The Proud Family

Main • Penny Proud (voiced by Kyla Pratt) is the main protagonist of the series, a good-natured, smart, outspoken, and sensible 14-year-old girl who enjoys hanging out with her friends, even though they (mostly Dijonay) have gotten her into trouble, and left her to face danger by herself many times. She loves her parents dearly, but has a rather tense relationship with Oscar as he frequently embarrasses her and clashes with him over matters of the heart, especially when dating boys. • Oscar Proud (voiced by Tommy Davidson) is the overprotective father of Penny, BeBe and CeCe, husband of Trudy, younger brother of Bobby and son of Suga Mama. who is characterized as obnoxious and immature, but still a well-meaning, friendly man whose ambitions and failed attempts at fame and fortune often cloud his judgement. Oscar is an amateur entrepreneur despite his job as a telemarketer for the fictional Kelly Inc. • Trudy Proud (née Parker) (voiced by Paula Jai Parker) is the veterinarian mother of Penny, BeBe and CeCe, wife of Oscar, daughter-in-law of Suga Mama and sister-in-law of Bobby. She comes from a relatively wealthy family which includes her sister Diana, who is a famous actress. She often gives Penny advice when Penny is in trouble while at the same time, she frequently forces Oscar to see the logical side of an argument and to allow Penny to have a voice. Trudy is the second most sensible member of the family along with Penny, though she can be bossy sometimes. • Suga Mama Proud (voiced by Jo Marie Payton) is Penny, BeBe, and CeCe's hip, wrestling-loving paternal grandmother, Oscar and Bobby's mother and Trudy's mother-in-law who does Tae Bo. She is nice but sassy, and always gets straight to the point when she talks. She can even tease and beat up Oscar, but loves him deep down. She is really into pink dresses and afro puffs, hence the name of her dog, Puff. • BeBe & CeCe Proud (both voiced by Tara Strong) are Penny's troublemaking baby fraternal twin siblings. BeBe is a boy with an afro and always has a bottle in his mouth, while CeCe is a girl with brown hair and a pink dress. BeBe and CeCe are named after the gospel music brother and sister duo, BeBe & CeCe Winans. • Puff the Dog (voiced by Tara Strong in the first season, Carlos Alazraqui in the second season and the movie) is Suga Mama's beloved pet poodle. Puff is often tormented by the baby twins, BeBe & CeCe, who play roughly with him. He does, however, show a soft side for Penny. • LaCienega Boulevardez (voiced by Alisa Reyes • Sticky Webb (voiced by Orlando Brown) is Penny's other best friend. He is shown as a cool tech nerd who is able to build or hack any type of device, and after Zoey, he is Penny's most loyal friend. Supporting • The Gross Sisters (Nubia is voiced by Raquel Lee, Olei and Gina do not speak) are the neighborhood bullies who are almost always seen together and who go around stealing money from students, faculty, and parents (including their own). Their names are references to skincare brands Neutrogena, Nivea, and Olay, although their skin is noted to be dry, ashy, and blue. • Bobby Proud (voiced by Cedric the Entertainer) is Oscar's older brother, Suga Mama's elder son, Trudy's brother-in-law and Penny, BeBe and CeCe's uncle. He is a fan of groups like Kool & The Gang among others. Suga Mama favors him over Oscar. He often has Oscar do things that annoy him very often, but ironically lead to Oscar meeting beautiful women. • Wizard Kelly (voiced by Aries Spears) is an infant with a droll expression, who enjoys harassing Oscar. • Felix Boulevardez (voiced by Carlos Mencia) is the neighbor and best friend of Oscar. the father of LaCienega and the husband of Sunset. who owns his own construction company called Boulevardez Construction. Both Oscar and Felix tend to get in trouble with their wives (although he is noticeably more well-off and successful than Oscar is), yet their friendship is strong. Felix usually gives LaCienega everything she asks for but he has occasionally been pushed to a breaking point. • Sunset Boulevardez (voiced by Maria Canals) is Penny's flamboyant friend and the son of the school coach. • Dr. Payne (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) is the Prouds' doctor, whose build and mannerisms are based on those of Mr. T. Oscar usually suffers painful treatment at his hands. • Peabo (voiced by Cree Summer) is the Prouds' 9-year-old neighbor. • Li’l Wiz (voiced by Aries Spears) is Wizard Kelly's son. ==Episodes==

Crossover with Lilo & Stitch The Proud Family visit Hawaii in an episode of Lilo & Stitch: The Series, titled "Spats", in which they stay at Jumba & Pleakley's Bed & Not Breakfast and Suga Mama inadvertently activates an experiment that causes spats. ==Production==

Origin and development American animator and character designer Bruce W. Smith had previously directed the animated film ''Bebe's Kids''. Based on comedian Robin Harris' stand-up comedy act of the same name, it was the first animated film to be targeted at a Black audience. Since the 1970s, only a few animated series had an African-American focus, including Little Bill in 1999. The Proud Family was the first project created for Jambalaya Studio, Upon creating the series, Smith drew his experiences with a middle-class African-American family in Los Angeles. including her "bold spirit". Smith wanted to create "something for the audience to laugh at" and give them "something to take away and be proud in terms of what [Black] culture represents." Although essentially an animated sitcom, Smith set up as an action-oriented show and included things that would be impossible for a live-action sitcom. Smith cited the first season episode "I Had a Dream" as one of the examples, stating that the premise is similar to Back to the Future, and the premise would not be done in a "live-action half hour" show. According to TVData Features Syndicate, the dialogue included a "hip-hop vocabulary primer", and the series blended classic family themes from shows like The Simpsons with coming-of-age elements reminiscent of The Cosby Show and Degrassi Junior High. Animation and design In terms of design, Smith wanted the colors to "create a harmony" without "ghetto hues" for a mainstream look. == Themes ==

Due to few pitches of all cartoons featuring African-Americans, and one of the few animated sitcoms to feature African-Americans as lead characters. With universal themes rooted in the African-American culture, The Proud Family was considered "groundbreaking" for television due to its depiction on an African-American family in their day-to-day lives. According to Michael Mallory of The Los Angeles Times, the series was also addressing the "diversity issue" more effectively than in primetime television at the time of publishing. ==Broadcast==

In January 1999, Animation World Network announced that Nickelodeon commissioned production for The Proud Family. Although The Los Angeles Times implied that The Proud Family was picked up by Disney Channel on November 19, 2000, Variety officially announced that Disney Channel was preparing The Proud Family for its lineup on March 26, 2001. The series' debut episode, "Bring It On", first aired on September 15, 2001, on Disney Channel. The show ran for two seasons and was followed by the 2005 film, The Proud Family Movie, which ended the series. Reruns On August 31, 2002, The Proud Family began airing in reruns on ABC as part of Disney's One Saturday Morning. Two weeks later, Disney's One Saturday Morning would be rebranded as ABC Kids where The Proud Family continued airing until September 2, 2006, when it was removed from the lineup. The series was shown on Disney Channel as part of Disney Replay on October 1, 2015, and aired again on December 24, 2015, with the episode, "Seven Days of Kwanzaa". In December 2018, the episode was part of a holiday live stream on Disney Channel's YouTube channel. It also aired on Toon Disney until February 6, 2009, just six days before the channel was relaunched as Disney XD, BET in 2008 and Centric in 2010. The second-season episode "Wedding Bell Blues" was initially removed from reruns on the network in 2004 due to Oscar accusing Suga Mama's new boyfriend Clarence of being a gigolo. The episode is currently available on Disney+. The episode is also currently available on Disney+. International The Proud Family aired on The Family Channel in Canada. In Jamaica, it aired on TVJ. In the United Kingdom, the series aired on ITV in 2002 as part of the network's Saturday morning Diggin' It show. The series has also aired on multiple international Disney Channel stations. Streaming As of September 2020, the series is available for purchase on the iTunes Store, Amazon Prime Video, and Google TV. The series became available to stream on Disney+ on January 1, 2020. The first-season episode "Don't Leave Home Without It" was originally unavailable on all streaming services due to complications with several references to product placements, such as Q-Tip and Rogaine being mentioned. The episode is currently available on Disney+, iTunes, and the complete series on DVD after resolving this issue since no physical appearance of commercialism is involved. == Home media ==

To celebrate the show's 20th anniversary, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released a 7-disc complete collection that includes the entire show for the first time ever on DVD, alongside The Proud Family Movie and Shorties on March 15, 2022. ==Music==

• soul • R&B }} The soundtrack album for the show is a combination of both original songs by the characters in the show, songs by popular R&B music artists such as Alicia Keys, India.Arie, and Solange & Destiny's Child (who perform the theme song), and classic soul music from artists such as Aretha Franklin and the O'Jays. Track listing • "The Proud Family Theme Song" - Solange & Destiny's Child • "Enjoy Yourself" - L.P.D.Z. • "Peanut Butter Jelly Time" - Buckwheat Boyz • "Respect" - Aretha Franklin • "Fallin'" - Alicia Keys • "Throw Em Up" - Lil' Romeo • "Good Times" - Chic • "Bobby's Jam: So Dysfunkshunal" - Cedric the Entertainer • "Video" - India.Arie • "More Love" - Smokey Robinson & the Miracles • "We Are Best Friends" - L.P.D.Z. • "Use ta Be My Girl" - the O'Jays • "It's All About Me" - Penny Proud • "You'll Never Find Another Love like Mine" - Lou Rawls ==Reception==

Critical response The series received generally positive reviews from critics. Mark Sachs of The Los Angeles Times commented that it is a "fresh-feeling animated show geared teens". Nadira Goffe of Slate praised the series for its humor aimed at viewers, with clear inspirations for in-universe shows and references, and for starring a cast of Black teenagers of "all different shades and family makeups." Todd Coleman of TelevisionWeek also praised the series for its "flat-out hilarious" humor, describing the series as "hip in style". Screen Rant praised the series for having a "perfect balance" of being hilarious and heartfelt while breaking barriers with its "BIPOC representation" behind the scenes and in the show itself. Romper praised the series for positive representation of Black families, changing the narrative through each episode. HuffPost lauded the series for allowing Black people to see versions of themselves "through expressive and entertaining characters. Leila Etthachfini of Vice Media criticized the show for negative stereotypes of Asian, Muslim, and Black people, but stated that it is "a standout Disney show in many ways." Ratings The Proud Family was a "huge success" when it premiered. The Proud Family was ranked at No. 17 on TV Guide's ranking of "The Best Disney Channel Shows". The Proud Family was included on MTV's "15 Disney Channel Series We Wish We Could Watch Again". == Other media ==

Television film On May 30, 2005, The Proud Family Movie was announced as part of the "tween-targeted fare" on Disney Channel. The film premiered as a Disney Channel Original Movie on August 19, 2005, on Disney Channel. The film served as the series finale for show's original run. All of the cast reprised their roles for the film. The game was released in November 2005 in North America, a few months after the show ended. GameDaily and GameZone both rated the game 8 out of 10. Reboot In August 2019, Tommy Davidson stated that The Proud Family would be revived for a third season on Disney+. On January 1, 2020, Disney executives approached Farquhar and Smith about reviving the series. On February 27, 2020, it was announced that a reboot of the series has been ordered on Disney+. The original cast (minus Tara Strong due to casting restrictions and Orlando Brown due to his judicial processes) returned to reprise their roles. Keke Palmer joined to voice a new character named Maya Leibowitz-Jenkins. ==References==