So why is there so much hate for the Proud Family?

[I.R Joey]

I've seen people on this board bash that show and for the life of me I can't understand why. It stands right next to Kim Possible as my favorite show on The Disney Channel (IE two of the real stand outs among a sea of mediocrity) right now. I think Suga' momma is one of the most hillarious cartoon charecters of the present day, and Oscar awesome too.

[Mackenzie Rainelle]

I didn't like it, but I didn't mind it, until the episode about internet file-sharing. They the way they portrayed it made Penny look like she was getting involved in a drug ring. Getting "addicted" because some guy told her how cool it was, having to beg for more, getting arrested....What kinda crap was that?!

[JustJack]

Suga' Momma IS funny. But the show isn't. I simply can't stand it.

[Anthonynotes]

Originally posted by JustJack
Suga' Momma IS funny. But the show isn't. I simply can't stand it.

From what I've seen of the show so far, I thought it was OK ("social messages" aside); beats "Teamo Supremo"...

-B.

[Zechs]

I like it.

[Chris Sanders MSX]

I like it too... I dunno what people have against it.

[zimbach]

The problem is that any time an American kids' cartoon is made with a predominantly African American core cast, or even just the main character, it becomes hopelessly, pretensiously moralistic. Granted, there have not been many, but let's look at the catalog:

Fat Albert
Hammerman
Waynehead
Static Shock

And now we have "The Proud Family". The name itself is pretensious.
(The PJs isn't a kids' show, so we'll ignore it for now.)

Let's contrast those with shows with other minority casts:

The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan
Rubik, the Amazing Cube
Aladdin
The Jackie Chan Adventures

These are all adventure and/or mystery shows of widely varying quality. While they ocassionally try to leave the viewer with a positive message, they don't try to shove social conciousness down the viewers' throats. Why does it seem to be a requirement that Black shows do so?

[zimbach]

I didn't list the "Kid 'n' Play" cartoon or other shows because I didn't see them or don't remember them. If anyone knows of other American cartoons with minority casts, please feel free to add them.

[Zechs]

We get tight cast beacuse no one wants to portray us as anything else. It's either moral or funny. I myself would like to african-americans cast in something else. The two I mentioned are just fine but I feel it's time to move on and do more.

[keds1017]

I love this cartoon too, this one of the few cartoons that really hold my interest As for people not liking the show well let just say not everyone is color blind I know cartoon that you didn't list C-bear and Jamal {It was fox-kids for a while}

[JustJack]

True true. In cartoons, African Americans are either kiddified gangsters(oh God.....), or....morallistic family stuff. As if they can't be anything else.

The Proud family is chock-full of kiddified stereotypes as well. Ewww...

[rabidrednek]

I can remember watching a couple episodes of "kid & play" the cartoon. It was very moral heavy, with an obligatory Kid & Play music video thrown in.

As for the Proud Family, I dont care about it one way or the other.

Can anyone remember the Mr. T cartoon? (I'm giving away my age just asking that question) I remember being a big fan of that show, mainly because I liked Mr. T, Mainly because he was on the A-Team which I was also a big fan of.

I remember it was a "mystery solving" show with moral stuff thrown in, mainly by Mr. T doing a live action segment at the end of every episode.

[loyalheart]

i dont know its just one of those shows that would be better live action..

[spyke]

Originally posted by zimbach
I didn't list the "Kid 'n' Play" cartoon or other shows because I didn't see them or don't remember them. If anyone knows of other American cartoons with minority casts, please feel free to add them.

jackson 5
C bear and jamal
Mr. T
Muhamad ali
spawn
super stretch and micro woman (part of the filmation cartoon show/block tarzan and the super 7, whichwas later renamed batman and the super 7)
super globtroters

[Jason Furness]

Super Globetrotters wasn't moralistic, I don't think.

It sucked like 15 Dustbuster factories, though. >.<

Here's some mo: Rickety Rocket (Part of some Plastic Man show... thing..)
Hanna-Barbera's original "Harlem Globetrotters " series

[Mackenzie Rainelle]

C-Bear and Jamal was kinda moralistic....but I still adored the bear. He was just cool. ::glomp::

[mbaker]

Would Spawn count as being different from the regular minority based toons? It may not have alot of morals (At least Todd McFarlane says he's not trying to preach morals.) but it is bold, and daring.

[Zechs]

Well it is diffrent I'll give it that.

[JustJack]

Originally posted by mbaker
Would Spawn count as being different from the regular minority based toons? It may not have alot of morals (At least Todd McFarlane says he's not trying to preach morals.) but it is bold, and daring.

The only problem is that I'm just there are a ton of people who don't know Spawn is black. There are those who saw the movie, and have read enough of the comics to know he was black. And of course the cartoon. But, I'm sure that most people don't realize he's African American. And in the end...It doesn't matter...his entire figure is fried anyway.

[Anthonynotes]

>>>Here's some mo: Rickety Rocket (Part of some Plastic Man show... thing..)

"Rickety Rocket" was a segment on the late 70's Ruby-Spears-animated "Plastic Man" show. Was basically space-travel-meets-Speed Buggy: A group of ungainly-looking Black teenagers and their talking rocketship-car went around solving mysteries. Recall some episode where they cram themselves into a teleportation booth (ubiquitous in their future world, a la phone booths)...

Re: Black characters: guessing if (unles it already has for all I know) "The Carmichaels" ever gets made, there'll be this show as an example.

As a kid, "Fat Albert" might've been somewhat preachy, but we all still watched it faithfully. Suppose one factor perhaps being it was nice to see characters that looked like me and my sister on TV (though of course we could've waited until "Soul Train" came on :-) or just that some of it was entertaining/funny to me as a 7-year-old (though 20 years later, looking back on it via last Christmas' holiday special, amazed how crudely animated it all was)...

Recall watching "Tiny Toons" with my mother once; was the "Buster Bunny Bunch" episode I believe. During the roll call sequence, we got all the characters' names called off except for the Black character Mary Melody ("Ralph---who's *Ralph*?!?"); mom asked "how come they didn't include the Black girl?!" in the roll call...


-B.