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Kojak is the tertiary antagonist of the 2001 Disney animated movie, Recess: School's Out. He is Dr. Phillium Benedict's chief of security and lieutenant of the Anti-Recess Legion.

Personality[]

Kojak is a very threatening character with a muscular build, always sporting an angry look most of the time. He especially seems to hold a strong grudge against T.J. (presumably because of the "ugly bald guy" comment made on T.J.'s tape recorder when he was snooping on them earlier in the film). In fact, during the climactic showdown in the auditorium, upon spotting T.J. after entering the room, he stomps up to him, intent on dealing with him one-on-one, that is, until Ms. Finster steps in to defend him, to which he decides to deal with her first, only to be defeated by her. 

Role in the film[]

Kojak first appears during Dr. Phillium Benedict's infiltration and raid on a military base outpost in the Southwestern United States, where he leads the bodyguard forces, also blowing down the door to the control center of the experimental weather altering laser before the base personnel could erase the access code after triggering the alarm, and then tasers them into unconsciousness. He eventually relocates with Benedict, Fenwick and their henchmen to Third Street School after it was closed for the summer where he presumably acts as the head of security and letting people cleared for entry to their new "base" from a suspicion of the outside authorities by Benedict's per orders. He chases off T.J Detweiler after the latter ends up witnessing one of their tests while fuming about his bad summer vacation so far (due to his friends having gone to different camps). Aside from making sure one of Dr. Benedict's plans don't fail, Kojak is ordered by Dr. Benedict to impersonate Principal Prickly while walking outside of the school while Benedict was holding the real Principal Prickly captive, (presumably in order to ensure that no one got anymore suspicious about Pricky's disappearance) after the latter was captured during an attempt by T.J. to have the school investigated (which also nearly causes T.J.'s friends to believe he lied to them as an excuse to get them back together as a result).

Later, while TJ is investigating the school directly for any evidence (and found Principal Prickly's discarded golf pants in the school dumpster), he also witnesses "Prickly" walking with some of Benedict's forces, with his unwittingly unmasking himself in front of T.J. Later that night, Kojak alongside an agent is ordered to escort and detain Dr. Rosenthal to "detention" after the latter failed to provide results for the weather altering laser for the second time to Benedict. He shortly afterwards witnesses an escape attempt by TJ and his friends from the lab-transformed school auditorium after they accidentally blow their cover, with his proceeding to be headbutted in the groin by Spinelli after the latter refers to him as "alien scum" and tells him to get off the planet Earth (referring to Gus's earlier speculation that Benedict and his forces are actually aliens).

He also arrives and caught T.J. and Principal Prickly again when they located his office and took away T.J.'s (already confiscated) Walkie Talkie, although not before T.J. relayed to his friends what Benedict's true plan was (the elimination of Summer Vacation) after stumbling on a mural on the office door that was presumably painted by Benedict and his henchmen.

Eventually, T.J.'s friends manage to round all students for their to help reclaim the school, thanks to Gus's leadership. Despite this, Kojak later catches Spinelli, Gretchen, Gus, Vince, and Mikey in the halls on the stairs when they and the student body attacked the school to stop Benedict, but T.J. and Prickly dump a vat of corn chowder on him before he can prepare to capture them, as well as the pot can on his head, which results in sending him falling down the stairway and presumably being knocked out. After regaining consciousness and presumably removing the pot can and most of the chowder off his body with still some of it on his head and suit, he storms into the lab-transformed auditorium while Benedict's henchmen and a joint effort combined groups of the faculty staff and students were fighting against. Spotting T.J. in the scene, Kojak furiously attempts to pulverize him in revenge for his earlier humiliation. However, Ms. Finster stops him by defending T.J. and gets into a fistfight challenge with Kojak, only for him to end up easily punched many times and knocked out by Finster with a uppercut punch below his jaws before he can even make the first swing since he underestimates her for it and also let alone land any hits on her. T.J. thanks Finster for saving his life, with Finster stating she was merely doing her job.

It is unknown what happens to him at the end of the movie after he got punched out by Ms. Finster during the final fight. Either he was smothered in the crash after the laser was destroyed, or was sent to jail with his boss.

Trivia[]

  • The name Kojak is a reference to a TV-detective who is also bald. It's not his actual name, but rather a nickname given by Ms. Finster when she fought him in reference to his baldness.
  • While voiced by Clancy Brown for the most part, he was briefly voiced by Dabney Coleman, the voice of Peter Prickly, while TJ was snooping around, owing to him being disguised as Prickly at the time.
  • According to Kojak, he was a "man of many talents", including acting while in disguise (with some of the goons comparing his acting abilities to that of Robert de Niro). However, while he maintained it was easy to fool Prickly's wife, one of his henchmen implied the possibility that she was suspicious of him.

Gallery[]


v - e - d
Recess-logo
Media
Recess (Videography) • Recess: School's Out (Soundtrack) • Recess: All Growed DownRecess: Taking the Fifth GradeRecess: Miracle on Third Street"Lax" (Lilo & Stitch: The Series crossover episode)"Codename: Electric Haircut" (Fillmore! crossover episode)
Characters
T.J. DetweilerVince LaSalleAshley SpinelliMikey BlumbergGretchen GrundlerGus GriswaldCaptain BradleyCornchip GirlThe KindergartnersThe DiggersHustler KidErwin LawsonMiss GrotkeMuriel FinsterBecky DetweilerDr. Phillium BenedictMenloBrockPeter PricklyKojakMiss SalamoneButchAshley ArmbrusterAshley BouletAshley QuinlanAshley TomassianFenwickBrandon the SingerGelmanKing BobChuckoJockoRandall WeemsKing Freddie IICheaySpencerThe MegansThe BrittanysThe TylersBob and Flo Spinelli
Episodes
Season One: "The Break In" / "The New Kid" • "The Experiment" / "The Great Jungle Gym Standoff" • "Jinxed" / "Officer Mikey" • "First Name Ashley" / "To Finster with Love" • "King Gus" / "Big Brother Chad" • "My Fair Gretchen" / "Speedy, We Hardly Knew Ye" • "I Will Kick No More Forever" / "The Kid Came Back" • "The Pest" / "The Legend of Big Kid" • "The Box" / "The Trial" • "Teacher's Lounge" / "Randall's Reform" • "Rainy Days" / "The Great Can Drive" • "The Voice" / "Kids in the Mist" • "Parents' Night" / "Swing on Thru to the Other Side"

Season Two: "The Break-up" / "The Hypnotist" • "Mama's Girl" / "Outcast Ashley" • "The Game" / "The Lost Ball" • "Gus' Last Stand" / "Operation Field Trip" • "The Challenge" / "Wild Child" • "The Substitute" / "Gretchen and the Secret of Yo" • "The Girl Was Trouble" / "Copycat Kid" • "Operation Stuart" / "Pharaoh Bob" • "The Story of Whomps" / "Weekend at Muriel's" • "Economics of Recess" / "Omega Kids" • "Yes, Mikey, Santa Does Shave" • "Bad Hair Day" / "Dance Lessons" • "Principal for a Day" / "The Beauty Contest"
Season Three: "One Stayed Clean" / "A Genius Among Us" • "Dodgeball City" / "A Career to Remember" • "Kindergarten Derby" / "The Bet" • "Space Cadet" / "Stand Up Randall" • "The Shiner" / "Lord of the Nerds" • "That Stinking Feeling" / "My Funny Valentines" • "The Barnaby Boys" / "Buried Treasure" • "The Library Kid" / "The Ratings Game"
Season Four: "The First Picture Show" / "The Big Prank" • "Hustler's Apprentice" / "The Spy Who Came in from the Playground" • "Gus' Fortune" / "Rumor Mill" • "Recess is Cancelled" / "Tattletale Heart" • "The Madness of King Bob" / "Call Me Guy" • "Prickly is Leaving" / "Randall's Friends" • "The Biggest Trouble Ever" / "The Rules" • "Gus and Misdemeanors" / "A Science Fair to Remember" • "Mikey's Pants" / "Here Comes Mr. Perfect" • "Good Luck Charm" / "Diggers Split Up" • "Schoolworld" / "Bachelor Gus" • "The Dude" / "Partners in Crime" • "The Candidates" / "This Brain for Hire" • "Spinelli's Masterpiece" / "Nobody Doesn't Like T.J." • "A Great State Fair" / "The A.V. Kid" • "Yope from Norway" / "Bonky Fever" • "Don't Ask Me" / "The Secret Life of Grotke" • "The Fuss Over Finster" / "Soccer Boy" • "Fort Tender" / "Germ Warfare" • "More Like Gretchen" / "Prince Randall" • "Me No Know" / "Good Ole T.J." • "Chez Vince" / "Tucked in Mikey" • "Old Folks Home" / "Some Friend"
Season Five: "The Coolest Heatwave Ever" / "No Strings Attached" • "Beyond a Reasonable Scout" / "The C Note" • "The Army Navy Game" / "Big Ol' Mikey" • "The Principals of Golf" / "All the Principal's Men" • "Lawson and his Crew"
Season Six: "Terrifying Tales of Recess" • "Kurst the Not So Bad" / "League of Randalls" • "Mundy, Mundy" / "Lost Leader"

Locations
Third Street SchoolOld RustyFifth and Sixth Grader ClubAshley's ClubhouseKing's Jungle Gym
Songs
We Shall Not Be MovedBorn to Be WildGreen TambourineDancing in the Street
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