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Big City Greens

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Big City Greens
Big City Greens Logo.png
Genre
Created byThe Houghton Brothers
Voices of
Opening theme"Big City Greens Main Title Theme"
by The Mowgli's
Ending theme"Do It All Again"
by The Houghton Brothers
ComposerJoachim Horsley
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes61 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
ProducerJason Wyatt
Running time22 minutes
Production companyDisney Television Animation
Release
Original networkDisney Channel
Picture formatHDTV 1080p
Audio format5.1 surround sound
Original releaseJune 18, 2018 (2018-06-18) –
present (present)
External links
Website
Production website

Big City Greens is an American animated comedy and adventure television series created by the Houghton brothers that premiered on Disney Channel on June 18, 2018. The series features the voices of Chris Houghton, Marieve Herington, Bob Joles, and Artemis Pebdani.

Premise

The series focuses on the Green family. After losing his farm in the country, Bill Green and his two children, Cricket Green and Tilly Green, move in with his mother Alice Green (Gramma), who lives on a small farm in the middle of a city known as "Big City."

Episodes

Main article: List of Big City Greens episodes
SeasonSegmentsEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
15830June 18, 2018 (2018-06-18)March 9, 2019 (2019-03-09)
25830November 16, 2019 (2019-11-16)April 3, 2021 (2021-04-03)
3TBATBAOctober 9, 2021 (2021-10-09)TBA

Characters

Main

The series' main characters are the members of the Green family:

  • Cricket (voiced by Chris Houghton) is a 10-year-old trouble-making country boy who is always barefoot. He is fascinated by every discovery he makes in Big City.
  • Tilly (voiced by Marieve Herington) is Cricket's older sister, with an eccentric and imaginative nature. She is frequently accompanied by Saxon, a homemade doll Tilly created out of an old sack. Although she is incredibly kind, she has moments of selfishness, like her younger brother. This was shown in the episode "Mama Bird" when she was angry and jealous the birds didn't show any affection towards her and favored Cricket.
  • Bill (voiced by Bob Joles as an adult; Andre Robinson as a child) is Cricket and Tilly's father and Gramma Alice's son. A skilled farmer, Bill is overprotective and cautious, having lost part of a finger because of a hay baler accident.
  • Gramma Alice (voiced by Artemis Pebdani) is Bill's mother and Cricket and Tilly's paternal grandmother, who owns the Green family farm in Big City. She frequently exhibits cantankerous and combative behavior to hide her love and affection for her family. Her full name is revealed to be Alice Delores Green in "Cricket Versus".

Recurring

  • Nancy (voiced by Wendi McLendon-Covey as an adult, Candace Kozak as a child) is Cricket and Tilly's mother and Bill's ex-wife. A former biker with a rebellious streak, she was briefly incarcerated before being released after the family moved to Big City. While they are divorced, she and Bill remain good friends, and she is a frequent presence in the children's lives.
  • Remy (voiced by Zeno Robinson) is Cricket's best friend whom he meets shortly after moving to Big City. He comes from a rich family and struggles with his self-confidence. His last name is revealed to be Remington in "Remy Rescue".
  • Gloria Sato (voiced by Anna Akana) is the Japanese American barista at Big Coffee who becomes friends and co-workers with Cricket. She dreams of one day saving up enough money to leave Big City and move to Paris, France. After Big Coffee shuts down, Gloria moves in with the Greens.
  • Officer Keys (voiced by Andy Daly as an adult, Jason Maybaum as a child) is a Big City police officer with an overly cheery and oblivious personality.
  • Kiki (voiced by Monica Ray) is part of a group of children that frequently play with Cricket, Tilly and Remy. Her last name is revealed to be Kitashima in "Chipocalypse Now".
  • Benny (voiced by Luke Lowe) is part of a group of children that frequently play with Cricket, Tilly and Remy.
  • Weezie (voiced by Lamar Woods) is part of a group of children that frequently play with Cricket, Tilly and Remy. His real name is revealed to be Westley Eastman in "Chipocalypse Now".
  • Brett (voiced by Colton Dunn) is the Greens' easygoing next door neighbor who works at an animal shelter. His last name is revealed to be Eze in "Chipocalypse Now".
  • Chip Whistler (voiced by Paul Scheer) is a main antagonist of the series, is the Green family's rival and manager of the Wholesome Foods supermarket, a parody of Whole Foods Market. He later becomes the CEO of the Wholesome Foods Corporation after his father's retirement and plans to get the Green's out of Big City. A running gag is that his attempts to drive the Greens out of Big City usually gets his front tooth chipped.
  • Vasquez (voiced by Danny Trejo) is Remy's bodyguard who watches over him when his parents are unavailable.
  • Rashida Remington (voiced by Lorraine Toussaint) is Remy's well-to-do mother who works as a lawyer.
  • Russell Remington (voiced by Colton Dunn) is Remy's father and Rashida's husband. He is a lawyer and former football player for the Big City Bengals.
  • Andromeda (voiced by Nicole Byer) is Tilly's best friend. She is a conspiracy theorist with a strong belief in aliens, supernatural phenomena, and government cover-ups.
  • Alucard Grigorian (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) is an old Armenian man who is the neighbor of the Greens and Brett and has personal issues with Gramma.
  • Gabriella Espinosa (voiced by Jenna Ortega) is Cricket's girlfriend and female counterpart. She's as troublemaking and rambunctious as he is as well as sharing his interests.
  • Gregly (voiced by Tim Robinson) is Cricket's grumpy friend who has a habit of screaming everything he says.
  • Maria Media (voiced by Raven-Symoné) is a local news reporter in Big City.
  • Community Sue (voiced by Betsy Sodaro) is the director of the Big City Community Center. She constantly shouts during conversations and regularly encourages others to adopt more health-conscious behaviors. Her last name is revealed to be Lanemoto in "Chipocalypse Now".
  • Gwendolyn Zapp (voiced by Cheri Oteri) is the CEO of the BigTech technology company. She is an eccentric and slightly mad inventor, creating high-tech products that tend to go haywire.

Notable guest stars

Production

On March 8, 2016, Disney XD greenlit the series under the title of Country Club.[1] The series is created by the brothers Chris and Shane Houghton, who originally worked on Nickelodeon's Harvey Beaks. Chris Houghton also worked as a storyboard artist on Gravity Falls with Rob Renzetti.[2] The series was later renamed to Big City Greens on July 24, 2017.[2] The show's animation is done entirely in traditional pen and paper as opposed to digital ink.[3] The theme song was written and performed by The Mowgli's, and on July 28, 2017, a sneak peek of it was revealed at the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con and was uploaded to Disney XD's YouTube channel on the same day.[4] On May 17, 2018, it was reported that Disney Channel had ordered a second season of Big City Greens ahead of the series' debut.[5] On October 7, 2019, it was announced that the second season will premiere on November 4, 2019, however, it got pushed back to November 16, 2019.[6] On January 13, 2021, the series was renewed for a third season.[7] On January 21, 2022, the series was renewed for a fourth season, along with the announcement of a movie musical set to be released on both Disney Channel and Disney+.[8]

During production for season one, an episode titled "Hands-On History" was in development. The episode was directed by Monica Ray from a story by Carson Montgomery and written and storyboarded by Caldwell Tanner and Cheyenne Curtis. It featured Mark Hamill in the role of Dr. Ponderstein, a sinister curator who ran a museum. The plot focused on Cricket and Remy at odds with one another over Ponderstein's method of educating children. The episode was shelved when the Houghton Brothers found Remy's behavior in the episode unlikeable and could not find a way to make the story work so early in the show's run. On cancelling the episode, Chris Houghton stated, "[W]e killed that episode for the best of reasons: it just didn’t work. We broke and re-broke the story a ton of times. Reboarded it again and again. Sometimes the best course of action is to take your creation out behind the shed, ya know?" The episode's production number, 110, would be given to "Parade Day" and "DIY Guys".[9][10]

Release

When announced, the series was scheduled to premiere in 2018 on Disney XD;[1] however, on March 26, 2018, it was reported that the series would debut on Disney Channel in mid-2018.[11] On May 17, 2018, The Hollywood Reporter reported that the series would premiere on Disney Channel as part of Disney Channel's GO! Summer on June 18, 2018.[12][13] The series premiere was made available for streaming via the DisneyNow app and the Disney Channel YouTube channel as of June 8, 2018.[14] Additional new episodes premiered on This Week Mornings at 10:00 AM throughout the summer. In addition, Big City Greens shorts began airing on Disney Channel and Disney Channel’s YouTube channel on June 4, 2018.[12]

Ratings

Viewership and ratings per season of Big City Greens
Season Episodes First aired Last aired Avg. viewers
(millions)
Date Viewers
(millions) 		Date Viewers
(millions)
1 30 June 18, 2018 (2018-06-18) 0.68[15] March 11, 2019 (2019-03-11) 0.61[16] 0.63
2 30 November 16, 2019 (2019-11-16) 0.54[17] April 3, 2021 (2021-04-03) 0.31[18] 0.45
3 1 October 9, 2021 (2021-10-09) 0.39[19] TBA TBD 0.39

Critical reception

Big City Greens received a positive reception from critics. Common Sense Media's Emily Ashby praised the series for its characters and themes, writing that "despite mining familiar stereotypes of rural dwellers, the show has strong family-centric themes and silly, lighthearted laughs".[20] Bekah Burbank of LaughingPlace.com praised the series' characters, stating that "While the mischief and antics are super silly and completely ridiculous, the characters themselves are quite fun. Just like it is with every family, the quirkiness is what you come to love most about the people you spend time with. The Green family might not be perfect, but they’re positive, supportive, and optimistic no matter the situation. Everyone could benefit from spending a little time with this wacky family".[21]

Video game

A multiplayer game titled Big City Battle!, where players compete against each other in order to earn a place as a member of the Green family, was released on the DisneyNOW app.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b Mercedes Milligan (March 8, 2016). "Disney XD Announces Billy Dilly and Country Club". Animation Magazine. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  2. ^ a b Kevin Melrose (July 24, 2017). "First Look at Disney XD's Big City Greens Opening Credits". CBR. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  3. ^ @shanehoughton (November 14, 2019). "Big City Greens is animated traditionally--pencil and pens on paper!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  4. ^ Big City Greens: Theme Song. Disney XD. July 28, 2017. Retrieved June 20, 2018 – via YouTube.
  5. ^ Erik Pedersen (May 17, 2018). "Big City Greens Renewed for Season 2 Ahead of Disney Channel Premiere". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  6. ^ "Season Two of Disney Channel's Big City Greens Premieres Monday, Nov. 4" (Press release). Disney Channel. October 7, 2019. Retrieved October 10, 2019 – via The Futon Critic.
  7. ^ Erik Pedersen (January 13, 2021). "'Big City Green' Renewed For Season 3 At Disney Channel As Creators Chris & Shane Houghton Ink Overall Deal". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  8. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (January 21, 2022). "'Big City Greens' Tunes Up With Disney Channel & Disney+ Movie Musical; Animated Series Lands Season 4 Order". Deadline. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  9. ^ "Hands-On History Tumblr Post". Tumblr. Chris Houghton. July 2, 2020.
  10. ^ @shanehoughton (March 12, 2019). "On #BigCityGreens, we only ever threw out one episode. Storyboards were complete, voices recorded, and animatic built. It was one of the toughest calls @chrischoughton and I had to make. Especially because it starred the incredibly talented and funny @HamillHimself!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  11. ^ "Animation Magazine's Rising Stars of 2018". Animation Magazine. March 26, 2018. Retrieved June 20, 2018. This summer, a new audience will be introduced to their mad genius when their show Big City Green debuts on the Disney Channel.
  12. ^ a b c Kimberly Nordyke (May 17, 2018). "Disney Channel Renews Animated Series Big City Greens Ahead of Premiere". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  13. ^ Alexandra Whyte (May 18, 2018). "Disney Gets More Big City Greens, Molang". Kidscreen. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  14. ^ Chris Houghton [@chrischoughton] (June 5, 2018). "BIG NEWS!! The first episode of #BigCityGreens will be available to watch on @DisneyNow THIS FRIDAY!! That's 10 days before the series premiere on @DisneyChannel, June 18th! #GETEXCITE" (Tweet). Archived from the original on September 8, 2019. Retrieved June 8, 2018 – via Twitter.
  15. ^ Mitch Metcalf (June 19, 2018). "Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 6.18.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on June 20, 2018. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  16. ^ Mitch Metcalf (March 12, 2019). "Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 3.11.2019". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on March 12, 2019. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  17. ^ Mitch Metcalf (November 19, 2019). "Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 11.4.2019". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on November 5, 2019. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  18. ^ Mitch Metcalf (April 6, 2021). "Top 150 Saturday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 4.3.2021". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on April 6, 2021. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  19. ^ Mitch Metcalf (October 12, 2021). "Saturday 10.9.2021 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  20. ^ "Big City Greens TV Review". Common Sense Media.
  21. ^ "Big City Greens TV Review". LaughingPlace.com.

External links

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