The Proud Family

This article is about the TV show. For the album, see The Proud Family (album). For the video game, see The Proud Family (video game).

The Proud Family
The main characters of The Proud Family (From left to right) Penny Proud (voiced by Kyla Pratt), Suga Mama Proud (voiced by Jo Marie Payton), Puff the Dog (voiced by Tara Strong), Trudy Proud (voiced by Paula Jai Parker), Oscar Proud (voiced by Tommy Davidson), and BeBe and CeCe Proud (voiced by Tara Strong) (below)
Format	Animated sitcom
Created by	Bruce W. Smith
Voices of	Kyla Pratt Tommy Davidson Paula Jai Parker Jo Marie Payton Tara Strong
Opening theme	"The Proud Family Theme Song" by Solange Knowles feat. Destiny's Child
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	54 (with the The Proud Family Movie) (List of episodes)
Production
Running time	22 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	Disney Channel
Original run	September 15, 2001 (2001-09-15) – August 19, 2005 (2005-08-19)
External links
Official Website

The Proud Family is an American animated television series that premiered on Disney Channel from September 15, 2001 to August 19, 2005.

Production

The Proud Family is created by Bruce W. Smith and is produced by his studio, Jambalaya Studios.^[1] 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.^{[citation needed]}

The series is the first Disney animated television series which did not 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 original animated series from Disney Channel not associated with, and to be produced exclusively by, Disney's TV Animation arm. Later, in January 2009, three episodes reran. As of 2011, The Proud Family is no longer listed on Disney Channel's official All Shows web page consisting of Disney Channel original series.

The Proud Family

Penny Proud

Voiced by Kyla Pratt; the main protagonist of the series, a 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 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 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. Penny hangs out with Dijonay, Sticky, LaCienega and Zoey. However their friendship with Penny is questionable at times as they all have a habit of ditching Penny whenever Penny is in a difficult situation.

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 somewhat dimwitted, but also very intelligent and well meaning. Oscar owns a business and produces a poisonous brand of snack food called "Proud Snacks."

Trudy Proud

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

BeBe & CeCe Proud

Voiced by Tara Strong; Penny's trouble-making one-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.

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 nice, and always gets straight to the point when she talks. She can constantly tease, or even beat 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 fall 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.

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. He does however, often show a soft side for Penny.It is also shown that Puff likes to watch drama shows and in one episode he even posed as a black poodle on a fancey famous french magazine.

Characters' voice cast

Regular cast

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

Semi-regular cast

• Karen Malina White - Dijonay Jones, Penny's selfish, chubby and enthusiastic best friend. She has an obsessive crush on Sticky. She also loves to gossip and has gotten Penny in trouble many times. Eventually, Penny had to stop trusting Dijonay though they still remain friends. Dijonay's name is a pun on dijonaise and she has 9 younger siblings all named after spices, seasonings and condiments.
• Soleil Moon Frye - Zoey Howzer, Penny's nerdy, insecure and timid friend. She is very insecure about her looks and wants to be accepted. Zoey is known for being a follower and Penny often has to talk sense into her. Zoey is the only non-Hispanic white character in the main cast of the show.
• Alisa Reyes - LaCienega Boulevardez, Penny's nemesis and the daughter of Felix and Sunset. She is popular and beautiful. Penny and LaCienega constantly antagonize each other and usually Penny is stuck hanging out with her, since LaCienega is friends with Dijonay. LaCienega is able to convince the adults in the show that she is a very sweet and moral young lady while in fact she is very vain, arrogant and obnoxious. Note: LaCienega and her mother Sunset are named after La Cienega Boulevard and Sunset Boulevard, two Los Angeles area arterial roads that meet in West Hollywood, California.
• Orlando Brown - Sticky Webb, Penny's other best friend. He is a shown as a cool tech nerd who is able to build or hack any type of device. He seems to have a crush on Penny and is constantly trying to avoid Dijonay's affection. He does have some affection towards Dijonay, such as when Dijonay ignores him he gets jealous.
• Cedric the Entertainer - Bobby Proud
• Phil LaMarr - Michael Collins, Penny's flamboyant friend. He acts very effeminate and loves fashion. Because of that he gets made fun of constantly. His father who is a coach and gym teacher is embarrassed by him.
• Raquel Lee - Nubia Gross (Nubia is the only speaker of the three Gross Sisters)
• Kevin Michael Richardson - Dr. Payne / Omar
• Cree Summer - Peabo
• Aries Spears - Wizard Kelly, whose face is almost never seen. Kelly is an incredibly wealthy and famous businessman who made his fortune playing professional basketball.

Co-starring

• Carlos Mencia - Felix Boulevardez, Oscar's neighbor and best friend. He is the father of LaCienega and the husband of Sunset. He and Oscar often get into trouble together. He and Oscar have a lot in common: both have dominating wives, both have a parent living in their home (Oscar has Suga Mama and Felix has Papi) and both have a teenage daughter, the differences between them is that Oscar is tall and skinny and Felix is short and overweight, also Felix is richer and is more sucessful than Oscar at everything yet that does not effect their friendship.
• María Canals - Sunset Boulevardez, Felix's wife and Trudy's best friend. She is the mother of LaCienega and the wife of Felix. Sunset is a police officer.
• Alvaro Gutierrez - Papi Boulevardez, Felix's father and Suga Mama's love interest. He is the grandfather of LaCienega. He speaks only Spanish and as a result he can get away with insulting Suga Mama. However Suga Mama believes that he is sweet-talking her which increases her affection towards Papi.
• Aries Spears - Lil' Wiz

Notable guest stars

• Al Roker (voiced by Al Roker) — Voices himself as a genie-like man who grants wishes at a horrible price.
• Angel Joseph (voiced by Samuel L. Jackson) - A homeless man.
• Angel Margaret (voiced by Vivica A. Fox) - Joseph's wife.
• Angel Stephanie (voiced by Raven-Symoné) - Joseph and Margaret's daughter.
• Boonnetta Proud (voiced by Mo'Nique) — Oscar's crazy cousin-in-law
• Carlos (voiced by Kel Mitchell) - asks penny on a date episode 1
• Chanel Parker (voiced by Solange Knowles) - Trudy's niece.
• Chester the Duck (voiced by Frank Welker) — An agressive duck Penny found who appeared in "Psycho Duck".
• The Credit Card (voiced by Steve Harvey) - Penny's anthropomorphic credit card who coaxes her into spending all of her money.
• Debra Williams (voiced by Vanessa L. Williams) — Friend of Oscar and Trudy who plays the character Thingy.
• Diana Parker (voiced by Sheryl Lee Ralph) — Trudy's sister, who is a famous Broadway actress.
• "Fifteen (15) Cent" (voiced by Omarion) — A young rapper (whose name resembles "50 Cent"), with a crush on Penny; only appears in The Proud Family Movie.
• Garrett Krebs (voiced by Ving Rhames) - The antagonist of the Halloween episode "A Hero for Halloween".
• Johnny McBride (voiced by Shia LaBeouf) - A classmate in Penny's algebra class that was secretly using graffiti on the school's walls to dedicate his love for her.
• Leslie Parker (voiced by Wendy Raquel Robinson) — Trudy's very snobby sister-in-law.
• Lisa Raye (voiced by LisaRaye McCoy) — A dance instructor for 15 Cent's video; only appears in The Proud Family Movie.
• Lou Rawls (voiced by Lou Rawls) - Voices himself in Penny's dream sequence and singing "Can't Get Enough of Your Love".
• Mrs. Maureen Parker (voiced by Cicely Tyson) — Trudy's mother, who hates Suga Mama.
• Mega (voiced by Ray J) — A boy who runs a website where kids download songs for free; he is a parody of Morpheus from The Matrix.
• Ray Ray Proud, Sr. (voiced by Anthony Anderson) — Oscar's crazy cousin.
• Ray Ray Proud, Jr. (voiced by Jamal Mixon) — the son of Ray Ray Proud Sr. and his heavy set wife Boonnetta.
• Reuben Parker (voiced by David Alan Grier) — Trudy's rich brother, whom, unlike the rest if the Parkers, was genuinely nice to Oscar.
• Smart Baby/Red-Nosed Baby (voiced by Ron Glass) — An infant with a droll expression, who can mysteriously speak with the voice of an adult man, but only when no one but Oscar (the baby's nemesis) can hear him.
• Sista Spice (voiced by Jenifer Lewis) — Suga Mama's psychic sister.
• Sunny Stevens/Iesha (voiced by Gabrielle Union) - The teen star of Penny and her friends' favorite show, Iesha.
• Teen Bebe and Cece (voiced by Lee Thompson Young and Sicily Sewell) - The teen forms of Bebe and Cece who appear when Penny wishes that they were older so she doesn't have to babysit them.
• Dr. Vincent Parker (voiced by Robert Guillaume) — 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").

Episodes

Main article: List of The Proud Family episodes

Crossover

The Proud Family is featured in an episode of Lilo & Stitch: The Series entitled "Spats". Notable characters are listed below.

• Kyla Pratt as the voice of Penny Proud
• Daveigh Chase as the voice of Lilo Pelekai
• Chris Sanders as the voice of Stitch (626)
• David Ogden Stiers as the voice of Dr. Jumba
• Kevin McDonald as the voice of Pleakey
• Tommy Davidson as the voice of Oscar Proud
• Paula Jai Parker as the voice of Trudy Proud
• Tara Strong as the voice of BeBe and CeCe Proud
• Jo Marie Payton as the voice of Suga Mama Proud

Reruns

The show aired in reruns on ABC as part of Disney's One Saturday Morning on May 4, 2002 until September 7, 2002.

Syndication

The series aired in syndication on BET in 2008. It also aired on Toon Disney until February 2009. The Proud Family was also broadcast on The Family Channel in Canada. In 2010, the series began airing on Centric.

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.

Awards and nominations

• Annie Awards

2004 - Outstanding Character Design in an Animated Television Production - Shannon Tindle

for episode "Culture Shock" (Nominated)

2003 - Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Television Production Produced for Children (Nominated)

2003 - Outstanding Character Design in an Animated Television Production - Shannon Tindle

for episode "Forbidden Date" (Nominated)

2003 - Outstanding Directing in an Animated Television Production - Bruce W. Smith for episode "A Hero For Halloween" (Nominated)

2003 - Outstanding Writing in an Animated Television Production - James E. West II & T. Smith III for episode "I Had A Dream" (Nominated)

• BET Comedy Awards

2004 - Outstanding Animated Series (Won)

• Casting Society of America

2003 - Best Casting for Animated Voice Over, Television - Eileen Mack Knight (Won)

2002 - Best Casting for Animated Voice Over, Television - Eileen Mack Knight (Won)

• Image Awards

2005 - Outstanding Performance in a Youth/Children's Series/Special - Tommy Davidson (Nominated)

2005 - Outstanding Performance in a Youth/Children's Series/Special - JoMarie Payton (Nominated)

2005 - Outstanding Performance in a Youth/Children's Series/Special' - Kyla Pratt (Nominated)

2004 - Outstanding Performance in a Youth/Children's Series/Special - Tommy Davidson (Nominated)

2004 - Outstanding Performance in a Youth/Children's Series/Special' - Kyla Pratt (Nominated)

2003 - Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series - Cedric the Entertainer (Won)

2003 - Outstanding Performance in a Youth/Children's Series/Special - Tommy Davidson (Nominated)

2003 - Outstanding Performance in a Youth/Children's Series/Special - JoMarie Payton (Nominated)

2003 - Outstanding Performance in a Youth/Children's Series/Special' - Kyla Pratt (Nominated)

2003 - Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series - Ving Rhames (Nominated)

2002 - Outstanding Performance in a Youth or Children's Series/Special - Tommy Davidson (Nominated)

2002 - Outstanding Youth or Children's Series/Special (Nominated)

• Kids' Choice Awards

2004 - Favorite Cartoon (Nominated)

• NAMIC Vision Awards

2005 - Children's (Won)

2005 - 'Best Comedic Performance - JoMarie Payton (Nominated)

2004 - Best Comedic Performance - JoMarie Payton (Nominated)

2004 - Best Comedic Performance - Paula Jai Parker (Nominated)

• Television Critics Association Awards

2004 - Outstanding Children's Programming (Nominated)

References

1. ^ "A New Neighborhood for Animated Series". The Los Angeles Times. September 15, 2001. http://articles.latimes.com/2001/sep/15/entertainment/ca-45974. Retrieved 2010-09-03. 

External links

• Official website
• The Proud Family at the Internet Movie Database
• The Proud Family at TV.com