Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009)

Hannah Montana: The Movie is a film based on the TV series Hannah Montana, which is about a young girl named Miley Stewart who lives a double life. One as a normal teenage girl, the other as a talented, widely popular, world famous superstar, named Hannah Montana. The show is a low-budget, 20 minute show that is made by and featured on the Disney Channel. It is heavily aimed at young girls between the ages of 6-14.I saw the rating on IMDb (currently at 4.0) and got prepared to hate this movie... but I didn't. I didn't even find myself bored. Admittedly, although I'm not that old (turned 20 last month), I do not fill the bill to be in Hannah Monana's target audience (though I am watching the entire series). So I am judging it based on what this film is meant to be for young girls who are fans of the show.Many, many people complained that this movie was unrealistic, cliché, and predictable. Also about Miley Cyrus's acting, the music featured in the film, as well as its sense of humor.What the heck did you expect, and what more do you want?If anything, I was impressed! Perhaps partly because I went in with very low expectations, also because I only take it seriously in what I want for television made for children. Here's why: The concept of Miley Stewart's double life is explored, exposed and explained in ways that the creators could not have done on the show. The relationships between the characters are taken on a whole new level, whereas it's not only sweet and endearing, but also very simple and easy to understand for children. It is truly and simply a drama for kids.I think Hannah Montana presents a lot of good values for children, and I'm happy to say that if I had kids who wanted to watch this series again and again, I would have absolutely no problem with that. I have some reasons why...For one thing, as opposed to a lot of young female protagonists on television, while Miley Stewart may not be one of my favorites, I am absolutely, positively pleased that she is far from being a perfect girl. Miley is sweet and means well. She's relatively smart and knows how to get what she wants. She's also very talented and has made her way around Hollywood to be popular and loved by all*. HOWEVER! She can also be selfish, rude, shallow, unrealistic, and overbearing. In addition to that, although she may be down-to-earth most of the time, tends to struggle with this, due to her double life as a diva. Not only does this help her image become more attainable (as attainable as an superstar-in- disguise could be), but also gives young girls a good role model that teaches them that while you should be good and kind, being selfish, jealous, dorky, lazy, and so many other things is completely normal and a part of your life. Also that what defines your personality is how much you grow, and learning to admit your mistakes and apologize, rather than try to be perfect from the get-go, which is impossible.A recurring lesson in Hannah Montana: Family and friends are important. Always be there for each other, love one another unconditionally. Don't let boys stand between you and your friends, support your loved ones when they are dealing with difficult things, and, most importantly, listen to each other.More lessons that were put under the spotlight in this movie: Being honest with everybody is being honest with yourself, follow your dreams, nothing should come in the way of a true friendship. Find your home, and you'll always find your way back to it, so matter what.Unlike so many other western movies I've been watching that are for kids, this movie is filled with love. Fathers singing with and cuddling their daughters seems to be cliché, but is put here without a second thought. Communities showing support seems to be out of style, but Miley's family and town people are kind. I appreciate this movie bringing these things back to my screen. It may not be realistic, but it reminds me of being an innocent kid.Now, for the quality of the movie... I loved the directing. Yes, even the melodramatic revolving door scene, which I think was perfect, because it advanced the entire plot in about 1 minute and was very easy to understand without having to include any words at all.Miley's acting was NOT good... but who cares? Everybody else was average. I've seen much worse, and kids definitely don't care.The songs were perfectly fine. I suppose my only critique for the songs is that the "Hannah Montana" songs ("Let's Do This", "Let's Get Crazy", etc) fall completely flat. They are all just about dressing up and having fun. I suppose that while the Hollywood lifestyle is glamorized a little bit, the focus falls on Miley, not Hannah, which makes it tolerable.Featuring country pop songs from other artists (Rascal Flatts, Taylor Swift) as well as 12 brand new pop songs by Miley Cyrus, I thought the soundtrack fit the mood perfectly. Some of the maturity in this film can be found in beautiful songs, which are "The Climb" and "Butterfly Fly Away", respectively.I didn't enjoy the jokes... but I'm capable to stop thinking about myself for a moment and realize that it was perfect for kids.I will end this review by saying that Hannah Montana: The Movie is better than the 2013 animated Disney feature, Frozen, so all you folks who gave this a bad rating because it was "immature" or "uninteresting" can go to heck. Feel free to fight me at [email protected]. (Without dashes.)*This is strictly based on how the show presents the character of Hannah Montana.

It's hard to believe that it haven't been a long time since "Hannah Montana" was a huge phenomenon. While the juggernaut has lost some steam, it's really not many years ago since the franchise was huge and practically everywhere. While Disney has produced many series, none of them were as huge as "Hannah Montana". With the popularity, it wasn't strange that a movie was produced (actually two, if you count the concert movie) and released theatrically.Why exactly this franchise became such a phenomenon, is somewhat fascinating. There's obviously no wonder to say that it's a cynical and calculated product. But if we're discussing the quality of the TV show itself, it's definitively cheesy and dumb, but still harmless and watchable at times. There's no denial that the show was aimed specifically at a young audience. So where does it leaves the movie?"Hannah Montana The Movie" shall have praise for at least having (most of the time) a more mature and adult tone than the show. But the movie's obvious flaws makes it's purpose ambiguous. "Hannah Montana The Movie" isn't exactly horrific. That's not the problem of the film. It's cute and definitively watchable at times. But it's shifting tone and it's muddled message makes the film harder to shallow. The film really relies on a clichéd and worn-out plot-line about Miley finding back to herself by traveling back to her hometown after Hannah has taken over her life (a plot line that had already been used in some the show itself). The film really leads up to the point where Miley has to choose between her two worlds, but the ending really backs out and leaves the question really open (and ambiguous).The tone is really somewhat inconsistent. From having a quite frenetic opening, to a slower second act, the film becomes a sappy melodrama at the third act. Which really the movie didn't needed, since it worked better with a less sappier tone. The slapstick is, surprisingly, not grating, but besides that, "Hannah Montana The Movie" really doesn't rely on humor (not that the series was funny, but at least it didn't relied on slapstick humor). None of the acting is particularly special. The most likable star is Lucas Till as the love interest, who has presence and charisma. The songs are hit and miss as well. A few of them are catchy ("Let's Get Crazy", "Hoedown Throwdown", "Crazier", "Dreams"), but the rest are forgettable.A problem with the concept really is the portrayal of Miley Stewart herself. She's energetic and bubbly, but at times she can be an unlikeable and selfish brat. This movie is no exception. Of course a character doesn't need to be perfect, but Miley is indeed a flawed ans selfish character that repeats her mistakes. Really, it's somewhat odd that such a character became iconic.So at the end, "Hannah Montana The Movie" isn't exactly horrific. But with a more focused theme and tone, this movie would have been more acceptable. At the end, for all the flaws of the show has, it's still more harmless.

Just a brief note, I think the Hannah Montana show was OK. Aside from some pretty good songs, it's main lead was OK, but later became annoying and some of the story lines, although funny, were quite predictable. While this movie improved a bit on the show, it's still flawed. The story despite it's nice moments is hugely predictable, the direction is bland, the script is schmaltzy, and the dialog is cringe-worthy.Some of the characters are uninteresting, but the main lead played by Miley Cyrus is a vast improvement and is a much more likable character and her depth is well-developed. Even her relationships with her family especially her father was touching. Some of the songs were mediocre, but the two songs that were not only emotional, but catchy goes to "Butterfly Fly Away" and "The Climb" and I'm surprised to see that song won an award for Best Movie Song.Overall, not exactly a great movie worth recommending, but not exactly as terrible as the ratings on this website says it is. It does have it's problems, but it's touching songs makes this worth a view for kids and their families.

I just want to start of by saying that this was not an all bad movie. I am a 20 year old male, and maybe like some of you I love to watch movies in all shapes, forms and colors. This movie has had a lot of complaint, on this forum as well as others. Well as many others have stated before me, its target audience is not adults! So if you don't get it, don't beat yourself up about it. Another complaint has been Mileys (and maybe others) acting in this movie. I can agree that on the show Hannah Montana they lack great acting (Except maybe Mitchel Musso and Mosies Arias). But in this movie the acting was nothing half bad. In fact I find the acting good. There isn't much to blame. I mean Miley Cyrus plays Miley Stewart, a character based on her and Billy Ray plays Robbie Ray who is also based on him. They play as themselves and no one is too much or to short on acting. The plot is decent enough simple for a children's movie but although not very original.It's a feel good film with good messenges about the ups and downs of things, and as the whole show it deals with "To follow your heart" and "Do the right thing". Might not be original, but messenges like it is needed, because although over exposed very few people follow the advice. I know watching Hannah Montana as a whole has changed me in many ways even though I always "hated" it all before I actually took time to watch it. I recommend the move to all ages and sexes but keep an open mind and think hard about what is said and you might come out wiser than before.