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Reviews
The Proud Family (2001)
Blackmail?
The only reason I can fathom for this show being on The Disney Channel is that Rich Ross is being blackmailed by the NAACP. It's fine that Disney wants to take on some ethnic diversity (no, guys, token ethnic friends in the original movies don't count), but I think they're just taking the notion and sitting on it. While The Color of Friendship, from a year or two ago, was a wonderful and moving (at least, for Disney) story about racial diversity, recent attempts seem more lackadaisical and haphazard, as if someone up there said "Alright, we have a show and it's about black people. We can package that, right?" Previous shows in The Proud Family's demographic, Smart Guy and The Famous Jett Jackson, at least had more of a premise. Even compared to other Disney Channel animated series, this show falls flat in terms of concept. Unlike Kim Possible, which revels in its own absurdity, The Proud Family tries to be a down-to-earth family show with wacky elements, but instead presents a jumbled mess of stereotypes and current-event harping. The main problem with this show is that the characters are too busy trying to be colorful and upbeat that they come off as annoying. Penny is not inherently as likeable as her contemporaries: Lizzie McGuire, Fiona Phillips, Annie Thelen, Kim Possible, and Ren Stevens, because she's brattier than all of them combined, and her redeeming factors are limited. Oscar is more vibrant than Wood Jackson (Famous Jett Jackson) and Floyd Henderson (Smart Guy) but he is less a father figure than a clown, because, once again, he fails to capture the essence of fatherhood among all his immature "manly" activity. Mrs. Proud, I can't even remember her name, is the most likeable character in the show, if only because her main purpose is to shut her husband up. We've seen the Suga Mama character presented before, as Montrose Hagins' Miz Coretta (Famous Jett Jackson), and it was on that show that the character embodied all the wisdom that The Proud Family would like you to think that Suga Mama has. The friends aren't even worth more of a mention than they are all ethnic stereotypes (except for LaCienega, who is just ridiculous). So the show pales compared to Disney's other African-American sitcoms through lack of premise, Disney's other Teen Girl sitcoms through unlikeable characters, and Disney's other animation by, well, being bland. Hopefully this show will be canned and written off as a bridge between The Famous Jett Jackson and whatever star vehicle they're trying to give Raven-Symone.
But, hey, at least it's not The Jersey.
Kim Possible (2002)
Keyword is "Potential"
I know it's wrong to judge a show so early, but I pretty much had "Kim Possible" pegged from day one, and the opinion still stands. The show has its obvious quirks...first, it obviously reads like an estranged Disney reunion. With Even Stevens wrapping up, in addition to its history of sharing cast with just about anything else Disney wants, of course some cast would end up here, but the interesting note is that it was Christy Romano, rather than Shia LaBeouf, that became a cartoon character first (which I suppose is all well and good, Shia is a cartoon as-is). Christy brings a good sensibility to Kim Possible, possibly the best aspect being the utter lack of "Ren Stevens" to be found anywhere in the character. As for A.J. Trauth, I am not pleased that he has been cast as Josh, because all that means is that the show will be more reluctant to get rid of his character. I had a feeling that the whole crush subplot wasn't going to be prevalent in the show, but it's still annoying. From the "Boy Meets World" camp, we have Will Friedle in the role of Ron Stoppable. In this case, it was to the show's benefit that such a strong actor was cast in the part, because an actor with Friedle's potential is able to take on the burden of being, perhaps, the most dynamic character in the show (like it or not, more plots up to the present have revolved around Ron than Kim). Rider Strong, however, seems nowhere to be found. From "Zenon," we have Kirsten Storms playing herself...oh, I'm sorry, playing an obnoxious cheerleader named Bonnie, and Raven Symone (thank god not that insufferable Shadia Simmons) in some sort of supporting role (does anyone get the feeling that Disney seems to be overcrowding the show?). Strangely, Kim Possible seems to have pillaged the cast of Fox's "The Tick," including Patrick Warburton in an authority role that doesn't exactly take advantage of his talents, and Nestor Carbonell as the younger Senor Senior (the elder being played by the immortal Ricardo Montalban). Talent is not lacking in the voice department (Nancy Cartwright of The Simpsons and Brad Garrett of Everybody Loves Raymond also appear), but the show tends to underutilize what they have. Another drawback is that the show is clearly aimed at a younger audience than it needs to be. The writers obviously write this show with new-century wit, but too many of the jokes are broadcasted and too obvious to take advantage of that wit, seemingly designed for short attention spans (jokes are set up in the right places, but tend to be executed, invariably, in the same scene when they could easily be harbored until later in the episode). The actual humorous moments of the show depend nearly entirely on the presentation and timing of the voice-actors. Many interactions between Kim and Ron are priceless, but the most shining moments stem from the mismatched Shego and Drakken, the former being an infinitely more useful underdog in the latter's scheming. The show obviously has some wrinkles to be ironed out, but it has the potential. Just watch the scene where Shego and Drakken face off against Kim, Ron, and three detention-inmates and you'll see that this show just could prove itself.
Lizzie McGuire (2001)
Finally Evening Out
The unfortunate thing about this show is that it deserves most of the rap it's taking on here, but most complaints, in my opinion, only pertain to the show's first season. While Season One had some of what I consider the most clever and well-crafted moments this side of Even Stevens (e.g. the cheerleader fractions scene, squaredancing, the first half of Lizzie's election), it was horribly uneven. Miranda was two-dimensional, Matt's subplots were distracting, and nearly every episode involved Lizzie developing an obsession, ditching her friends, and winning them back (or something relatively implausible, e.g. Aaron Carter). However, the second season has seemed to do a good job fixing the imbalance of its predecessor. Gordo and Miranda have been brought to life (to the extent that a Disney supporting role can), Matt is sometimes integrated into the plot, and Hilary Duff is finally getting to play a spectrum of emotions. Now if only they would ditch the annoying snapshot cuts (come on, Disney, we can use our imaginations). Anyways, it's not the best thing on TV, or even on Disney, but the 2nd season eps are worth checking out if you haven't looked back since the beginning.