Central Park Review: A Musical Love Letter To Passion

Musicals can be hard. Some people are just not into them, and some musicals need to be so finely tuned that the fun of them can be lost in the shuffle along the way. Then there are those like Central Park, Apple TV+’s animated musical sitcom created by Josh Gad, Loren Bouchard, and Nora Smith about the Tillerman family, where it explodes onto the scene with so much personality, love, and care that it becomes a beacon of excitement and potential.

The Tillerman family is comprised of Owen (the father, played by Leslie Odom Jr.), Paige (the mother, played by Kathryn Hahn), Molly (the daughter, played by Kristen Bell), and Cole (the son, played by Tituss Burgess), and they each bring so much to the show from not only their fantastic voice work, but the energy of the animation that helps round them out.

They are fully formed and realized from the start, which can be a tricky spot for shows during their early going. Not Central Park, as it’s a confident and focused show not only with its characters, but with its specific and brilliant writing.

The show is framed by Birdie (Josh Gad), a park troubadour who sees and knows everything, using that to his advantage to become the show’s unofficial narrator. It’s a great, playful manner to tie the show’s stories together, not only because Gad is so fun and hilarious in this role, but because Birdie has a way with words that don’t exactly work to his advantage, but does wonders for the comedy beats in between scenes.

The main focus of the show is on the titular Central Park in Manhattan, serving as the hub for most of the events of these first four episodes (out of thirteen) provided for review. The main story thrust is that the park is in danger, but it mostly serves as a backdrop while the members of the Tillerman family and those who frequent the park try and put on a brave face for another day.

The show doesn’t shy away from issues that means something to the characters, but always keeps levity and enthusiasm in its heart. Enthusiasm is the best word to describe Central Park, because it’s overflowing with it. Every character has their thing that they are passionate about, and it’s what drives them episode-by-episode.

The show becomes this beautiful love letter to passion, something Central Park is filled to the brim with. Whether it’s Owen’s dedication to the park, Paige at cracking a big story, Cole with his obsession over a dog named Champagne, or Molly’s artistry and crush, they all possess enormous amounts of passion about the things they care about, which drives the show’s fervor through the roof.

The musical numbers are sprightly and catchy, almost always tied to character and their emotional journey as they express themselves through song. It works perfectly as they dig deep and profess their souls to us, whether it’s about garbage pick-ups or wanting to be a superhero or everything in between. Even when it veers into the absurd, it’s done in context and within character, never losing sight of what’s important.

The animation is glossy and ends up looking similar to Bob’s Burgers but with an exorbitant animation budget (and given that two of the three creators are part of that show, it’s understandable). Everything is so crisp and gorgeous and colorful, eye-catching and eye-popping at every turn.

The cast is unbelievably stacked with talent, including Leslie Odom Jr., Kristen Bell, Tituss Burgess, Kathryn Hahn, and Josh Gad. All of them are fantastic singers in their own right, and here they manage to sing about some strange topics but commit to the bit in such a wonderful fashion. Kathryn Hahn and Tituss Burgess singing about rats is something we all need in our lives, and this show delivers that.

And then there is Stanley Tucci.

Stanley Tucci is both the most fascinating and the most bizarre performer of the lot, his voice work as Bitsy Brandenham working with the animation to create this captivating force of nature.

As the villain of the show, Bitsy is a shrewd and compelling figure that wants anything and everything and then some, and while that comes into direct conflict with the Tillerman family, there’s something undeniably fascinating to Bitsy and her maid Helen (played just as hilariously by Daveed Diggs) as they engage in their shenanigans of trying to take more and more.

Central Park is the kind of wonderful enthusiasm that’s needed at a time like this. It’s a breath of fresh air that knows exactly what it wants to do and flawlessly knocks it out of the park. There’s so much to love about the show, but the characters and their quirks are what shines brightest.

Central Park is one of the most exciting shows of the year, and one that should not be missed.

 

What did you think of this season of Central Park? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Central Park is available Friday, May 29 on Apple TV+.

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