​From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.   Bruce W. Smith is an American character animator, film director, and television producer, best known as the creator of Disney's The Proud Family. He studied animation in the Character Animation program at the California Institute of the Arts. One of the few Black animators working in the industry, Smith got his start as an assistant animator for Bill Meléndez's 1984 Garfield television special Garfield in the Rough. He went on to animate for Baer Animat ...