![]() ![]() R.F.: A lot of topics come up - and topics that have always been there: race, gender. What topics were you eager to tackle in this run? We have the best possible version of Proud Family this time around.Ĭulture has changed significantly since the last time we saw the Prouds. Bruce’s team adds that whole second level then in the voice acting, we allow them to ad-lib. The beauty of it is, the script is a template. The animation is so great right now it elevates the storytelling. I knew in terms of the stories we wanted to tell. Bruce knew visually exactly where he wanted to go. First of all, we learned how to work together as writers and animators, which is not such a natural marriage. R.F.: Our aspirations always went far beyond our budget. We wanted to allow the personalities and nuances of the writing to shine through the new version of these characters. Now, we really leaned into the cinematic value. The first time around, we didn’t really have any art direction we were kinda flying by the speed of our hands and happened to land on a style that worked to get us to the finish line. The latest version of the technology allows us to do really outstanding 2.5-D animation. I like what we were going for the first time - I want the two to sit side by side. So I’m like, Let’s elevate the look of the show. The writing and the staff he was gonna put together was gonna be on point. I was always of the mind-set that both can coexist. In television, there was always an assumption that the visuals don’t matter as much. It was just as funny as what the characters were saying. I was a huge fan of Tex Avery and Chuck Jones and always thought the reason those shorts play over time is because the writing was so strong and the visuals matched the writing. Smith: For me, the technology caught up to the idea of how I visually saw the show the first time around. How did you recreate the show from the ground up as far as art direction and animation goes?īruce W. But how would you guys like to do the Proud Family again?” And we go, “That’s what we’ve been talking about the past 15 years.” ![]() Then after the pitch, they say, “Hey, we like that. Finally, Bruce and I came up with a concept similar to Proud Family, and we pitched it. When’s the Proud Family coming back?” We knew we had something. We were hearing from people, “Hey, man, I love that Proud Family. It was in the barber shops, the hair salons, and the grocery stores. When we first started, social media wasn’t what it is today. Ralph Farquhar: We pitched them live-action, we pitched them live-action with animation - we were trying every way to get The Proud Family to come back. Who was first interested in reviving The Proud Family - you or Disney? Smith, who oversees animation, and Farquhar, who leads the story team, consider Louder and Prouder to be “the best possible version of The Proud Family.” They chatted with Vulture about how the revival came to fruition, updating the characters for new audiences, and their hopes for the future of Black animation. Smith and Ralph Farquhar spent years trying to revive the Prouds at Disney, and 17 years later, the family is back on a new streaming platform with a fresh animation style, a host of LGBTQ+ characters, and a decidedly Gen-Z twist (Penny’s an influencer who doesn’t know how vinyls work). ![]() Revolving around 14-year-old Penny Proud (Kyla Pratt) and her teenage misadventures along with the high jinks of her loving, if a bit overbearing, family, the sitcom aired from 2001 to 2005 on the Disney Channel, concluding with The Proud Family Movie in 2005 before finding new life in syndicated reruns on BET and Centric (now BET Her). Addressing timely, often heavy topics that few series aimed at kids had the guts to talk about - from homelessness and classism to digital piracy - with sharp observation and charm, The Proud Family also brought visibility to traditions like Kwanzaa and to Black history often overlooked in entertainment including Angela Davis’s activism and the contributions of the Tuskegee Airmen during WWII. If you were a Black kid growing up in the early aughts, The Proud Family was one of the few animated series that made you and your family feel seen. We’re celebrating the Disney+ revival with a family reunion featuring cast members Kyla Pratt, Cedric the Entertainer, Jo Marie Payton, and Paula Jai Parker at Vulture Festival in Los Angeles on November 13. This interview with the Proud Family showrunners was originally published in February 2022. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |