Ahead of the upcoming The Proud Family revival series, The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder, the show’s producers, Bruce W. Smith (also the original series’ creator) and Ralph Farquhar have entered into an overall deal with Disney Branded Television to produce programming and identify and develop projects from emerging and diverse talent — Shadow and Act has learned.
Per Disney, they will closely with Meredith Roberts, senior vice president/general manager, Television Animation, Disney Channels, and Ayo Davis, executive vice president, Creative Development and Strategy, Disney Branded Television, “to bring their inspired storytelling to Disney audiences.”
The pact also includes separate funding for Farquhar and Smith to “find and develop emerging talent as well as leverage their combined experience to bring unique projects and voices to Disney.”
In a joint statement, Smith and Farquhar said, “We are very happy to be continuing our relationship with Disney and look forward to creating even more truly authentic and diverse stories and characters for audiences worldwide. We are also excited to have the opportunity to bring along a new wave of talented voices that will deepen the connection to Disney storytelling for years to come.”
“With virtually every studio and platform reaching out to them, it speaks volumes that talented storytellers Ralph and Bruce have chosen Disney as the home for their boundless creativity and inspired social commentary, not to mention their commitment to identifying emerging talent,” said Gary Marsh, president and chief creative officer, Disney Branded Television. “We are proud to have them as members of our family.”
Smith, who recently produced Oscar winner Hair Love, is an alumnus of Walt Disney Animation Studios where he supervised animation on many films including The Princess and the Frog, Winnie the Pooh, Tarzan and The Emperor’s New Groove, and worked on visual development for Frozen and Wreck-It-Ralph. Farquhar created Black culture staples such as Moesha and The Parkers, as well as the short-lived South Central.
