So, I Binged Wizards of Waverly Place... 

RU-vid copyright was a little goofy! A little quirky! It auto-flagged the theme song in the video, a month after release. I had to trim out all instances of it, which removed the original clip montage this video opened with. Here's a link to the original opening for the historical record. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-qrLTuTCMoFs.html

Theory: the ball didn't fall through the soup pot, because WATER STOPPED THE SPELL FROM WORKING PROPERLY

The family Wizard tournament sounds like the perfect way to mass produce villain backstories

To be honest, being disabled and making up a spell forcing everyone to temporarily live with your disability for the spell to work is 100% something a wizard would do

i’m just now realizing how hypothetically irresponsible it is for a wizard parent to not have powers. what if the kids really mess up, the dad just can’t fix it?? 😭

It was really nice to have a main character with a personality beyond "I don't fit in, I'm clumsy and so relatable" Alex was witty, mischievous and cool. I didn't just want Alex as a friend, I wanted to BE Alex.

Finally, a multi-hour long retrospective of a show I ACTUALLY watched

Its a really minor thing to get hung up on, but can we take a minute to appreciate how refreshing it is for a Cool Guy character to say "no don't look at the stripping girl" and all the Dude Bros agreeing? W Dean moment

I think the thing that makes me happiest about this show, is that the entire cast seem to have positive memories from this. Which is really hard to say for a lot of children's programming that includes kids/teens.

The fact that the Harry Potter coke-bottle glasses are made a mandatory part of the school uniform just to further drive home the already extremely blatant reference is very funny to me

At the end of the Werewolves vs Vampires special, when Alex says to Justin “please tell me we’ll find normal people” Justin responds with “We’re not normal people”. Genuine chills

You gotta love Disney sitcoms where all you needed was to be a teenage girl with a nice shirt and makeup and random fashion designers would just give you a job

"We also learn that Alex is 15 in this episode" if only there was another episode that could've provided this information Like a birthday episode where a party specifically for 15 year olds was thrown

Jerry had the best dad energy. He was always caring and understanding and just cool enough while still being a responsible parent. Also he takes the fact that he doesn't have magic pretty well and doesn't get frustrated at the kids for having something he lost. All-in-all a 10/10 TV dad

keyan mispronouncing quinceanera a bunch of times with a clip of alex's mom saying it properly thrown right in the middle truly was something else!

I just realised S2 EP2 about justin dating a werewolf and turning into one is 100% a kid friendly metaphor for going on a date with someone you met online and them not mentioning they have an STD that they can give to you without telling you until it’s too late and that’s just incredible😂

hearing you say you have no memory of harper having a crush on justin is the funniest thing i've ever heard. it's like seeing a cliché play out perfectly irl with no warning

Can I just say, the "did Mason break up with you" thing in Future Harper coming back, with Mason being a real character, blew my mind as a kid. Like, it was one of the first real instance of foreshadowing/continuity that I really noticed back then and it was a lot for my dumb 12 year old mind to comprehend

I love Alex, she's the rare kids sitcom character that I think has stood the test of time. Selena just plays her SO convincingly.

It would stress me out as a little kid whenever the Russo's would do spell's in public because I took it very seriously when their dad said it was important that they kept their magic a secret.

I like to think the one leg wizard did the time freeze while hopping on one leg spell like that on purpose bc he could probably do it for a LONG while and it’s impossible to do it for long if you have no practice therefore absolutely DUNKING on the abled bodied wizards. And I’m here for it. It’s the fictional equivalent of the IRL first-ever-named berserker having weak legs.

“Alex creates a distraction by turning herself into a lion” That’s a very convincing tiger disguise her lion morph has going on.

Y’know, seeing all the weird wizarding stuff together like that makes me realize how messed up the wizard world was in this show. The fantastical racism, the family wizard competition, the rule against wizards marrying non magical people… I’m honestly getting some magical eugenics vibes from the wizard council and that’s pretty damn disturbing. Like seriously, wtf?

THE MARKER DRESS IS SO UNDERRATED I LOVE IT The way it looks, the noise it makes, the functionality, I love all of it

I forgot just overpowered the wizards were. Bringing things to life, erasing memories, stopping time....no wonder we have so many wizards trying to take over the world.

Alex won the wizard contest bc she practiced magic in her daily life all the time and learned how to get herself out of situations with it.

The funny thing about the “Harper learning about wizards” situation is that it could’ve been averted by Alex simply saying “oh hi Harper! My nerd brother and parents dragged me here so I guess I’m coming anyway! how’s it going”

The quincenera episode always really warmed my heart when I was a kid and it’s one of the ones I still remember to this day. I haaaate the trope of a mom ruining an important moment for her kid by trying to live her dreams through them, so the fact that this one ended with everyone actually getting what they wanted made me so ridiculously happy

I've read a ton of WoWP fan fiction and one thing they all agree on is the mass corruption of Wizarding Society. Most fics agree that it's because the Wizard Council wants to retain utmost power and control over the magical world. Alex (and Justin usually, sometimes Max) end up leading rebellions against the Wizarding government and create a more fair society. There's lots of great fics about the show on AO3 (archive of our own) if you guys don't mind noncanonical follow-ups to the show :)

As a girl, Selena's entire wardrobe during this series was GOALS for me. I adored how cute she looked in everything, wanted to get the same haircut etc.

"I'm sure Alex will never use magic irresponsiblely ever again " killed me every time

Technically the wizarding gene would not be recessive, as their mom does not have any wizards on her side of the family that could pass on that recessive allele. Most likely the gene is dominant with some sort of epigenetic trigger to shut off said gene when one loses the wizard family battle. Cannot believe I am analyzing the genetics of a disney channel sitcom, but here we are.

I do have to give the cross over episodes credit for having every character feel very…well, *in character* throughout the whole thing. So many shows struggle with that when 2 visions collide, like the lab rats x mighty med cross overs. Here, no one acted in ways I didn’t think they would normally

i really appreciate just how good David and Selena’s chemistry was on this show, they make very sweet siblings. that bit where he ignores the pressing matter to be like “wow, I can’t believe it…. You got a job?!” and she’s like “I know right! I can’t believe it either!” was just silly and adorable to me

Justin is such a fucking highlight of this show? Like, he and Selena play incredibly well off one another, I think 90% of episodes are just their chemistry carrying the comedy and plot.

David Henrie’s comedic timing isn’t talked about enough, he’s naturally hilarious

It's amazing just how much variety and commitment Maria Canals-Barrera brings to her performances, she's so underrated imo. Just 5 years before playing good, wholesome but sassy Theresa, she was the initial love interest* in the movie "Master Of Disguise". No matter what role she's given, she always gives it her all and I have mad respect for her. She's a queen. (* Yes, she played THAT love interest. With a straight face.)

I cannot describe how happy I am seeing another multi-hour Disney Sitcom review/retrospective

Ngl the line "I just realized how good it feels to buy flowers for myself" is just so wholesome.

My crush on Alex was insane back then. I wanted to be her and be with her. It's so weird how we build such strong connections with fictional characters. Even now watching this retrospective I have fond lingering memories and feelings of a crush long since passed lol. This show was great

I wonder if spell certification is like "these spells have documented effects and consequences and are safer/more predictable to use" whereas improv spells are "these are unpredictable and may be dangerous" I know its not that deep but its entertaining to think about the worldbuilding/universe rules lmao

To this day, I take every single opportunity I have to remind people that Shakira is secretly Uncle Kelbo. It's my favorite little bit of the show.

as a kid i DEFINITELY noticed the inconsistencies. id remember spells and then use them over and over when i’d play, so like certain situations i’d be like “bro we learned this 8 eps ago duh”

2:47:54 *”Next time you meet a girl, Justin, do not bring her home”* This has got to be the single most goated advice in a Disney sitcom.

The Monotone woman who's a clerk in the Wizard school episodes is actually played by Emily Fleming a staff member and onscreen personality of Good Mythical Morning and features pretty regularly on Mythical Kitchen and noticing her here was pretty surreal.

Alex and Justin were the best duo in Disney. Selena and David had such good chemistry and their characters never got flanderized like I think the cast of Lab Rats were. It truly felt like a brother and sister relationship and I like that the story treats them with basically equal importance.

Firing not-dumbledore and him taking the fake beard off in shame is actually a fantastic bit

"Bolo ties are not stupid" changed my psyche permanently

with the misty may-treanor thing i always took it to mean that the rock was so much more known than her that it was funnier to make the characters SO excited by her and so unfazed by him lol

"wow you're like superheroes!!" "yeah except we don't do anything for the good of society" LMAO best line of the show, still remember that one

"Alex Russo feels like a well-rounded actual person, and she is the greatest Disney channel protagonist of all time" - instant liked. Subscribed.

Dean was a respectful king for telling his friends to not look at Alex when her pants were down 1:37:30

This time I'm sure Alex will surely never use magic irresponsibly again

I love how you note Alex's age as 15 due to the joke but not the quincenera

MAX OFFERING A MAGNIFYING GLASS TO FIND THEIR AUNT IS THE BEST JOKE I USED TO ALWAYS THINK OF THAT WHEN I HEARD THE WORD “AUNT” FOR A LONG PART OF MY LIFE

Unrelated to the actual core of the video but Miley saying "the minute I had sex, I couldn't put on the wig cause it was ridiculous" is the funniest thing I've read all day for some reason orz edit: can we all agree that the 2006 crossover was infinitely better than the 2009 crossover lmaoooooo edit2: I believe the crossover was over the time that Miley and Selena like viscerally hated each other. There was always competition between them in the beginning and then the Nick Jonas thing happened and pretty much teenage girl things. They're good now but I'm like 85% sure that's the reason they weren't on the same set.

For the longest time, I genuinely thought Max had won/was going to win the family wizard competition as a reversal of expectations. Obviously it was gonna be Alex but I don’t know why I thought this, I think I had a very lucid dream lmao

i have to say, adding the old school Disney promos along side this was just a cherry on top. nostalgia is powerful. 11/10

Honestly I agree with the Hannah Montana statement. Watching the show as an adult you realize how selfish Miley’s character is. Alex is also obviously selfish but the cast acknowledges it, it’s supposed to be apart of her character. Miley on the other hand isn’t explicitly told to us as selfish she’s the one whose always in the right no one calls her out on it (except her grandmother and Jackson in that one episode). It’s so hard to watch back now. In wowp it feels like the characters are actually a real family. They love each other, but they also don’t get always get along. In Hannah Montana it always feels like billy and Miley are a family and Jackson is just there to be Miley’s personal driver. Idk if this made any sense but yah wowp in my opinion was one of the best Disney sitcoms I still find myself laughing out loud to the show. I think it definitely helps that the cast seem to all actually like each other and like doing the show. Even to this day the cast all seems to have nothing but good things to say about the show and they all.

Siblings born in the same year from separate pregnancies, a.k.a., Irish twins! If Justin was born in like January their mom would have like 2 months to get pregnant in time to birth Alex in December of the same year, assuming she wasn't born pre-mature.

It's crazy how the wizard family pretty much has a personality of an average family but with parents having different perspective on how they treat their kids, jerry wants them to learn spells and act responsible but Theresa wants them to be normal it's brilliant

The Justin/Juliet and Alex/Mason sagas were so dramatic to middle school me 😭 I was absolutely flabbergasted when Mason declared his love for Juliet 💀 Also I’m reminded how I always preferred Bridgit Mendler as Juliet over Teddy

I think the spell less joke was more a hint to Alex being naturally gifted at magic despite her not taking it seriously which is later revealed in the show. It's actually a well-placed hint for the future of the show that paid off.

I never realized how sweet this show is. Lab rats, I Carly, and especially victorious were so mean spirited. I wonder if Zach and Cody (both suite life and on deck) are as nice

the way the entire cast was very talented but you could tell their chemistry as an ensemble just made their performances work. i rewatched season 1 and i think it does stand the test of time there’s of course cultural references that age it but i actually enjoyed it even as an adult. wizards came on when i was in elementary school i was the target audience for sure. selena gomez was one of the first latina actresses i saw on tv and that to me as a young latina made me a lifelong fan fr 😭

2:21:09 The delivery on “that’s Harper” is simply funnier than any other show ever. I genuinely woke up my baby laughing. Selena Gomez is quite a talented actor.

When I initially watch Wizards on Deck as a kid and Mosbey said “magic.” I thought he was serious and it was gonna reveal he somehow knew about the wizard world. Even if it were never acknowledged again I think that would have been a crazy cool thing to do, just… have him know for some reason and never even go into detail. That would be such a Mobey thing.

This is the only Disney channel show from when I was little that I can still watch today (I’m 23) it’s still hilarious

2:49:59 As someone who recently watched a lot of silent movies for a uni thing(silent movie orchestra), I started dying when David Henrie pulled out a flawless Chaplin run. He really had so many of the mannerisms of the era down pat.

I think David Henrie was the best young actor on the show, I went back and rewatched it and his comedic timing and reactions to certain things was better than what Disney would require for their other actors back then. The episode with the sequence in black and white shows that he actually studies acting on a high level especially physical comedy. Imo he should’ve gotten his own show as he could’ve held his own way back when he was a smaller character on That’s so Raven. He genuinely fits into the character of Justin. You can kind of tell that the leading role was originally meant for him because he gives it his all even when the episode doesn’t serve him any favors. Edit: I don’t understand the disses at Good Luck Charlie, out of all the Disney shows I grew up with, I’d say it’s aged the best, it depicted a modern middle class family in a real yet comedic way. Even as a black person I could relate to it because my family was very similar back when they were together, it was also very grounded in family when every other Disney show was about a cringe group of friends at the time. Good Luck Charlie was a family show.

It’s really interesting having a main character who’s main characteristic is just being bad. When I think about other sitcoms the main character tends to be a bit of a blank slate so audiences can easily relate but having her be so characterized makes the show a lot more engaging

the charlie chaplin sequence + justin/london crossover plotline made me realize how good david henry would be in a bringing up baby remake sorta thing. he's such a gifted comedic actor

I’m surprised you didn’t point out that the lore switched with “kissing a werewolf makes you a werewolf”, but when Alex does it nothing happens

fun fact: much of the target audience probably didn't pick up on this because you have to have watched sitcoms from the 60s, Mr Larritate's name is a reference to Larry Tate from Bewitched and Ms Majorhealey's name is a reference to Major Healey from I Dream Of Jeannie

May I just say that Selena’s comedic timing was really good on the show , I think she’s a natural actress and could’ve definitely built successful movie career

The actor that played Max was also the voice of Diego so he might have had to split his time between two different companies.

The writing, the casting, the effects. Everything about this show was pure gold.

harper finkle is unironically my biggest fashion inspo, the coordination and zany themes go hard. i love dressing in obnoxious colour-coordinated outfits thanks to her

the horror movie episode with the hair dryer person gave me literal debilitating paranoia as a child that i probably needed therapy for and never got, made me have anxiety attacks, and permanently affected the way i look at hallways. i had totally forgotten about it until just now and you have no idea how it feels knowing i was scared of the stupidest thing in the fucking world

The reason why i think Jessie and Wizards of Wavely Place was so popular was because of the realistic relationships between the characters even with the unrealistic scenarios

the premise of WOWP always struck me as odd. Like, why would you make the choice to have more than one kid if you know that they'll eventually have to fight each other for immortality? Also, it's weird how that puts the youngest at a disadvantage since they've had a fraction of the time to prepare and probably aren't even mentally prepared for the consequences that come with taking immortality from your siblings.

I wish they kept Amanada Tepe through the whole series. I always thought she was the same person. Since she was in the Wizard World in one episode, I thought she was a wizard, explaining why she had multiple jobs. It'd be interesting if she was meant to be a magical overseer watching the kids as they use their magic publicly. Also, to explain why they don't recognize is because she has a spell on her call the "one of those face" spell making her unrecognizable.

One of the reasons I loved Wizards was because we were given a protagonist that had major flaws- Alex was continually selfish, took advantage of people, and abused her magic abilities. Other Disney shows I watched, like Hannah Montana, featured main characters that would exhibit these traits but they were never called out for them except for one or two episodes. Out of all the Disney shows I watched, Wizards is one I’ve always returned to (besides Boy Meets World, but that is a completely different level and era of Disney). Even though there isn’t a lot of world building continuity and some plots and characters are underused and underdeveloped, Alex’s character progression throughout the series is my favorite thing. The heart of this show is Alex and Justin’s relationship, it’s the familial love shared through siblings that makes it so special. Personally, I grew up as an older sister with ADHD, though I was diagnosed far later than I watched the show as a kid. I really related to Alex because I was also a “handful” as a child and got myself into trouble, though really I had good intentions and it was the lack of knowing I had ADHD that was the problem. Wizards taught me some very valuable lessons about love for myself and others, even if I got into trouble that didn’t mean I was a terrible person and I didn’t deserve less love when I truly felt remorse and fixed my mistakes. It also taught me how to be an amazing older sister, even if my younger brother is more of a Justin and I’m more of an Alex. My brother is my best friend and we’re very close, he likes to ask me out on “sibling days” where the two of us will go see a movie or go out to the mall and hang out. I seriously love this show, I adore each character and I always will. Side note- Max’s humor has strong Vine energy especially in later seasons, i love it lol

"Alex has a quinceañera..." (Meanwhile in season 2) "In this episode we find out Alex is 15." This guy doesn't know what a quinceañera is.

I...didn't realize there were two versions of the Wizards vs. Vampires episode. I distinctly remember watching the extended version, though I'm not sure if it was originally on tv or if that's just the version they had on netflix years ago. I did notice a few scenes were missing when I was rewatching it on Disney+, which I found really weird and for a second I thought it was just on another episode but no. Disney+ only has the shortened version for some reason.

As a kid, I was SURE that the reason that there was a wizard family competition was to keep the number of wizards down to keep from magic being exposed. And I was positive that the way that the series was going to pan out was that magic would be exposed to the world before the Russo siblings had their competition, which would mean they'd all get to keep their powers. I also always figured that Jerry's kids having powers had something to do with him technically winning the competition. Like, if the other siblings had kids with humans (which Kelbo couldn't do legally anyway), their kids would just be human. Still doesn't make much sense, but that was my theory as a kid and it's still the best I've got.

The sleepover horror movie episode genuinely scared me as a kid, I felt so paranoid of being chased by a small killer with a small hair dryer

Just a theory but they seem to imply you are only a partial wizard until the family competition. They keep mentioning how you become a "full wizard" by winning the contest so even though I can't imagine how, they seem to prioritize being a full wizard because you can do more (what can't they already do!

57:48 I love how he just refuses to say his last name

Because of videos like these I now have an absurdly high knowledge of Disney Channel trivia. There’s a lot of kids in my family so whenever their millennial and gen z parents rewatch the shows with them they’re always very confused why I know so much about the bts and lore. Thank you for all the wisdom you have passed on to me. I have watched your videos more than I’ve spent time studying this semester because what you have been teaching me is much more fascinating.

You’re so right about having Latino representation in the show. Theresa reminded me of my own mom and I loved it

Clearly, the reason for why there's suddenly new spells that make the previous ones feel useless (like all the teleportation stuff) is because in the meantime, some wizard out there has invented a new spells that they then got registered, and not because the showrunners just forgot about it... Or anything like that

I don’t remember a lot about this show despite watching it nearly religiously when I was little, but something that will always stick with me is the dynamic between the 3 siblings (and also the intro theme/scene transition song, but that’s unrelated). One of my biggest gripes with most sitcoms, especially ones for kids on Disney and Nick, is how horribly brothers and sisters treat each other within the show. Acting like you hate each other and sabotaging each other’s exploits can be funny in moderation, and not entirely unrealistic, but most shows have it as a constant. Just any sitcom centered around siblings has their default state of being be complete ambivalence or spite towards their own brothers or sisters. It’s a little sickening to me, especially when shows with this kinda dynamic try to be emotional, suddenly a switch flips and the main characters are bleeding hearts that would die for their siblings without a second thought despite every other moment in the show desolating them as a bother to each other. The way I remember Wizards is totally different, the siblings still fight, they fuck with each other, they throw light insults and teases, but that’s always treated as a temporary thing. They’re just mad and spiteful in the moment and normally drop it pretty quick whether there’s a need to get serious and work together or not and THAT’S what it’s like having a sibling. You fight, then you let it go after some short time apart. My little brother is also my best friend, and I WOULD die for him without a second thought, so Wizards holds a special place in my heart for portraying something similar to what I go through with him on a daily basis when most shows only portray what would be me and him at our worst.

About Alex and Hannah never sharing scenes during the crossover: this was the period of time where Selena Gomez and Miley Cyrus *HATED* each other. It was a full-blown feud between the two. It's not surprising to think that, despite Disney corporate pushing for a crossover for their most popular shows, the two main stars of two of the shows refused to be in the other's show, and refused to share any scenes during the show that neither of them were in the main cast for.

I remember loving Harper (mostly her outfits) as a child and I wasn’t quite sure why. Watching this I realized that it’s probably because, other than the over the top heterosexuality, she was how a wanted to act and dress but didn’t/couldn’t bc of my parents and being forced to mask my adhd. Now as an adult I’m a sewist, cosplayer, sub-culture fashion enthusiast, and part time fashion/costume designer. So thanks Jennifer Stone for helping inspire me to make and wear over the top outfits!

(Edit: for some reason my timestamp is off now? Not sure how that happened but new timestamp is 1:37:30) 1:39:13 I absolutely love how EVERYONE covers their eyes here... EXCEPT for the one guy in the back who probably thought he wasn't in the shot. He's just sitting COMPLETELY STILL and the only reason I know he's not a mannequin is that he blinked. Staring dead ahead. Not a single thought going through his head. I'm choosing to believe that in-universe, this kid was stoned out of his mind.

You know, this is the one series where, for all the weird inconsistencies in the set, you really could say "a wizard did it." My headcanon is that the whole are is basically a mess because the existence of the wizard lair, and years of constant magic shenanigans that don't always get sorted out 100% perfectly make a 4 story building that has direct access to a ground floor at 3 separate levels, and a terrace that only exists from the second floor without being visible from underneath.

When I was young, I didn't waste my time with Harry Potter. I watched this masterpiece of television.

I really appreciate you putting in the old ads. It might be weird but that's part of what made tv special to me. I loved ads as long as they were something i was interested in. Could be part of why I love film in general so much today. Wizards ads were so exciting to me because they always went batshit crazy unlike any other Disney show I watched. Plus it hits me with a lot of nostalgia

So I know it's just a small mention, but I'm still so happy that you mentioned Fred Willard. He was a fantastic actor who was truly passionate about his work, and yet so few people seem to know his name.