On January 12, 2001, Lizzie McGuire graced our screens for the first time. Its premise was simple. It was a show about a girl in junior high figuring out life with her two best friends. But little did we know what show we were going to get from that premise. What we expected was your usual 65-episode Disney Channel show. What we got was a star-making vehicle for Hilary Duff, a cross-marketing explosion, and a smart show that relied on many forms of audio and visual comedy, something that no other show marketed to kids really tried to do nor has attempted to do since.

What made Lizzie McGuire so great was its relatability to its audience. Lizzie wasn’t a pop star. She didn’t live in a hotel. She didn’t have psychic powers. She wasn’t a spy. (This is not to knock any of the other shows that emerged on Disney Channel with these premises.) She was a girl in 7th grade who just wanted to make it through to the next day, who just happened to have an animated inner voice who got to say what was really on her mind. She was kind-hearted, a little insecure, and a bit of a klutz.  She had her two best friends, Gordo and Miranda, her pesky little brother, and her well-meaning and supportive parents. She had to deal with crushes, homework, and the resident mean girl on campus, Kate. Young girls could see themselves in Lizzie and learn life lessons along with her as well as fawn over her awesome early 00s hair and wardrobe.

But how is watching Lizzie McGuire now as a young adult just as entertaining to me as it was back in the early 2000s? I’m all about watching shows for nostalgia purposes but a problem with watching old shows is that many of them lived within the bubble of their time period. Certain things that I thought were awesome then are entirely cringeworthy now. Lizzie McGuire isn’t exempt from cringe moments at all. However watching the show now, I definitely overlooked many nuances in the comedy of the show.

In retrospect, Lizzie McGuire should actually be watched as a live action comic book, similar to how Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) was to be watched as a live action video game. Animated Lizzie acts as the show’s thought bubbles. (Lizzie had a Bitmoji before Bitmoji was cool!) Sound effects can be seen as the show’s onomatopoeia- a well-timed “boing,” “drop,” or record scratch sound accentuated characters actions and feelings, whether they were for sarcasm, humor, or sadness. Incidental music was also a big part of the show. The sound effects helped build this heightened world even though the show was so deeply rooted in reality. In addition, the show’s soundtrack featured actual pop songs to help drive the plot. Many kids shows don’t use pop songs since they are expensive to get the rights for. This shows how much the show’s producers believed in the worth of the show as they were willing to pay for great tunes from the Backstreet Boys, Skee Lo, and the Jackson 5.

One of my favorite examples of the use of sound effects is in the episode “My Dinner with Dig.” In the episode, Lizzie invites her favorite substitute teacher, Mr. Dig, over for dinner. He hits it off with Lizzie’s dad Sam and they become fast friends, making Lizzie uncomfortable. Meanwhile, Matt’s teacher, Ms. Chapman seems to be in an eternal bad mood. Seeing how well his dad and Mr. Dig hit it off, Matt invites Ms. Chapman over in the hopes that she will make friends with his mom, Jo, and soften her attitude. The episode ends with the reveal that Mr. Dig and Ms. Chapman have known each other for a long time and are attracted to each other. It is inferred that they will begin dating and that Ms. Chapman’s sour mood is over.

When Mr. Dig and Ms. Chapman are reintroduced, we hear R&B vocalizing between a man and a woman and a saxophone reminiscent of “Careless Whisper.” As a child, you don’t really understand what this means. As an adult, we know that this 90s R&B cooing is meant to signify that these two are about to get it on. It’s a joke that couldn’t have been made without this clever use of audio.

As for visuals, Lizzie McGuire loved using flashbacks, snapshots, and dream sequences to help invite the audience to be a part of Lizzie’s world and into the heads of the characters. The show was influenced by the German thriller film Run Lola Run (1999) and its use of storyline and visuals- a very surprising film to inspire a children’s show. Handheld cameras and POV shots also added to the fun nature of show. The placement of the camera helped us identify with Lizzie- when she felt powerful, powerless, confused, etc.

Other than Lizzie, other supporting characters had their own chances to shine and given fully fleshed out personalities throughout the show’s 65 episode run and feature length movie. Lizzie’s parents were firm and loving, but never outright bumbling. They were always aware of what was going on in their children’s lives and had all the answers, but let their children learn them in their own way and time. Lizzie’s crush, Ethan Craft, is at first shown to be very air-headed but he also is very nice and skilled at sports. He also lets her down very gently when he tells her honestly that he only likes her as a friend and not romantically. The school geek, Larry Tudgeman, is at first shown as the stereotypical geek who only wears one shirt and plays D&D. But Lizzie learns that he is happy with what he likes Lizzie comes to admire his self-confidence. Kate, Lizzie’s nemesis and former child best friend, fluctuates between being kind and mean to Lizzie, but there are a few episodes in which the two of them truly connect and Kate’s insecurities are shown.

All in all, Lizzie McGuire was a show that was wise beyond its years. It showcased young girls and boys and all of their emotions. It showed kids that everyone had their own insecurities and interests that made them who they were. It used every aspect of its medium and didn’t rely on just dialogue to craft its storylines and jokes, something that many comedies these days are guilty of doing. It was a show that parents were happy to let their kids watch. It's a show that really is once in a lifetime. Should any new shows try to mimic the magic of this show, I wish them luck because it truly is a format that effective, fun, and doesn't attempt to sugarcoat its lessons to its target audience. So, here's to you Lizzie McGuire. Thanks for making my childhood amazing. May you always live on YouTube so that I can watch episodes for many years to come.

Photo and video clips courtesy of Disney/ABC Television