"The Box" is the seventeenth episode of the first season of Recess, which was first broadcast on November 8th, 1997.
Plot[]
Summary[]
T.J. is sent to Finster's invention, the Box, and the results are unsettling.
Main Story[]
T.J. steals ice cream from the freezer by unplugging it but Muriel finds out that was him because he left his shoes, so he is sent to the wall, but it does not have much effect, so Miss Finster decides to invent the Box, a seemingly ridiculous idea which is just four lines painted on the ground. It is only when T.J. is sent to the box that the power of the punishment is known. Miss Finster bans anyone to coming near the box and due to isolation, he develops a psychological fear of it and anything that is shaped like a square.
The fear is so great, that he is forced to do jobs for Miss Finster such as clean erasers and do other things that a "good boy" should do. His friends come up with a scheme to get T.J. back in the box to conquer his fears. This works, and T.J. is turned back to normal, leaving Miss Finster in an emotional breakdown.
Goofs[]
- Lip-syncing/animation error: When T.J. is going through madness and singing "This Old Man" while he is in the box, when he sings, "...on my shoe", his mouth is not moving the first time he sings it.
- Animation/consistency error: When the gang is about to shoot spitballs at Finster, one of Spinelli's eyes appear to be moving at different directions.
- Animation/continuity error: Miss Finster catches T.J. based on his missing shoe. However, for a split-second earlier in the episode, he is shown to still be wearing both.
- Animation/continuity error: During one of T.J.'s imaginations, a close-up of T.J.'s eyes is shown. However, it shows that his eyebrows are thicker than usual. They are back to normal afterwards.
Trivia[]
Regular[]
- Despite the box being used as punishment in this episode, the kids go back to being sent to the wall instead, probably due to not being a good punishment anymore. It does appear in 'League of Randalls", however.
- The scene where T.J. is riding on the tether ball was taken from a piece of promotional artwork for the show.
- Clips of this episode were used in a 2003 Toon Disney advertisement for Recess, included on the DVDs of Recess: Taking the Fifth Grade and Recess: All Growed Down, and a 2001 Disney Channel UK advertisement, which was included on the UK copy of Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Legend Begins.
- This episode was adapted into chapter book form for the book One Saturday Morning: No Wimps Allowed! along with stories based on Pepper Ann, Disney's Doug, Tube Dwellers, Mrs. Munger's Class, and How Things Work in 1999.
- In 2014, this episode was ranked #10 in The Mysterious Mr. Enter's Top 25 Most Disturbing Episodes of Kids' Cartoons.
- In 2020, this episode was ranked #4 in MsMojo's Top 10 Darkest Disney Channel Episodes.
Production Information[]
- In the original recording for the episode, T.J. was singing "How Much is That Doggy in the Window?", but it was changed because they could not get the rights to use the song. It was replaced with "This Old Man".[1]
- "This Old Man" would later be sung by students in different variations during a school field trip in "Operation Field Trip".
Cast[]
- T.J. Detweiler - Ross Malinger
- Vince LaSalle - Rickey D'Shon Collins
- Ashley Spinelli - Pamela Segall-Adlon
- Gretchen Grundler/Kid #2 - Ashley Johnson
- Mikey Blumberg - Jason Davis
- Gus Griswald - Courtland Mead
- Miss Finster - April Winchell
- Randall Weems/Kid #1/Kid #4 - Ryan O'Donohue
- Hank - Jeff Wright
- Kid #3 - Justin Jon Ross
Reference[]
- ↑ Recess Gag Reel: 0:58-1:01
Gallery[]
The Recess Wiki has a collection of images about The Box |