Lizzie McGuire

Lizzie McGuire had its normal Disney Channel run of three years. Rare that a program goes over that, rarer that they're canceled before. It seems that's the required run for one of their teen shows. Sometimes like in Lizzie McGuire's case you get a television movie made of it.

Some are better than others and Lizzie McGuire was not half bad. It had an interesting gimmick and an appealing star. The gimmick goes all the way back to Strange Interlude where the players speak their real thoughts as they turn to the audience. In fact Eugene O'Neill and no one less is responsible for the animated Lizzie who would pop up two or three times an episode and reveal her inner most thoughts.

The second was the wholesome appeal of Hilary Duff in the title role. Her family consisted of super normal parents Robert Carradine and Hallie Todd, no idiot genes here. Her younger brother Jake Thomas was a wild child, but in normal boundaries. And she had her two best friends Lalaine and Adam Lamberg. They did everything as a trio, in fact they were their own set as they described in one episode about how schools just divide naturally into cliques.

Then there was an extended cast that appeared in various episodes other kids and teachers. All in all it was a pleasant half hour viewing.

And from The Magic Kingdom I expect just that and nothing more.

I'm 17 and I actually semi-like this show. It isn't going to win any awards and I would never go out of my way to watch it, but it isn't horrible. The characters and plots are realistic for the age group it represents. It's also good how it mixes in comedy with all of the "disasters" that Lizzie has to deal with. This helps make the show easier to watch. All in all, I'd give it a 7/10 rating because it definitely could be a better show.

When I was 13, I watched it just because Hilary Duff was so cute. When I have kids, I will make them watch this when they hit the target age range. The characters are good and I enjoy the fact that there is not to much drama. A lot of tween shows feel the need to add a lot of unnecessary drama. Not this one. The plots are simple and deal more with the every day problems of middle schoolers. There were good morals. The dad was funny, but not a complete doting dad. Both parents served as the voice of reason for Lizzie. She is a relatable character and the animated segments so cleverly and humorously showed her inner thoughts.

Nice one line summary huh? Well...it might be weird, but I'm 22, and I like this show a lot. The other comments talk about how Lizzie is a brat and a snob, etc, but I think everyone is missing the point. The shows theme might be aimed at the wrong age group, but who knows...maybe I'm just weird. I think it's a really nice show, and if can entertain someone like me, and of my age, then it has to be halfway decent. It's got good values and a storyline that usually exposes some sort of really nice truth about life in general, and that works well with this show and format. The acting is pretty good, and it's funny, and almost all of the jokes work. 8/10

This show is not only very funny, but it also is a show that teaches what is the right thing and wrong thing to do. In my opinion, it's meant for families, not only kids. All in all, great show and very well cast. Hallie Todd and Robert Carradine do a great job of portraying Lizzie's parents and Hillary Duff does a great job portraying Lizzie. If you get a chance to, go and watch this show!