Hannah Montana: The Movie

Hannah Montana: The Movie is a 2009 American teen musical comedy-drama film based on the Disney Channel television series of the same name. It is the second theatrical film based on a Disney Channel Original Series, after The Lizzie McGuire Movie (2003), it was directed by Peter Chelsom and written by Daniel Berendsen. The film stars series regulars Miley Cyrus, Billy Ray Cyrus, Emily Osment and Jason Earles, as well as Lucas Till, Vanessa Williams, Margo Martindale, and Melora Hardin.

The film tells of how Miley Stewart's popularity begins to take over her life, so her father struggles her to take a trip to her hometown of Crowley Corners, Tennessee to get some perspective on what matters most in life.

Filming began in April 2008, much of it occurring in Columbia, Tennessee and Los Angeles, California, and was completed in July 2008. The film was released theatrically by Walt Disney Pictures on April 10, 2009 in the United States and Canada. The film achieved commercial success, grossing $169 million in worldwide box office revenue, despite receiving a mixed critical response.

Plot
The film begins in the backstage of a concert venue. Robby Ray Stewart (Billy Ray Cyrus) is moaning as he looks at who appears to be his daughter, Hannah Montana/Miley Stewart (Miley Cyrus), with her blonde wig on. The camera then pans around to reveal that it is a mannequin head that is holding the wig.

The camera cuts to outside with a close up of many people running from cars, then pans out to a large shot of a stadium. It then cuts to the box office, where the audience can see Miley and her best friend Lilly Truscott (Emily Osment) pushing through to the box office.

They attempt to enter the concert as Miley is late, but they are turned away. Lilly makes a joke about Miley being the only superstar who can’t even get into her own concert. Miley then notices a security patrol cart, with the security guard leaving it unattended to help a girl find her family. Miley and Lilly steal the security patrol cart and drive through the halls of the stadium, trying to escape from the security guard while also trying to find Miley’s dressing room. They then drive through a poster of Hannah screaming, and the head from the poster winds up on Miley’s face, a “coincidental” placing.

Miley and Lilly finally reach the dressing room and Robby rushes them inside, pushing off the security guard that was chasing them. Miley puts on her makeup and clothes, abruptly pushing her father out the door for the changing clothes part. The camera then cuts one last time to show Miley putting on her blonde wig, becoming Hannah.

Hannah and Robby then walk out of the dressing room, while Lilly wishes her good luck. The camera then changes to under the stage while Hannah and Robby walk under the stage and Hannah bumps her head on one of the poles. Robby reminds her that she always bumps her head, then tells her it’s her turn to do the dishes. Hannah complains that she already did them, but Robbie reminds her that’s what she gets for having the best of both worlds. Hannah then rises on a platform singing “Best of Both Worlds”. The camera then zooms in on a music video playing in the background, a music video on a beach for the song she’s singing.

The video then becomes the actual scene and the music starts skipping causing Hannah to say “best of both” around seven times. The filming of the music video ends and Hannah returns to her tent to change. Before she takes off her wig, a man enters, causing her to scream. The man asks for her autograph for his daughters, and also asks for a picture before Hannah’s manager, Vita (Vanessa Williams), stops him. She introduces the man as Oswald Granger (Peter Gunn), a sneaky undercover journalist for UK celebrity magazine Bon Chic, who vows to uncover Hannah's secret.

Miley (as Hannah) ends up fighting with Tyra Banks (herself) over a pair of shoes she wants to buy for Lilly's birthday present, and is consequently kicked out of the store without getting the chance to buy the shoes. When Oswald follows her to the party, Miley is forced to attend as Hannah instead of herself, taking all of the attention away from Lilly – especially when Hannah is accompanied by Steve Rushton and Days Difference in a performance of "Let's Get Crazy". Oliver Oken (Mitchel Musso) and Rico Suave (Moises Arias) unsuccessfully try to stop Lilly from leaving, and the party is ruined by Rico's exploding "Happy Birthday Lilly" cake. As Lilly leaves, hurt by her best friend's actions, she accidentally tells Oswald that Hannah is from Crowley Corners, Tennessee, unaware that he is a journalist.

Robby is furious when Hannah's fight with Tyra Banks makes newspaper reports. Disgusted with his daughter's general behavior, he tells Miley that Hannah is out of control and that Miley needs to remember who she truly is. He tells Vita that as a punishment, Miley will not go to New York for an upcoming music awards show and instead will go to her Grandma Ruby’s (Margo Martindale) birthday party in Crowley Corners. Miley and Vita convince him to let Miley go, saying they’ll even get a private jet to hurry her to New York and then to Tennessee. Robby agrees, but the look on his face indicates he has other plans. Inside the private jet, Miley steps out of the bathroom dressed as Hannah then sits down in a chair, complaining about how small the bathroom is. Robby closes the window and then snoozes.

The scene then cuts to Hannah coming out of the airplane saying hello to New York, only to see a cow, and she realizes that they are not in New York, but in Tennessee. Despite Miley's protests, Robby points out that this is the life she could have had and he decides to spend two weeks in Crowley Corners. Robby soon falls in love with a woman named Lorelai (Melora Hardin), while Miley eventually warms up to her hometown when she rekindles a connection with childhood friend Travis Brody (Lucas Till).

Nevertheless, Miley is eager to resume her Hannah duties and becomes chastened after Ruby snaps, saying that she seems to prefer being Hannah Montana over spending time with her family. Miley tries to write lyrics for new songs but Travis ignores her and she develops writer's block. Meanwhile, conflict grows between the local residents and land developer Mr. Bradley (Barry Bostwick), who wants to destroy part of the town to build a shopping mall. At a barn party, Robby and several other singers such as Taylor Swift (herself) contribute to a charity to save Crowley Corners, singing "Back to Tennessee" and "Crazier". Miley sings as herself with "Hoedown Throwdown". Mr. Bradley arrives to tell the townspeople that their efforts to stop him will not succeed. Travis suggests that Miley ask Hannah Montana to make an appearance, unaware that Hannah is Miley's alter-ego.

Miley does not know what to do until Lilly arrives, disguised as Hannah. As the two friends reconcile, Miley confides her difficulties, adjusting to farm life while trying to be herself and Hannah. Oswald takes pictures of the girls, believing Lilly to be Hannah Montana, and Lilly realizes she inadvertently led Oswald there and apologizes to Miley. The town is overjoyed to have Hannah Montana but Travis is unimpressed and admits to Hannah that he has a crush on Miley. As Hannah, Miley urges Travis to ask Miley out and he does, but Miley has already been invited to dinner as Hannah with the mayor (Beau Billingslea) by Lorelai. Miley tries to be in two places at once but she accidentally lets her guard down and Travis catches her mid-switch. Outraged that Miley did not tell him that she was Hannah, Travis dumps her, leaving Miley feeling heartbroken. Miley finishes writing "Butterfly Fly Away" which she and her father sing together to cheer up. Miley completes the chicken coop that she and Travis were building; touched by this, Travis goes to the concert to support Miley.

Seeing Travis arrive, Hannah stops mid-song and explains to the crowd that she can no longer live a lie, especially when she is in her home town. Hannah then removes her blonde wig, revealing her secret identity. Miley then sings "The Climb" and announces that she's not going to be Hannah Montana anymore and that she'll be returning home to Tennessee for good. The crowd pleads her to continue being Hannah Montana, promising not to reveal her secret, but Oswald is in the crowd and takes a picture. His daughters arrive, having missed the Hannah reveal, and their excitement and enthusiasm for Hannah convinces him to not sell the story and quit his job. Miley kisses Travis and then returns to the stage to finish with the song "You'll Always Find Your Way Back Home".

She sees Lorelai and Robby kissing and waving, Jackson making an “L” with his hand, and Travis smiling at her. “The End” then appears on the screen. The credits begin to roll with an reprise of “Hoedown Throwdown” playing as the cast and crew dance to the song and the bloopers.

Cast

 * Miley Cyrus as Miley Stewart / Hannah Montana
 * Emily Osment as Lilly Truscott
 * Jason Earles as Jackson Stewart
 * Billy Ray Cyrus as Robby Ray Stewart
 * Lucas Till as Travis Brody
 * Vanessa Williams as Vita
 * Margo Martindale as Grandma Ruby
 * Peter Gunn as Oswald Granger


 * Rachel Woods as Phoebe Granger
 * Natalia Dyer as Clarissa Granger
 * Jared Carter as Derrick


 * Melora Hardin as Lorelai
 * Barry Bostwick as Mr. Bradley
 * Beau Billingslea as the Mayor of Crowley Corners
 * Katrina Hagger Smith as the mayor's wife
 * Emily Grace Reaves as Cindy Lou
 * Jane Carr as Lucinda
 * Taylor Swift as herself
 * Rascal Flatts as themselves
 * Brooke Bell as Liza Bell
 * Tyra Banks as herself (uncredited)

Development
While attending the premiere of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Billy Ray Cyrus and Miley Cyrus said they were planning to make a film adaptation for their TV series Hannah Montana, which debuted on Disney Channel on March 24, 2006, and expected it to be a feature film, rather than a Disney Channel Original Movie.

Since writers were still working on the script for the movie, Cyrus was free to share whatever ideas she had for the upcoming project. She said that, at the time, the best concept she has thought of involves going back to her hometown of Nashville, Tennessee. Since Hannah Montana is taped at Tribune Studios in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Cyrus spends most of her time away from her beloved home. She spends up to eight and a half hours a day working on the set, but her hours could get longer once she becomes a legal adult.

Billy Ray Cyrus shared further details about the script: "There'll be a lot of similarities [to the show], and the fact that Miley is so real, her music is real, we'll keep a lot of that realism," the 45-year-old country artist revealed. "But I think we'll go a little further with the comedy. And it's going to be on the big screen, so we'll try to make everything look bigger." The movie went into production on an estimated $30 million budget.

On the April 2 episode of The Miley & Mandy Show on YouTube, Miley spoke to Ryan Seacrest on flying to Tennessee in "two weeks" and would be staying for several months. She went to say there would be many guest stars, and herself riding horses and attending school.

Filming
Filming began in April 2008 in Los Angeles, California and Columbia, Tennessee. It entered production in May 2008 and post-production in July 2008. The beginning of the film was shot in Los Angeles including, The Forum (Inglewood) where was the concert, Franklin High School and Santa Monica Beach. Several of scenes were filmed in Nashville, Tennessee, based on Miley's and her father's hometown, for the scene that Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana's travels back home, with Fairground scenes filmed near the end of the movie.

There is a carnival scene filmed at Smiley Hollow in Ridgetop, TN where Peter Gunn's character hunts for the real Hannah in the crowd. He finds Jackson selling "Hannah wigs" and everyone around him looks like Hannah from the back so he turns them all around looking for the real one.

The songs "Backwards" (co-written by Marcel and Tony Mullins and recorded by Rascal Flatts) and "Crazier" (by Taylor Swift) were featured in the movie as well as "Game Over" and another hit song by UK rocker Steve Rushton. There were also a few musical numbers filmed, including "The Climb" and "You'll Always Find Your Way Back Home". 500 paid extras and 1500 volunteer extras were on hand during filming of these scenes. In some scenes, Miley rode horses.

A scene was filmed in the Cool Springs Galleria Mall (south of Nashville). It was filmed in the women's shoe department of the Belk store. Miley Cyrus, Vanessa Williams, and Tyra Banks were all in the scene, where Hannah fights with Tyra over a pair of shoes. Scenes were also filmed at Franklin High School. The school stood-in for the fictional Seaview High School which Miley and Lilly attend.

Accident
On June 3, 2008, there was an accident on the set during the filming. A huge wind blew a projection screen into a Ferris wheel full of passengers, who were extras for the movie. There was no serious injury. "When the wind caught it, all the cables were loose. It started [flying]," extra Brenda Blackford told Nashville station WKRN-TV. "I was watching to see which corner of it was gonna hit the Ferris wheel, because it was unavoidable". Miley Cyrus and her father Billy Ray were not on the set when the accident happened. Disney stated: "During a break in the filming of Hannah Montana: The Movie, a minor accident occurred involving a piece of production equipment. Fortunately, there were only a few minor injuries. Medical personnel have treated the extras and crew involved. None of the cast was on the set. Filming has resumed".

Musical numbers
Walt Disney Records released the soundtrack on March 24, 2009, on the third anniversary of Hannah Montana's 2006 debut, with songs by Miley Cyrus, Hannah Montana, Billy Ray Cyrus, Rascal Flatts, Taylor Swift, and Steve Rushton. The score was originally to be written by Oscar-nominated composer Alan Silvestri, and he penned a new song with Glen Ballard, "Butterfly Fly Away", which is sung in the film. Due to a scheduling conflict with G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, which he was also signed to score, he had to drop out. (However, a cue from Silvestri's score to The Mexican is tracked into the movie.) Stepping in was Oscar-nominated composer John Debney, who recorded his score with the Hollywood Studio Symphony at the Sony Scoring Stage. The album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 137,592 sold in the first week, and after four weeks claimed the No. 1 spot. A karaoke version was released on August 18, 2009.

Marketing
On January 15, 2009, the film's official trailer was released, along with the official poster on a website, as a sneak peek of the film was released in December 2008 on Disney Channel, including on New Year's Eve. On February 16, 2009, an exclusive Disney Channel preview was premiered alongside the music videos "The Climb" and "Hoedown Throwdown" from the Hannah Montana: The Movie soundtrack previewed by Miley Cyrus. Cyrus also promoted the film and performed the film's lead single "The Climb" on various talk shows including, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Good Morning America, The Tyra Banks Show, and Rachael Ray. She also performed her song on American Idol on April 16, 2009.

A video game based on the film was released on April 7, 2009, three days before the film's release. The game was revealed by ESRB. The game was released for 7th gens.

Release
The film was issued a G rating from the MPAA for all ages admitted. The premiere of Hannah Montana: The Movie was held on April 2, 2009 in Los Angeles. The UK premiere was held in London on April 23, 2009; it was released in British and Irish cinemas on May 1, 2009. Play Along Toys released dolls and toys based on the film.

Box office
On its opening day, the film grossed $17,436,095, and earned $32,324,483 on its opening weekend, with a $10,367 average from 3,118 theaters, earning the No. 1 spot. However the film lost 58% of its gross its second weekend, falling to No. 3, earning $13,406,217 and $4,300 average and gaining 113 theaters. The film ended up grossing $79,576,189 in the US and Canada, and $75,969,090 overseas, and a total of $155,545,279 worldwide. The film beat the motion-picture animated film Coraline which garnered a total of $124,596,398 in theaters, but came after the film Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit which grossed a total of $192,610,372.

Critical reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 44% based on 129 reviews, with an average rating of 5.2/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "While youthful Miley fans won't complain, Hannah Montana the Movie is little more than a formulaic Disney Channel episode stretched thin." Metacritic gives a score of 47 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.

Entertainment Weekly praised: "The surface lesson of the movie is that celebrity looks easy but is hard. The real lesson, as always, is that since even Miley has to work overtime to be Hannah, every girl in the audience – if she tries hard enough – can become the star she longs to be."

Peter Hartlaub from San Francisco Chronicle praised: "Hannah Montana: The Movie isn't an abomination. The characters are wholesome, the plot is easy to follow and the songs all sound the same, so you can really only get one stuck in your head at a time. But even as adults give their blessing for prepubescent moviegoers to see the film, they should be plotting to stay as far away from the theater as possible. If you're no longer old enough to carry a Hannah Montana lunch box, this movie will feel like punishment."

Atomic Popcorn stated: "Hip-hop and country. Like the Hannah Montana's theme song says, "You get the best of both worlds." Ten minutes before the movie started, the two rows of what looked to be 14-year-old girls started singing the TV show theme song. Over and over again. The little 6-to-10-year-old girls that filled the rest of the theater were singing along and dancing in their seats. My 16-year-old daughter said with a big smile on her face, 'Isn't this fun?' I said, with as much of a smile as I could muster, 'A little bit.'"

Blogcritics noted: "This movie definitely hit the target audience mark with the best opening day for a live action, G-rated movie. The predictable ending strays from the fun tone to address drama from the two main character arcs. Some stereotypes and commercialism weaken the movie, but target and general audiences can find a wide variety of appealing elements here while Hannah fans won't be disappointed."

Home media
Hannah Montana: The Movie was released on DVD and Blu-ray on August 18, 2009. Hannah Montana: The Movie was released on DVD and Blu-ray on September 7 in the UK. It was also released on DVD, Blu-ray and Disney Digital in Australia on October 21. First week sales were strong with 1,232,725 DVD copies sold and over $20 million in revenue. Total DVD sales to date stand at 3,610,964 and $61 million in revenue. Extras include behind the scenes, bloopers, sneak peeks and more.

There were 3 editions released:
 * The 1-disc DVD (the normal DVD)
 * The 2-disc DVD (normal DVD and digital copy)
 * The 3-disc Blu-ray (the Blu-ray disc, the normal DVD and the digital copy)

Television premiere
The film made its world premiere on the Disney Channel on November 18, 2011, where it drew 4.6 million viewers.