The Proud Family was an American animated television series about a Black family; it is geared towards the ages from 11 to 18 years old. Originally piloted for Nickelodeon,[1] it was eventually picked up by the Disney Channel in 2001. The show was created by Bruce W. Smith, and is produced by his studio, Jambalaya Studios.
While basically a sitcom, The Proud Family presents young audiences with different daily situations that many teenagers might have to face during their teenage and adult years. Although The Proud Family has ended with the final episode, a made-for-TV Proud Family movie was released on August 15, 2005
A rumor involving Penny and Myron (the school nerd) is spread. Penny's reputation is ruined, and even her friends believe the rumor. Her enemy, and sometimes kind of a friend LaCienega started the rumor, and another rumor spreads about LaCienega trying to steal Myron away from Penny.Guest Star: Deaira T. Pitts as Myron Lewinski
Penny is used as a tool to infect the whole world with a website marketing illegal free music downloads using the philosophy that "free music is our birthright." This episode is based on The Matrix.
Guest Star: Ray J as Mega.The episode name is a reference to Napster.
When Wizard Kelly launched a spelling bee competition, Oscar forces Penny to train and makes her enter the competition, so that he can re-live his glory days all over again, but the son of a contestant who lost to Oscar in a spelling bee that happened years ago makes other ways to win.Guest Star: James Avery as Crandall Smythe
Penny tries out for the football team, but the coach won't let her play because she is a girl.Guest Star: Mablean Ephriam as the Judge
Breaking her fathers "no-dating rule", Penny goes with her friends to the amusem*nt park. She ends up with an un-popular, overweight boy named Carlos. Penny thought that Carlos would be a nerd, but ended up being a very caring person and saves Bebe and Cece's lives. Meanwhile, Oscar and Felix refuse to go to a day spa with their wives, until they notice the sexy nurse who escorts them into their room. The nurse tells them to get ready for a "good, old fashioned rub down", and they believe it means they will both get to sleep with her, but their happiness is cut short when they realize that they are with Dr. Payne instead. Even though Penny gets grounded in the end Oscar allows Penny to continue to see Carlos so he won't eat all of their food and gives her permission to start dating when she turns 16.Guest Star: Kel Mitchell as Carlos
Penny's grades fall victim to a longtime grudge held between her teacher Ms. Dinkins and Suga Mama. Oscar and Trudy decide enroll the twins in a private preschool, but change their minds at the last minute. In the end thanks to Penny Suga Mama and Ms. Dinkins become friends again and Ms. Dinkins does the right thing and changes the grade on Penny's paper from a "D" to the one she deserves an "A".Guest Star: Dorien Wilson as Dave the Dork
Penny is given a credit card, leaving her to splurge massively without her parents' knowledge.Guest Star: Steve Harvey as The Credit Card
The Proud Family is taught an important lesson about the true meaning of Christmas and Kwanzaa by a homeless family.Guest Stars: Vivica A. Fox as Angel Margaret, Samuel L. Jackson as Angel Joseph, and Raven-Symone as Angel Stephanie
Penny is the pooper at her own party when everyone decides to go to LaCienega's party instead.Guest Star: Lou Rawls as Himself
Penny is taught a lesson about respecting her African American heritage and how Black History Month was started. At the end she recites the "I Have A Dream" speech by Martin Luther King.Guest Star: Thomas Mikal Ford as Mr. Webb
Penny is guilted into forming a relationship with an obnoxious boy in a wheelchair on Valentine's Day.Guest Star: Shia LaBeouf as Johnny McBride
Penny and her friends form a dance group known as "LPDZ", and dance on "Hip-Hop Helicopter", a famous dance show. Oscar gets mad due to their skimpy outfits. *Notes*: Hip-Hop Helicopter is a parody of Soul Train. In this episode we learn that Dijonay's cousin works for Hip-Hop Helicopter.Guest Stars: Big Boy as himself, Shawn Robinson as herself, Shar Jackson as Bethany, and Lamont Bentley as Gary
Penny has a crush on Kwok, who is arranged to be married to another girl because of the traditions of where his parents are from in China. Meanwhile, Penny and Kwok are playing the title roles in the school production of Romeo and Juliet. Meanwhile, Trudy's big sister Diana a famous actress is visiting from New York.Guest Stars: Sheryl Lee Ralph as Aunt Dee and Amy Hill as Mrs. Wong and Dante Basco as Kwok
Penny gets super powers when she eats her daddy's Halloween snacks.Guest Stars: Lil Romeo as Himself, Tim Conway as Alvin Peterson, Ving Rhames as Garrett Krebs
Trudy gets Oscar to try to get a popular cartoon character to come to BeBe and CeCe's birthday party, but Penny suspects the woman who plays the character is having an affair with Oscar.Guest Star: Vanessa L. Williams as Debra
Penny teaches Dijonay how to spit poetry, who does poorly at first, but does phenomenal on stage, leaving a jealous Penny in her wake. Meanwhile, the Prouds' 9 year old neighbor annoys Oscar by getting him electrocuted, getting him caught by Trudy when he was being seduced by two beautiful lifeguards, and getting him attacked by a giant bird.Guest Stars: Mos Def as himself, and Dante Basco as Kwok
Trudy and Oscar's families visit for Bebe and Cece's baptism but they can't seem to get along.Guest Stars: Mo'Nique as Boonnetta, Solange Knowles as Chanel, David Alan Grier as Reuben, Wendy Raquel Robinson as Leslie, Sheryl Lee Ralph as Diana, Jamal Mixon as Ray Ray Junior, Cicely Tyson as Mrs. Maureen Parker, Robert Guillaume as Dr. Parker and Anthony Anderson as Ray Ray
Penny's favorite TV show "Iesha" gets canceled, leaving the girls to go to Hollywood to convince the writers to put it back. Once it does, Penny learns Iesha is not who she thought she was.
Guest Stars: Gabrielle Union as Sunny Stevens/Iesha, Kym Whitley as Mamma, and Wendy Raquel Robinson as Katanga and Shawn Robinson as herselfNOTE: The episode name is a reference to the T.V. series Moesha, which was cancelled.
Penny picks up Karate, and when she wants to switch to a more popular training area, her mother forbid her.NOTE: The episode name is a reference to "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."
When Penny lies to her parents and sneaks to a teen nightclub, she gets in trouble. However, Al Roker overhears her wishing that all the parents on earth would disappear and grants her wish.Guest Star: Al Roker as Himself
When Penny wins a chance to win $1,000,000 by shooting a half-court shot at the All-Star basketball game, Oscar convinces her to let him take the shot instead in order to fulfill a lifelong dream.Guest Star: Kobe Bryant as Himself
Sugar Mama makes some treats which end up having the secret that she puts her foot in it to make the snacks which makes everyone she sold it to sick. Also, there's a song from The Wiz in there.Guest Star: Debra Wilson as Oprah Winfrey
When the Proud family is in disarray, Trudy hires a nanny, Rene. When Trudy comes back, she is jealous to find that Rene has become a mother figure to the family, and that Oscar is attracted to the beautiful woman.
Guest Star: Tisha Campbell-Martin as ReneThe episode's name is a reference to the movie "There's Something About Mary".
Penny and her friends gets tickets to go to a concert, but she and Dijonay have to stay home and babysit since both their parents go on a couples retreat. But Dijonay decides to ditch Penny to go to the concert, leaving Penny with Dijonay's wild brothers and sisters.
Guest Stars: Kym Whitley as Caramel Jones, John Witherspoon as Oran Jones, 3rd Storee as Themselves, and Debra Wilson as Tabasco/BasilThe episode name is a reference to the film Adventures in Babysitting.
Penny's overprotective father uses Peabo to listen in on Penny's conversation about her having a crush on a boy, Tory.Guest Star: Kirk Franklin as Rev. Haygood
Penny, Dijonay, and Zoey get a job at a department store, but get fired when a watch is stolen. However, in a video where Oscar was filming an attractive woman's butt while she was bending over, they realize that Bebe and Cece took the watch.Guest Star: Ashanti as Randi
Suga Mama falls in love, but Oscar tries to prove it's nothing but a facade.Guest Stars: Smokey Robinson as Himself, Roscoe Lee Brown as Roscoe Carington III (aka) Clarance
Sugar Mama's sister comes to visit. She has the power to move things and tries to get money off Oscar. In this episode we learn that Suga Mama and Spice hate each other.
Note: The episode name is a pun on Harry Potter.Guest Star: Jenifer Lewis as Spice
R&B singer Mariah Carey's monkey, François, gets taken to Trudy's veterinary office after he passes out from eating a Proud Snack. Oscar takes Mr. Chips to Trudy, but forgets about him when he starts trying to flirt with Mariah. François and Mr. Chips gets switched. Oscar tries to make money off of François (thinking he's Mr. Chips) because he can play the piano, while Mr. Chips is living a luxorious life with Mariah.
The episode name is a play on "Monkey Business".Guest Star: Mariah Carey as Herself
After flooding Felix's house, Papi is sent to a retirement home called Happy Endings. However, it is secretly an okra farm, where the residents are forced to work on the fields all day. When Penny and friends discover this, having came in before visiting hours, they attempt to reveal this to their parents, only for the farm to adequately camouflage itself during visiting hours. Only Sugar Mama believes them, noticing the difference in feet size between Papi and his impostor. The next night, Sticky, Zoey, Lacieniga, Penny, Dijonay, and Suga Mama go and rescue Papi. But while the two are taking a trip to Las Vegas, the farm's manager, Helga, is intent on retrieving Papi.
The episode name is a reference to Thelma and Louise.Guest Stars: Estelle Harris as Helga and Brian Hooks as Igloo
LaCienega and ordinary looking classmate Agatha Ordinario with long brown hair enter a singing competition (similar to American Idol) where the winner gets to sing with R&B/Soul singer Alicia Keys. Agatha is the better singer by far, but when Wizard Kelly fixes the votes, LaCienega is forced to make a tough decision.Guest Stars: Alicia Keys as Herself, Randy Jackson as Himself, Tim Curry as Percival, Brian Dunkleman as Himself, and Erica Rivera as Agatha Ordinario
Mongo the wrestler gets sick of "Proud Snacks" and asks Oscar to defend his title.Guest Stars: Michael Clarke Duncan as Mongo and Traci Bingham as Jasmine
Penny, tired of baby-sitting her younger siblings, wishes they were old enough to take care of themselves. Al Roker grants Penny's wish and turns Cece and Bebe into teens, but they turn out to be a lot more popular than her.Guest Stars: Lee Thompson Young as Teen Bebe and Sicily Sewell as Teen Cece
The series finale (and also the last episode). The day before Penny turns 16, her dad, Oscar, demands that she can't be a Spare Change dancer. Penny sneaks out of the house, and meets the rapper 15 Cent. Meanwhile, her dad failed to enter a snack academy. 15 Cent drives her home and Penny kisses him, and as her father yells, she's embarrassed. Penny gets scolded, grounded, her Birthday Party's canceled, forbidden from turning 16, hurts Oscar's feelings twice, and she goes back to her room in total anger. Her mom, Trudy, gives the birthday present from her dad. All of a sudden, her family is invited on a cruise ship. They learn it's a plot by the evil Dr. Carver (Arsenio Hall) who wants Oscar's secret to his new Proud Snack. Since Oscar won't reveal the secret, Dr. Carver sends peanut-shaped clones of Penny, Oscar, Trudy, Bebe & Cece, Suga Mama, and Puff back home. And the only place they will find the secret to the snack was in Penny's birthday present her necklace. The movie concludes when they use Penny's necklace to make peanut butter clones who later get destroyed, leaving the peanut family to their business of eating hotdogs and performing 15 Cent's song, featuring the real Penny, Dijonay, Lacienga, and Zoey.
Guest Stars: Omarion as 15 Cent and LisaRaye as the Dancing Cherographer
- Directed by Bruce W. Smith