Cricket Green

Cricket Green
Big City Greens character
First appearance
Created byChris and Shane Houghton
Based onChris Houghton as a child
Voiced byChris Houghton
Character Information
Full nameCricket Ernest Green
NicknamesCrickey
GenderMale
Occupation
Family
Significant otherGabriella Espinosa (ex-girlfriend)
Relatives
NationalityAmerican

Cricket Ernest Green[1] is a fictional character and the central protagonist of the American animated sitcom Big City Greens, created by the Houghton brothers (Chris and Shane Houghton).[2]

Cricket is the only son of Bill and Nancy Green, the younger brother of Tilly Green, and grandson of Alice Green, the deceased Ernest Green, and Nick Mulligan.

He is voiced by series co-creator Chris Houghton and first appeared, alongside the rest of the Green family, in the series premiere "Space Chicken", on June 18, 2018.

Creation

Character

Cricket Green is based on series co-creator Chris Houghton as a child.[3][4]

His name Cricket is derived from a nickname that Houghton encouraged his classmates to call him, but never caught on.[‡ 1][3] However, during the development of the series, Cricket was originally going to be named Bucket, but this was changed due to complications with another Disney series, Kirby Buckets.[‡ 1]

Cricket's design, as are all others, were influenced by The Muppets,[4][5] described by Shane as a "fun, friendly, poppy look."[6] Cricket's hairstyle is based on Houghton's own when he was young.[3] Houghton also conceived Cricket's catchphrase, "Bingo! Bango!", which was something he'd often say to Charlie Gavin, his storyboard partner on Harvey Beaks.[7]

Voice

Cricket is voiced by Chris Houghton. Cricket's voice, according to Houghton, just came naturally.[7][8]

Role in Big City Greens

Cricket is a 10-year-old boy born in the country town of Smalton, the second child in the Green family, after Tilly. His middle name is derived from his late paternal grandfather Ernest Green. As depicted in "Welcome Home",[a] he and his family move from their home in the country to Big City to live with their grandmother Alice. This factor of the series was meant to reflect the Houghton brothers moving from their hometown of St. Johns, Michigan to Los Angeles, California.[9] He is a curious child with a love for adventure, which was meant to reflect how Chris Houghton was as a child,[10] excluding the misbehaving.[6] He always gets into trouble, but learns from his mistakes.[11]

Personality

Cricket is portrayed as an optimistic and rambunctious child whose curiosity and desire for adventure brings him and his family on wild adventures. He is the main troublemaker of the Green family, prone to causing chaos and destruction, often causing unrest within the family, though he doesn't always have malicious intent.[8] He also loves to pull pranks, formerly with his ex-girlfriend Gabriella, and as revealed in "April Fool", it was their way of affection.

He is almost always barefoot, which is one of his personal convictions as seen in "No Service". This episode, as well as "Cyberbullies", shows that he will often stand up for whatever he believes in. As revealed in "Rat Tail", he likes to express himself and is also perceptive to subliminal messaging. Additionally, per "People Watching" and "Animation Abomination", he loves explosions.

Despite his usual reckless personality, he can also be responsible when he needs to be, often taking accountability for his selfish actions and trying to make them right. For example, in "Wishing Well", Cricket makes a wishing well to cash in on people making wishes, and when Tilly dumps her life savings into it only to find out her wish wasn't coming true (to feel a rainbow), he makes it come true on his own. Cricket also has rare moments of vulnerability, such as when he loses his beloved dog Phoenix in "Phoenix Rises".

He really cares about his older sister Tilly and, as revealed in "Green Trial", the two have a "sibling code" only to be invoked in the most dire of situations. As revealed in "Cheap Snake", he doesn't like to make plans and would rather not think about them, though learns that it's better to have one later in the episode. In "Wild Side", it is revealed that Cricket gets an annual "wild urge" Bill refers to as "the itch" that isn't satiated unless he is taken camping in the woods. In "Chip's Revenge", it is revealed that Cricket, when enraged, can receive massive strength.

Reception

In her review of Big City Greens, Emily Ashby states, "Cricket's zest for living life to its fullest yields adventures of the wackiest kinds, like inventing a device to send a chicken into space."[12] Laughing Place states "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."[13] He is sometimes compared to Bart Simpson because of their similar appearances.[14] According to Chris Houghton, he is often encouraged by fans to do Cricket's voice.[11] An official TikTok account for the character is available, ran by Houghton.[‡ 2]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "Welcome Home" is the 1st segment of the 8th episode of Big City Greens, though is chronologically the first episode of the series.

References

  1. ^ Davis, Victoria (September 13, 2024). "Zeno Robinson Talks 'Big City Greens' and 'Transformers: Earthspark' Voice Acting". Animation World Network. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  2. ^ Milligan, Mercedes (March 4, 2016). "Disney XD Announces 'Billy Dilly' and 'Country Club'". Animation Magazine. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c Trumbore, Dave (June 5, 2018). "Big City Greens Images Reveal Chris and Shane Houghton's Inspiration". Collider. Retrieved May 12, 2025.
  4. ^ a b Deitchman, Beth (June 12, 2018). "The Surprising Scoop About Disney Channel's Big City Greens". D23. Retrieved June 21, 2025.
  5. ^ Zahed, Ramin (June 14, 2018). "Making Disney Channel's 'Big City Greens'". Animation Magazine. Retrieved May 12, 2025.
  6. ^ a b Trumbore, Dave (June 13, 2018). "Big City Greens: Chris and Shane Houghton on the Disney Series' Inspiration". Collider. Retrieved June 21, 2025.
  7. ^ a b Murphy, Jackson (June 11, 2018). "INTERVIEW: Chris and Shane Houghton talk Disney's "Big City Greens"". Animation Scoop. Retrieved May 12, 2025.
  8. ^ a b Trumbore, Dave (June 13, 2018). "Big City Greens: Chris and Shane Houghton on the Disney Series' Inspiration". Collider. Retrieved June 21, 2025.
  9. ^ Davis, Victoria (September 22, 2023). "'Big City Greens' Creators Talk Season 4, Midwest Sensibilities, and 100th Episode Milestone". Animation World Network. Retrieved May 12, 2025.
  10. ^ Pinault, Sarah (2022-04-16). "An Interview With Shane Houghton, Executive Producer and Creator of 'Big City Greens'". GeekMom. Retrieved 2025-05-19.
  11. ^ a b Trumbore, Dave (November 15, 2019). "Big City Greens: The Houghton Brothers on Season 2 and Feral Cricket". Collider. Retrieved June 21, 2025.
  12. ^ Ashby, Emily. "Big City Greens TV Review". Common Sense Media. Retrieved June 14, 2025.
  13. ^ Laughing Place Staff (June 26, 2018). "TV Review: "Big City Greens"". Laughing Place. Retrieved June 21, 2025.
  14. ^ GeekMom (February 12, 2022). "GeekMom: Big City News From 'Big City Greens'". GeekDad. Retrieved June 21, 2025.

Primary sources

Primary sources are represented by a double dagger (‡):

  1. ^ a b Houghton, Chris (July 30, 2024). "xachanimations asked: I have 2 questions. 1. Was there any other..." Tumblr. Archived from the original on June 21, 2025. Retrieved June 21, 2025.
  2. ^ Houghton, Chris (May 11, 2025). "Come follow Cricket on TikTok @RealCricketGreen". Tumblr. Archived from the original on June 22, 2025. Retrieved June 21, 2025.
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