The Buzz on Maggie
A tween fly navigates adolescence in a junkyard metropolis.
The Buzz on Maggie, a Disney Channel animated series from creator Dave Polsky, centers on an ambitious tween fly named Maggie Pesky and her family, who live in the insect city of Stickyfeet. It was the first Disney series made entirely with Adobe Flash animation.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Comedy, Slapstick
- Runtime
- 22 minutes
- Creator
- Dave Polsky
- Executive producers
- Dave Polsky, Dave Wasson
- Theme music
- Bob Thiele Jr., Dillon O'Brian
- Director
- Dave Wasson
- Voices
- Jessica DiCicco
- Cree Summer
- Thom Adcox-Hernandez
- David Kaufman
- Brian Doyle-Murray
- Susan Tolsky
- Opening theme
- "Just the Way I Am" performed by Skye Sweetnam
Facts from the source article.
Plot
The Buzz on Maggie centers on Maggie Pesky, a 13-year-old fly with an ambitious and adventurous personality who aspires to become a rock star. She lives with her parents Chauncey and Frieda, older brother Aldrin, younger brother Pupert, and baby sister Bella in an old milk carton in Stickyfeet, a fly metropolis located in a dump. Maggie often follows her own impulses despite rules or her parents' wishes, leading to unexpected consequences from which she learns a lesson. She attends Buzzdale Academy junior high school with best friend Rayna Cartflight and nemesis Dawn Swatworthy. The school staff includes Principal Peststrip, History teacher Mr. Bugspit, and STEM teacher Mrs. Wingston. The show uses slapstick and some gross-out humor, incorporating insect traits and pop culture references.
Production
Dave Polsky created The Buzz on Maggie after working as a writer on Scary Movie 2 and South Park. He described the series as exploring individuality versus conformity, with Maggie learning to pursue her goals without alienating others. Dave Wasson, creator of Time Squad, served as director and executive producer alongside Polsky, with Laura Perkins Brittain as co-executive producer. Wasson designed Maggie's character and advocated for Adobe Flash animation, having used it previously for commercials and short films. The series became Disney's first fully Flash-animated show. Many animators from the canceled Kids' WB series ¡Mucha Lucha! were hired for this production. Wasson drew character design influence from early cartoon shorts by Tex Avery, Warner Bros. Cartoons, and Walt Disney, incorporating 1930s touches and white gloves as homage. Characters also feature anime-inspired oversized heads and large eyes. Jorge Gutierrez supervised character design, while Roman Laney handled location and prop design. Bardel Entertainment and Future Thought Productions performed the animation. The theme song "Just the Way I Am" was composed by Bob Thiele Jr. and Dillon O'Brian, performed by Skye Sweetnam. Adam Berry composed the score. Charlie Adler voice directed and co-cast with Jamie Thomason. Jessica DiCicco voiced Maggie in her first main television role.
Release
The Buzz on Maggie premiered on Disney Channel on June 17, 2005, with two back-to-back episodes, then moved to a regular weekend timeslot. Each half-hour episode contains two segments. The series ran for a single season of 21 episodes, concluding on May 27, 2006, with the segments "Synchronized Flying" and "Roach Hotel". In fall 2005, ABC began airing reruns on its Saturday morning ABC Kids block from September 17, 2005, to January 21, 2006. The ABC premiere earned a 1.6 rating in Kids 2–11 and a 1.4 rating in Tweens 9–14, with a 7% share in both demographics, becoming that timeslot's highest-rated broadcast in nearly three months across three key demographics. During ABC broadcasts, the series carried an E/I designation.
Reception
The Buzz on Maggie received positive reviews from television critics. Jeff Hidek of Star-News called it the most entertaining of that summer's new offerings. Roger Catlin of Hartford Courant wrote that it stood out on Disney Channel by being sassier, sharper, and funnier than other shows, praising the voice acting and writing. David Hiltbrand of The Philadelphia Inquirer noted some gross-out humor but found it reasonably tasteful for adolescents, and while he considered the animation substandard, he was positive about the premise. Hal Erickson of AllMovie deemed the fly concept unoriginal but said the show set itself apart from earlier efforts, viewing Maggie's strong attitude as a positive role model. A critic for Observer-Reporter called it suitably silly, and Robert Lloyd of Los Angeles Times described it as delightful. Gail Pennington of St. Louis Post-Dispatch named it among the tops of the night. Diana Dawson of Spartanburg Herald-Journal considered it inspiring for fun-loving tweens. Kevin McDonough of Lawrence Journal-World praised the balance between cartoon anarchy and Disney's messaging. Jeanne Spreier of The Dallas Morning News gave it a B grade, citing simple plots and clean dialogue. The theme song "Just the Way I Am" received critical praise and a Daytime Emmy Award nomination in 2006. The series also received an Annie Award nomination for its character design.
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