PAUL GERMAIN (Created and Produced by/Story by/Dialogue Director) gets much of his inspiration from his three kids. "As I've done series, my kids have always been just younger than the age we were talking about in the series. And they would grow into it by the time we were finished. "My son, Tommy, goes to Third Street School. Coincidence? Hmmm." A television animation veteran who cut his teeth on the two-minute "Simpsons" short films featured on "The Tracey Ullman Show," Paul co-created Nickelodeon's animated sensation "Rugrats" with Arlene Klasky and Gabor Csupo in 1989. He was the series' head writer, voice director and supervising creative producer, leading the show to three Emmy Awards (two for outstanding animated program in 1992 and 1994, and one for achievement in animation in 1995), and a CableACE award for outstanding animated program in 1994. Following the series' successful initial run, Paul teamed with Joe Ansolabehere, head story editor on "Rugrats," to create "Disney's Recess" in 1996. Prior to producing animation, Paul worked on several movies with Gracie Films' James L. Brooks, including "Terms of Endearment," "Broadcast News," and "Big." He was the associate producer of the film "Say Anything." Paul and Joe have recently re-teamed to create "Disney's Lloyd in Space," a new animated series for "Disney's One Saturday Morning," which will premiere in February.

JOE ANSOLABEHERE's (Created and Produced by/Story by) childhood memories are his muse for "Recess." "There was a quote somebody told me years ago - they said James Joyce said it, but I don't know if that's true - he said, 'Writers are people who never get over childhood.' When we're working, that's how I feel - our childhoods were the richest part of our lives, and it's great to go digging back into our pasts like we do." "In a way, what's great about Third Street's playground is that it's every playground. I reach back to my fourth grade playground in 1968, and I tell my stories to my daughter, and she has the same stories. Maybe it's a strange thing to say, but I like the universality of it all." Joe became friends with Paul Germain when both attended UCLA Film School, where Joe earned his M.A. in film history, theory, and criticism. Following graduation, he pursued a career as a feature screenwriter. After writing and producing the pilot episode for USA's "Duckman," he teamed with his film school buddy, serving as story editor on "Rugrats" from 1990-1993. Following the series' initialrun, the duo wuent on to develop and produce Universal's animated series "Beethoven" before coming to Disney to create "Disney's Recess" and "Disney's Lloyd in Space." He and his family live in Glendale, California.

DENIS M. HANNIGAN (Music Score by) is an Emmy-nominated composer with more than 300 television programs to his credit. After working with Paul and Joe on "Rugrats," Hannigan went on to score episodes of the animated series "Disney's Recess," "Disney's Adventures in Wonderland," "Beakman's World," and "CatDog," as well as the live-action series "Sliders." He also wrote music for the television specials "Edith Ann" and "Will Vinton's Claymation Easter," the television film "The New Shaggy Dog," the documentary "The Girl Next Door," and the feature motion picture, "It's Pat." Hannigan spent much of his early years in China, where he became fluent in Chinese and proficient in oriental music and woodwind instruments. He was a member of the musical group "Mother Goose," which was well-known in that country. After returning to the U.S., Hannigan studied Latin music and ethnic instruments before completing the Film Scoring Program at UCLA. Check out Denis Hannigan's Website here.

STEPHEN SWOFFORD (Producer) came to work at Walt Disney Television Animation after the birth of his first child. "It was great working on live-action shows, but that wasn't what my son and nieces and nephews wanted to watch. I loved the idea of working on something and then being able to share it with my family." "Running a production - that's what I enjoy doing. But at the end of the day, the real story is that this is a film you're going to want to revisit and a movie you'll want to take your kids to. That's what I'm proud of." Before working in animation, Swofford headed the post-production team on "Murder, She Wrote" and four "Columbo" made-for-television movies. In 1995, he came to work for Walt Disney Television Animation, serving as post-production supervisor on "The Lion King II: Simba's Pride," "Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World," and "Pooh's Grand Adventure." Swofford was also post-production supervisor for the "Disney's Recess" series before making his producing debut on this feature.

CHUCK SHEETZ (Director) wants everyone to know that even though he's directed a big animated movie, success hasn't changed him. "The night we had our first preview screening, it went really well - the kids in the audience just went nuts for it, and I was flying high. Everything had gone over exactly as I'd hoped. As we were leaving the screening, we saw that [Walt Disney Television Animation executive vice president] David Stainton had a flat tire, and Steve Swofford and I wound up changing the tire for him. So there I was, flying high, because my movie had just gone over really well, but I'm still a regular guy - I can still change a tire." Sheetz has directed numerous episodes of "The Simpsons," "The Critic," and "King of the Hill," as well as the first thirty-nine episodes of "Disney's Recess." A graduate of UCLA Film School, he began his career in animation as a sheet timer on "The Simpsons" before gradually working his way up to directing episodes. "Recess: School's Out" is his first feature film. If you need a tire changed, he asks that you call the auto club.

JONATHAN GREENBERG (Screenplay by/Story by) enjoyed writing with Paul and Joe. "I'm sure that sometimes, it's a nightmare to have producers that are so involved. I never felt that with them. I think that some people just want to put their stamp on something rather than improve it. Paul and Joe give you detailed notes, but it's because it's their show, it's their characters… I think that everyone who works with them sees part of their job as being true to what they are trying to create." Greenberg met Paul Germain and Joe Ansolabehere shortly after graduating from Harvard and became one of the original writers for "Rugrats," and won an Emmy Award for his writing on the series. Following the end of the series' original run of episodes in 1993, Greenberg moved back east to pursue a Ph.D. in English Literature from Princeton University. He has written for "Recess," "Daria," and other television series; "Recess: School's Out" is his first feature motion picture. In addition to finishing his doctoral thesis, Greenberg is currently working on a live-action screenplay for New Line Cinema, titled "Day Trader." He lives in New York with his wife and newborn son.

ERIC KEYES (Art Director) was one of the first people hired on "Recess." As art director, he was responsible for the look and design of the show. "I knew the director, I knew the two producers. These guys were my friends and we were making a show. At the beginning, it was the four of us trying to figure out what we wanted to do." Keyes has been animating professionally since age 19, when he was responsible for character layout on the first season of "The Simpsons." On "Disney's Recess," he was responsible for taking the original designs for the characters and turning them into "animatable" form as well as designing new characters and backgrounds. His own show, "Flipside," is in development at Walt Disney Television Animation.