We’re Finally Getting a First Look at What the Disney+ ‘Proud Family’ Reboot Will Look Like
Photo via Disney+
In case you haven’t heard, The Proud Family–the classic cartoon of the early 2000s–is being rebooted on Disney+. And before you get worried, the characters will be voiced by the original cast. Obviously, we’re also hoping that the original theme song remains (you can’t beat early-aughts Destiny’s Child).
The original animated series was trailblazing for having a young Black girl, Penny Proud, as its main character–a rarity at the time. Also, the rest of the characters were, refreshingly, almost all people of color.
Last week, Disney+ revealed a first look at the new series, which will be called “The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder”.
The first look trailer gave fans a look at what the creators have called the new “family tree”. The rebooted cast will be full of old favorites–like Dijonay Jones and Zoey Howzer.
In addition, the show will not be leaving out the Prouds’ next-door neighbors and frenemies, the Boulevardez family. That means we’ll be seeing a lot more of Felix, Sunset, and Lacienega Boulevardez. (Fun fact: Felix Boulevardez was voiced by Carlos Mencia–no word yet on whether the comedian will be returning for the reboot.)
One of the most exciting additions to the cast of characters is a character named Maya Leibowitz-Jenkins, voiced by Keke Palmer.
According to reports, Maya Leibowitz-Jenkins is the adopted daughter of a mixed race family. Moreover, Maya will also be both “woke” and an activist who “isn’t afraid to use her voice for good.” Sounds very 2021.
Naturally, the Twitterverse has quite a lot to say about the “Proud Family” reboot.
Although most people roll their eyes at the news of a reboot, in this case, the general reception to “The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder” was positive.
This person is happy that they didn’t completely switch up the animation style of the original show.
Hold up, a modern version of an old cartoon keeping its original artstyle?
— 🔞 Methados Art 🔞 (@MethadosA) February 26, 2021
Well damn I'm impressed, nice 👌
We’re glad that the new show is sticking to hand-drawn animation. We’re also glad that the characters don’t look radically different.
This person was glad that there is a reboot that has non-white characters as the protagonists.
In a sea of whitewashed reboots this is really refreshing to see
— Horse Eboys (@Beloved_MN_Hick) February 27, 2021
Unfortunately, a lot of the projects that are currently being rebooted are shows from a bygone era where non-white people were rarely center stage.
This person is stoked that the series’ creators decided to stick with the original voice actors–with the added benefit of Keke Palmer.
Yes, the woman who voices Sunset Boulevardez (Maria Canals-Barrera) also played Theresa Russo on “Wizards of Waverly Place” and Demi Lovato’s mom on “Camp Rock“.