It’s probably no surprise that most streaming services view animation as something less
desired than their live action shows.
Besides with shows for preschoolers, for the longest time streaming services rarely added
original animated content.
To my delight, that view seems to be changing, with each service racing to get as much original
animation on its platform as it can.
But specifically I am talking about adult animation, which is finally expanding as a
category and becoming much more than just crude humor.
Netflix has Castlevania and a ton of other shows, Hulu has Solar Opposites, Amazon Prime
has Undone, HBO Max will have Close Enough, and finally Apple TV+ is getting some adult
animation in the form of Central Park.
And this is a very exciting development, as I had no inclination to check out any Apple
TV+ series before this, so I wanted to give it a review!
Thankfully Apple was able to make that happen, and I have seen the first four episodes to
give you my thoughts.
This early review is actually quite special because it will be my first for a show that
will be airing weekly instead of dropping all at once.
The first three episodes of this show will premiere on May 29th, and the following 10
will be released once a week.
This means I don’t know where everything leads, but I still have a lot to say.
With all that out of the way, if you enjoy this review make sure to subscribe and get
notifications for future videos.
We got a lot coming out this summer and I cannot wait to talk about it!
So, what exactly is Central Park, and why does it look like Bob’s Burgers?
Central Park is an animated musical series that explores the lives of a family of caretakers
who are trying to keep this iconic spot the beautiful yet chaotic place it can be.
This means protecting it from the short-tempered hotel heiress Bitsy Brandenham who would prefer
the park have condos and a mall.
From the advertising of the show and just immediately taking a glance at it, it’s
pretty obvious that the creator of this show, Loren Bouchard, also made Bob’s Burgers.
Unlike my review on Solar Opposites where I compared it to Rick and Morty, I cannot
confidently compare Central Park to Bouchard’s previous show.
Not because they are two completely different shows, but because I have never seen Bob’s
Burgers.
Technically I did see two episodes, which were recommended to me by Deepcut.
So, I guess I can say I have seen a tiny bit, although don’t get mad if I say something
wrong about it.
But to be fair, I have only seen 4 episodes of Central Park, so I have practically got
an equal glimpse at both shows.
Still, I am definitely no expert.
But from what I have seen, I think Central Park is so much more interesting than Bob’s
Burgers for a variety of reasons.
First off, the animation is absolutely stunning.
From the fluidity of the characters’ movements to the sheer amount of singing characters
they can have on screen at a time, I was constantly wowed at what this show was able to pull off.
And as I mentioned before, this is an animated musical series, meaning each episode has at
least 3 songs.
I cannot even imagine the amount of effort it took to create multiple songs for each
episode that pertained to the events of the plot.
This means we get songs about being a superhero, catching pesky rats, or pretty much anything
else that the main characters find important.
With pretty much any other show that frequently has characters singing, a song is a treat
that the fans savor for a long time.
And getting a full musical episode is usually something reserved for season finales or special
events.
Which means my mind was absolutely blown with each episode as we got multiple songs, most
of which are pretty catchy and feature a wide range of genres.
So already, this show is on another league than most.
The only way to top this would be to have a show with real stakes that has musical numbers
every episode.
Not that saving the park isn’t important, it’s just not the most high stakes plot.
Fittingly, the very beginning of the show starts off with a huge musical number that
explains the setting.
While I never got too into musicals, I do know this is how they usually begin.
We meet Birdie, who is a busker, which I had to look up… and is a person who performs
music or other entertainment in the street or another public place for monetary donations.
That does fittingly describe his role- I had no idea there was a word for that.
But what’s fun about him is that he constantly breaks the fourth wall and seems to know what
will happen to our characters throughout the episode even before the events transpire.
It was sometimes annoying how he ends up in places he really shouldn’t be, but since
he is the narrator I can’t complain too much.
Also, side note- I have pretty much no association with New York and don’t know what it’s
like to live there.
So, I didn’t immediately have a connection to it.
But this is why I found it not only awesome, but also important to learn about the place
through the opening song, as it really emphasized why it was such a special location and should
be protected.
Moving on, we quickly get to know the main family, which is a pretty typical group of
a dad, mom, daughter, and son.
The father Owen is a park ranger and does his best to keep the park in top shape, the
mother Paige is a reporter trying to get the next big scoop, the daughter Molly loves drawing
herself as a superhero and is hopelessly in love with a boy named Brendan, and finally
the son Cole has his own special connection with Bitsy’s dog Champagne.
I really like these characters.
There are parts of each of them that I can relate to, and the show takes their struggles
really seriously.
And overall this show is a lot more serious than Bob’s Burgers, meaning comedy is much
less of a focus.
I honestly don’t mind this, as characters that I find interesting are something I appreciate
a lot more than a funny episode.
On the other hand, I cannot say that I am a big fan of Bitsy or her assistant Helen,
who only tolerates Bitsy since she believes she will inherit her fortune after she passes.
I do think this waiting game Helen is playing is pretty amusing, although it comes at the
expense of Helen hating her competition, Champagne.
Each episode gives all of these main characters some spotlight, where different situations
play out with their job, goal, or evil scheme.
It quickly becomes clear that Owen and Bitsy are on opposite sides, where Owen tries to
convince city officials and rich people to save the park, while Bitsy is trying to persuade
them of the money they can make by commercializing it.
Paige has to remain pretty neutral as a reporter, but does her best to make her husband’s
efforts known to the city.
Their children are pretty separated from this whole plot, but with Cole’s attempts to
connect with Shampagne, it seems like he and Bitsy will be crossing paths quite a lot.
While it’s not the most surprising that the daughter’s plot revolves mainly around
getting Brendan’s attention, I think it’s pretty cute and all the times she awkwardly
messes up are quite entertaining.
Helen is the only character right now who hasn’t got much screen time, but I can imagine
that will change as we get more episodes.
But speaking of Helen, this brings me to probably the thing that bugs me most with the show.
Both Bitsy and Helen are voiced by men, which is pretty evident right from the start.
This is probably more of a personal nitpick, but I really am not a fan of men voicing women
in cartoons, especially if it is in the role of important characters.
I will admit that this does seem to be something the creator has done with his previous show,
so it’s not too surprising.
And you could say, well women often voice children in animation!
Yes, that is true, but that is a necessity when you have shows that go on for years,
perhaps even a decade or more!
And the fact that only 39% of the credited cast on animated series were women, which
includes voice actors, I think it is important to let women be represented by women.
Also, sometimes I feel that the show takes the whole musical thing a bit too seriously,
as the characters will stare straight at the camera for long periods of time.
It doesn’t translate that well into animation, and with this art style, it’s not the most
pleasant thing to look at.
And while the show does seem to try and mix things up during the musical numbers where
the background will change or the characters spontaneously change clothes, I feel like
they could do so much more since this is animation.
I want more like the original Lion King instead of the recent remake…
Even outside of the songs, it is always a treat when we get a glimpse at the stories
Molly creates, where the show takes on a really cute comic-book style.
I honestly wish the whole show looked like this!
Besides those little things that bugged me, I am very excited to see the rest of this
show.
I’m cannot wait to see where they take these characters, and most importantly, the fate
of the park.
Something in stark contrast to the little I have seen of Bob’s Burgers is what age
range this show would be appropriate for.
Bob’s Burgers is no doubt for adults, but besides some choice words that parents may
not want their children to hear, Central Park could pass as a family show.
At least, for now.
And I am definitely a big fan of this.
I have never been one for crude humor, so the less that shows have it, the better.
Of course, if that’s your thing, you could find Central Park dull.
Or if you just don’t like musicals, this is probably not the show for you.
But for everyone else, I’d say check out the first few episodes that drop, if you have
Apple TV+, that is.
I hope this service gets more animated shows soon, because if you join new services almost
exclusively for the animation, as I have, then it’s really hard to justify getting
an entire new service for one show.
And those are all my thoughts about Central Park.
As always, if you decide to check the show out, let me know what you thought.
Also check out my review for Solar Opposites, and since Tuca and Bertie is now coming back,
that is a must-watch review as well.
Many thanks to my patrons, who help support the channel.
I posted the script for this video there early, which I plan to do with other early reviews
in the future.
Have an animated day!