- "The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder" is a Disney+ reboot of the beloved childrens'
cartoon . - The new series comes 20 years after its original, and has updated to hear from a variety of new perspectives and voices.
In the first episode of Disney+'s "The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder," Penny Proud (voiced by Kyla Pratt) wakes up in her familiar pink-purple bedroom. She drags her feet to the bathroom, and as she looks in the mirror, we're introduced to a taller, curvier Penny Proud. Although she is still 14 years old, the same age she was in the original series, this new version of Penny seems older, more self assured, and more "Gen Z."
From the moment the new, remixed theme song, sung by Joyce Wrice, rolls in, the audience knows their favorite Black family from Smithville never left, even if a few things have changed in the past 20 years.
In making the beloved reboot of the 2001 original series, creator Bruce W. Smith and executive producer Ralph Farquhar knew that timing would be everything. Two decades later, now more than ever, Smith said, diverse voices are finally being heard.
"We felt there was a compelling reason for "The Proud Family" to come back because no one really replaced us when we left," Farquhar added. "We thought, okay, if nobody's doing it, we'll do it again."
Two years ago,
The creators said its original audience, and specifically Black Twitter, helped the reboot get the green light. Fans of the show continued to make memes, fan art, and reminisced about the original animated series after it found a new life on the streaming service.
"Disney was looking for a show that was speaking specifically to an African American audience," Smith told Insider. "This show was the one show that really had that voice authentically, so once Black Twitter got a hold of it, it just kind of propelled the notion of us coming back and now here we are."
With the reboot, the show was able to grow up alongside its viewers. In the new series, the audience follows Penny Proud as she inches her way toward womanhood—navigating social media in the 2020s, making new friends, and embracing new adventures.
The show remains in good company with the rest of the dysfunctional, but adored, Proud family members—Oscar Proud (Tommy Davidson), Trudy Proud (Paula Jai Parker) and Suga Mama (Jo Marie Payton ), and friend group—Dijonay (Karen Malina White), LaCienega (Alisa Reyes), and Zoey (Soleil Moon Frye).
While the series picks up after what feels like a very long summer, we're introduced to new faces. Michael, for example, is now a permanent member of the friend group and is the series' first openly queer character. Farquhar said that the creators wanted to include LGBTQ+ representation in the new series, which did not exist in the original.
There are also a few new kids on the block—Maya Leibowitz-Jenkins (Keke Palmer) and her brother Francis' KG' Leibowitz-Jenkins (Julius Dubose). They recently moved into the neighborhood with their two dads, Barry and Randall Leibowitz-Jenkins (voiced by Zachary Quinto and Billy Porter)—another first for the series.
In the fourth episode, "Father Figures," the characters learn that the new kids have same-sex parents, which results in an ugly train of gossip and homophobic behavior. Penny butts heads with her father, Oscar's, deep-set prejudices, but in the end, Oscar learns to see the world through Penny's eyes.
"The Proud Family" still thrives in its visual comedy, cultural references, and feel-good family moments. But, it's clear that the world it exists within has changed in the past 20 years.
The show deals with the effects of social media, and tackles storylines such as homelessness and complicated family dynamics. It also expands its worldview to hear from a variety of perspectives.
Smith and Farquhar did not solely rely on their voices this time around. According to the creators, the writers' room was purposefully diverse, to highlight younger and older writers, as well as people from a variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds. On the directing side, two out of the three directors this season were Black women.
"It takes a village to make a show like The Proud Family. So we wanted to make sure that every stop, we've got some leadership with people of color," Smith told Insider. "The whole D and I (diversity and inclusion) initiative, we made it a point to be about it, as opposed to just talking about it all the time."
It was recently announced that "The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder" is returning for a second season. Farquhar promises that this next season will be "absolutely crazy."
"The next ten episodes are going to cover a variety of subjects and topical matters that are important to us as a culture," Smith concluded. "See, that's the thing with us, is that we make the show for us, you know what I mean?"