Review: Big City Greens “Gloria Green/Daddy Ditty/Fitness Test/The Farmies/Metal Heads/Potted Meat/Caging Cricket/Trainer Tilly/Remy Regatta/Green Journalism” 

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Gloria Green

Gloria tries to move out of the Greens’ house, but wonders if she can handle life on her own again.

Daddy Ditty

Gramma, Cricket, and Tilly force a country music star to write a song for Bill.

Fitness Test

Remy excuses himself from the mayoral fitness test, and Cricket is turned into a super soldier.

The Farmies

Bill competes for the Golden Gourd award while Tilly falls for a Hot Potato.

Metal Heads

Bill buys the kids a metal detector.

Potted Meat

When Gramma complains that Cricket and Tilly are soft, the kids try to prove they can handle the deprivations of Gramma’s childhood.

Caging Cricket

When Bill betrays Cricket’s trust, Cricket traps him in a cage and runs to an amusement park.

Trainer Tilly

Tilly trains Cricket to be civilized so he can go to a fancy gala at the Remingtons.

Remy Regatta

After a fight with his mom, Remy decides to skipper his own ship in the annual regatta.

Green Journalism

Tilly fears her family is growing distant and starts a newspaper to keep them connected.

 

Our Take:

Summer may have been coming to an end, but that doesn’t mean the fun has to stop, especially when you’re with the city’s most abnormal family.  After a year-long absence that made us question their future, the Green family has finally returned for even more adventures in the bustling Big City.  With its long-awaited fifth season, Big City Greens has reached an impressive milestone that most modern Disney shows struggle to achieve: it is now the longest-running Disney Channel animated series currently airing.  Granted, “Phineas and Ferb” has also been airing for five seasons, thanks to its revival run.  Still, this is an impressive achievement for a cartoon about a farming family, considering how many animated shows have been canceled after one or two seasons recently.

Based on my experience with Big City Greens, I can understand why it’s still going.  With charming characters and stories that blend entertainment with oddball humor and heart, it’s the kind of show whose appeal elevates the wacky concept beyond its initial short run.  Season five continues to expand its charm, giving us not one, not two, but ten zany new misadventures to kick off the season.  In these episodes, Gloria experiences independence, Cricket becomes a super soldier, the family hires a country musician to write a song, and much more.  You know, just another batch of “ordinary” days with the Green family, and unsurprisingly, they’re just as fun and even heartfelt as its previous episodes.

Reviewing each of the season’s first ten episodes would’ve taken me forever, so I figured I’d describe them all like this.  If you enjoyed the previous seasons of Big City Greens, then season five will make you feel like you’ve never left the crazy city.  The first episodes of season five keep the show enjoyable through its clever wit, entertaining yet familiar premises, and the heart that comes from the dysfunctional family dynamic and life lessons.  Some of the season’s highlights so far include “Gloria Green”, which further developed Gloria’s relationship with the Greens through her struggle with accepting independence, and “Caging Cricket”, a hilarious Bill/Cricket scenario with a cage symbolizing their broken trust.  It’s too early to tell where this new season will rank among the others, but I will say that it further validates Big City Greens as one of the more delightful and amusingly zany shows Disney has produced.