WHERE THE GIRLS ARE FROM 'PRINCESS DIARIES' TO 'LIZZIE MCGUIRE,' MOVIES LURE FEMALE TEENS WITH A POTENT BLEND OF WISH FULFILLMENT.

Byline: Evan Henerson Staff Writer

Would anybody have caught on if the studios behind the wave of teen-girl-targeted flicks had pooled their resources and made a single movie?

It might have looked something like this.

Once upon a time, there lived a beautiful but slightly gawky 15-year-old who lived in a Midwestern city. Let's call her Lizamandy. Let's call the movie ``How to Deal with What a Girl Wants from Lizzie McGuire's Princess Diaries.''

Anyway, all Lizamandy wanted out of life was to meet her long-lost father, reclaim her birthright, fall in love and generally fit in among her schoolmates. Which is exactly what happened after she got a makeover, was elected prom queen, won the heart of the most popular boy in high school and became the hottest fashion designer in town.

That's been the general formula, anyway, though there will be variations. One thing for certain is that Hollywood is taking aim at a growing audience with disposable income.

``We are the consumers,'' freely admits Mandy Moore, the 19-year-old pop princess and star of ``How to Deal,'' due out Friday. ``We are the people who are going to see most of these films and buy most of the music, magazines, clothes and whatnot. So of course I'm proud to be part of a movement that's catering to my generation, toward giving people what they want.''

Follow the money

``Consumers'' is right. Spending by the nation's 19.5 million young girls - starting as early as 8 years old - was estimated at $10 billion in 2001, which is why Hollywood is seeing green.

Moore, if anybody, should know, having gone from playing the bitchy cheerleader in ``The Princess Diaries'' to the much more wholesome heroine of ``A Walk to Remember,'' not to mention a 30-minute MTV sitcom ``The Mandy Moore Show'' in 2000.

And there is more Moore coming. In the fall, she'll be in the dark comedy ``Saved!'' with another young star, Jena Malone. In January, in what is know as the ``Untitled Mandy Moore Project,'' she stars as the daughter of the president (Mark Harmon). And in a change of pace, in February she appears in a Wes Craven flick about a serial killer. If that's not enough, you can take a little bit of Moore home: Chances are she'll be featured on one or more of her movie's soundtracks (though not on ``How to Deal's'').

But Moore is hardy alone. Consider Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, whose licensed brand of videos, clothing, books and other items brought in an estimated $1 billion last year, according to the Hollywood Reporter. To nobody's surprise, the Olsen twins - who turned 17 in June - are working on their feature-film debut, ``New York Minute,'' due out in May 2004.

And don't forget Hilary Duff (Lizzie McGuire herself), Amanda Bynes, Anne Hathaway (``Princess Diaries''), all who have movies on the horizon. Plus there are other teen-themed flicks like ``Love Don't Cost a Thing,'' which is a remake of the 1987 film ``Can't Buy Me Love'' with pop singer Christina Milian, and ``The Perfect Score,'' with Erika Christensen and Scarlett Johansson.

Not too pretty

Make no mistake, say teen market researchers, it's the $108 million success of ``The Princess Diaries'' and the considerable spending power of its target audience that have fueled the girl-movie frenzy. While all these films don't follow the ``PD'' plot template, they have things in common. If the audience is going to relate, market researchers say, the screen idol can never be too pretty, too popular, too accomplished or too much in control. Remember, Lizzie McGuire is something of a bumbling geek, albeit an attractive one.

``What (the target audiences) really like to see are girls they can relate to that are less than perfect, who make mistakes and take some chances,'' says Michael Wood, vice president of Teenage Research Unlimited in Northbrook, Ill., a marketing research firm specializing in teens. ``It's definitely an aspirational thing, but they don't want someone who is picture perfect either.''

Adds Moore, ``All these films are exploring similar themes because as a teenager, that's what you're going through, trying to find a sense of self, discovering love for the first time and all these crazy feelings that come along with it.''

But if the teen girl audience wants their stars to be as much like them as possible, it's also nice if things turn out OK in the end.

``There's sort of a fine balance between being relatable enough yet having the story with dreams coming true and happy endings and falling in love with the boy,'' says Barbara Coulon, vice president of trends for Youth Intelligence, a youth marketing and trend forecasting company in New York. ``For tweens who are paying money for their entertainment, they don't want a sort of sad ending. When push comes to shove, they want to be optimistic.''

Familiarity breeds success

And it certainly helps when members of the target audience feel like they're already acquainted with the heroine in question. We can thank Nickelodeon for giving us four seasons of ``The Amanda Show'' before Bynes crossed over to ``What a Girl Wants.'' And tweens (defined by most as 8- to 14-year-olds) watched Lizzie McGuire (aka Hilary Duff, who also stared in the boy-skewed ``Agent Cody Banks'') absorb dozens of life lessons on her Disney Channel show before her cinematic Roman holiday this spring in ``The Lizzie McGuire Movie,'' which cost a modest $17 million to make and took in nearly $42 million domestically. This is before it hits the DVD market.

Thomas Lynch served as the executive producer of ``Caitlin's Way,'' a Nickelodeon series that starred Lindsay Felton as an orphaned teen who moves from Philadelphia to a Montana ranch. Lynch sees the influence of TV heroines like Bynes and Duff making their way to the big screen.

Their pioneer, says Lynch, was Alex Mack, the super-power-imbued heroine of Nick's ``The Secret World of Alex Mack'' played by Larisa Oleynik.

``She was never the smartest or the prettiest girl. She kept a secret and had to deal with it,'' Lynch, a former director on that series, says of Alex Mack. ``Girls can identify with that. All girls feel like they have a secret, like they have something going on that's kind of shattering.''

Lynch also believes that canny filmmakers know not to simply expect the youth dollars to determine their success. ``The Princess Diaries'' - arguably the ``Titanic'' of the genre - may have been a G-rated smash among the younger set, but it also boasted a witty turn by adult favorite Julie Andrews.

``It was the adult presence that took that movie over $100 million,'' contends Lynch. ``The 'hand-holding movie' where the parent brings the kid is the big thing right now.''

Evan Henerson, [phone]

evan.henerson(at)dailynews.com

Amanda Bynes

Age: 17

Biggest movies: ``What a Girl Wants''(2003), ``Big Fat Liar'' (2002)

What's next: Voice in the animated movie ``Robots,'' to be released in 2005.

Biggest TV shows: Nickelodeon's ``The Amanda Show''(1999), ``What I Like About You,'' returning in the fall on the WB.

Fun fact: Has two dogs and three cats.

Favorite thing: Enjoys shopping.

Anne Hathaway

Age: 20

Movies: ``Nicholas Nickleby'' (2002), ``The Princess Diaries'' (2001), ``The Other Side of Heaven,'' (2001).

What's next: ``The Princess Diaries 2,'' to be released in 2004.

TV show: ``Get Real'' series (1999).

Fun fact: She's a vegetarian.

Favorite thing: Enjoys shopping.

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen

Age: 17

TV show: Originally seen on ``Full House'' (1987-95)

Biggest movie: ``Charlie's Angels 2: Full Throttle.''

What's next: ``New York Minute'' (2004).

Music: ``Mary-Kate and Ashley Greatest Hits,'' ``Mary-Kate and Ashley Greatest Hits II.''

Products: Complete line of Mary-Kate and Ashley clothing, hair care, cosmetics and a series of mystery books at Wal-Mart stores. Also video games ``The New Adventures of Mary-Kate and Ashley'' (Game Boy Color ), ``Magical Mystery Mall'' (PlayStation) and ``Mary-Kate and Ashley: Sweet 16 - Licensed to Drive'' (GameCube).

Fun fact: The twins will get their star (stars?) on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2004.

Favorite thing: Enjoy shopping.

Mandy Moore

Age: 19

Biggest movies: ``How to Deal'' opens Friday, ``A Walk to Remember'' (2002), ``The Princess Diaries'' (2001).

What's next: ``Saved,'' to be released in the fall; an untitled film in which she plays the president's daughter to be released in January; and ``Cursed'' due out in February.

Music: Albums include ``Coverage,'' to be released in the fall; others include ``Mandy Moore'' (2001), ``I Wanna Be With You'' (2000) and ``So Real''(1999).

Product lines: Model for Neutrogena and Blue Asphalt denim line.

Fun fact: Her favorite color is pink and favorite cartoon character is ... the Pink Panther.

Favorite thing: Enjoys shopping.

Hilary Duff

Age: 15

Movies: ``The Lizzie McGuire Movie'' (2003), ``Agent Cody Banks'' (2003)

What's next: ``Cheaper by the Dozen,'' to be released Christmas Day, and ``A Cinderella Story,'' to be released July 30, 2004.

TV show: ``Lizzie McGuire'' for the Disney Channel (2001-03).

Music: ``So Yesterday'' single and video released this month; single ``Why Not'' in stores now; ``Metamorphosis'' album to be released in the fall.

Product lines: ``Lizzie McGuire'' fashions for girls available at Kohl's department stores; Duff's own cosmetic line is called Stuff, with clothing, shoes and decor to debut in fall, reports Women's Wear Daily.

Fun fact: Signs off as Hil.

Favorite thing: Enjoys shopping.

CAPTION(S):

12 photos, 6 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) How Mandy was `Saved!'

(2 -- cover -- color) Double trouble

(3 -- cover -- color) Hilary Dufff's new Stuff

(4 -- cover -- color) The Princess' secret diary

(5 -- cover -- color) I know `What a Girl Wants'

(6) Amanda Bynes

(7) Anne Hathaway

(8) Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen

(9) Mandy Moore

(10) Hilary Duff

(11) no caption (shorts and t-shirt)

(12) no caption (two teens)

Box:

(1) Amanda Bynes (see text)

(2) Anne Hathaway (see text)

(3) Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen (see text)

(4) Mandy Moore (see text)

(5) Hillary Duff (see text)

(6) Teen-girl movies, minus the cliches (see text)