Tiffany Mason-Stewart
After two great seasons and almost 20 years later, The Proud Family is officially back for the culture with a 4D reboot, The Proud Family: Louder And Prouder. The newly imagined animated series continues where nostalgic fans left off with 14-year-old Penny Proud navigating her way through life with the help of her crazy family and friends.
SOHH.com joined the world premiere virtual party for a sneak peek into what is shaping up to be a season of fun for fans with appearances by memorable favorites and some exciting new characters.
The series opener (Episode 1: New Kids On The Block) begins with a modern feel musically as the main character Penny Proud comes bouncing down the stairs dancing and singing to “Do It” by popular R&B sisters, Chloe & Halle. Penny’s father, Oscar Proud, fumbles and stutters as he reacts to seeing that his little girl is maturing into a teenage girl. The series promises to allow us to see Penny grow up before our very eyes.
Penny’s father, Oscar Proud, fumbles and stutters as he reacts to seeing that his little girl is maturing into a teenage girl. The series promises to allow us to see Penny grow up before our very eyes.
The old gang from the original show is back with Penny’s closest friends Dijonay, Zoey, LaCienega, and Micheal. Micheal was a part of the original cast of Proud Family but his gender orientation was never quite defined. However, this go around Michael is coming back Louder & Prouder – he identifies as non-binary and a member of the LGBTQ community. Everyone else has the same voice actor except Micheal who is now played by Magic Johnson’s son, EJ Johnson (who identifies as homosexual in real life).
The neighborhood bullies, The Gross Sisters, seem to be on their same shenanigans but bring a musical twist. They are now rappers with their own gangsta rap record label, “Handz Up Cash Out Records.” We won’t be seeing much of Penny’s friend Sticky, originally played by Orlando Brown. Instead of recasting the character, they announced on the show that “he moved to Japan.” There are two new kids on the block by the name of Maya and KG, voiced by KeKe Palmer and A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, who will be recurring cast members.
Prouder & Louder steadily bring in the culture and current references as the show progresses – we get a mention of R&B artist Solange’s “Don’t Touch My Hair” in a scene when Maya has to check Penny for trying to touch her braided hairstyle. Later, when Penny’s friend group arrives at the school, Myron, played by returning actor Marcus T. Polk from Moesha, hints at buying Bitcoin as he walks through the hall.
I’m glad they’ve brought more culture and technology into the new season. The show ends with Penny standing up to her father at the school’s dance when he doesn’t want to accept that she’s growing up and then telling him she’s going to go dance like everyone else.
The next episode is all about influence as it centers mainly on a new character named “Makeup Boy” who is similar to real-life YouTube beauty influencer, James Charles. The show begins with Makeup Boy being thronged at a mall meet and greet by his fans – less Penny who refuses to go see him. Instead, Penny decides to do a live video on Hologram, which is like the social media app, Instagram. Penny creates a series called “Growing up Proud” which features her helping her grandmother, Suga Mama, with her dentures and surprisingly gains tons of followers. Penny then parlays her new social media influence to act as a promoter for The Gross Sisters’ new music release.
We get a nod to current culture with “Hey Rochelle,” – their version of our “Hey Google,” “Hey Siri,” or “Hey Alexa” and a mention of a fashion shop called “Wizanova” which is likened to real-life Fashion Nova.
The show ends with Penny falling off her social media high horse and realizing it isn’t worth it at all as she sees how Makeup Boy’s career is ruined – the lesson being that a fast rise to the top can often lead to a fast downfall.
