The Wizards of Waverly Place

Greenwald, T. (2010). The Wizards of Waverly Place. Hollywood: Disney Channel

This bilingual wizard family has a big problem. Justin has a pimple the size of a mountain-- and it's right in the middle of his forehead. His sister, Alex, tried to make it go away, but accidentally animated it and now this giant talking zit might destroy his chance to go to the junior prom with Miranda, the new goth girl at his school. The giant talking pimple convinces Justin that it would make a great wingman at the junior prom. The plan backfires, however, when the pimple decides to antagonize people at the prom and everybody thinks it's Justin talking.

The premise of the show is one that combines the desire for tweens to be transported to another reality, while at the same time providing material that is easy for them to relate to. Tweens already know how disastrous a giant pimple can be, but enjoy imagining that they could use magic to deal with the situation. The main characters are a family, which portrays a wealth of situations that viewers are familiar with. Selena Gomez, who plays the sister, is one of Disney's new tween sensations. From the very catchy theme song, to the classic tween humor, this is a relatively decent show. While there aren't any characters who provide strong role models for viewers, this is a good, clean show that does at least seem to steer viewers toward behaving in ways that they can be proud of.