The Proud Family (partially found Nickelodeon pitch pilot of Disney Channel animated sitcom; 1999)

Title card for the series.

Status: Partially Found

The Proud Family was an American animated sitcom created by Bruce W. Smith that aired on the Disney Channel from 2001 to 2005, spanning 3 seasons. It was the very first Disney Channel original animated series.

Before the Disney Channel picked it up as a series, it was pitched in 1998 as a pilot for Nickelodeon and was planned for a 1999 release. During production in 1999, Nickelodeon decided to pass on the series and didn't plan on releasing it as a TV series. After Nickelodeon passed on it, Disney Channel immediately greenlit the series which premiered in 2001.

The pilot featured many differences from the show itself. It is unknown if the Nickelodeon pilot for the show has ever been publicly released. As of 2016, the only footage of the pilot appears in early promos of the show from the early 2000s. It is claimed that the episode is an early version of the episode "Rumors".

Creator Bruce W. Smith confirmed in a tweet on April 24th, 2016, that the pilot is real, but was never aired.^[1]

Although the pilot in its entirety is lost, there are early promos of The Proud Family that are found online which happen to contain short clips from the unaired pilot.

Differences From the Show

The animation was slightly different.
Dijonay's name was originally named Delinquinetta, but was changed for the Disney series.
Penny's hairstyle is different.
Trudy's bangs are parted differently, which changes throughout the episode.
The layout of the Proud's house is different
Everyone's eyes are different.
Penny wears earrings.
Suga Mama's head is a different shape and her bangs are shorter so more of her forehead is exposed.
Oscar's hair is more black and his head is bigger.
Delinquinetta (Dijonay) has no bangs and her ponytail is longer.

Similarities to "Rumors"

Bebe and Cece escape from the house like in the later episode.
Oscar and Trudy make Penny babysit the kids.

Trivia

This pilot was produced in 1999 initially for Nickelodeon.
Suga Mama's voice actor Jo Marie Payton, Trudy's voice actor Paula Jai Parker, and Oscar's voice actor Tommy Davidson voice them in the pilot, but it is currently unknown about the others.
In a screencap, Penny and Delinquinetta are in a car and Delinquinetta is driving it.

Gallery

Videos

A video uploaded by YouTuber jtoonsanimation that contains a compilation of short clips from the pilot that were taken from early promos of The Proud Family.