In the landmark 100th episode of Disney Branded Television’s Big City Greens, the Green family is determined to make their 100th adventure their best — whether that means unleashing monstrous chickens, venturing into the afterlife, or delivering a mysterious box.
Created and executive produced by brothers Chris and Shane Houghton, the Emmy® Award-nominated animated series premiered on Disney Channel in June 2018. The comedy-adventure follows the offbeat adventures of 10-year-old Cricket Green (voiced by Chris Houghton), a mischievous and optimistic country boy who moves to the big city with his wildly out-of-place family: older sister Tilly Green (voiced by Marieve Herington), father Bill Green (voiced by Bob Joles), and Gramma Alice (voiced by Artemis Pebdani). The series is heavily influenced by the Houghton brothers’ youth in rural St. Johns, Michigan.
Over the years, Big City Greens has borne fruit across The Walt Disney Company, with the Green family appearing in interstitials for Disney Channel and Disney+, as well as in Disney Branded Television’s short-form series Broken Karaoke, Chibi Tiny Tales, and How NOT to Draw. In 2023, Big City Greens collaborated with ESPN for the NHL Big City Greens Classic — a live, animated NHL game telecast, powered by volumetric and motion capture technologies. And, in 2024, the Big City Greens franchise expanded with its first feature-length film, Big City Greens the Movie: Spacecation.
Before the 100th episode debuts May 3 on Disney Channel and May 7 on Disney+, the Houghton brothers — who entered into an overall deal with Disney Branded Television in 2024 — reflect on Big City Greens‘ impact and the surprising opportunities it’s given them.
Without spoiling anything, what is the 100th episode about?
Chris: There was a lot of pressure to come up with a new, exciting, very big story for the 100th adventure. We were banging our heads against the wall, thinking, “What could we do? And what haven’t we done?” And it was Shane who actually came up with the story.
Shane: We’ve covered so much in 100 episodes of Big City Greens that we knew we had to go bigger, better, crazier than we’d ever gone before. So… we did that! I don’t want to give too much away, [but it has all the things] audiences have come to love about Big City Greens. It’s super funny, full of heart and emotion. It’s a celebration and a look back at all 99 episodes that came before it. I’m very proud of it — very happy with how it turned out.
Chris: We hope our fans love it. And [Disney Legend] Mark Hamill guest stars in it!
The success of Big City Greens led to a feature film, several shorts and specials, and even an alternate sportscast. What unexpected opportunities has the show given you?
Chris: When we came to Disney, it felt like this was our chance to really make Big City Greens as a project as big as it could possibly be. We were making the TV series, but then when opportunities came to do some shorts, or to do ancillary projects like the NHL partnership, we jumped at every one of them. The fun part of this job, of being at Disney, is getting opportunities to grow well beyond a TV series.
Shane: What I love is that everybody who works on the show brings something different to it — a different perspective, a different idea. We, as the showrunners, then get to look at all of those great ideas, like a menu of options, and say, “Oh, that’s great. That’s great.” And that has led to a lot of really fun and interesting episodes or opportunities. We did our Christmas special in CG animation using Epic’s video game engine, Unreal. It was so unique and so different from anything we’ve ever done. We were able to make a movie, which was a dream come true. That was something we had wanted to do ever since we came to Hollywood, and it was cool that we got to do it with people from the series. I couldn’t be prouder of our crew and the people who make the show with us at Disney TV Animation.
Chris: It’s so much bigger than just us. We have the honor to lead this massive team, and, as Shane said, pick and choose which great idea we’re going to go with next. That collaboration is so fun. Animation is a team sport. It’s great to go in every day and try to make stuff that’s funny and entertaining, that people might still want to watch in 30 years.
How have you evolved creatively since Big City Greens premiered seven years ago?
Shane: This is the longest job I’ve ever had, and it’s cool to look back at how much we’ve grown as people. We’ve been in production for nine years, and a lot of our crew members have been with us since Season 1 of the show. We aren’t the spring chickens we used to be, but it’s cool. We’ve cultivated this crew that we’re really proud of. We’ve told stories that we’re very proud of, and I think we’re doing a lot more. So, to the fans: thanks for watching!
Chris: We couldn’t have done it without you. It’s an honor to have this job. It’s so fun to come in each week and think of crazy stuff for Cricket and Tilly to do.
