In a YouTube video with Hilary Duff where she watched back her shows and films with Vanity Fair, Duff commented that The Lizzie McGuire Movie may have inspired Hannah Montana.
“Oh my god, Hannah Montana – she’s a normal girl but she’s like a singer at night. So I think that Disney knew they were tapping into something when this worked so well and they were like ‘oh the normal girl turning into a popstar.’ So I’m sure it was some source of inspiration,” she said.
However the creator of the show, Michael Poryes, has pushed back and has denied this. Poryes told TMZ that Hannah Montana wasn’t inspired in “any shape or form.” He went on to explain how Disney pitched him on a show about a pop star and he formulated the concept of a teen leading a double life in “small garage office in Los Angeles.”
Poryes however added that Lizzie was a “clever” show, and its success opened the door for him to create the iconic Disney show, That’s So Raven.
Sources: 1 | 2
