HEY ARNOLD VS RECESS

Recess wins on the kid department. It's a show that is made for the kids and by the kids at heart. There was very little room for empathizing with the adults and until the movie, we never saw Principal Prickly even as a real person. The style of the show is completely different from Hey Arnold.

Hey Arnold is a more realistic show. True, the show isn't THAT realistic, but compared to Recess, the show is definitely a little more subdued. It's a show that is willing to give its adult characters an equal slot in the spotlight. Characters like Ernie, Mr. Nguyen, Oscar & Suzie, etc...would never have been treated seriously on Recess.

Recess was designed like a political satire. Each kid had their own place on the playground and the adults were the ones to beat/defy/ or get past. That's why most of the adults were antagonized. Hey Arnold was just a simple, slice of life show that drove its conflict more naturally. I loved both shows growing up, but I do feel like Recess is the more epic show, simply because it made everything into such a big deal. Things often felt like life or death on that show and that's what made it a little more entertaining to me. However, Arnold was awesome breather show.