``The Proud Family'' Makes Disney Channel Its Home; New Animated Series To Premiere Summer 2001.Entertainment Editors BURBANK, Calif.--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--Jan. 18, 2001 DISNEY CHANNEL, the leader in television for kids and families, recently began production in Los Angeles on an all-new, original animated comedy, "The Proud Family." DISNEY CHANNEL has greenlit 21 episodes, and the series is scheduled to premiere in Summer 2001 as part of the network's Zoog Disney programming block, targeted toward kids aged 9-14. "The Proud Family" is an animated sitcom that follows the adventures of Penny Proud (Kyla Pratt), a 14-year-old African American African American Multiculture A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. See Race. girl who's doing her best to navigate through the mysteries, mishaps and merriment that come with those difficult early years of teen-dom. The series, produced by Jambalaya jam·ba·lay·a n. A Creole dish consisting of rice that has been cooked with shrimp, oysters, ham, or chicken and seasoned with spices and herbs. [Louisiana French, from Provençal jambalaia. Studio and Hyperion Studio in association with DISNEY CHANNEL, is created by Bruce Smith and executive produced by Bruce Smith, Ralph Farquhar, Willard Carroll and Tom Wilhite. Kurt Albrecht serves as the series' executive in charge of production. Fueled by a never-ending passion for growing up, Penny's every encounter inevitably spirals into bigger than life situations filled with hi-jinks, hilarity and heart. Along for the ride are Penny's best friends -- the sassy sas·sy 1 adj. sas·si·er, sas·si·est 1. Rude and disrespectful; impudent. 2. Lively and spirited; jaunty. 3. Stylish; chic: a sassy little hat. and scheming Dijonay (Karen Malina White Karen Malina White (born in June 25, 1965 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American actress, known primarily for her roles in sitcoms. She performs as the voice of Dijonay Jones on the animated Disney Channel series The Proud Family. ); the naively optimistic Zoey (Soleil Moon Frye Soleil Moon Frye (born August 6, 1976 in Glendora, California) is an American actress and director. Frye is best known for her childhood role as the title character in Punky Brewster, a television sitcom. ); and Sticky (Orlando Brown), a techno-wiz with attitude -- her irreverent, groovy grandma Sugar Mama (Jo Marie Payton Jo Marie Payton (born August 3, 1950 in Albany, Georgia) is an American actress, who starred most notably as Harriette Winslow on the ABC sitcom, Family Matters and its parent series Perfect Strangers. ) and her funky little poodle poodle, popular breed of dog probably originating in Germany but generally associated with France, where it has been raised for centuries. There are three varieties, differing in size only. , Puff; Penny's trouble-making toddler siblings Bebe and Cece; and, of course, Oscar (Tommy Davidson) and Trudy (Paula Jai Parker Paula Jai Parker (born August 19, 1969) is an American actress and comedian. Parker was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, but moved to Washington, D.C. in 1987 to study at Howard University. ), her loving parents, who don't seem to understand that a responsible 14-year-old like Penny is ready to grow up. With family and friends like this, Penny certainly has a lot of love in her life. Creator Bruce Smith heads Jambalaya Studio, a new animation company focusing on racially and ethnically diverse television and new media projects. He has worked as an animator and director for the past decade. His credits include "Space Jam," "Bebe's Kids," the CableAce Award-Winning series "Happily Ever After The term happily ever after is used in association with many works of children’s fiction and romantic fiction. It describes a happy ending, often a cliché in which all the good characters have emerged victorious and all the evil characters have been punished. : Fairy Tales For Every Child," Disney's "The Emperor's New Groove" and Disney's "Tarzan." Executive Producer and head writer Ralph Farquhar also executive produced and co-created "Moesha" and its spin-off "The Parkers." Previously, he served as the supervising producer of "Married...With Children" and was the co-creator and executive producer of the critically-acclaimed series "South Central." Jambalaya Studio was co-founded by Bruce Smith and Hyperion Studio, a leading independent producer of live-action and animated family films and television for sixteen years. Hyperion's productions include Miramax's all-star feature "Playing By Heart," the multiple Emmy(R) and Humanitas Award-winner "Life With Louie," and the popular "Brave Little Toaster" movie series. DISNEY CHANNEL, combining original series, movies, and specials with timeless classics, is the first general entertainment television network designed for kids and families. DISNEY CHANNEL is a subsidiary of the The Walt Disney Company. |
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