10 Reasons Why Lizzie McGuire Is The Best Disney Channel Show Of All Time

I was a Nickelodeon kid, born and raised. I remember rushing home before 6 o'clock to catch the latest episode of iCarly or Victorious. Partly because my parents never bought the Disney Channel, and YTV (our Canadian children's' programming channel that played most of the Nick shows) is a public domain channel. So I never really watched Disney, unless it was the rare occasion when we'd get a free trial of it and then it would disappear after a month. Sad times. But I still watched a few shows via YouTube and said free trial, including Gamer's Guide to Pretty Much Everything, Suite Life on Deck, Liv & Maddie, Jessie, and, of course, Lizzie McGuire. I always had a little guilty pleasure for a good old teen sitcom. But out of all the shows I've seen (both Disney and Nick) Lizzie McGuire is my all-time favourite. I have only started watching it recently, after I decided to watch a random episode one day when I was bored, and I've never looked back since. I watched it and immediately fell in love. I made my sister watch an episode and now she loves it too. Why is it so great? It's an old Disney Channel show from the 2000s! Let's see if I can convince you...

1. It has age-appropriate casting. 

In Season 1, it's a bunch of 12 year olds played by...12, 13,14 year olds! Even if they were a bit older, they definitely looked the part. Remember how tiny Hilary Duff was? 

2. The parents act like parents.

You know how in most teen shows the parents are either non-existent or total idiots? In Lizzie McGuire, the parents actually act like real parents. Jo, the mom, is often shown cuddling up with Lizzie and giving her advice while Sam, the dad, is shown bonding with both Lizzie and Matt on several occasions.

3. The characters are well rounded. 

One episode, Lizzie can be a horrible jerk and in another, she can be the sweetest person. We see various different aspects of her personality (mostly as shown by her internal dialogue), but even in other characters we see many different sides of them, not just one static personality trait. Even Ethan! 

4. Crushes and romance are accurately depicted. 

I can't even count the times I've sat there being like "I know right!" during a more romantic episode. Like the episode where Lizzie fears she's becoming a girl-boy, or when she falls for Ronnie and writes his name over and over in her notebook. Sigh...too relatable...

5. The love interests are actually cute! 

This might just be my own opinion, but in every teen show, the supposedly "hot" love interest is never attractive to me, whereas Ethan Craft...I can see why Lizzie and Miranda like him. He may not be that smart, but boy is he good looking! 

6. The trio's friendship is gold. 

One of the things I love about Lizzie McGuire is the friendship between Lizzie, Miranda, and Gordo. The three of them have lots of acting chemistry going on and you can really tell that they have known each other for a long time.

7. Gordo 

He is so great he is a reason on his own! I love that kid, because not only is he really smart and honestly adorable, but you can tell that he has a huge heart and really loves Lizzie. We can sympathize with his struggles to confess his love, which makes it all the more rewarding when they (finally) get together in the movie! 

8.  It is hilarious. 

The comedy in this show is on point! It never ceases to make me laugh with its outrageous humor and quirky dialogue. Especially Matt! I nearly passed out from laughing during the episode where Matt has to move in with Lizzie and puts up his Weird Al poster...

9. They are normal people 

Disney has a habit of making their characters anything but normal people. They're either a famous pop star/normal, reeeeaaaally rich and has a thousand siblings, wizards, couple of rich kids living in a hotel and attending school on a cruise ship (??), but honestly, Lizzie is just a normal teenager, living in a boring suburbia, with a younger brother, and it's awesome because we can actually relate to it! 

10. It's mega-heartwarming

I love how they always manage to put a life lesson in every episode. Not only does it end the episode on a high note, but it also adds depth to the show, making you feel like you actually learned something from watching it and didn't waste 20 minutes of your life. 

So there you have it! My 10 reasons. Let me know in the comments if I forgot anything, and stay tuned for more posts. (I have a few more coming up really soon!) Thanks for reading! x