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It’s back, it’s Black, and it is most definitely proud! If you grew up with The Proud Family like me you are also probably excited and a little nervous for the reboot, The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder. I watched the first two episodes, New Kids on the Block and Bad Influence(r). But the question is… did it let me down? Or was I proud (slaps knee)?
Penny Proud
The show starts off with a Disney-esque puberty fairy that visits Penny in her sleep. When she wakes up she’s transformed! Standing at five feet four with the body she got from her Suga Mama. Penny sees that she is becoming a woman, and Oscar is having none of it! He spends the majority of the first episode running around fitting her into different army-based outfits in an attempt to stop her from growing up. But the show lets us know that despite what Oscar or even Penny herself wants she is growing up fast. And she’s not the only one!
Dijonay got bawdy, Michael got fashionable, Zoey got even taller, and LaCienga… got eyebrows. The gang is also not the only thing that has changed. Penny gets new neighbours, Trudy is getting more into her business, Oscar is still broke and goofy but is learning to listen to Penny, and Suga mama gets buff. They are still the characters we know and love they are just growing up.
The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder has the same roots as The Proud Family. The show has the same laughs, same family, same lessons just with an additional generation in mind. The show has something for everyone in the family to laugh at and learn from. I really loved watching these episodes, they were hilarious and gave me a great rush of nostalgia. When I was younger how proudly Black The Proud Family was, was so comforting. Growing up and seeing a family that was similar to mine from the jokes to the family dynamic made me feel seen. That aspect of the show is still very present. With Michael joking about Dijonay needing her wig to be as snatched as her body, Penny’s family owns a Siri-like device named Rochelle who is Black and very unhelpful, and with music from Black artists scattered throughout the show.
The Proud Family’s Blackness is still intact and loud. Penny and the gang are still just as adorable and petty. However, the show is still different from the one I grew up watching. Penny is growing up in a Gen-Z world. Watching literally her trip over her own feet while doing so is as much fun as it was when I was a kid. Penny is learning a lot, how to be popular on social media, how to walk in heels, how to rescue a panda bear, how to be okay with being disliked, and more. I am excited for Gen-Z to get to have their own Penny Proud to learn from while growing up. And I am excited to see what else is in store for the Proud Family next.
