Over the past four and a half years, Big City Greens has quickly become one of the most popular Disney Channel animated series of all-time. Creators Chris and Shane Houghton are deep into production on the upcoming fourth season and movie. I recently had the chance to finally meet them in person at New York Comic-Con, where they shared as much as they could about the film. I also spoke with some of the BCG voice actors about what this series has meant to them. (These interviews were combined, with responses edited for length and clarity.)

Jackson Murphy: How has this series changed your lives?

Bob Joles (Voice of Bill): It’s made me more aware of being a dad, which I’ve never been. The lessons that come out of it and how I have to present those lessons to Cricket and Tilly and sometimes Remy and sometimes Gramma. It’s an interesting dynamic that I never got to experience in my life but now I am through animation.

Artemis Pebdani (Voice of Gramma): I finally get to live out my inner truth of being an ornery old lady. (laughs) And I just get to live in that, and that feels really nice. And I’ve gotten to see that grow. It’s part of me that’s growing. And it’s something that I aspire to be in my day to day life. (laughs)

JM: And how do you feel about being here today?

BJ: It’s always great to see the fans because they love us for what we’ve given them. We love them for what they’ve given to us — making us the No. 1 show. Can’t argue with that. Thank you, fans.

JM: What has surprised you the most about the impact that this show has had over the last four years?

Zeno Robinson (Voice of Remy): The impact that this show has had over the past four years is probably the surprising thing. Going into any kind of creative venture or being a part of any show, you never know what kind of impact it will have. Every time we get a season renewal we’re like, “Really? Wow! Cool!”

Marieve Herington (Voice of Tilly): But also the impact specifically over the course of the pandemic. I don’t think we could’ve been prepared. You make a show that’s funny and feel-good. You don’t realize, “Oh this is necessary” until you have something like a global pandemic where kids are stuck at home. I can’t tell you how many messages of, “My kid watches this and I love watching it with them.” Never before were we all so close as families and stuck at home. Anything that could kind of lighten the mood and make for an escape from what everybody was going through. I don’t think any of us could’ve been prepared to be on a show that would come out at this time. It’s really special.

ZR: And I think it’s a testament to the heart of the show too. It definitely became a comfort show for me and my mom during the course of the pandemic. It being a comfort show for other people isn’t out of left field. It’s a testament to how well the show is crafted and how much heart everyone puts into it.

MH: People just need to feel good.

ZR: And that it’s safe. That’s the biggest honor to think about.

MH: What could be better?

JM: When these animated series have gone to the big screen, or even with the Phineas and Ferb movie that went to Disney+ a couple years ago (which I loved), it felt like an event. The SpongeBob Movie was an event. The Simpsons Movie was an event. Bob’s Burgers fans just experienced that. How do you hope this movie is an event for fans of your show?

Shane Houghton (Co-Creator): When we were pitching ideas for the movie, a big criteria for us was that we wanted to do something that felt like the series but that we could never do in the series. And we landed on an idea that I think we’re very excited about. And it’s gonna be big. Big City Greens: big is in the title. So we gotta do something where we really escalate things — take it to a whole new level. We found a really fun angle. I think it should feel like a big event — a big spectacle.

Chris Houghton (Co-Creator and Voice of Cricket): There’s kind of an expectation that if the series goes long enough, “Yeah, you make a movie.” And we didn’t want to just do that. We didn’t want to get complacent and go, “Now it’s time to make a movie.” We really wanted to sink our teeth into this and go, “This is a huge opportunity for us and the cast and crew.” How can we tell a big story in this format that we could never tell in the series, and therefore will hopefully justify the fact that this movie exists. We can’t wait to share more. It’s gonna be big, big, big.

Shane and Chris Houghton

JM: Do you guys make it a pact to watch the new episodes when they air, even though you’ve already seen them?

CH: We do. There’s something about sitting down, watching it on Disney Channel, seeing the commercials, getting the full experience.

SH: Animation is so slow. It takes so long to make one episode. 10 months from start to finish, and even still, you finish it and it sits for a bit and then it airs on TV. Unlike a movie, there’s not a lot of fanfare, so it’s nice to have this demarcation of, “It’s done. It’s released to the world.” I feel like I have to go through the process of watching it and releasing it to everyone. And it’s a nice tradition. We watch every episode.

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Jackson Murphy

Jackson Murphy is a movie critic and entertainment columnist. He is the creator of the website Lights-Camera-Jackson.com, and has made numerous appearances on television and radio.

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