next trick-or-treater is a werewolf who howls and actually scares Spinelli. However, the werewolf takes off its mask and it is actually Miss Finster. She comes in looking for Spinelli's parents, giving her advice about Halloween and that some people, like her, never get too old for it. She then gives Spinelli her phone number in case her parents come home early, and then goes out trick-or-treating.

Meanwhile, T.J. and the gang are out trick-or-treating, Gus wearing toilet paper as a costume. Their worries over Spinelli have ruined the magic of Halloween, along with the discoveries that someone is giving out sugar-free sweets, a building they thought was a haunted jail is really a closed down DMV, a zombie is really a robot, and gravestones are really just wood. They go home disappointed until Spinelli finds them and brings them to a home which they used to believe vampires inhabited. She persuades them to go in and the door locks behind them. Spinelli then goes into a door and screams while various monsters advance on T.J. and gang. One of them is the werewolf, who is once again Miss Finster in disguise and the other monsters are all the other teachers. They give the gang a heap of candy and the gang's Halloween spirit is restored, while outside Lawson and his gang are scared off by Miss Finster's wolf howl.

The film cuts to the next day of school where T.J. and the gang play a calm game of kicking the ball to each other during recess until the bell rings. As T.J. and his friends, along with Miss Finster and the other children, go inside the school to their classes, T.J. narrates that even though things change as they grow up, sticking to what they believe and staying true to themselves will make everything okay. And as Miss Finster is about to close the doors, T.J. says he's got a feeling that it'll be the best school year yet, waving to the audience and saying he really means it. Miss Finster sighs and gently shuts the doors in a reference to the Recess intro, ending the film and the series.