User reviews

With "Austin & Ally", Disney Channel has made yet another sitcom in line which centers about a teen who becomes a famous musician. Which means that a normal kid can live a normal life, while being a popstar at the same time. Of course, by watching those shows it means that you'll have to let pass some illogical notions. And yes, an immediate comparison is of course the much hyped "Hannah Montana" and though of course "Austin & Ally" isn't a carbon copy, it borrows many components and story lines from "Montana" in a obvious and overt way. In the last years, Disney Channel has been desperate to cash in on their stars and have made most of their shows and TV movies as big, cultural phenomenon's ("High School Musical", "Hannah Montana", "Wizards of Waverly Place and "Camp Rock" come to mind). I'll confess those shows have been a guilty pleasure of mine. But there's no denial they're glossy products, aiming just for kids, which is even more evident on the current DC shows. "Austin & Ally" is still a fine exception. While it doesn't bring back to the glory days of DC sitcoms and it's not absent of flaws, it's still one of the better shows from Disney Channel and is better than shows as "Shake it Up" and "A.N.T. Farm".

"Austin & Ally" may not have the broad appeal as "Good Luck Charlie" or the sheer enjoyment of "Pair of Kings", but it actually have a strength that the current Disney Channel shows lack; The characters. There's a genuine dynamic and chemistry between the characters in it that I haven't seen since the early DC sitcoms. While the acting is far from top notch (especially from male hunk Ross Lynch as Austin), the characters are really likable. Many people detest Dez (Calum Worthy), but I happen to disagree. In my opinion, he's one of the best Disney Channel characters ever made. While I'll admit he can be grating at times, he's still endearing. His frenemy Trish (Raini Rodriguez) is also a feisty character. Laura Marano is a good fit as the insecure and prissy Ally. And while Ross Lynch is the weakest actor, he still brings some genuine energy to his character. The episodes borrows some plot lines from both the aforementioned "Hannah Montana" and "Sonny With a Chance", but works fine nonetheless. And not to forget that the songs (while obviously marketed to a certain audience) are most of the part really catchy.

The problem with "Austin & Ally" lies on a current notion that several Disney Channel shows has; Making a show specifically for children as opposed to a broader audience. Which means that there unfortunately are many childish jokes and dumb comments along. If it wasn't for that, "Austin & Ally" would have been a real throwback to the earlier Disney shows. But for what it is, it's a fine show. Take it for what its; It's just silly, trashy fun and not supposed to be something else either!

Disney's newest venture into the sitcom/music market is "Austin & Ally", a show about a teen songwriter (with extremely bad stage fright), and an aspiring musician (who needs help writing songs). What a perfect match. Although they don't always get along, Austin and Ally end up working together. Although I do believe the golden age of Disney Channel (High School Musical, Hannah, Jonas, Camp Rock, Wizards) is ending, I believe Austin & Ally gives the new DC some hope. The new DC shows now try to hard, such as shoving China McClain down our throats with her mediocre singles. Shake it Up, although decent, gets tiresome. And Jessie is boring, clearly showing us Disney did not strike lightening with Debby Ryan being the new "It Girl." However, I feel as if Austin & Ally can bring Disney in a new direction, while still staying true to their song and dance formula that has been working (has been, I repeat). Instead of trying so desperately to create the new Miley, DC can put a lot of promotion into Ross Lynch (Austin), much like their attention to the Jonas Brothers a few years ago. Nothing sells better than a heart throb, and Ross Lynch is likable, attractive, and can sell crowds of 6-12 year old girls. The writing is surprisingly good for a DC show, although it is still campy, cheesy, and over the top. The chemistry between Austin and Ally can also be much better, I feel as if the actors are not truly aware of their character yet. But these are early episodes, most kid shows progress over time (A.N.T. Farm, Victorious). Not every DC show is going to compare to HM and their will not be another star like Miley for years to come. Disney has to understand this, and move on to the next thing. Instead of trying to create little pop starlets, they should shift their direction on a guy and hopefully Austin & Ally makes progress in acting and writing.

Ally Dawson (Laura Marano) works the family music store Sonic Boom on Miami Beach. Her best friend Trish De la Rosa (Raini Rodriguez) can't hold down a job. Ally is also a shy songwriter. Austin Moon (Ross Lynch) takes one of her songs and becomes an overnight internet sensation. Dez (Calum Worthy) is his irreverent clueless friend. The four become best friends as they tackle the music world with Ally as the songwriter and Austin as the performer.

It's a wacky Disney kids show. It's completely harmless. It's lovable. It's silly. The four leads are a nice, lovable lot. Laura is adorable. Ross is equally adorable. Raini brings the spice. Calum is the tall, lanky clown. It's a fun show for the kids and a safe one for their parents.

Austin and Ally is not that great when it comes to humor some of the jokes connect while most of it don't. Some episodes are fun while others aren't. But overall Austin and Ally is not that bad of a show.

Austin & Ally is a great show for children and teens alike, combining the fun and silliness of the characters kids like, the romantic relationships teens like and music - something everyone can enjoy.

While Austin is an outgoing, fun and insanely talented guy and Ally is this quiet, smart and also insanely talented girl, the unlikely - though extremely Hollywood - pair make it work.

As I am a big fan of the series, my rating may be biased. However, I don't think I'm wrong.

It's somewhat educational as it teaches kids life lessons about relationships, lying, stealing, etc. It also faces the reality that there will be people who will try to hurt you in life, but it writes a way to help deal with it.

Also, very recently, it literally saved a young girl's life because of some information it gave about bears and how to stay safe in case you come face to face with one.

I think that between the realism, quirkiness, hilarity, music and encouragement to be yourself as the characters do, the show is great for kids to watch. Even adults can appreciate it.

I hope to see Austin & Ally get a few more seasons after season 3.

The latest D-Com show rolling off the assembly lines at the Magic Kingdom is Austin&Ally in which a would be teen bubble gum idol kind of plagiarizes a song from a girl who writes well, but has incredible stage fright. They seem to be a natural combination, but having seen the first two episodes which reflect real life somewhat in that finding one's muse for creativity will be a major plot component for many episodes. As Richard Rodgers once said, 'melodies don't come to me, I go to them'. I think that Laura Marano's character of Ally would agree with that.

However Austin's character the would be new Justin Bieber has his origins on the internet, probably Youtube. A current young teen idol named Greyson Chance made his breakthrough doing just that. It's the wave of the future and the Disney Studios if nothing else were cognizant of what the future holds. Can you imagine bypassing all the barriers one previously had in trying to get the world to see your gifts? Now young Mr. Chance has promoters coming to him. Hopefully it will last.

And hopefully young Ross Lynch as Austin will get many more songs from Laura Marano. Austin&Ally is a nice teen comedy from Disney which is remarkably on the cutting edge of our technology.

I think Austin & Ally is super amazing for a Disney show. Its dialogues are hilarious. Each character is an individual. Austin is a performer and you can see that Ross Lynch feels good on the stage. He doesn't need to act, he feels the moves. A lot of people are pointing out, that he is playing hot guy that is not hot. His cheeky smile is adorable, I don't think he is meant to be hot. He is meant to be cute. Ally is adorable and dorky character that reminds me of Zooey Deschanel's character Jess from FOX's New Girl. Very adorkable. Austin and Ally's chemistry is beyond amazing. They remind me of Brennan and Booth on Bones or Castle and Beckett on Castle as teenagers. Trish and Dez are the funny duo, reminding me of Scooby Doo characters. Dez would pull a pretty good Shaggy. I find it much more enjoyable show then was Hannah Montana or Wizards of Waverly Place. Those ones were just boring, comparing to Austin & Ally.

In my reviews of "Hannah Montana" and "Big Time Rush," I mentioned that notion that the programming executives of both the Disney Channel and their competitors at Nickelodeon were the only reason teen pop musicians still have a market. The rise of Justin Bieber from YouTube should make me eat those words, but I can't because Disney's still relying on this formula.

Austin Moon(Ross Lynch) is an extroverted fun-loving wanna-be teen pop musician, sort of a combination of Bieber and either David or Shawn Cassidy (I'm really showing my age with those references, aren't I?). His favorite hangout is a music store in the "Mall of Miami," called Sonic Boom run by a man named Lester Dawson(Andy Milder) and managed by his daughter Ally(Laura Marano), a brilliant but excessively shy songwriter with a severe case of stage fright. One day, Ally finds that Austin has become an overnight sensation by making a music video of one of the songs she wrote and posting it on the internet, and she wants his head on a platter. He realizes how good she is, and talks her into being his main songwriter, and the series takes off from there. Do they fall in love? Not necessarily, or knowing the track record with Disney shows, at least not yet. Be that as it may a lot of fans want it to happen, and are looking for signs of romance between the two of them everywhere. But the third episode seems to have established that their relationship is completely platonic. There doesn't even seem to be a hint of jealousy when the two of them seek other girlfriends and boyfriends, as you found with Kim Possible & Ron Stoppable.

Ally's best friend is Trish(Raini Rodriguez) a short Latino girl who can't hold down a job and is proud of it, yet somehow becomes Austin's manager. Austin's best friend is Dez(Calum Worthy), an aspiring film maker, who shoots Austin's music videos, including the one that made him famous.

Two songs make this show worthwhile. The first is "A Billion Hits," from the second episode "Kangaroos & Chaos," which has a killer hook and was written in response to some fear that Austin would quickly become a has-been who is mistaken for a kid in a dog food commercial. The other is the ninth episode "Deejays & Demos," where Austin overhears Ally working on a few bars of song called "You Don't See Me," which she writes just for herself, and is just as impressed by it as I was. I don't care if the song was written by some of the staff, or by Marano herself, I want to hear more of it. Plus, I'm convinced that the song made the Disney executives give the green light for a second season, and they're keeping a full-length version from the rest of us which they will release whenever they see fit. There are episodes that make shows more worthwhile, and while for "Less Than Perfect," "Sonny With a Chance," and "Victorious," it was the fourth episodes, in this case it was the ninth.

Something about the two protagonists reminds me of a classic 80's sitcom, albeit without the romance; You know, the one at a bar in Boston where everybody knows your name. Add some romance between the songwriter and the pop-star, and subtract Ally's frequent failed efforts to act cool, and you've got a contemporary teen-aged Diane Chambers right here on this show. And though Austin Moon is hardly the womanizer that Sam Malone was, he still likes having fun, a fact that he repeats often. The network has found it's heir apparent of Hannah Montana, and it's here rather than either "Shake It Up!," or "A.N.T. Farm," not that either of those two shows are necessarily repulsive in any way.

I had hopes for Austin and Ally; this show was not bad but could have been much better. The show is about a songwriter, Ally Dawson, and a singer, Austin Moon. Ally has stage fright and Austin loves to be on stage but can't write songs. So they team up; seems like the perfect match, right? I have to be honest that this show's writing is not bad. Though the writing could still improve. The show is very cheesy and really irritates me. Sometimes the writing would be like the writing of a show my baby cousin would watch. The show tries to hard to be funny when it is not. Dez, Austin's friend is always doing something random related to nothing in the show and the creators thinks that it is funny. Well it is not and just makes the show more of a bore. Though, some parts are actually funny. One part that was actually funny was when Austin hurt his foot and Dez offered acupuncture to help. The acting could be a little better. When one of them is trying to keep a secret from each other, I just turn off the T.V. The characters make it so obvious that they are hiding a secret. I wonder what is going on in the creators head! Here are the characters: Austin: Austin is the guy who wants to be a famous singer but yet acts like a 10 year old and only hangs out with three friends.

Ally: The smart uptight person all about rules who writes all of Austin's songs. Like in every Disney show, the show needs to have a character like that.

Trish: Austin's manager. The person who keeps getting fired from every job she has and can't keep it for even 2 days. Like what the hell, why would people keep hiring her if they know she is a terrible employee.

Dez: The character who is the dumb idiot who does not know anything, only hangs out with Austin. He is the character who always does random and stupid stuff that the show hopes is funny when it is not. He also films some of Austin's music videos.

Austin and Ally could be a great show but lots of things needs to improve. Sadly it is one of the best shows on Disney channel besides Good Luck Charlie. First of all, in Austin and Ally, they bring nothing new to the table. They are always in Sonic Boom or the mall. Like what the hell, do they wake up every day and go to the mall. Even in Antfarm( Another dumb show) at least they occasionally bring new things like new ants, when they went to that show in Hollywood. In Austin and Ally nothing changes. Maybe if they travel on vacation during winter and get stuck in a blizzard with some random guy in his house. Also the show is very predictable and repetitive. This could actually be an amazing show but many things need to change. Overall, :(

"AUSTIN & ALLY," in my opinion, is an excellent Disney Channel show. I watch it with my 9-year-old nephew from time to time. I always smile and laugh whenever a mishap occurs. It's hard to say what the funniest one is. Another thing that makes this show funny is Trish's (Rani Rodriguez) comic relief. If you ask me, she always know just what to say and do to make the audience laugh. The writing is always strong, the performances are always good, and everything else about the show is good.Before I wrap this up, I'd like to say that if you don't have basic cable, you should get it. Now, in conclusion, I hope this will be on Disney for many years yet.

Although it is fairly cheesy, it is not without some entertainment value. The cast have some talent, are a little bit dorky but not too bad. After watching more episodes you will like them more once they have a chance to grow on you.

The songs are fairly catchy but are somewhat amateurish. I know what your thinking, this is a kids show but in reality they should be better than they are to truly sell records. They have an auto tune quality about them.

Overall the episodes are quite original and entertaining. Occasionally you have to sit through a boring one but you'll find yourself chuckling through others.

I remember watching this show when it came out 10 years ago.

Being in my late teens, I can see why I used to love this show so much. Almost every episode has an interesting story line- with most ending in a catchy song.

There was always the thought of will-they/won't-they when it came to the 2 main characters Austin and Ally, but you always kinda knew that they would end up together in the end.

On a side note- the character "Dez" has to be my favourite character because he is played so well by the actor: Calum Worthy.

Every song in the show is catchy... and sometimes I even find myself listening to the music on spotify!

My rating stays 8/10.

I love the show it's one of my fav. But the last two seasons where ally suddenly is the superstar i really hate!!! And the fact that ally all of the sudden is more popular then austin, HATE IT!!!

I have no issues with main characters or the actors. Or how they do their work when playing their roles. It is all about opinions and there is no correct answer for that.

My issue is how several 40 something years old music moguls like Jimmy Starr use the school kids under 18 years, I guess that is also the legal adult age in the US. It feels almost like child traffiking.

Even both Austin's "Moron matress kingdom" parents and also Ally's evenly stupid father are supposed to be business people, knowing there should be lawyers on the side of their children when it is about making of a deal with such adults and their business.

Even more disturbing is that their so called manager is also under 18.

This goes at least during the seasons 1-3.

this show is annoying. The jokes fail and the characters are bad especially Dez who is the worst character of all media. Most of the jokes fail and are repeated over and over again like that character with the stupid gimmick of always getting fired and changing jobs. For those of you who don't know the story is about a partnership between a singer and a songwriter. The show that I would call a comedy if the joke were actually funny has been on the air for 3 years too long now. my least favorite episode is the one were that annoying blogger girl tries to destroy Austin's career because ally had a better song than her in preschool and I know what your thinking yes that's an episode

At first, when Disney was showing the trailer and promos for Austin and Ally, I was thinking "eeesh! another lame, not funny, predictable, unsuccessful show!" I was thinking that because of all the new shows on Disney which did not amuse me well such as "A.N.T Farm" and "So Random". (Shows like "Jessie" and "Shake It Up" and "Good Luck Charlie" were watchable however and okay.)

But I thought of watching the first episode of Austin and Ally, and I actually laughed my head off! It was hilarious and not what I expected! Since then, I have been obsessed with the show and the cast and I know think A&A is the best show on Disney Channel! I love the music, the laughs, everyone is funny and I think Ross (Austin) is SO hot and Laura (Ally) is very pretty!

I now love the show to bits and I cannot wait for some romance between the 2 characters! At least Disney can still have some good shows.

Love it!

It's a very predictable show with dumb humor but that's what I love about it. No need to think, nothing too deep, just enjoyable goofy stupid fun. Nice to have on in the background too.

This was hard to watch even for a few minutes. The main girl really sucks and is so try hard.