Entertainment

Disney Is Bringing Back 'The Proud Family'

Actor Tommy Davidson, the voice of Oscar Proud, announced the show's Disney+ reboot, though the news hasn't yet been confirmed by Disney.
Bettina Makalintal
Brooklyn, US
a screenshot of penny proud driving a car in disney's the proud family movie
Screenshot via YouTube

Penny Proud is coming back and so is the rest of the Proud family, if a recent statement from actor Tommy Davidson, the voice of Oscar Proud, is to be believed. The beloved animated series is headed for Disney+, the company's new streaming service, Davidson told website WhereistheBuzz late last week, though Hypebeast reports that those claims have yet to be confirmed.

Having premiered in 2001 and finished in 2005 with The Proud Family Movie, it's been a while since the Proud family last graced TV screens. The Disney cartoon focused on 14-year-old Penny Proud (voiced by Kyla Pratt), her energetic father Oscar, even-tempered mother Trudy, take-no-shit grandmother Suga Mama, and twin baby siblings BeBe and CeCe.

We can only imagine what's happened over the course of the past 18 years. If time on the Proud Family passes just like real life, will Penny—a former school newspaper writer—be a 32-year-old also chugging through life in world of media? Will former babies BeBe and CeCe be teenagers on TikTok? Will Suga Mama be older, but just as awesome? And, given past criticism of the show's rampant use of racial stereotypes, might a 2019 Proud Family reboot show signs of progress?

Or, perhaps we all just suspend our disbelief and let everything stay exactly the same as 2001. While the details of the alleged reboot remain to be seen, it's a point in favor of joining yet another streaming service—even if all that means is a well-timed free trial week.