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The Proud Family

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The Proud Family
The main characters
(From left to right) Penny, Suga Mama, Trudy, Oscar, CeCe and BeBe (below)
Created byBruce W. Smith
StarringKyla Pratt
Tommy Davidson
Paula Jai Parker
Orlando Brown
Jo Marie Payton
Tara Strong
Opening theme"The Proud Family Theme Song" by Solange Knowles & Destiny's Child
Country of originUnited States
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes53 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time22 minutes
Original release
NetworkDisney Channel
ReleaseSeptember 15, 2001 –
August 19, 2005

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

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. 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.

Characters

Penny Proud

Voiced by Kyla Pratt; 14-year-old protagonist 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 somewhat of 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 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. Oscar owns a business and produces an awful brand of snack food called "Proud Snacks." Oscar can sometimes be a nincompoop, but he means well and loves his family. Oscar is very overprotective of Penny. Oscar loves his wife very much, but he has also attempted to cheat on her many times.

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. Her appearance and personality is based upon Jamika from Bebe's Kids.

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-bo. 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, 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. Suga Mama's big sister Spice has the gift of telekenesis. 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 car that only plays one song and has hydraulics and also a parachute for some reason (as shown 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.

Dijonay Jones

Voiced by Karen Malina White; Penny's thick and somewhat eccentric best friend who is heartfelt and occasionally a backstabber but very honest; she has blonde hair and is in love with Sticky. Dijonay is curvy, loud, and always getting Penny into trouble. She's very similar to Kim Parker (The Parkers) in appearance and personality. She is a cheerleader and the captain of the school's Cheerleading Squad. Dijonay is the eldest of nine kids, all of whom are named after different spices (four of them which include "cinnamon, nutmeg, basil and tabasco" as stated in the episode entitled, "Adventures in Bebe Sitting"). Dijonay is often upset because she doesn't have her own room. Like Penny, Dijonay is good at reciting poetry. However, she can't sing (although she sings background vocals in a group with Penny and her friends).

Sticky Webb

Voiced by Orlando Brown, Penny's male friend and Dijonay's love interest, although he dislikes her rather strong come-ons. Though he does have feelings for her, he only let those show once in one episode. He is very intelligent and knows a lot about computers. Sticky's still upset because his parents got a divorce. He's also short and has a funny way of showing that he has a crush on Dijonay. Sticky is very good at figuring things out, like puzzles and anything involving technology. As shown in The Proud Family Movie, his cousin is rapper 15 Cent, parody of rapper 50 Cent

Zoey Howzer

Voiced by Soleil Moon Frye; Penny's awkward Irish-American friend. Zoey has red hair, freckles, glasses, and braces. She shows low self esteem at times, and always tries to show others that she's not a nerd. Zoey loves animals and has a scratchy voice. Her mother is a limousine driver while her aunt is a lawyer. Zoey really wants to dance well, but she does not believe she can. When she competes in a dance battle, she does a great job and her team wins.

LaCienega Boulevardez

Voiced by Alisa Reyes. She is Penny's on-and-off friend and Dijonay's ex-best friend. LaCienega is Hispanic-American and is extremely rude to Penny (but makes sure the adults don't know it). She is a cheerleader at Penny's school and is one of the most popular girls there. She also does water ballet. There is no reference to it within the show itself, but LaCienega and her mother Sunset Boulevardez share their names with actual streets in West Hollywood, California. Deep down LaCienega is jealous because Dijonay would rather hang out with Penny than her, as she doesn't like to share Dijonay with Penny. LaCienega is also insecure about the big feet she inherited from her father's side (though in other episodes they are the same size as the other characters, except in one episode when she goes swimming).

Michael Collins

Voiced by Phil LaMarr; Penny's male friend, and is a good fashion designer and basketball player. He is also a choreographer. In public, he is forced to call his father "Coach" instead of "Daddy." Michael's dad is the coach at Willy T. Ribbs Middle School. He is constantly bullied.

Other characters

Felix & Sunset Boulevardez

Voiced by Carlos Mencia and Maria Canals Barrera; Oscar and Trudy's neighbors, whose father Papi is the somewhat-unwilling boyfriend to Suga Mama, and whose daughter LaCienega is also a somewhat unwilling friend to Penny. In their first episode, Sunset's sexy and voluptuous physique made it difficult for Oscar to take his eyes off of her, but for the rest of the series, Oscar and Sunset rarely even spoke to each other. Felix and Oscar's physical appearances differ, as Oscar is tall and thin, and Felix is short and stocky, but their personalities are very much alike, as they are very strict about their daughters' being with boys, they have a parent living in their house, and they often attempt to hook up with other women. (The friendship between Oscar and Felix - as well as their names - implies a pun to The Odd Couple. Sunset is a police officer.

Papi Boulevardez

Voiced by Alvaro Guttierez; Felix's father, LaCienega's grandfather, and the elderly "boyfriend" of Suga Mama, who mistook him for Cesar Romero due to his dressing like The Joker from Batman (TV series). He constantly makes jokes about Suga Mama in Spanish, usually about her large body, and then laughs at the top of his lungs. His accent titillates Suga Mama, although she seldom understands the context of his words. He lives with his son Felix, and daughter-in-law Sunset. Ironically he only speaks Spanish, whereas Felix does not, creating the assumption that Felix was probably brought up by his mother or someone else fluent in English. After Suga Mama rescues him from an Okra Farm with the help of Penny and her friends, he goes on the run with her and kisses her when they think they're going to die after accidentally driving off the Grand Canyon. After they're saved by a parachute in the car, he says "oh no!" as he kissed her only because he saw no harm in doing it before he died.

In The Proud Family Movie, he likes her clone, but in a reversal, the clone rejects him.

Wizard Kelly

Voiced originally by Erek McKay later recast by Aries Spears after the first season, Oscar Proud's successful and life-long rival who made his fortune on a basketball shot that Oscar missed back in high-school; he now owns virtually the whole setting of the show. It is implied that Wizard Kelly is a pun for Magic Johnson. It is probably more accurate to say that Wizard Kelly's last name comes from the maiden name of Magic Johnson's wife, Earleatha "Cookie" Kelly. The gag on Magic Johnson's wife is extended in the fact that Wizard Kelly's wife is mentioned to be named Gingersnaps. The name of the town that the Proud Family lives in is Wizville, CA, as shown when Penny gets her drivers license in The Proud Family Movie. A running gag of the series is that he doesn't remember the names of the main characters (although he interacts with them enough to actually "know" them), no matter how many times they tell him. He always calls Zoey "Susie" & Oscar Oliver Prune. Wizard Kelly's face is never shown in any of the episodes. Instead, the shot is awkwardly angled so that he can only be seen from the neck down; but his face has made two separate appearances. Once in the "Sista Spice" episode, and in The Proud Family Movie when they were swept by the peanut butter. Wizard Kelly has Arnold Schwarzenegger-like employees.

Wizard Kelly Jr.

Voiced also by Aries Spears, Wizard Kelly Jr. is Wizard Kelly's son. He made his debut in the episode Election Season, when he runs against Penny Proud in the school elections. In the episode It Takes A Thief, he dates Lacienga. Penny and her friends except for Lacienga are fired from their job, after being accused of stealing a watch. Penny and her friends accuse Wizard Kelly Jr. for stealing the watch, much to Lacienga's dismay. In the end, Wizard Kelly Jr. dumps Lacienga for the Gross Sisters.

Sir Paid-A-Lot

Voiced also by Aries Spears, is one of Wizard Kelly's rap artists signed to his label. His name is a parody of Sir Mix-A-Lot, but sounds similar to rap artist DMX. He appeared on four episodes, most notably when EZ jackster, an internet site where you can download free music, started and he couldn't get paid for his music. On rare occasions his raps can be heard although they are extremely explicit and are bleeped.

Peabo

Voiced by Cree Summer, a 7 year old who unwittingly always makes trouble for Oscar, he also used to have a crush on Penny and Zoey. Despite his age, he is very smart. He is also constantly telling Oscar he doesn't think he should do something but despite his warnings, Oscar does it anyway and gets hurt. Usually ending with: "I told you, Mr. Proud". He is also the only person who likes Proud Snax. He often gets Oscar into trouble. He got him electrocuted, caught by Trudy when he was about to have an affair with two pretty women, and attacked by a giant bird. His catchphrase is "Remember what happened last time, Mr. Proud?", after reminding Oscar of a last time Oscar has done something that had gotten him hurt. Peabo also very briefly worked at Proud Snax.

Duke Anoi

Penny's surfer friend. Duke originally came to the show as a flat character, but later grew into a bigger role as the show progressed. He was a rival to Sticky after Dijonay used him to make Sticky jealous, but later he dumped Dijonay, and he and Sticky became good friends.

The Gross Sisters (Nubia, Olei, and Gina)

They are three girls constantly mugging people for money and show violent tendencies (bullying). They serve as the main antagonists of the series. Their parents make them work on the weekends. Their mother is Jamaican; she wears orange flower print clothes and her hair in dreadlocks with a barrette. The remainder of family is entirely blue including their clothes (except the sisters who wear black overalls). This is because their family can't afford lotion and they work in the hot sun all day. Nubia is the middle child and the leader of the pack, considering she is the only one who talks. Gina is the oldest, despite being the smallest. She collects money from her sisters' muggings; as a habit, she always has her hand out. Olei is the youngest and the biggest of the 3 sisters. Like Gina, Olei is silent most of the time. In the episode, "Makeover", Olei (who is known as the "muscle of the group") is separated from her sisters. Although they rarely get in trouble for their deeds, in one episode they are actually caught. They are usually friends with Penny, but sometimes they bully her and her friends. After witnessing Penny fighting the Carver clone on national TV, they develop respect for her with Nubia calling Penny "hardcore." Their catchphrase is, "Hands up. Cash out."

The Chang Triplets

One brother and two sisters of a Chinese family, who are Straight A students, usually trying to live up to their father's expectations. They really enjoy academic challenges and showing people up for having talents in other subjects. They even study karate with their uncle. Their father puts too much pressure on them.

Mr. Chips

Mr. Chips is a monkey that is employed at the factory of Proud Snacks. When on camera, he is usually seen with Oscar. Oscar seems to always be yelling at Mr. Chips, however the problem is usually Oscar's fault.

Red Nosed Baby

An extremely intelligent baby. He is similar to Stewie Griffin from Family Guy. He is voiced by Ron Glass. He's also been seen as Oscar's "occasional rival" usually challenging him to bets or just making trouble. Being so smart, he constantly mocks Oscar's lower intelligence, particularly for the fact that Oscar is an adult. No one else can tell that he can talk, it seems, other than Oscar.

Agatha Ordinario

Agatha is a nerdy girl. She has long, brown hair in a long ponytail, glasses, and braces in her teeth. She first appears in "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly". She is voiced by Erica Rivera. Other people thought that Agatha couldn't sing just because she wasn't pretty, but they found out that she has an amazing voice.

Omar Phillips

voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson Omar first appears in "Rumors" as the school quarterback Penny and most other girls in the school have a crush on. Omar appears to be dimwitted, but is a good quarterback. Omar is mostly seen with Frankie, Sticky, and Duke mocking Penny and her friends.

Doctor Payne

The doctor Trudy calls when someone in the family gets hurt. He is voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson. His first appearance is in an episode where Trudy takes the kids to the doctor, and his second is when Trudy and Sunset take Oscar and Felix to a day spa, and the two men think they are going to be with a nurse with a very voluptuous figure, but they end up with Dr. Payne. All his house calls are expensive, especially for Oscar. He also seems to use very violent methods when treating Oscar that no one else seems to ever have gotten. Unlike Oscar however, he treats Suga Mama with great respect and calls her "Suga Bear". Hence, he tells Oscar to respect his "sweet little Suga Mama". How he talks is a reference to Mr. T.[original research?]

Shaun Robinson

A television reporter for the local television station. She's based on the real life reporter/anchor Shaun Robinson and was voiced by her.

Frankie White

Frankie first made his appearance in "She's Got Game" when he mocks Penny because she's a girl trying to play football. Frankie appears to have a crush on Penny; on every appearance, he is mean to Penny in the beginning, but nice to her towards the end.

Coach Collins

The coach of Willie T. Ribbs Middle School. He is Michael's father, but is so embarrassed by him that he makes him call him "Coach" when in public.

Al Roker

Played by himself. Roker is portrayed as a Genie-like figure who grants Penny's wishes, which typically blow up in her face, resulting in great personal loss for everyone. He has only made two appearances in the show. In his first appearance, he got rid of all the adults in the neighborhood (except Bobby) and put them to work making his line of one-size-fits-all clothing. In his next appearance, he made Bebe and Cece teenagers, causing them to make everybody else alienate Penny. He is a secondary antagonist in the show.

Gingersnaps Kelly

Wizard Kelly's wife. She is first seen as a cheerleader at a basketball game at which Oscar, Felix, and Bobby are working as Ice Cream men. She is the first of many women on the series who Oscar attempts to have an affair with. She seduces Oscar by rubbing his chin and inviting him to a post-game party. Oscar accepts, and then watches as her and her fellow cheerleaders dance at the halftime show, and says "life doesn't get any better than this," before finding out he can't attend the party because Trudy needs his help. She is seen later in the series helping Wizard host a scavenger hunt, and Oscar is still very attracted to her, but she seems to have lost her interest in him, most likely because he stood her up at the party.

Episodes

Guest stars

The Proud Family is known for being the Disney Channel original series to have the most guest stars. Those that have guest starred include: Omarion, Mo'Nique, Solange Knowles, Gabrielle Union, Frank Welker, Vanessa L. Williams, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Carlos Mencia, Shia LaBeouf, Wendy Raquel Robinson, LisaRaye McCoy, Cicely Tyson, Ray J, Luther Vandross, Cree Summer, Miss Kittie, Anthony Anderson, Jamal Mixon, David Alan Grier, Ron Glass, Jenifer Lewis, Robert Guillaume, Samuel L. Jackson, Vivica A. Fox, Mariah Carey, Ashanti, Kobe Bryant, Kurt 'Big Boy' Alexander, Lil' Romeo, Raven-Symone, Alicia Keys, Al Roker, Lou Rawls, Dante Basco, Pablo Santos, Tisha Campbell-Martin, Smokey Robinson, James Avery, and Steve Harvey.

Syndication

Starting on December 26, 2008 BET started to air Proud Family marathons, but have since stopped airing episodes. In 2010 it began airing on Centric.

DVD releases

The Proud Family Movie is the only DVD in the series to date.

Media

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.

In late 2009, production for a live-action film based on the series was announced. It was announced that Chris Robinson, director of ATL, would direct the film. Casting was called, and it was announced that Kyla Pratt would star as Penny, but no other cast members have been allowed. The film will release May 20, 2011 tentatively entitled The Proud Family Reunion.[1]

References