The Proud Family

***The Proud Family*** is an American animated television series that aired on Disney Channel from September 15, 2001 to October 17, 2009.

About 15 years after the original series ended, the series will be returning with new episodes on the Disney+ streaming service, which was originally scheduled in 2021. However, it was delayed to February 23, 2022, since the release date was postponed indefinitely, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The revived series is now known as *The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder*.

## Production

*The Proud Family* was created by Bruce W. Smith and was produced by his studio, Jambalaya Studios. Originally piloted for Nickelodeon, it was eventually picked up by the Disney Channel in September 2001. Many of the later episodes of *The Proud Family* were produced using Macromedia Flash. It was first broadcast in the United States on Disney Channel on September 15, 2001 (it still airs there early weekday mornings), and was later aired on Toon Disney until February 2009 when Toon Disney was re-launched as Disney XD. It has also broadcast on The Family Channel in Canada. Disney Channel admits that it will not air the new seasons of *The Proud Family*. The show was the first Disney animated show which didn't premiere on network/over-the-air television, which had been done since 1985 when the Television Animation unit was started. It marked the first animated Disney Channel Original Series, and, incidentally, the only animated original series from the Disney Channel not associated with, and to be produced exclusively by, Walt Disney's TV Animation arm. Later, in January 2009, three episodes reran.

## The Proud Family

### Penny Proud

Voiced by Kyla Pratt; the protagonist and the 14-year-old African-American girl who is usually embarrassed by the way her father, Oscar, acts. She enjoys hanging out with her friends, even though they have gotten her into trouble, and left her to face danger by herself many times. She sometimes listens to and always respects her parents, but often caves in to peer pressure. She is also a feminist at times, and is very logical. She is a very talented singer as shown when she becomes a solo singer for Wizard Kelly productions, but quits after missing her old life. Penny's a Straight A student. She's on the Football team and the Newspaper Staff. Penny tried out for cheerleading, but due to having an accident with the stage being converted into a giant CD, LaCienega got the last spot on the cheerleading squad. Penny is also good at reciting poetry and becomes jealous when Dijonay becomes just as good as her. In *The Proud Family Movie*, Penny turns 16, and she begins to want independence, but her father has issues letting her go. She saves the world and makes up with him, and he finally realizes she's her own person who can make her own decisions.

### Oscar Proud

Voiced by Tommy Davidson, Oscar is the overprotective father of Penny, Bebe, and Cece, and is the son of Suga Mama. He is very hyper, immature, childish, and semi-dimwitted, though considered intelligent in persona in an almost Homer Simpson manner. Oscar owns a business and produces a venomous brand of snack food called "Proud Snacks." Oscar's biggest weaknesses are money, attractive women, and his wife Trudy.

### Trudy Proud

Voiced by Paula Jai Parker, Trudy is the veterinarian mother of Penny, BeBe and CeCe. She comes from somewhat of a wealthy family, her father also being a doctor.

### BeBe & CeCe Proud

Voiced by Tara Strong; Penny's trouble-making 1-year-old 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 with pigtails. BeBe and CeCe are namesakes of the gospel music brother and sister duo, BeBe & CeCe Winans. CeCe is the older twin. They love Penny very much, but at points play too roughly with her. They are often seen playing with Puff, and most of the time, Puff ends up getting injured. Their voices are similar to Dil Pickles on Rugrats, whose voice is by the same actress.

### Suga Mama Proud

Voiced by Jo Marie Payton; Penny, Bebe, and Cece's hip, wrestling-loving grandma who does Tae-kwon-do. She is very sassy, and always gets straight to the point when she talks. She constantly insults, discourages and beats up Oscar, but she loves him deep down (during the Proud Family Movie she finally gives him some respect and listens to him for once). Her age is unknown (although in one episode it said she had a driver's license that expired in 1938), and often made fun of by her son. An event from twenty years ago shows her looking exactly the same as before. Suga Mama is in love with Papi. On the contrary Papi despises Suga Mama and often makes rude remarks about her in Spanish which she thinks are compliments, she shows extra amounts of love for her poodle, Puff. Her strength is shown in *Lilo & Stitch: The Series* when she was able to single handily beat Gantu in a wrestling match without a scratch.

### Bobby Proud

Voiced by Cedric The Entertainer (Arsenio Hall in The Proud Family Movie), Oscar's older brother and Suga Mama's eldest son. He is a fan of groups like Kool & The Gang among others. He sings and talks like the lead singers of the '70's bands The Ohio Players (Sugarfoot) and The Commodores (Lionel Richie). He has a 1959 Cadillac Eldorado that only plays one song and has hydraulics and also a parachute for some safety reasons (as shown in the episode "Thelma and Luis" when Suga Mama and Papi accidentally drive it off the Grand Canyon and the parachute saves them). 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. For example, he gets Oscar to be an Ice Cream man at a basketball game, which leads to one of the cheerleaders asking Oscar out on a date. Bobby and his band, DisFunksunal Junction are a clear parody of band leader George Clinton also known as Dr. Funkenstein and his band Parliament-Funkadelic, also known as P-Funk.

### Puff the Dog

Voiced by Tara Strong, Puff is Suga Mama's beloved pet poodle. Like his owner, Puff hates Oscar and is often tormented by the baby twins, BeBe and CeCe, who play roughly with him.

## Characters' cast

### Main cast

* Kyla Pratt - Penny Proud
* Tommy Davidson - Oscar Proud
* Paula Jai Parker - Trudy Proud
* Jo Marie Payton - Suger "Suga Mama" Proud
* Tara Strong - BeBe Proud, CeCe Proud and Puff the Dog

### Semi-regular cast

* Karen Malina White - Dijonay Jones
* Soleil Moon Frye - Zoey Howzer
* Alisa Reyes as LaCienega Boulevardez
* Orlando Brown - Sticky Webb
* Cedric the Entertainer - Bobby Proud
* Phil LaMarr (season 1-2) and EJ Johnson (Season 3) - Michael Collins
* Raquel Lee - Nubia Gross (Nubia is the only speaker of the three Gross Sisters)
* Kevin Michael Richardson - Doctor Payne / Omar
* Cree Summer as Peabo
* Keke Palmer as Maya Leibowitz-Jenkins
* Zachary Quinto as Barry Leibowitz-Jenkins
* Billy Porter as Randall Leibowitz-Jenkins

### Co-starring

* Carlos Mencia as Felix Boulevardez
* María Canals-Barrera as Sunset Boulevardez
* Alvaro Gutierrez as Papi Boulevardez
* Aries Spears as Wizard Kelly and Little Wiz

### Notable guest stars

* Mo'Nique as Boonnetta Proud
* Anthony Anderson as Ray Ray Proud, Sr.
* Robert Guillaume as Dr. Vincent Parker
* Cicely Tyson as Mrs. Maureen Parker
* David Alan Grier as Reuben Parker
* Wendy Raquel Robinson as Leslie Parker
* Sheryl Lee Ralph as Diana Parker
* Solange Knowles as Chanel Parker
* Jamal Mixon as Ray Ray Proud, Jr.
* Pablo Santos as Johnny Lovely
* Erica Rivera as Agatha Ordinario
* Frank Welker as Chester the Duck
* Asante Blackk as Kareem (Season 3)
* Artist "A Boogie" Dubose as Francis "KG" Leibowitz-Jenkins (Season 3)
* Lizzo as TBA (Season 3)
* Lil Nas X as TBA (Season 3)
* Chance the Rapper as TBA (season 3)
* Normani as TBA (Season 3)
* Leslie Odom Jr. as TBA (Season 3)
* Tiffany Haddish as TBA (Season 3)
* Lena Waithe as TBA (Season 3)
* Anthony Anderson as TBA (season 3)
* Gabrielle Union as TBA (Season 3)
* Debbie Allen as TBA (Season 3)
* James Pickens Jr. as TBA (Season 3)
* Courtney B. Vance as TBA (season 3)
* Jane Lynch as TBA (Season 3)
* Marsai Martin as TBA (Season 3)
* Jaden Smith as TBA (Season 3)
* Glynn Turman as TBA (Season 3)
* Larmone Morris as TBA (Season 3)
* Brenda Song as TBA (Season 3)
* Tina Knowles as TBA (Season 3)
* Eva Longoria as TBA (Season 3)
* Holly Robinson Peete as TBA (Season 3)
* Al Roker as TBA (Season 3)
* Bretman Rock as TBA (Season 3)
* Gabby Douglas as TBA (Season 3)
* Laurie Hernandez as TBA (Season 3)
* Dominique Dawes as TBA (Season 3)

### Guest stars

* **Al Roker** — a genie-like man who grants wishes at a horrible price. Once made all the adults on Earth disappear (except Bobby because he is so childlike) & work for him, making them make a new line of One Size Fits All Roker Wear products for him. Also made BeBe and CeCe teenagers, causing them to make Penny's friends and family alienate her. Voiced by Himself.
* **Boonnetta Proud** — Oscar's crazy cousin-in-law. Voiced by Mo'Nique.
* **Chanel Parker** — Trudy's niece; appeared in ("Between Family Lines"). Voiced by Solange Knowles.
* **Chester the Duck** — A duck Penny found who appeared in ("Psycho Duck"). He is a very aggressive duck. He is also hated by Oscar because he ate his peach cobbler and his steak sandwich. Oscar's plan to get rid of him failed. Voiced by Frank Welker.
* **Debra Williams** — friend of Oscar and Trudy who plays the character Thingy. Voiced by Vanessa L. Williams.
* **Diana Parker** — Trudy's sister who is a famous Broadway actress; appeared in ("Between Family Lines" and "Romeo Must Wed"). Voiced by Sheryl Lee Ralph.
* **Felix** — Sunset's husband, who often helps Oscar. Voiced by Carlos Mencia.
* **Fifteen "15" Cent** — a rapper who is a obvious parody of Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, with a crush on Penny. Voiced by Omarion.
* **Johnny McBride** — a classmate in Penny's algebra class that was secretly using graffiti on the school's walls to dedicate his love for Penny. He later asks Penny to be his girlfriend. He is also in a wheelchair. Later, after a family ski trip, Penny finds that he's really a jerk. Voiced by Shia LaBeouf.
* **Leslie Parker** — Trudy's very snobby sister-in-law; appeared in ("Between Family Lines"). Voiced by Wendy Raquel Robinson.
* **Lisa Raye** — Lisa Raye is a dance instructor for 15 Cent's video in the Proud Family movie. Voiced by Lisa Raye McCoy.
* **Mrs. Maureen Parker** — Trudy's mother, who hates Suga Mama; appeared in ("Between Family Lines"). Voiced by Cicely Tyson.
* **Mega** — A boy who runs a website where kids download songs for free. Is a parody of Morpheus from *The Matrix*. Ray J is the voice of Mega in an episode "E-Z Jackster".
* **Michael Collins** — a flamboyant boy who kids constantly pick on for being effeminate and loving fashion. He is not one of Penny's main friends but is still a friend, nonetheless, he escorts Penny to the school dance in the episode "Who You Callin' A Sissy", which was banned after its initial broadcast until 2020. His idol is Luther Vandross. His father is the coach of the school, and refuses to acknowledge their father/son relationship in public, probably out of shame he feels for his son. His sexual orientation was not explicitly clear until the 2022 revival series.
* **Papi** — Felix's father. He is in love with Suga Mama, but often insults her in Spanish; English subtitles appear at the bottom of the screen when he does so. Also has Cesar Romero's "Joker" Laugh.
* **Peabo** — The kid who has a huge crush on Penny, then on Zoey, and is dating Dijonay's sister, Paprica. Peabo points out Oscar's stupidity, and is the only person who likes Oscar's Proud Snacks. He sometimes reminds Oscar of past problems he had. Voiced by Cree Summer and Miss Kittie in later episodes.
* **Ray Ray Proud, Sr.** — Oscar's crazy cousin. Voiced by Anthony Anderson.
* **Ray Ray Proud, Jr.** — Oscar's kid nephew; appeared in ("Between Family Lines"). Voiced by Jamal Mixon.
* **Reuben Parker** — Trudy's brother, a very rich man whom, unlike the rest if the Parkers, was genuinely nice to Oscar. appeared in ("Between Family Lines"). Voiced by David Alan Grier.
* **S'mo Proud** — Ray Ray Proud Sr.'s gluttonous son. He is 10 months old, but is unnaturally large for a baby. Dijonay, thinking he was a teenager, tried to get his phone number, even though he has no phone, just a baby monitor.
* **Red-Nosed Baby** — An infant with a droll expression, who can mysteriously speak, and has the voice of an adult man. He dubs Oscar as a thumb sucking crybaby, and whenever Oscar tries to tell people that the baby can talk, he always outsmarts him. Oscar sometimes refers to him as "Rudolph." Voiced by Ron Glass.
* **Sista Spice** — Sister of Suga Mama, appearing in one episode ("Penny Potter") in which she scammed Oscar out of money. She has psychic powers. Voiced by Jenifer Lewis.
* **Thingy** — A television show younger children love to watch. The main character is a parody of Barney.
* **Dr. Vincent Parker** — Trudy's father, who hates Oscar and dislikes his side of the family (he refuses to have Oscar address him as anything besides "Dr. Parker"); appeared in ("Between Family Lines"). Voiced by Robert Guillaume.
* There is a recurring character, usually associated with Wizard Kelly, acting as a bodyguard, gate security guard, bouncer, or even in one episode as an exterminator (a reference to The Terminator). He is loosely based on Arnold Schwarzenegger since he always has an Austrian accent and frequently uses the catch phrase, "I'll be back!"

## Availability

*See also:* The Proud Family videography

*The Proud Family Movie* was released on VHS and DVD on December 6, 2005. The rest of the series was later made available to purchase on iTunes, Google Play, and to stream on Disney+.

The season 1 episode "Don't Leave Home Without It" was originally made unavailable on all streaming medias most likely due to music licensing issues regarding the use of Destiny's Child's song "Independent Women"; this issue was resolved for iTunes in March 2022.

In January 2022, Disney announced that *The Proud Family: The Complete Original Series* would be coming to DVD on March 15, 2022 in belated honor of the show's 20th anniversary (which was actually the year prior). This 7-disc set features all 52 episodes of the original series (along with the recovery of the suspended "Don't Leave Home Without It" episode), as well as a modified version of *The Proud Family Movie*'s standalone DVD release that presents the movie in its widescreen production aspect ratio (rather than in pan-and-scan like on the original version of that disc).

## Media

* *The Proud Family (album)*
* *The Proud Family (video game)*

## Film adaptations

In 2005, *The Proud Family Movie* premiered as a DCOM on Disney Channel. The film served as a series finale as well as a motion picture.