'Central Park' Episodes 1-2 Review: Catchy show tunes as a family tries to save NYC’s park from evil heiress
Spoilers for ‘Central Park’ Episodes 1-2
Loren Bouchard, Josh Gad, and Nora Smith’s Apple TV+ animated series ‘Central Park’ follows the Tillerman family that lives inside the titular green expanse in New York City. Owen (Leslie Odom Jr.), the park manager, and Paige (Kathryn Hahn), his journalist wife, and their kids Molly (Kristen Bell) and Cole (Tituss Burgess) lead an idyllic existence.
Owen is too obsessed with the park. Paige is tired of being a fluff journalist. Molly is nervous, has an artistic side, and an overactive imagination. And Cole is, well, just a happy-go-lucky goof who really wants a pet dog. Peace, of course, is never meant to last.
In comes the show’s villain: Bitsy Brandenham (Stanley Tucci), a bite-sized, evil, old hotel heiress, who has a pet dog she adores but doesn’t understand -- she basically tortures the poor thing, thinking she’s being good to it. The dog is where the trouble starts. She loses it. The dog, it turns out, is actually with Cole. The two bond and find companionship in each other. But obviously, Cole has to return the pup. When Bitsy learns that the dog was lost in Central Park, she rages.
She was already tired of seeing the park’s views from her penthouse balcony. But after this, she decides to destroy it, by turning it into a real estate project. Even if pint-sized, Bitsy is cunning and powerful enough to accomplish this. Her plan would have succeeded without a hitch, but for the Tillerman family.
Paige, who was assigned a boring city planning meeting for reporting, realizes that something was awry when the park’s lease was not renewed. The first three episodes then go into Paige trying to uncover the mystery behind this decision. The children too are part of her shenanigans. And Owen, well, is just busy tending to the park.
‘Central Park’ is a standard story of a group of misfits trying to save a thing of beauty from a powerful capitalist. But what makes it wonderful to watch is the show tunes. All of the cast is exceptionally talented when it comes to singing. And Josh Gad as the story’s narrator and a troubadour called Birdie tells the story well with his fourth-wall breaks and hilarious songs.
There are also lovable subplots -- like Owen and his old skater friend, or Molly’s infatuation with a teenage boy who flies a kite in the park every day, or Paige’s travails with reporting assignments. It’s a wholesome package.
It’s a family comedy that has something everyone can like. And the fact that it looks and feels exactly like ‘Bob’s Burgers’ doesn’t hurt, does it?
Catch new episodes of ‘Central Park’ every Friday on Apple TV+.
