 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
The Proud Family
- ABC
- Genre: Kids' Animation
Common Sense Media says
Relatable stories, good role models, zany comedy.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this animated series isn't like others in which race is incidental to the situation comedy. Instead, the show depicts Penny and her friends as the African-American kids they are.
What's the story?
Many cartoons offer a mixed-race cast of sweet kids who all basically look and act the same and barely resemble real kids. THE PROUD FAMILY tries something different. The series features only one white character and attempts to bring African-American culture to the foreground. Destiny's Child sings the show's theme song, and other African-American artists and performers make guest appearances. Executive producer Bruce Smith began his own studio with the goal of producing ethnically diverse projects, and modeled The Proud Family partly on his own family.
Is it any good?
Viewers who've been taught cultural sensitivity might wonder if it's OK to laugh when Penny (voiced by Kyla Pratt) gives her slim white friend Zoey (Soleil Moon Frye) a makeover and puts a pillow in her skirt to give her more backside. And parents may question the political point of having a famous basketball player named Wizard Kelly be obscenely wealthy, owning everything in town. When positive depictions of a culture are already underrepresented on television, is it OK for a cartoon to exaggerate cultural traits and poke fun at them?
Whatever your family thinks about the cultural and ethnic balances of the show, The Proud Family offers kids approaching or entering their teens relatable stories, strong parental role models, and zany comedy from the colorful family. Penny's mother and father (a veterinarian and snack maker, respectively) push her to do the right things socially and in school and in turn learn a lot about their daughter's independent character and maturity.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about how the media tends to depict minority groups. What stereotypes have you seen in TV shows and movies? Do you think any of them appear here? If so, how are they used?
Is it possible to use stereotypes positively?
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AGE
What is this????
What is this series??? i knew this from the movie,the proud family movie,is this cartoon series is the best,i don't know,i saw the last review,i can't watch this animated series because disney close this series,only the movie.
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AGE
We Love this program - watch it together every week
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AGE
A lot of TV shows sould be like this!
This was an excellent series, Disney probably took it away because it didn't have 'star quality' It was amazing, Penny is smart and independent, she wants freedom sometimes, but it blows in her face when it comes to something wrong, its not inapropreate, it breaks the barrior of race, a lantino, two blacks, one white- bout time. The friends are pretty useless in some episodes, but other times they're good, Penny crys a lot, but whatever. It shows one episode about a muslum family she has to live with as a program thing, she didn't like it at first, but she began to like them and respect them, even gave in to some traditions, then someone wrote "Go back to your own country, America for Americans" and Penny made a great speech about that. Its something to be proud about (hence the name) and now Disney makes all whites the stars and hispanics or blacks the sidekicks (I'm white, besides the point) and the shows are boring sitcoms about gorgious people with unrealistic problems. This show was selfless, and tought good lessons, and its interesting and intertaning. There is NO reason that they should have taken off the show. I remember only seeing it on Febuary 2 years ago only because it was Black History Month, and then they put it back up. Disney, knock it off, its sad a lot of people haven't seen this series and some grow up watching Hannah Montana. Please bring it back.
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Kid, 12 years old
April 17, 2011
AGE
I used to love this show when I was little I remember, i used the play the games on the website, I am sad they took it off the air. Also what was it on disney? i forgot :P
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AGE
Disney Channel's best animated sitcom
There's always a good moral in every episode of the series. Whether it's fighting for what's right or finding out who your friends really are, good messages are present throughout the whole "Proud Family" series. When you put the rude humor, innuendo, and the good values together, everything equals out making social behavior "not an issue". This show has a presumable target audience of kids 7-12. If you have kids in that age group, you should check out "The Proud Family". It currently airs in late night on Disney Channel and in daytime on Toon Disney. (Both channels are available in HD.)
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AGE
Laughed so hard 'til I cried!
Hey Proud Family,You are doing a beautiful thing with your show. I wouldn't change a thing about it. If I might add, it would be just lovely if you had a toy line out, coming soon. For my grandchildren would love to add little Penny and friends to their collection. And I'm proud to say, we as people (African Americans) just love when we're seen in full affect as we are....
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AGE
...
I've seen a couple of episodes, and it was just okay. I like that the roles are almost all minority characters, but there were some racial jokes about Caucasians -- I don't like racial jokes about anyone, so I'd say watch it *with* the kids.
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| Topics: | book characters, friendship |
| TV rating: | TV-G |
| Network: | ABC |
| Cast: | Kyla Pratt, Paula Jai Parker, Tommy Davidson |
| Genre: | Kids' Animation |
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