Paula Jai Parker & Tommy Davidson Interview: The Proud Family: Louder & Prouder
The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder stars Paula Jai Parker & Tommy Davidson chat about what has changed for Oscar and Trudy in the new revival.
Disney+ is bringing back yet another beloved classic when The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder arrives on February 23. A revival of the iconic Disney Channel animated series, The Proud Family welcomes fans back to the home of Oscar (Tommy Davidson, Black Dynamite) and Trudy Proud (Paula Jai Parker, Queen Sugar) for the first time in over fifteen years.
Rather than showing the kids already grown up, however, Louder and Prouder picks up with Penny (once again voiced by the lovely Kyla Pratt) on the brink of becoming a young woman. At 14 years old, puberty has hit and her parents have very different reactions to the event. Of course, they also have the twins' diaper changes to deal with and Suga Mama's (still portrayed by the fabulous Jo Marie Payton) wisdom and whimsy to help them through.
Parker and Davidson spoke to Screen Rant about the feeling of returning to a beloved job after so many years, and how their characters are handling Penny becoming a teenager. Check out a clip of Oscar and Trudy's contrasting parenting styles, and then read the actors' responses below.
You're returning to your animated roots and becoming part of The Proud Family again. What is it like for you guys, coming home?
Tommy Davidson: Oh, hallelujah. We are so happy and so relieved, because we put so much work into this project initially. And to have a 20-year lull? It means a lot to be back, because the work that we do is actually demanding.
To be in a booth with a director, those directors and those writers, and to bring to life animation takes a lot of energy - but mostly scheduling and getting our lives to bend that way. Getting through a pandemic and scheduling, [imagine] how difficult that was to keep us together technically. It's like, "We did it!" We did it, man.
It's even more incredible because so much of the cast is still the same, and yet the world around you is so different with the introduction of social media and even the animation style. Paula, can you speak to what has changed for you in returning to The Proud Family?
Paula Jai Parker: Well, for me, I didn't have any children when we first did The Proud Family. I was a baby; I was in my 20s and running the streets and thinking I was cute. Now I'm grown up and still thinking I'm cute - I'm just playing.
Tommy Davidson: Still cute! C'mon now.
Paula Jai Parker: I'm just fishing for compliments; just being a woman.
But now I'm a mommy, and I appreciate the role so much more. I think [due to] the fact that Tommy had kids - and with Jo Marie, Kyla's mom and my own mom - I was able to pull positive references for having a real mother-daughter relationship with Kyla, who is Penny, in real life. We're close, so it that helps.
But now that I have my own son - who is 13, the age of Penny's character now - it's a whole new world. I get it. I love it. I'm proud - pun intended - that I finally have something on my resume again that's not so, you know... R-rated.
Thank you, Disney, for not judging a girl and allowing me to be Trudy. It's a blessing.
Penny is blossoming into young womanhood, and Oscar doesn't love that necessarily. Can you talk about the daddy-daughter dynamic as we step into the first episode?
Tommy Davidson: Yeah, yeah. You know, the little girl is always daddy's little girl. It's just the thought of her blossoming into a woman, and you being a man yourself [means] that instinct to protect. And then you've got that reluctance to let them grow up too.
But sometimes Dad has let go a little bit, so I look forward to seeing that journey.
Tommy Davidson: Yeah, when she's walking out the house with them tight jeans on. "Why them jeans so tight? You gotta put on a potato sack or something."
Trudy's the breadwinner, but she's also the most emotionally intelligent one - no offense to Oscar. How does she juggle all those responsibilities?
Paula Jai Parker: I think all men are crazy. [laughs] They're just not as developed as we are. No offense to you, Tommy, you are a man. But we're not just saying this: the woman runs the household. It's even in the Bible.
But it's a blessing to be back in this situation with Tommy. He's always been a mentor to me and a kind, loving friend. He always has a word of advice and a word of encouragement. I just think this couldn't have happened at a better time for me as a woman, coming into my change. I get a little more hot and cold, and Tommy's been amazing.
Tommy Davidson: A little more hot and cold, huh? [laughs] There you go. You got your fan with you too!
I cannot wait to see the rest of the episodes, and I hope that we're going to get another crossover because I still remember the Lilo and Stitch one.
Tommy Davidson: There you go!
Paula Jai Parker: Remember Kim Possible? Didn't Kyla's character do a little something with that?
Disney is creating our world for a whole new generation to learn and love. I know I raised you; we raised you, so now we get to raise your kids.
The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder will premiere its first two episodes on Disney+ February 23.