Creators of ‘The Proud Family’ say new shows are aimed at grown ups

By Sidney P. Brown

More than two decades since the animated sitcom series “The Proud Family” debuted on the Disney Channel, Penny Proud and her family are back and louder than ever.

Season 2 of “The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder” premiered Feb. 1 and is available on Disney Plus.

Disney’s Bruce W. Smith and Ralph Farquhar, executive producers of the original show, are once again at the helm of this latest venture. The two say their primary goal then and now is has been to add diversity to cartoons.

Back in 2001, Smith said he felt that “animation was missing a black family.” Having grown up watching popular cartoons such as The Flintstones and The Jetsons, both based on white families, he wanted to create a cartoon that the African-American community could heavily relate to.

However, Smith, who studied character animation at the California Institute of the Arts, chose to not write the series like the traditional family stereotype. Instead, he formatted the characters’ dialogue like The Simpsons, which made the characters seem more realistic and authentic.

Furthermore, he said that the character of Penny Proud was meant to represent the empowerment of young black women. He called her the “spine of the show,” during a recent interview with a group of journalist from various HBCUs.

When asked what was the difference between the original show and the new spin-off, Farquhar was quick to reply, “The Louder and Prouder part.”

“We have been trying to get back for the last 15 years,” Farquhar said in an earlier interview.

Seriously, he noted that because the old and new series are over 20 years apart, there is obviously a huge generational gap that cannot be ignored. In the original series, children were the main their journey before securing jobs with Walt Disney Animation Studios. Networking, making a good first impression, and being patient are important for anyone serious about this industry.

The Disney deal, however, is not the first time that Smith has been in the spotlight for his work in animation. He was the director for the short-animated film titled “Hair Love” that won the 2019 Academy Award. Other notable works include “Bebe’s Kids” and Disney’s “The Princess and the Frog.” audience, so storylines were more censored in order to be more appropriate. In this latest series, however, Farquhar, 71, and Smith, 61, say they decided to direct the new series to more of an adult point of view. The Proud Family is no longer a “children’s show,” Smith said.

A veteran of the film and television industry, Farquhar began his career writing for the classic ABC television series “Happy Days.” He also was a writer for such shows as “Real Husbands of Hollywood,” “Moesha,” and “Married. With Children.” He attended the U. S. Military Academy at West Point before getting his bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Illinois.

Sidney P. Brown is a graduating senior majoring in mass communications (multimedia journalism).

While the original characters did not change, a whole range of new characters have been introduced, particularly with respect to gender identification and the LGBT community.

Viewers can expect to see bolder storytelling, more emphasis and focus on the secondary characters (such as Penny Proud’s friends) and a bigger “jump into our blackness,” according to Farquhar.

The two men stressed that landing a job in the industry can be challenging. Both noted that others helped them along

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