"New Kids on the Block" is the first episode of the Disney+ animated series, The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder. It premiered on February 23, 2022 on Disney+ and aired on January 7, 2023 on Disney Channel.
Synopsis[]
Penny, desperate to prove she's not superficial, joins new girl Maya's poorly planned plot to free a panda from the zoo. Meanwhile, Penny's crew vie for a new boy's attention.
Plot[]
During the night, a mysterious light spreads through the neighbourhood and enters Penny's room. In the morning, Penny wakes up to discover she has hit puberty. She is at first shocked and then jumps with joy after seeing herself in her new body. However, Oscar, is incensed at the fact his daughter is becoming a woman, and makes it his mission to keep her conservative, despite the fact his efforts are futile. Penny's friends have also been visited by the light. Dijonay has become more feminine as well, Michael has embraced his pride, and Zoe has gotten taller. LaCienega unfortunately got it bad. She has become hairier and covered in zits. Penny and her friends go over to see Sticky, only to discover he has moved away to establish himself in another city in Japan. His house is now occupied by the Leibowitz-Jenkinses.
Penny tries to befriend the new kids, Maya and KG Leibowitz-Jenkins, but Maya blows her off. However, Penny is determined to make friends with her. She tries a variety of ways to get Maya to like her, only to be told that she does not like her because she considers her superficial. Taking her words to the heart, Penny sneaks away from the school dance to help Maya save Shuggie the panda, only to learn she is planning to break him out rather than protest for his freedom. However, Shuggie the Panda is happy being in captivity and does not want to be saved. When Maya insists otherwise, Penny calls her superficial and returns to the dance, with Maya conceding.
Oscar arrives when he realizes that Penny's dressed up for the dance; forcing her to finally sit him down to tell him that she is becoming a woman. He finally accepts this as Penny dances with KG.
Cast[]
- Kyla Pratt as Penny Proud
- Karen Malina White as Dijonay Jones
- Bresha Webb as CeCe Proud
- Aiden Dodson as BeBe Proud
- Jo Marie Payton as Suga Mama
- Paula Jai Parker as Trudy Proud
- Tommy Davidson as Oscar Proud
- Cedric the Entertainer as Bobby Proud
- Soleil Moon Frye as Zoey Howzer
- Alisa Reyes as LaCienega Boulevardez
- EJ Johnson as Michael Collins
- Alvaro Gutierrez as Papi Boulevardez
- Raquel Lee as Nubia Gross
- Keke Palmer as Maya Leibowitz-Jenkins
- Artist "A Boogie" Dubose as KG Leibowitz-Jenkins
- Zachary Quinto as Barry Leibowitz-Jenkins
- CeeLo Green as Shuggie
- Aries Spears as Wizard Kelly
- Marcus T. Paulk as Myron Lewinski
- Cree Summer as Bufferina
- Patricia Belcher as Principal Hightower
- Carlos Alazraqui as Puff
- Kevin Michael Richardson as Papi Laugh, Radio DJ, Noisy Monkey
Songs[]
- "Wobble" by V.I.C.
- "Do It" by Chloe x Halle
- "Hands Up Cash Out" by The Gross Sisters
- "Strawberry Letter 23" by Shuggie Otis
- "Change Me" by Young Toddler
Trivia[]
- Morals
- You can't make everybody like you. Find people who like you for who you are.
- Your children are going to grow up no matter how much you don't want them to, and all you can do is trust them to make the right decisions based on how you raised them. Oscar admits he'll have a bit of trouble with this one.
- When she notices Penny wearing armor, Suga Mama asks why she is dressed like Darth Vader. Michael later calls LaCienega Chewbacca (which LaCienega mistakes as a reference to "Chupacabra".)
- The episode reveals Michael to be gay as it is explicitly stated that he has no interest in girls.
- Michael references the "What are those?" video from Young Busco when referring to Penny's shoes.
- Shuggie the Panda is named after Shuggie Otis, who originally sang the song "Strawberry Letter 23".
- This episode reveals that Sticky Webb moved away. Disney cut ties with his actor Orlando Brown since his legal issues in 2013-2018.
- In this episode, Oscar says "damn" which makes the series the first Disney animated series to be rated TV-PG.
- The episode title is a reference to the boy band New Kids On The Block.
- Maya tells Penny "Didn't you hear Solange? You know better, sis." when Penny reaches for Maya's hair. This is an allusion to Solange's song Don't Touch My Hair.
- Coincidentally, Solange, along with her sister Beyoncé's band Destiny's Child, performed the theme song for the original Proud Family series and also voiced Penny's cousin, Chanel, in "Behind Family Lines".
Gallery[]
Concept art[]
Screenshots[]
.jpg "New Kids on the Block (3).jpg (93 KB)")
.jpg "New Kids on the Block (2).jpg (1.8 MB)")
.jpg "New Kids on the Block (4).jpg (620 KB)")
External links[]
