It may have chronologically been over a year since viewers last ventured to Big City, but the life beats of the Green family haven’t halted in the least.
If anything, our time away from the antics of this country-to-city transplant family has only reminded us why we enjoy spending time with them.
With season five’s arrival, “Big City Greens” also becomes one of Disney’s longest-running animated series, behind the likes of “The Gummy Bears.” A feat that is truly astonishing given the rich and deeply expansive library of Disney television.
So what makes a series, after over eight years of ongoing storytelling, keep fans coming back with vigor for more adventures?
Simple, the characters.
There is a lot to love when it comes to “Big City Greens”: the humor, the hijinks, and the way the stories feel both relatable and somewhat out-of-the-box. All of which the series owns perfectly. Where else can you see an entire hilarity of a story be split between a father’s desire to maintain his kids’ (unrealistic) hope of finding treasure inside a city park, while simultaneously dealing with the ridiculous nature of trying to save face and make a cafe themed around hamsters when an online order isn’t what the description alluded to? (We understand way too well, Gloria. No shame in printing that return label, really.)
Simple, you can’t.
At least not without having something already creating such great groundwork for the stories and jokes to line themselves up in harmony.
While having a plotline about a character leaving “the nest” of their adopted surrogate family and going out on their own is rather played out, it becomes comedic gold when we see the mental back-and-forth and rebuttal that comes out of Gloria when reality hits her. It works well, not only because her character and relationship dynamics are so well established, but because it’s earned from the years of continuity fans already know deeply. We saw Gloria fail, but we also saw just how much of an impact, in all regards, the Green family had on her. She is family—even though her attempts at Green-ifying herself were falling short.
That is where “Big City Greens” shines. After years of building up these characters, their homes and dynamics, all the payoffs are here. Stories can play off those small, more one-note attributes that newer, fledgling series can’t land because they are already deeply rooted. You can take old callbacks and grow the stories from them.
Because this series—the world, the characters and the relationships—is so concretely made and overlapping, we land in a place where everything feels very organic and earned. Even with the series lining up such a great range of guest stars, it doesn’t stop the story and make things pivot. Rather, it feels like, yeah—this is part of the Greens’ lives that just happens to be the flavor of the day. Let’s hope Cricket doesn’t go to extremes—wait, he already did.
And that is so rare.
With the status quo set, and the Green family and company no longer being the fish out of water—both inside the city and out in the country—we find ourselves facing a group of characters that are grounded inside their very unusual lives.
Not every season of every story has to have high stakes, danger and threats looming. Sometimes it just has to be about living life, because life imitates art.
With season five being slated as the biggest season yet for “Big City Greens,” only one line comes to mind: it’s the journey that matters most over the destination.
We don’t know what the endgame is supposed to be for the Green family. There is no five-year landmark of where they want to be. But does anyone have that, truly?
With the future wide open under the city landscape or the rural skies, the sky is the only thing holding this family back. But given Cricket, I don’t even think that is a fair statement.