The Proud Family
The Proud Family was one of the best animated Disney series of the 2000s and debuted in 2001. One episode was about a TV show called Iesha which is a parody of Moesha.
Im going to pick a few animated series that was most memorable to me growing up as I adore animated and bla bla bla Ive said it 100 times by now.
You and me will always be tight. Family every single day and night. Even when you start acting like a fool. You know Im loving every single thing you do. I know that I can always be myself. Around you more than anybody else. Everyday as Im heading off to school you know theres no one I love as much as you! Family, a family Proud family. Theyll make you scream! Theyll make you wanna sing! Its a family thing! A family thing! Proud, Proud family! Proud Family! Theyll push your buttons!Theyll make you wanna hug em! A family, a family! Proud, Proud family!
What was The Proud Family? Think of The Simpsons only black and a little more hip. The series eventually ended its a shame it had a long run. You see airing it on Disney as it was a Disney creation wouldnt do it any wonders in the long run. It also aired on BET.
Penny Proud and her friends are waiting for Iesha (Moesha) to air on TV when suddenly UBS (Parody of CBS) cancel the show which upsets Penny and her family.
If you were in the 90s-2000s you would remember Moesha. It probably stills airs to this day depending on if that said TV network has brought the series and runs it which I probably doubt.
Mo to the E to the Mo to the E to the! Up in the morning! A new day is starting! Its me, its me Am I realizing my responsibility? Its me My best friend is always on my mind! You wanna be down for mine I gotta do, what I gotta do! I gotta move on! Moesha! Moesha! Moesha!
The show was followed up by many copy cat titles. There are just so much to choose from that I cannot name them all and its still going on to this very day.
Penny is so upset that she takes it into her own hands and climbs to the top of the Iesha billboard to save her TV show. Shaun Robinson (A real person) who works as a news reporter for WCOOD news. Reports what has happened. Pennys publicity stunt works and UBC renewed the TV show. Penny ends up winning a free pass to Hollywood to meet her idol Sunny Stevens aka a Brandy Norwood parody. There are quite a few female characters who look like Brandy in the Proud Family but Iesha is more or less 100% more. As the face looks like Brandys you cannot hide that. But by the 2000s Brandy had ditched her old style and wore weave so the joke parody is a little too late dont you think? But then again 1999 wasnt that far away from the year 2000.
Brandy....I mean Sunny appears and she is upset that Penny ruined her vacation as she hates working 24 hours a day. Penny is given a part in Ieshas show which really upsets Sunny. Sunny tells Penny to go hang with her possy her homies her click. Iesha is not happy that her show has been saved. One of Pennys best friends tells Penny that Sunny is not very nice. Penny ruins her lines and messes up but suddenly Sunny becomes a right diva and goes off on one. She rants about the show and her cast members and leaves. She is left crying in her trailer. She hates working with her 9 year old co-star and supporting her parents and her brother Jay J (Ray J) and just wants to be a normal girl. The show also makes fun of the real boy who played Moeshas brother on the real show with their Disney parody. They give him massive beaver like teeth and call him a munchkin. They even got Cree Summer doing the role.
Penny talks Brandy...err...Sunny around and tells her she doesnt have to do what she doesnt want to and that shell get over that the show doesnt air. Sunny tells Penny that the network can hire Beyonce in her place with the girls saying "Oh no you didnt!" the girls then all head off to the beach to have some fun.
Oh no but the show isnt finished there. Pennys dad finally is able to air his commercial to show off his snacks and guess who it features? Parodies of Countess Vaughn and MoNique. I was right Moesha was long finished by the Proud Family because TV had moved on by then and The Parkers became quite popular for a short time. Funny...Brandy on her original show was not a diva. Apparently Countess who played Kim was the diva and eventually figured she was more liked than Brandy who played Moesha and said this show is NOTHING without me.
According to information Countess became big headed and ditched the show for the spin-off. She dissed Brandy and admitted that they were fighting like cats behind the scenes. But not too long ago told Brandy that she was sorry for the way she had acted. About time too!
The parody of MoNique who played Kim Parker on The Parkers tries the snack but chokes and dies.
The parody of Countess Vaughn is dumb as hell shes like "Mama is choking on proud snacks, uh-uh!" and doesnt do anything to save her. Pennys dad is happy that they said proud snacks a total of 3 times on air but then comes to realize that he is ruined because she has obviously choked to death of live TV and the ending credits quickly roll.
The proud family was quite diverse when it comes to being that of a TV show. There was no other show like it. It was like a modern cartoon of its time. You could actually relate to Penny if you were a teenager at that time. Some people would dub the series as racist but it wasnt. It was a show about African American characters and didnt really put them in a bad light. Why would people be offended if a show just said things like it really is. Some people act in that manner so what is wrong with that? People sure do hate the truth. So its okay for a show like The Simpsons or Family Guy to go in on things with jokes but not The Proud Family? The show was more slapstick than serious. People always ask but the truth is Disney will never reboot the show as it is long finished. And yes Kyla Pratt sounds exactly the same as she did several years ago and shes very pretty too. Her voice just didnt change so she would be able to do Penny if she wanted to. But if you were to add up Pennys age shed be in her late 20s to early 30s by now. Penny aged in the movie and was then 16. Remember she was originally 14 when the show started and had a birthday and became 15 and then 16 and the film was the end of the series. Penny also made a small cameo in Lilo & Stitch a show which was also popular for its time but thankfully has now died out. That show went on too long what were Disney thinking? Orlando Brown was also featured in the show you know when he was normal? Tis a shame hes all messed now thanks to all that drug taking.
Another episode that comes to mind is the one where Penny is given a credit card and goes on a major shopping spree.
There is an animated sequence which features a Destinys Child theme song Independent Woman.
As I said above the show referenced many African American singers/actors/actresses and showed a lot of love to Destiny Child who did the backing vocal for the theme song alongside Beyonc�s little sister Solange Knowles whos not so little anymore. But at the time she was a teenager when recording The Proud Family theme. Kyla Pratt was also a teenager at the time. What does Kyla do these days? Guess well never know shes a full time mom but Kyla was a thing of the 90s & 2000s that is until Keke Palmer came and jacked her swag.
Another episode of The Proud Family that comes to mind was the an episode revolving Olay one of the Gross Sisters. In all honesty a lot of The Proud Family series appealed to me. They would air every day. I would rush home to watch the series. It like aired at 4PM-5PM and they would show about two episodes a day.
Nubia Gross forces Penny Proud to give her little sister Olay a make over. Pennys so-called friends ditch her but Penny finds them and forces them to help. Olay is given a new dress sense and a new hairstyle.
They should have used some Olay, get it? Ah...you are no fun!
Penny and her friends present Olay to her sisters but they are not happy and tell Penny she jacked Olay up and that she is going to get beat up. So they put Olay to the test and take her to the mall to see if she gets hit on. Zoe (the only white girl) tells Nubia that if Olay is a smash with the boys she must leave her alone but if not she can smash Penny. Talk about a fake friend. Nubia tells Zoe that she will get all of them and Penny says it sounds good. They take her to the mall and she is a hit. Meanwhile Nubia and Gina find it hard bullying people without Olay. Nubia tells Gina it isnt her fault and that she intimidates, Gina collects and Olay is the muscle.
Nubia charges to the mall where Penny is hanging out with Olay. Olay and Gina do not talk according to Penny, Olay is shy. But its more or less an on-going joke. Nubia forces Penny to change her back.
Penny tells Nubia she stinks and all her girls jump in on Nubia and pipsqueak. Telling them what are they going to do? Nubia is upset and tells Olay if she is going to let those girls talk trash about them. Olay does not respond but her face reaction tells us that she doesnt like her sisters being dissed. Nubia tells Olay that her new hairstyle has gone to her head and that she is a Gross Sister for life.
Penny tells Olay to be her own woman and if she likes the new her it is her choice and if she wants to go back to hanging with her sisters it is her decision and tells her to be who she wants to be and gives her a friendship bracelet. At the dance Olay has her date and seems to be happy. But apparently her date would not buy her 5 hot dogs. Well obviously!!! Come on now...5? Anyway she is heartbroken and then just wants to hurt people.
Nubia starts her usual bullying and steals Penny and her friends $$$. DiJonay Jones, Pennys false friend tells Penny that some things never change. Olay winks at Penny indicating that deep down she is Pennys friend even though she just robbed her ass. In other words its like a thank you for everything. Why are the Gross Sisters purple? Its a joke that they have ashy skin. You know dry skin? They dont make cartoons like this anymore.
Like I said the references in the series were quite funny and you have to listen very carefully to get them. In one episode everyone is screaming and shouting and talking over the teacher at an event. The teacher gets upset and screams "QUIET YOU OSBOURNES!!!" the cartoon quickly moves to Ozzy Osbourne his son Jack and his daughter Kelly. Which is hilarious because they were known on at the time of the airing of The Proud Family. Everyone wanted to watch them on MTV and see what life like them was like. According to someonewho lived next door to them at the time they were terrors/monsters. Jack looks like Chris and Kelly looks like Meg from Family Guy...and Ozzy...dont ask.
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