Fun fact: In France, The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder is called “Cool Attitude: Encore Plus Cool.” This was humorous news to series creator Bruce W. Smith at Annecy Festival where he was joined by fellow executive producer Ralph Farquhar, director Latoya Raveneau, and producer Jan Hirota for a panel discussion with Meredith Roberts, SVP of Disney Television Animation. It was Meredith who first proposed the idea of revisiting Disney Channel’s The Proud Family for a follow-up series on Disney+. Ralph Farquhar didn’t think it would really happen, but went to lunch anyway and soon found himself back in the writer’s room on a brand-new series.
With the 10-episode first season already streaming on Disney+, the panel mostly focused on the approach to the revival as well as a few teases of what’s to come in Season 2. Even though 20 years have passed since the original series, the decision was made to age up all of the characters just 2 years. Bruce shared side-by-side comparisons of characters as they looked on The Proud Family to demonstrate how they’ve changed. There was one exception to the 2-year rule, with Penny’s uncle Bobby living like he was in the 70s on the original show, now obsessed with the style and music of the 90s.
Some of the biggest changes on the show come in the form of the topics they can touch on through the writing, a result of both societal progress and being on a streaming platform rather than a linear network. Animation takes a long time and the team shared that Season 2 will feature conversations about race as well as a Juneteenth episode, which Ralph shared is one of his favorites in the series. Bruce said that Michael was always gay in the original series, they just weren’t allowed to label it. In the new series, he’s the only character whose outfit gets to change in every episode, something that’s expensive to do in an animated series. They didn’t want him to be the sole LGBTQ+ character on the show, so they added more, including husbands Barry and Randall.
The diversity in the show is reflected behind the scenes, too. Bruce recalled the joy of morning meetings on Zoom and seeing the spectrum of diverse talent in each box. Latoya talked about how much the original series meant to her as a kid and how working with an idol like Bruce has been a dream come true. He creates an open and welcoming environment for the team, not wanting anyone to be afraid to talk to him or share their ideas. This type of collaboration has made the show better and allowed them to include relevant dialogue for today’s youth. To put his directors at ease, Bruce promised them that they wouldn’t be fired in the first 20 episodes.
A teaser trailer for Season 2 was played during the panel. For Disney fans, it included shots of a princess party where all of the characters are dressed as classic Disney Princess characters, including Elena of Avalor. There was also a spaghetti date that looked like an homage to Lady and the Tramp. For an audience full of international animators, Bruce also teased that the second season will find the Prouds on vacation in other countries.
I started this recap with how The Proud Family is promoted in France as “Cool Attitude,” but the international response to the series was reflected back at the creators during a Q&A at the end of the presentation. A half-Black girl from Germany shared that she was the only person of color at her school. The Proud Family hadn’t been brought to Germany yet, but her grandmother in the U.S. sent her a VHS tape full of episodes and it meant a lot to her to see characters that looked like her in animation. She was so proud of it that she took the tape to school and showed it to her friends in English class. You never know what impact your art will have on the world and it was touching to see Bruce and Ralph get some love back for the important movement they started 20 years ago.
Click here for more coverage from Annecy Festival. The first season of The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder is now streaming on Disney+.