The Lizzie McGuire Movie Information

The Lizzie McGuire Movie is a 2003 comedy film, released on May 2, 2003, by Walt Disney Pictures. It was the first Disney Channel Original Series to have a theatrical film and also serves as a series finale to the television series Lizzie McGuire. The film stars Hilary Duff, Adam Lamberg, and Yani Gellman. The movie follows Lizzie McGuire on a graduation trip to Rome.

The film reached number two in the United States box office behind X2: X-Men United. It was released August 12, 2003 on VHS and DVD.

Plot

During the junior high graduation, Lizzie McGuire (Hilary Duff) is forced to make a speech in place of the class president, Margaret Chan, where she trips onstage and brings the curtain down on her fellow graduates. She and her friends then leave on a class trip to Rome for two weeks, accompanied by her rude and strict new high school principal, Ms. Ungermeyer (Alex Borstein), and her ex-best friend, Kate Sanders (Ashlie Brillault).

After Lizzie discovers that she is sharing a room with Kate, Ms. Ungermeyer takes them to the Trevi Fountain where Lizzie throws a Euro coin into the water for good luck. A few seconds later, she meets a famous Italian pop star, Paolo (Yani Gellman), who exclaims how much she resembles his singing partner, Isabella (also played by Hilary Duff). Paolo promises to meet Lizzie at the Trevi Fountain the next day if Lizzie wishes to see him again. The next day, Lizzie pretends to be sick and sneaks off to meet Paolo. She goes on a drive with him, agreeing to sing with him as Isabella to prevent Isabella from being sued for lip-synching. Later, Lizzie discovers that she also has to lip-synch "What Dreams Are Made Of", but agrees to do that. Kate later finds out the truth but helps Lizzie instead.

Lizzie continues to pretend to be sick, but when her scheme is about to be discovered, Gordo covers for her by telling Ms. Ungermeyer that he was the one who was sneaking out. Ms. Ungermeyer then has him pack his bags to go home as punishment. Just as he's about to board the plane home, he meets the real Isabella at the airport and discovers the truth about Paolo. Meanwhile, when Lizzie is looking for Gordo, Kate tells her that he's been sent home. Lizzie is confused as to why he'd do that and Kate tells her to "wake up" and see that Gordo likes her more than a friend. Gordo and Isabella race to the music event to stop Paolo from making a fool of Lizzie on stage. The two reach Lizzie in time to warn her and convince her the truth, with Isabella reminding her that she's only known Paolo for a few days. Paolo's plan was to show the world that Isabella is lip-synching; ironically, it turns out that Paolo himself was lip-synching. Isabella and Gordo exposes Paolo by pulling the plug on his recorded tape and turning on his microphone, showing that he has a terrible singing voice. Angry that he's been exposed as a fraud, Paolo leaves where he's ambushed by the paparazzi and his bodyguard, Sergei (Brendan Kelly), who quits out of disgust. Isabella then introduces Lizzie to the crowd and has Lizzie sing "What Dreams Are Made Of" live in front of the entire audience inside the Colosseum. Among the crowd are her parents, brother and her schoolmates and Ms. Ungermeyer who got in by beating up the bouncers.

Later at the hotel, Sergei has formed a new relationship with Ms. Ungermeyer, Ms. Ungermeyer respects Gordo for being a loyal friend to Lizzie and looks forward to their years in high school. Lizzie's parents tell her that while they're proud of her, she's grounded for the rest of the summer and Matt's attempt to embarrass Lizzie is thwarted by the hotel concierge. Lizzie and Gordo sneak away for the last time from the after-party and go up to the roof to talk. Lizzie asks him to promise that things will always be the same between them to which Gordo reassures her that will be and tells her that he will always believe in her. Then, Lizzie and Gordo kiss and as they both go back to the after-party, the fireworks spell "The End" as the ending for both the series and the movie.

Cast

• Hilary Duff as Elizabeth "Lizzie" Brooke McGuire/Isabella Parigi
  • Haylie Duff provides the voice for Isabella (uncredited)
• Adam Lamberg as David "Gordo" Gordon, Lizzie's best friend
• Robert Carradine as Sam McGuire, Lizzie's father
• Hallie Todd as Jo McGuire, Lizzie's mother
• Jake Thomas as Matthew "Matt" McGuire, Lizzie's mischievous younger brother
• Yani Gellman as Paolo Valisari, a handsome, famous Italian pop star and the film's main antagonist who plans to use Lizzie to avoid getting sued for breach of contract
• Alex Borstein as Miss Ungermeyer, the abrasive and strict school principal who chaperones the trip
• Clayton Snyder as Ethan Craft, Lizzie's crush who later decides to date Kate
• Ashlie Brillault as Katherine "Kate" Sanders, Lizzie's rival who helps Lizzie and becomes her friend by the end
• Brendan Kelly as Sergei, Paolo's bodyguard who eventually quits and forms a relationship with Ms. Ungermeyer in the end
• Carly Schroeder as Melina Bianco, Matt's friend
• Daniel R. Escobar as Mr. Escobar
• Jody Raicot as Giorgio
• Terra MacLeod as Franca DiMontecatini
• Claude Knowlton as Stage Mana

Miranda Sanchez, Lizzie's other best friend, does not appear in the film. She is said to be in Mexico City. Lalaine left the series near the end of the second season.

Production

The film was directed by Jim Fall with screenplay penned by Susan Estelle Jansen and Ed Decter & John J. Strauss. The film was produced by Stan Rogow. It was filmed in Rome, Lazio, Italy, and at the Trevi Fountain. All characters from the TV series reprised their roles except for Lalaine, who portrayed Miranda Sanchez, because she was busy filming another Disney Channel Original Movie called You Wish!. Miranda's absence was explained as being on vacation with her parents in Mexico City.

Reception

Reviews

Based on 96 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, the film received mostly mixed ratings, earning an average 40% overall approval rating.

Ultimate Disney reviewed the DVD saying "I didn't expect much from this movie and would have never paid to see it, but maybe I should have because it's a great movie for what it is. I can forgive and forget the corny scene when she's singing at the end, since the rest of the movie makes up for it. I highly recommend this movie to anyone who watches and enjoys the TV series; it's like a feature-length show. If you're not familiar with the show, it's a nice feel-good movie you should check out. Gus' Movie Score (1 to 10): 8 (Italian cinema reference intended? You be the judge.)"

Scott Brown of Entertainment Weekly magazine gave the film a B+ and commented in his review saying "Let's face it: Lizzie McGuire (Hilary Duff) is just too darn polished to be a junior-high underdog, even by the standards of her 'luxe suburban environs'. But that hasn't tarnished her comeback-kid cred among the six-and-ups who faithfully follow her Disney Channel show — and it doesn't make The Lizzie McGuire Movie, a clever, agreeably weightless theatrical outing, any less enjoyable."

Box office

In its opening weekend, the film grossed $17,338,755 in 2,825 theaters in the United States and Canada, ranking #2 at the box office, behind ', was the best debut for an Walt Disney and Teen comedy film that week. By the end of its run, The Lizzie McGuire Movie grossed $42,734,455 domestically and $12,800,000 internationally, totaling $55,534,455 worldwide.

Awards

• 2004 - Nominated; Leo Awards for Feature Length Drama: Best Visual Effects (Gary Gutierrez, Jayne Craig, Bruce Woloshyn, Simon Ager, Wes Sargent)
• 2003 - Won; Teen Choice Awards for Choice Movie Breakout Star - Female (Hilary Duff)
• 2003 - Nominated; Teen Choice Awards for Choice Movie - Comedy
• 2003 - Nominated; Teen Choice Awards for Choice Movie Actress - Comedy (Hilary Duff)

Soundtrack

The Lizzie McGuire Movie is a soundtrack album for the film, released on April 22, 2003.

It is mostly composed of songs from or inspired by the film, including Hilary Duff's "Why Not" and sister Haylie's "Girl in the Band". "Why Not" was released as a single outside the United States on June 23, 2003 and later included on Hilary Duff's second album, Metamorphosis, with different lyrics in the first verse. The album has been certified platinum by the CRIA and 2x platinum by the RIAA has sold 2,000,000 copies in the U.S.

Track listing

Charts

Chart (2003)	Peak position
Australian Albums Chart	6
Canadian Albums Chart	8
Chart (2004)	Peak position
US Billboard 200	6
US Billboard Top Kid Audio	4
US Billboard Top Soundtracks	1