Animation Magazine — February 24, 2022
‘The Proud Family’ Returns to Screens Louder, Prouder & Even More Authentic!

***This article originally appeared in the March ’22 issue of Animation Magazine (No. 318)***

Penny Proud is growing up. The Proud Family’s plucky 14-year-old star, voiced by Kyla Pratt, faces a host of new challenges in the upcoming series revival, The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder, including a “woke” neighbor who thinks Penny could use some schooling, bullying social media influencers intent on canceling her and — so cringe! — her own teenage hormones.

A continuation of the acclaimed Disney Channel series that served as a cultural touchstone for Black audiences during its two-season run, The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder arrives on Disney+ on February 23. The new series, first announced in 2020, is executive produced by Proud Family creator Bruce W. Smith (The Princess and the Frog) and television veteran Ralph Farquhar (Moesha), with Calvin Brown, Jr. (Moesha) serving as co-executive producer and story editor.

For Smith, The Proud Family represented everything that was missing in mainstream animation, namely Black representation, during a time when shows like The Simpsons, Family Guy and King of the Hill were dominating primetime television. “Where the Black people at?” he demands. “That’s kind of what it came down to, and the inspiration for creating the show was that point of, ‘When will we be included in all the fun?’ I grew up loving shows like The Flintstones and The Jetsons. For me, as an African American growing up in South Central Los Angeles, I knew that the one element missing in all of my favorite animated shows was us.” (Read full story…)