Bruce W. Smith

Bruce Wayne Smith(born September 6, 1961) is an American film and television producer, animator, character designer and film director. He is best known as the creator of Disney Channel'sThe Proud Family(2001–2005) andDisney+'sThe Proud Family: Louder and Prouder(2022–present). Employed byWalt Disney Animation Studiossince 1996, Smith has served as the supervising animator forKerchakand Baboons & Baby Baboon inTarzan,PachainThe Emperor's New Groove, Dr. Facilier inThe Princess and the FrogandPiglet,KangaandRooinWinnie the Pooh. He directed the 1992 animated filmBebe's Kids, which was met with critical and commercial failure.
Smith grew up in Los Angeles, California. At age 10, he made his first animated film based on designs ofOne Hundred and One Dalmatians.Smith attended the Character Animation program atCalifornia Institute of the Arts, and graduated in 1981.He later stated that while at CalArts he became aware of the lack of Black characters inanimated films, which motivated him to create his own animated series.
In 1984, he was the key assistant animator on a TV short ofGarfield in the Rough.In 1986, he served as an animator forPinocchio and the Emperor of the Night,and joined the Walt Disney Studios as an animator forWho Framed Roger Rabbit,as well as otherRoger Rabbitshortsproduced by the studio.In a 2022 retrospective interview, Smith said that the "big old tree Afro" with lips (whenEddie Valiantenters Toontown) is a caricature of himself that he drew while working on the film.
He was an animator for theBack to Neverlandshort,Michael & Mickey.He was credited on the 1990sDon BluthfilmsRock-A-DoodleandRover Dangerfield—for which he served as a storyboard artist, character designer, character animator, and sequence director.In 1997, Smith served as a scenic artist for the filmThe Peacemakerand was an animator forThe Indescribable NthandGarfield in the Rough.He also worked as a character designer for theFox Kidsmusical comedyC-Bear and Jamal.
Also in the early 1990s, Smith was selected by producedReginald Hudlin(House Party,Boomerang) to direct theParamount Picturesanimated filmBebe's Kids. Upon its release in 1999, the film was abox office bomband saw mixed to negative reviews from critics.In years that followed, he was credited as a character designer forTed Turner'sA Cool Like That Christmas,The Pagemaster,as well as the television seriesHappily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child.
Smith also served as co-director on theWarner Bros.live-action animated filmSpace Jambefore returning to Disney as supervising animator on such films asTarzan(Kerchak and Baboons)andThe Emperor's New Groove(Pacha).
While working animation on the feature film side, Smith furthered his interest in television animation by creatingThe Proud FamilyforDisney Channelin 2001. Initially pitched toNickelodeonin 1998, a pilot was created for the network and remains partiallost media.He co-founded Jambalaya Studios, which worked in conjunction withWillard Carroll'sHyperion Picturesto produce the series, for which he worked on over 50 episodes as well asThe Proud Family Movie(2005).
The name of the series, the first venture for Jambalaya Studio, came from something he told his co-founder, Tom Wilhite when he showed him the show's main characters drawn as though they were in a family portrait.
In 2004, he served as a supervising animator for Disney'sHome on the Range.That same year, co-created and served as executive producer for the seriesDa Boom CrewforThe WB.Smith later described the series as mixing concepts ofStar WarswithBoyz-N-The Hood, and argued that the series tries to recreate the "black experience in animated form." Although 13 episodes were produced, only four of which aired; the series was a commercial failure.
In 2009, Smith returned to the Walt Disney Animation Studios and Duncan Studio Production to supervise 2D animation onThe Princess and the Frog—for the character Dr. Facilier—as well as the 2011 filmWinnie the Pooh—for the characters Piglet, Kanga and Roo. In addition, he served as the lead animator for the animated shortTangled Ever After.Smith's character design ability led him into visual development for the studio's subsequent projects, namelyWreck-It RalphandFrozen.
In 2015, he served as part of the senior creative team for the direct-to-TV filmTinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast.In 2018, he served as an animator forTeen Titans Go! To the Movies.In 2019, he directed the short filmHair Love, which won theAcademy Award for Best Animated Short Film.In 2019, he worked on thetraditionally-animatedindiesteampunkshort seriesHullabaloo.
He returned toThe Proud Familywith the rebootThe Proud Family: Louder and Prouder, which began airing onDisney+in February 2022.This was spurred by the fact that on January 1, 2020, the originalThe Proud Familyseries began streaming on Disney+, and shortly thereafter, Disney executives approached Smith andRalph Farquharregarding a reviving of the series.On February 27, 2020, the show was formally ordered on the streaming service.Smith concurred with Farquhar, saying that the "show never really went away" and called it the "perfect time to bring back this show."Smith also argued that the series is "blazing a path...[in] this animated sphere," saying it has parts of thehorror,sci-fi, andWesterngenres. The show is rated TV-PG, making thisDisney Television Animation's first series to carry the rating.
In December 2020, he and Farquhar signed an overall deal with Disney to further produce television properties.On April 18, 2022, Disney+ renewedThe Proud Family: Louder and Prouderfor a second season.