Disney Channel’s newest show, Big City Greens made its debut last week. The show follows a young boy named Cricket and his family as they venture into a new life in the big city. Partially inspired by their rural upbringing, brothers Chris and Shane Houghton developed this quirky animated comedy that has a lot of heart. Each episode contains two 11-minute stories starring the Green family and their crazy antics.
Cricket Green is a 10 year old boy who’s curious, energetic, and always optimistic. Whatever he sets out to do, he will figure out how to get it done. In the very first episode, “Space Chicken/Steak Night,” Cricket and his older sister, Tilly decide to impress their neighbors with something really special: launching a chicken into outer space. Of course they don’t have to go far to find a chicken, as their big city home has enough yard for them to do some farming. Cricket grabs an old stocking that belongs to Gramma and uses it as a slingshot to propel the poor little feathered creature into space. Unfortunately, the stocking snaps and the chicken doesn’t get very far, causing a ruckus at the neighboring cafe. On the other hand, a young boy, Remy, sees the spectacle is awed by the Green children who immediately befriend him. Together, the three children look for something more powerful to send the bird through the atmosphere.
In the “Steak Night” story, the family does some grocery shopping for their monthly steak dinner. Too far to walk home, the family finally decides to take the subway and Cricket insists he gets to carry the steaks. Distracted by a break dancer in the subway, Cricket leaves their fancy dinner on bench and doesn’t realize his mistake until it’s too late. Will he be able get back to the station retrieve the best part of steak night–the steaks?
The second episode “Cricket Versus/Blue Tater” continues with more of the Green family silliness. To prove he’s worthy to be called a Green, Cricket has to find an opponent and pin them to the ground for three seconds. But he has to complete the challenge before the sun sets. Then, in the next story, the family decides to open their own french fry food truck. Everything is looking good until they dig up a blue potato that Gramma says is cursed!
I enjoyed this show much more than I thought I would. Granted, I’m far from the target audience, but it was surprisingly charming. 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.
I give Big City Greens 4 out of 5 steak nights.