DISNEY CHANNEL ORIGINAL “THE PROUD FAMILY” to be REVIVED on DISNEY+

From 2001 to 2005 “The Proud Family” aired two seasons’ worth of animated family sitcom goodness for Disney Channel. This is notable for two major reasons. First, “Proud Family” is argued to be the first animated cartoon to feature an African-American family as the leads (compared to Filmation’s “Fat Albert” back in the Seventies which had an African-American cast). Second, this was the first animated Disney Channel Original series (though its creator Bruce W. Smith came close to piloting the show on Nickelodeon). It has been a decade and a half since the series ended, but it looks like the Prouds are coming back, this time for streaming on Disney+.

CNN tells us that Disney+ is kicking into production a revival of the classic Disney Channel Original animated series “The Proud Family.” Show creator Bruce W. Smith and fellow executive producer Ralph Farquhar are both returning to develop “The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder,” which will return Penny Proud and her rather wacky but lovable family for both classic fans and a new generation of viewers on streaming. The announcement is sweetened by the confirmed comeback of the entire original voice cast to reprise their respective characters one more time.

Hug ‘em! #TheProudFamily: Louder and Prouder, an all-new Original Series, is coming soon to #DisneyPlus! And the best part? The original cast is reprising their voice roles. pic.twitter.com/94VbDL2FG9

— Disney+ (@disneyplus) February 27, 2020

The first “Proud Family” series, now already available on Disney+, chronicles the adventures of African-American teen Penny Proud (Kyla Pratt), who lives with her parents Oscar (Tommy Davidson) and Trudy (Paula Jai Parker), her younger twin siblings BeBe and CeCe (Tara Strong) and her grandmother Suga Mama (Jo Marie Payton). They get into a daily life full of fun and mischief alongside Penny’s Uncle Bobby (Cedric the Entertainer), her best friend Dijonay (Karen Malina White), and token white girl Zoey (Soleil Moon Frye). From the image shared by Disney+ on Twitter, there might be a time-skip in the revival, with Penny looking older and with longer hair out of ponytails.

Disney+ continues to launch new exclusive original content to complement their growing library of movies and series that they have been pulling out of other streaming services in past years. While no release date was given for “The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder,” it will join the two seasons of the 2001-5 Disney Channel series and its finale TV movie.

Image courtesy of Deadline