The Buzz on Maggie

The main characters, Maggie (left) and her best friend Rayna (right).

The Buzz on Maggie follows Maggie Pesky (Jessica DiCicco), an expressive 13-year-old fly and her family; parents Chauncey (Brian Doyle-Murray) and Frieda (Susan Tolsky);[1] brothers Aldrin (David Kaufman) and Pupert (Thom Adcox); and sister Bella (Tara Strong), who is still a maggot. The family resides in an old milk carton in a suburban fly metropolis called Stickyfeet, which is located in a dump.[2][3] Maggie has an ambitious and adventurous personality and aspires to become a rock star.[3] Her approach to life often suffers unexpected consequences that puts herself in jeopardy, as she often follows her own impulses although they go against the rules or her parents' wishes.[4][5] However, she ultimately learns her lesson,[4] which was one of the core themes for the show's conception.[2]

Maggie attends a junior high school called Buzzdale Academy with her best friend Rayna Cartflight (Cree Summer) and nemesis Dawn Swatworthy (Tara Strong). The school's staff include the sneaky Principal Peststrip (Jeff Bennett), pompous Mr. Bugspit (Curtis Armstrong) and gruff Mrs. Wingston (Candi Milo).[2] The Buzz on Maggie uses a slapstick comedy style and relies slightly on gross-out humor.[6] It also includes several insect aspects, such as flies' appetite for spoiled and rotten food.[6][5] The show features various references to pop culture and common themes, such as sibling rivalry and peer pressure, from a fly's point of view.[5]

The concept of The Buzz on Maggie was created by Dave Polsky, a former writer on Scary Movie 2 and South Park.[7] In an early interview for Animation World Network, he explained that the series utilizes a playful aspect at adolescence, naming it "individuality vs. conformity".[2] He said, "Maggie must learn how to pursue her agenda without alienating those she cares about. More often than not, Maggie learns that it is difficult to negotiate life on her terms without burning bridges."[2] Dave Wasson, the creator of the animated series Time Squad, served as the director, and executively produced the series with Polsky, while Laura Perkins Brittain was the co-executive producer.[2]

Wasson formed Maggie's character design and supported the use of Adobe Flash for animating the series. He told Animation Magazine that he was convinced Flash was a "good way to go" as he had had previous experience with the program, such as commercials and short films.[7] The series became Disney's first to be fully animated in Flash.[8] Following the cancellation of Kids' WB's ¡Mucha Lucha!, many animators from that series were hired to work on The Buzz on Maggie.[7] For the character designs, Wasson was heavily influenced by early cartoon shorts by Tex Avery, Warner Bros. and Walt Disney. He noted that the characters in The Buzz on Maggie have "a lot of 1930s touches" and wear white gloves, which is a direct homage to the cartoon shorts.[7] The characters also have anime-inspired designs with oversized heads and large eyes.[9] Wasson stated that the concept of Maggie living in a dump gave him a "lot of visual opportunities".[7] Jorge Gutierrez supervised the character design and Roman Laney supervised location and prop design in addition to background paint. The animation was done by Bardel Entertainment and Future Thought Productions.[2][10]

The series' theme song "Just the Way I Am" was composed by Bob Thiele Jr. and Dillon O'Brian, and performed by Canadian singer Skye Sweetnam.[2] The song is about pride, acceptance and empowerment.[6] Adam Berry did the show's score.[2] Charlie Adler voice directed The Buzz on Maggie and helmed voice casting with Jamie Thomason.[2] Newcomer Jessica DiCicco was cast as Maggie,[5] her first main voice role on a television series, preceding her role on Loonatics Unleashed, which premiered the same year.[11] The rest of the main cast included David Kaufman, Thom Adcox, Cree Summer, Brian Doyle-Murray and Susan Tolsky.[2] Tara Strong voiced Maggie's nemesis Dawn, among other minor characters.[2] The series had a few guest voice actors, such as Laraine Newman, Paul Rodriguez, and Jon Polito.[12][13]

The Buzz on Maggie premiered on Disney Channel on Friday, June 17, 2005, with two back-to-back episodes.[14][7] The next week, it moved to its regular timeslot in the channel's weekend block.[5][7] Each half-hour episode consists of two different segments.[3] The Buzz on Maggie aired for one season, comprising 21 half-hour episodes. The final episode, containing the segments "Synchronized Flying" and "Roach Hotel", aired on May 27, 2006.[15]

In fall 2005, The Buzz on Maggie was picked up by sister network ABC.[9] The network began airing reruns of the show from September 17, 2005, to January 21, 2006, on the Saturday morning block ABC Kids.[16] According to Nielsen Media Research, the ABC premiere acquired a 1.6 rating in the Kids 2–11 demographic, and a 1.4 rating in Tweens 9–14, as well as a 7% share in both demographics.[17] The premiere was that timeslot's highest-rated broadcast in nearly three months across the block's three key demographics, Kids 2–11, Kids 6–11 and Tweens 9–14.[17] During the ABC Kids broadcasts, the series carried an E/I designation.[16] The series is not yet available for streaming on Disney+.

All episodes were directed by Dave Wasson.

• The Buzz on Maggie at IMDb
• The Buzz on Maggie at The Big Cartoon DataBase