The Proud Family creators: ‘There’s not just one view of Blackness or a Black family’

If Proud FamilyIt premiered on Disney Channel on January 1, 2001. This was the Disney Channel’s first animated series and one of only a few programs that focused on a Black family. This animated series followed Penny Proud, a 14-year-old girl from Philadelphia and her family. It ran for five seasons before being canceled in 2005.

This is the sequel series. The Proud Family – Louder and ProuderToday, the same cast of characters is returning to Disney Plus 21 years later. Unfortunately, frustratingly little has changed about the grander TV landscape in the show’s absence.

“We’re both proud and disappointed at the same time,” says Ralph Farquhar, executive producer of the original series and one of the creators on the revival. “Proud that we got a chance to be the first, disappointing that we remain the only [show]. That’s why it’s important to do this show. Proud Family members should be on the show more often. There’s not just one view of Blackness or a Black family. We would like to see a lot of different families portrayed.”

Animations based on Black protagonists were already available before. Proud FamilyAnimation has been a popular medium for many years. In the great American animation universe, there are many more cartoons about animals than about Black families. And there are more stories about Black heroes in American animated films. There are shows like Kipo & the Age of Wonderbeasts, Craig of CreekAnd the future Moon Girl, Devil Dinosaur — which all feature Black characters as central protagonists — signal an expansion. All of them represent an expansion in diversity and new genres. That’s exactly what the Proud Family creators want to see happen.

“We’re good with being trailblazers. If we’re blazing a path for ourselves to continue to kind of explore this animated sphere, with projects that delve in lots of different genres that we seem to be excluded from,” says creator Bruce Wayne Smith.

Image: Disney

Und Proud FamilyIt still holds a special place on TV. Although it is an animated series for all ages, the show was not designed specifically to be enjoyed by children. Little Bill Oder Doc McStuffins. It was a sitcom but not for adults. The Cleveland Show.

Louder and more Prouder keeps that sitcom sensibility, but elevates the animation style through lighting and textures — something Smith really wanted to do in order to make the show stand out not just with its sharp script, but also with its visuals. To really enhance the script, we also had to revamp the character designs.

“I’ve seen really funny episodes of The Simpsons Family Guy and stuff, and no offense — my taste from a visual standpoint is I don’t like the crude elements that follow an animated sitcom,” he explains. “It seems like that’s the rule with animated sitcoms that you have reAlly great writing, with sometimes crude visuals.”

He hopes it’s just the start of something in the animation space. “I’ve never seen a Black animated horror show or film,” Smith says. “I’ve never seen a Black animated Western. I’ve never seen us Black people in outer space from an animation standpoint. There’s so many places to go in this medium.”

“But you will see allOf those in Proud Family,” laughs Farquahr.

The Proud Family – Louder and Prouder Disney Plus will premiere the first Disney Plus movie on February 23,