The actor voices both Cricket Green’s best friend, Remy Remington, for Disney and the Transformers Terran, Thrash, for Nickelodeon, though he found some time for a bit of writing on the Houghton brother’s fish-out-of-water show this past season.
Among the many Disney Branded Television (DBT) announcements at this summer’s Annecy Festival – including the renewals for Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur and Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures – was the news that Big City Greens, now in its sixth year, was getting a fifth season.
DBT touts the Emmy Award-winning 2D animated series as the No. 2 most-watched kids animated series of 2023. Perhaps it can make it to the top of the list following the new season.
“It’s just a really honest show,” says Zeno Robinson, who voices for one of the series’ main characters, Remy Remington Cricket Ernest Green’s best friend, whom Cricket meets shortly after he and his family moving from their farm in Smalton to Big City. “I think there's something with art where you can always tell when it's something special, when it's something genuine. This show resonates with people in a very specific way. The writers are so brilliant, and the Houghton brothers, no matter how big the show gets or how crazy the situations get, always know how to bring it back home in a way that speaks to everybody.”
Created and executive produced by brothers Chris and Shane Houghton, Big City Greens follows the offbeat adventures of 10-year-old Cricket Green (voiced by Chris Houghton himself), a mischievous and optimistic country boy who moved to the big city with his wildly out-of-place family. The show, one of the few that has made it through the pandemic, strikes, and budget cuts, is heavily influenced by Chris and Shane’s childhood growing up in the small town of St. Johns, Michigan. Many of the characters are inspired by real-life family members and childhood townsfolk. Anna O’Brian, director of the Big City Greens the Movie: Spacecation, has joined the series for Season 5 as executive producer.
“I was fortunate enough to join them in the writer's room to write an episode called, ‘Fast Foodie,’” shares Robinson, referring to the first segment of the series’ 57th episode, where Cricket attempts to eat burgers every day at a new Burger Clown joint. The character gets morbidly obese while the burgers continue to call Cricket’s name. “I loved getting to hear first-hand the team picking out what situations people go through every day and discussing how they can talk about it amongst these characters in a way that fits with the show and has a relatable but also almost comforting aspect to it. All that mixed in with the humor makes for a really nice blend of a show.”
He adds, “I’ve always got a ton of ideas about how to flesh out the world a bit more. If freelance budgets allow, I’d love to get back in the writer's room for Season 5.”
In addition to looking forward to the possibility of writing more for the show, Robinson says he’s excited to see what the new season holds for young Remy and the well-off Remington family.
“It's been a great journey,” says Robinson of the last four seasons. “Remy has taken on such a strong personality over the course of the show. We started with a very specific idea of what Remy was supposed to be, and then he grew into this really funny, really down-to-earth, goofy character. Every time I get to play him, it reminds me why I love doing what I do and why I love that show. And the Houghtons are really good with making sure Remy is an integral part of the show where it makes sense. And now we're doing this thing in the show where we're balancing going to the country and living in the city, playing on both city life and country life, so I'm excited to play more in the world. It's a blessing to be doing it for longer.”
Along with his work with DBT, Robinson continues his work with animation industry giant Nickelodeon Animation Studio on the Paramount+ 3DCG series, Transformers: Earthspark, whose second season released just this summer.
“It's been awesome seeing the characters literally, physically, grow with the animation, like seeing their hair change and the Terrans’ symbols develop,” says Robinson, who voices for one of the Transformers Terrans, Thrash. “And now they have to navigate the shattering of the Emberstone, Chaos Terrans and all the new situations they get into because of that. There are new characters they meet in this season, and they really start to become their own home unit of Transformers.”
Season 1 of the show takes place 15 years after the space bridge to Cybertron is destroyed, ending the civil war between the Autobots and the Decepticons. The Malto family relocates from Philadelphia to the small town of Witwicky, Pennsylvania where young Robby and Mo Malto witness the birth of Earth-born Transformers called Terrans, who become emotionally bonded to the two kids via special cyber-sleeves on their arms. The Terrans became adopted into the Malto family and spent the season ensuring this new life they’ve built stays protected.
In Season 2, a year has passed and a group of Decepticons goes rogue sometime after the shattering of the Emberstone, a powerful relic that can create life from base elements. It is up to the Terrans, the Autobots, the humans, and those Decepticons on their side to collect the shards before their enemies do. This leads to the creation of the Chaos Terrans and the discovery of some secrets about Witwicky, the name of the main human protagonist of the first three Transformers films.
“I think the coolest part about Earthspark is that it’s so ingrained in the Transformers universe but also expands so much,” notes Robinson. “The Terrans add this new layer to the Transformers mythos and getting to be part of that layer for the past two years has been really cool.”
The actor didn’t get to write any episodes for this show but says he’d be more than willing.
“I really should ask,” he says. “That’s how I got to write for Big City Greens. I just asked.”
An official Season 3 announcement has yet to be shared for Earthspark, but Robinson says there’s plenty of room for more stories.
“If I did know anything, I couldn't tell you,” he says. “But there's definitely groundwork being laid for a potential third season. There’s always room for continuing the story and I’m certainly hoping for more.”
Victoria Davis is a full-time, freelance journalist and part-time Otaku with an affinity for all things anime. She's reported on numerous stories from activist news to entertainment. Find more about her work at victoriadavisdepiction.com.
