The Lizzie McGuire Movie

Infobox Film
name = The Lizzie McGuire Movie

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caption = Promotional poster for "The Lizzie McGuire Movie"
director = Jim Fall
producer = Stan Rogow
writer = Susan Estelle Jansen
Ed Decter
starring = Hilary Duff
Adam Lamberg
Hallie Todd
Robert Carradine
Yani Gellman
Jake Thomas
Ashlie Brillault
Clayton Snyder
Alex Borstein
music = Cliff Eidelman
distributor = Walt Disney Pictures
released = May 2,2003
runtime = 94 min.
language = English
budget = $17,000,000 (estimated)
imdb_id = 0306841
website = http://disney.go.com/disneyvideos/liveaction/lizziemcguire/| preceded_by = "Lizzie McGuire"
(2001-2004)

"The Lizzie McGuire Movie" is a comedy film based on the Disney Channel show "Lizzie McGuire" which was released on May 2, 2003, by Walt Disney Pictures. The movie follows main character Lizzie (played by Hilary Duff) as she is promoted from junior high school and goes on a class trip to Rome.

The movie opened with little positive feedback from critics, but reached number two in the United States box office on release in early May 2003. Filming was finished by late 2002 with reshoots taking place early 2003.

The DVD was released on August 12, 2003.

This film was rated PG by the MPAA for "mild thematic elements"

Plot

The movie opens to Lizzie getting ready for graduation while her younger brother, Matt annoyingly spies on her with a radio controlled toy truck fitted with a video camera. This is during the credits, during which viewers are expected to overlook Lizzie, not noticing the truck following her around while she prepares. We are also introduced to Lizzie's pink-garbed animated alter ego who expresses everything Lizzie can't say aloud. This episode sets the tone for a series of embarrassments that are to follow.

Before the 15-minute mark, she is photographed falling into the tub (clothed); her former best friend, Kate Sanders (Ashlie Brillault), who has been an enemy is infuriated with Lizzie for wearing the same dress she wore to the school dance(under her graduation gown). She is forced to make a speech in place of the class president, Margaret Chan, (even though she was treasurer and "only handled the pretty cash" in the Student Council) with no notice by a demeaning teacher (he frequently tells her "you're no Margaret Chan"); . Also, it is in this scene that the audience finds out Miranda (Lalaine) is in Mexico City. Then Lizzie trips on the backdrop, which topples over everyone on stage. Subsequently, this footage was secretly sent in to "Good Morning America" by her younger brother, although it was made more popular internationally by CNN.

When Lizzie arrives at the airport with her family, her new high school principal, Miss Ungermeyer (played by Alex Borstein) appears driving in a cart, blowing a whistle. She insults parents and students alike using a communications headset connected to a portable P.A. system. She plainly listens to nobody and even calls Lizzie's best guy friend, Gordo (Adam Lamberg) "a sneaky brown-noser with a hidden agenda", and it goes downhill from there. In a nod to the contemporary "The Lord of the Rings", the principal calls her students Halflings (i.e. hobbits) during the trip, emphasizing the power imbalance she's able to maintain.

In Hotel Cambini, in Rome after pasta for dinner, Kate is assigned as Lizzie's roommate. She then seems to offer to understand Lizzie's desire to avoid embarrassment and realize her dreams, only to irritate Lizzie the moment she lured her in by saying, "You can't do it alone. In fact, I don't think you can do it at all!"

After Miss Ungermeyer takes them to the famous Trevi Fountain, she calls anyone who makes a wish there a sucker. Lizzie throws a coin over her head into the fountain. Her wish is to sail smoothly through school (as revealed by her animated alter-ego), but is seemingly answered immediately with a handsome Italian media star 17-year-old, named Paolo, who greets her. He turns out to be a famous European pop star named Paolo (Yani Gellman), and Lizzie looks just like his also famous girlfriend, Isabella (Hilary Duff), except their hair is a different color (Lizzie is a blonde and Isabella is a brunette). They meet again while touring the city, and fans rush up, calling out "Isabella!" and posing for pictures. Paolo asks her to meet him again and then kisses her hand (the picture makes the front page of a tabloid later on). Lizzie sees a billboard showing Paolo embracing fellow singing sensation Isabella, but Paolo tells Lizzie that he and Isabella have broken up over money & Juventus.

Gordo suggests that they "seek an Italian adventure together" and that Lizzie goes first (as he had sacrificed wishing at the fountain). He suggests that she play sick the next day, to sneak away from the group. Lizzie gives Gordo a little kiss, after which Ethan Craft (Gordo's roommate) pops into the room and suggests Gordo likes Lizzie more than a friend and that he move the relationship along; Gordo demurs, saying he just likes Lizzie as a friend. The next day, Lizzie and Paolo dash off for a musical interlude on a motorbike, while Paolo's bodyguard follows in a Mercedes convertible. Paolo convinces Lizzie to pretend to be Isabella at "The International Music Video Awards" that will be televised worldwide.

Lizzie continues to pretend to be sick the next day, and drives off with Paolo (this time not tracked by his bodyguard) to an expensive dress shop. Gordo, meanwhile, sees Lizzie's picture on an Italian magazine and trades an introduction to his roommate to two Italian girls for it (and a promised translation). Lizzie then gets a makeover, orchestrated by the owner of the dress shop with a scary little dog. Kate finds out the truth but helps Lizzie instead of betraying her.

Just when her scheme is about to be discovered, Gordo sacrifices himself, telling the chaperone that Lizzie has been covering for him. Gordo is kicked off the trip. But, just as he's about to board the plane home, he sees the real Isabella at the airport and discovers the truth about Paolo. Gordo and Isabella race to the music event to stop Paolo from making a fool of Lizzie on stage. Paolo's plan was to show the world that Isabella couldn't sing, when in truth it was Paolo that was the bad singer and lip-synched while performing. Isabella and Gordo pull the plug on Paolo's mic, exposing him, and Lizzie ends up singing "What Dreams are Made of" (the "theme song" of the film) in front of the huge audience inside the Colosseum with her parents (who arrive because Matt found out the truth about Lizzie and tricked his parents into taking him to Rome, they found out where Lizzie was from Ethan who was apparently informed of the truth by Gordo) and classmates cheering her on in the crowd (Ms. Ungermyer, the chaperone, knocked the guards out when she got tired of arguing with them, letting the group in) while Gordo stands backstage and watches Lizzie perform. initially she starts singing with Isabella but after a minute Isabella leaves her to sing by herself. She does a good job and earns a standing ovation.

Later at the hotel, the characters celebrate. Lizzie's parents tell her she's grounded for the rest of the summer but "we're really proud of you." Matt tries to sell his video footage to Giorgio, a former commander in the Italian navy and Hotel Cambini's manager, but Giorgio replies "When in Rome...we do not blackmail our sisters," and he throws the video into a small fountain, much to Matt's upset. Meanwhile, Paolo's now ex-bodyguard Sergei has formed a new relationship with the high school principal. The Principal, Ms. Ungermyer, forgives Gordo and he earns her respect as he's a loyal friend to Lizzie and she respects that. She tells him she's looking forward to high school with him while his expression shows the feeling is not mutual. Lizzie and Gordo sneak away from the after party and go up to the roof to talk. Gordo reassures Lizzie that things will be just as good when they go back home and that he always believed in her. The film ends with the both of them returning to the after party because they can't afford getting into more trouble as we see fireworks spell out the words "The End".

Box office

Opening weekend, "The Lizzie McGuire Movie" raked in $17.3 million playing in 2,825 theaters and it ended up raking a US$ 42.7 million. [cite web|title=Yahoo! Movies|url=http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1808429530/details|accessmonthday=November 23|accessyear=2007] As the show was less known outside of the U.S., the international box office was mediocre at best and the film ended up with $55,534,455 worldwide. [cite web|author=Box Office Mojo|title=Lizzie McGuire Movie|url=http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=lizziemcguiremovie.htm|accessdate=2007-12-02]

Cast

Crew

* Director: Jim Fall
* Writers: Susan Estelle Jansen, Ed Decter & John J. Stauss
* Producer: Stan Rogow
* Co-producer: Susan Estelle Jansen
* Executive Producers: David Roessell & Terri Minsky

Awards and nominations

*2003
**Nominations:Teen Choice Award: "Choice Movie - Comedy" :Teen Choice Award: "Choice Movie Actress - Comedy" ("Hilary Duff")
*2003
**Wins:Teen Choice Award: "Choice Movie Breakout Star - Female" ("Hilary Duff")
*2004
**Nominations:Leo: "Feature Length Drama: Best Visual Effects" ("Gary Gutierrez,Jayne Craig,Bruce Woloshyn,Simon Ager,Wes Sargent")

See also

*The Lizzie McGuire Movie (soundtrack)

References

External links

* [http://disney.go.com/disneyvideos/liveaction/lizziemcguire/ Official Site]
*imdb title|id=0306841|title=The Lizzie McGuire Movie
*rotten-tomatoes|id=lizzie_mcguire_movie|title=The Lizzie McGuire Movie