The Proud Family

### Executive Producers

Kurt Albrecht, Willard Carroll, Thomas K. Wilhite, Ralph Farquhar, Bruce W. Smith and Calvin Brown Jr.

### Original Release

September 15, 2001 - August 19, 2005

**The Proud Family** is an American television series created by Bruce W. Smith.

It focuses on Penny Proud as she hilariously navigates growing up in a rambunctious house with a loving mum and an overly protective father.

The series premiered on September 15, 2001 and aired for two seasons until August 19, 2005.

## Cast and Characters

### Main

* Kyla Pratt as Penny Proud
* Karen Malina White as Dijonay Jones
* Tara Strong as BeBe and CeCe Proud
* Puff the Dog
* Tara Strong (Season 1)
* Carlos Alazraqui (Season 2)
* Jo Marie Payton as Suga Mama Proud
* Paula Jai Parker as Trudy Proud
* Tommy Davidson as Oscar Proud
* Soleil Moon Frye as Zoey Howzer
* Alisa Reyes as LaCienega Boulevardez
* Orlando Brown as Sticky Webb

### Recurring

* Raquel Lee as The Gross Sisters
* Cedric the Entertainer as Bobby Proud
* Aries Spears as Wizard Kelly / Lil' Wiz
* Ron Glass as Red-Nosed Baby
* Carlos Mencia as Felix Boulevardez
* Maria Canals as Sunset Boulevardez
* Alvaro Gutierrez as Papi Boulevardez
* Phil LaMarr as Michael Collins
* Kevin Michael Richardson as Dr. Payne
* Cree Summer as Peabo

## Episodes

See Also: List of The Proud Family Episodes

 2 | 31

## Production

The Proud Family was created by Walt Disney Animation Studios animator Bruce W. Smith and was produced by Jambalaya Studios. Before its premiere, it was originally piloted for Disney's One Saturday Morning, then Nickelodeon, until it was eventually picked up by Disney Channel and started airing in September 2001. An original pilot was made and produced by Nickelodeon in 1998 but was never shown to the public resulting in Nickelodeon passing the show on. Some of the later episodes of The Proud Family were produced using Adobe Flash. Michael Peraza was the show's art director. It marked the very first animated Disney Channel Original Series, and, coincidentally, the only original animated series from Disney Channel not to be associated with, or produced exclusively by, Disney's Television Animation arm.

The show ran for two seasons and was followed by the 2005 film, The Proud Family Movie, which ended the series.

## Release

### Re-runs

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 line-up. 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.

The episode "Who You Calling a Sissy?" was pulled after its initial airing on August 12, 2005 due to Michael Collins being called a sissy at the time. It was later confirmed that Michael Collins is gender non-conforming. The ban was lifted as of 2020 and is available to watch on Disney+. Another episode "Wedding Bell Blues" was cut from reruns on the network in 2004 due to Oscar accusing Suga Mama’s new boyfriend Clarence of being a gigolo. The episode was later reinstated when the show was released on Disney+ in 2020.

### 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.

### Home Media

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

### Streaming

The series is available for purchase on the iTunes Store, Amazon Prime Video, and Google TV as of September 2020. The series became available to stream on Disney+ on January 1, 2020. The first season episode "Don't Leave Home Without It" was originally made unavailable on all streaming services, including Disney+, most likely due to music licensing issues with the episode's use of Destiny's Child's "Independent Women" until this issue was resolved in March 2022 only on iTunes and the complete series DVD. As of August 3, 2022, that episode was later re-added to the service. Due to increasing interest in the series, Disney executives approached Farquhar and Smith about reviving the series, and the production of the revival, entitled The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder was announced on February 27, 2020.

## Reception

The series was received positively and was a "huge success" when it premiered. New York Times writer Leigh Ann Johnson argued that the series provided a "light-hearted depiction of a Black suburban family" in their day-to-day lives, "ground-breaking" for a Black cartoon on TV, with universal themes delivered so that they were rooted in African-American culture. They also stated that the series included vernacular and colloquialisms used in Black households, combined with humor, cultural references, and "educational storylines." Another writer for the Times, Maya Phillips, argued that the series "distinguished itself by being unapologetically Black." Leila Etthachfini of Vice Media criticized the show for negative stereotypes of Asian, Muslim, and Black people, but also said it is "a standout Disney show in many ways." Betsy Wallace of Common Sense Media said that the series is a mix of positive role models, zany comedy, and stories which are relatable, while questioning the political point of having a famous basketball player own everything in town, and asked whether its fine for a cartoon to "exaggerate cultural traits and poke fun at them." Even so, the review concluded that the series provides strong tweens and teenagers strong role models of parents, fun comedy, and relatable stories. Naidra 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." Screenrant 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. CBR argued that the series represents the diversity of the Black community "instead of depicting them as stock characters."