THE GIRL NEXT DOOR HILARY DUFF IS MORE THAN A MATCH FOR HER LOVABLE TV PERSONA.

Byline: Fred Shuster Staff Writer

We all have little voices in our heads. Lizzie McGuire's has a life and look of its own.

Who? What? Where? You haven't heard of ``Lizzie McGuire,'' one of the Disney Channel's best-rated shows, so popular there's a big-screen feature on the way?

The comedy series, starring 14-year-old Hilary Duff as McGuire, was an instant hit when it premiered a year ago. And it's only gotten bigger with girl 'tweeners - that's the preteen demographic too old for ``Rugrats'' and too young for ``Dawson's Creek.''

As proof of how ``Lizzie'' has moved to the head of the class, the series and Duff herself are expected to be nominated in the 2002 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards for favorite TV show and favorite TV actress, respectively, when the announcements are made next month. For a Disney Channel show to get nods in an awards show presented by its chief rival is unprecedented.

``It's got something for everyone,'' says eighth-grader Duff, who grew up in Houston and San Antonio before moving to Los Angeles. ``Girls like it because it's about them. Parents come up to me all the time and say they love it because it reflects their kids. The characters are easy to relate to.''

A 'So-Called' hit

Using an inventive mix of live action, stills, home-movie-style footage, video and animation, the series reflects the universally awkward and awesome aspects of adolescence in a far more cheerful way than ABC's short-lived and painfully realistic ``My So-Called Life'' in the mid-'90s.

Lizzie is smart, funny and perhaps a bit dizzy. We watch as she navigates confrontations and crushes, a home life that includes well-intentioned but embarrassing parents, a pesky kid bother, her best friends-for-life and a clique-filled junior high school where every class is a crisis.

``I find teen-age girls eternally fascinating,'' said ``Lizzie'' creator Terri Minsky. ``There isn't a moment of their lives that's not fraught with drama and comedy. I've always felt very connected with that time in my own life. I was glued to every episode of 'My So-Called Life.' ''

In the half-hour program, which is broadcast five times each weekend, Lizzie shows you life in the turbulent seventh grade while offering a running commentary by way of her outspoken alter ego, a brash cartoon Lizzie that pops up when needed.

``There's a level of sophistication that's brought to the show so it can be viewed with a parent,'' co-executive producer Stan Rogow explains. ``The experiences are rather universal. Just because you're now an adult doesn't mean at some point you weren't 12 or 14.''

Targeting an audience

The fast-paced stories have a humorous, witty edge. Lizzie and close pals Miranda and Gordo seem real. There's obvious love and affection between parents and children. And the clothes and hair styles are simply delightful.

``It's a series that speaks to 'tween girls who really identify with Hilary,'' co-executive producer Susan Jansen says. ``The idea that here's this charismatic girl who doesn't really fit in speaks to kids. It connects on an emotional level to kids in a way they find entertaining and helpful.''

But Duff doesn't play Lizzie offstage.

``I'm more secure than she is,'' the young actress said over a bowl of pasta last week. ``She's the kind of girl that at school nobody notices at first. She doesn't know how charismatic she really is. In the first episode, she talks about how she's not a jock, a rebel or a diva but is 'none of the above.'

``I'm more of a people person than she is. I can go into a room and talk with people I don't know where Lizzie couldn't do it 'cause she'd be too shy.''

'Lizzie': The Movie

Although details haven't been announced, Duff will start shooting a full-length ``Lizzie'' for Walt Disney Pictures this summer for theatrical release in 2003. She also stars in the Disney Channel movie ``Cadet Kelly,'' to premiere on the cable network March 8.

Surprisingly, she wasn't an immediate first choice for the title role of ``Lizzie McGuire.''

As Rogow tells it, the casting process can be grueling, with thousands of hopefuls being winnowed down to hundreds, then 50, until just a few are left.

``Each time we saw Hilary, she was more interesting to watch,'' he said. ``So, while the auditioning process can be painful, part of what's revealed is who you're not getting bored with. Slowly, you began not to be able to take your eyes off Hilary. It became, 'That's the girl.' ''

The devotion of the audience is also reflected in the show's online presence, which Rogow says surpassed the company's wildest expectations. One week, Disney's ``Lizzie'' Web site (www.lizziemcguire.com) clocked 375,000 e-mails from fans wishing to communicate with Duff.

``After 'My So-Called Life,' a lot of networks absolutely walked away from this audience,'' Rogow said. ``And we were fortunate with the Disney Channel to have staked out an audience that was sitting there waiting to be shown something, an audience that was saying, 'Show me something. I'm here, I'll watch' - the much-neglected 'tween audience. Now, it's become a target (demographic) worth going after.

``It's a great audience to be speaking to because it's an audience that can grow and change and explore. And that allows us to make a fun television show.''

Lizzie is everybody

The sure-fire writing, an imaginative presentation and a true, highly appealing star in Duff puts the show across for kids and parents.

Still, ``Lizzie'' creator Minsky, who's writing the script for the film, had a different lead in mind for the part.

``I always imagined me as Lizzie,'' joked the mother of two toddlers. ``But Hilary is clearly a teen-age girl and she transcended whatever fantasy I might have had. Hil can be the most adorable girl on the planet, but she can capture everything I wanted to say about being 13.''

Which is a veritable tsunami of moods, meltdowns and traumas.

LIZZIE McGUIRE

What: Adolescence through the eyes of Lizzie McGuire (Hilary Duff). The popular comedy series mixes live action and animation.

Where: Disney Channel.

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday through Sunday, and 1:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

CAPTION(S):

5 photos

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) TEEN LIZZIE

Nickelodeon series has been quite a star vehicle fro Hilary Duff

(2) Duff, right, clowns around on the set of ``Lizzie McGuire.''

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer

(3) Duff, center, talks with director Tim O'Donnell, left, and co-star Lalaine on the set of the Disney Channel series.

(4) Duff's Lizzie can fix anything, or so the character would have us believe.

(5) Adam Lamberg, Hilary Duff, center, and Lalaine star with an animated Lizzie in the Disney Channel's ``Lizze McGuire.''