Hannah Montana: The Movie Information

Hannah Montana: The Movie is an American 2009 musical comedy-drama film based on the Disney Channel Original Series Hannah Montana, which was released on April 10, 2009, by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the second theatrical film based on a Disney Channel Original Series. The film was directed by Peter Chelsom with screenplay penned by Daniel Berendsen. The film was produced by David Blocker, Billy Ray Cyrus, Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, Steven Peterman and Michael Poryes. The film stars Miley Cyrus, Emily Osment, Mitchel Musso, Jason Earles, Moises Arias, Lucas Till, and Billy Ray Cyrus.

The film tells of how Hannah Montana's popularity begins to take over Miley Stewart's life. Miley's father forces her to take a trip to her hometown of Crowley Corners, Tennessee to get some perspective on what matters most in her 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 in theaters on April 10, 2009 in the United States and Canada. As the teen sitcom originated on Disney Channel, Disney Channel premiered a teaser trailer of the film during their shows. The film enjoyed financial success, reaching No.1 at the box office, but received a moderately mixed response from critics.

Plot

Miley Stewart (Miley Cyrus) is struggling with her alter-ego and her popularity as Hannah Montana and keeping her double-life a secret from the media, but Oswald Granger (Peter Gunn), a sneaky undercover journalist for celeb magazine BonChic, becomes suspicious and vows to uncover her secret for his boss Lucinda (Jane Parr). Later, Miley (as Hannah) ends up in a fight with Tyra Banks over a pair of shoes that she wanted to buy for Lilly (Emily Osment) as a birthday present. When Oswald secretly follows her limo to the party, Miley is forced to attend as Hannah instead of herself, resulting in the guests turning their attention to her instead of Lilly, especially when Hannah is accompanied by Steve Rushton and Days Difference in her performance of "Let's Get Crazy". Oliver Oken (Mitchel Musso) and Rico Suave (Moises Arias) try to stop Lilly from leaving, but the party is ruined by Rico's exploding "Happy Birthday Lilly" cake. Upset at Miley, Lilly accidentally tells Oswald that Hannah is from a place called Crowley Corners, Tennessee, not realizing that he is a journalist.

Robby Ray Stewart (Billy Ray Cyrus) is furious over the fight between Hannah Montana and Tyra Banks reported over the newspapers and her general behavior over the past few months. He tells her that Hannah is going out of control and Miley needs to gain perspective and remember who she truly is. Instead of leaving for the World Music Awards in New York on a private jet, the Stewarts land in Crowley Corners, Tennessee, their hometown, for Miley's grandmother Ruby's (Margo Martindale) birthday. Miley is angry at her father for the switch but Robby points out that this is the life she could've been leading if she was not famous. Despite Miley's protests, Robby decides to spend two weeks in Crowley Corners and ends up falling in love with a woman named Lorelai (Melora Hardin). Miley eventually warms up to her hometown when she rekindles a connection with childhood friend Travis Brody (Lucas Till) after he helps her with riding her old horse, Blue Jeans.

Nevertheless, Miley is eager to resume her Hannah duties and becomes chastened after Robby snaps that she seems to want to be Hannah Montana more than she wants to be with her family. Oswald, acting on Lilly's tip, follows Miley to her hometown. Miley takes the opportunity to try to write new songs but when she is ignored by Travis, she develops writers' block. Meanwhile, there is a firm battle developing with the residents of Crowley Corners and Mr. Bradley (Barry Bostwick), a land developer who is planning to build a shopping mall on the site. Miley thinks it's a good idea at first, but is told that some of the town is being destroyed by the development. At a barn party that night, several singers contribute to the charity to save Crowley Corners, singing "Back to Tennessee" by Billy Ray Cyrus (singing as Robby Ray Stewart), and "Crazier" by Taylor Swift (as herself). Miley sings as herself with "Hoedown Throwdown" until Mr. Bradley arrives. When he tells the towns people that they wil not stop him, Travis suggests that Miley ask Hannah Montana, whom she claims to know after saving the singer's life in a surfing accident, to make an appearance to support the town, unaware that Hannah is Miley's alter ego.

Miley does not know what to do without exposing her secret or letting the town down until Lilly arrives, disguised as Hannah along with the band and crew, offering to help. As the two make up, Miley confides in Lilly that she has been having a rough time adjusting to farm life while trying to be herself and Hannah. Oswald sneaks up on the girls and takes pictures of them, believing Lilly to be Hannah Montana. That is when Lilly realizes she has inadvertently led Oswald to Crowley Corners and apologizes. The town is overjoyed to have Hannah Montana in town but Travis is unimpressed and admits to Hannah that he has had a crush on Miley for some time. As Hannah, Miley urges Travis to ask Miley out and he does. Miley accepts, but she has already been invited to dinner with the mayor by Lorelai.

Miley tries to be in two places at once but accidentally lets her guard down and is caught by Travis and a little girl mid-switch. He is understandably confused and rejects Miley, calling her a liar. Miley is devastated and Robby breaks up with Lorelai to tend to his daughter. Miley finishes her song "Butterfly Fly Away", which she and Robby sing together to cheer up. Miley finishes the chicken coop that she and Travis were building. Travis is touched by the gesture and after hearing the Hannah Montana song "Rock Star", he decides to go to the concert to support Miley.

Seeing Travis show up, Hannah suddenly stops midsong. She explains to the crowd that she cannot live a lie anymore, especially when she is home. Hannah then removes her blond wig, revealing her secret identity. She then sings her original song "The Climb". Afterwards, the crowd pleads with her to carry on being Hannah, promising not to reveal her secret, but Oswald is in the crowd and takes a picture. His twin daughters beg him not to reveal Miley's secret and he accepts, calling Lucinda to tell her he quits. Miley kisses Travis and then returns to the stage to finish with the song "You'll Always Find Your Way Back Home". Miley leaves Tennessee to lead her double life again but with greater perspective and a better attitude.

Cast

• Miley Cyrus as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana
• Billy Ray Cyrus as Robby Ray Stewart
• Emily Osment as Lilly Truscott
• Jason Earles as Jackson Stewart
• Mitchel Musso as Oliver Oken
• Moises Arias as Rico Suave
• Lucas Till as Travis Brody
• Vanessa L. Williams as Vita, Hannah Montana's personal assistant
• Margo Martindale as Grandma Ruby
• Peter Gunn as Oswald Granger, an undercover journalist for a British magazine, BonChic, who sets out to discover Hannah Montana's secret and expose it to the world.
• Jared Carter as Derrick

• Melora Hardin as Lorelai, Robby's love interest.
• Barry Bostwick as Mr. Bradley, the land developer that is attempting to build a mall on the towns site.
• 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, Oswald's intimadating boss and the editor of BonChic.
• Taylor Swift as herself
• Rascal Flatts as themselves
• Josh Childs as store manager
• Steve Rushton as himself (Lilly's birthday band)
• Bucky Covington as himself (Fundraiser band)
• Tyra Banks (uncredited) as herself

Production

Development

"The best idea is that I miss home. So if we could maybe film in Nashville and everyone could see our house and where we live, that we have a farm, that would be really exciting."

Miley Cyrus

While attending at 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 may 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" series on YouTube, Miley spoke to Ryan Seacrest and she spoke 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 post-production in July 2008. The beginning of the film was shot in Los Angeles including 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 and 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.

A song called "Backwards" (co-written by Marcel and Tony Mullins and recorded by Rascal Flatts) and a song by Taylor Swift, "Crazier," was featured in the movie as well as two hit songs by UK rocker Steve Rushton. Also filmed there were a few musical numbers, 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. The movie features two songs by UK artist Steve Rushton, including hit song "Game Over". Steve wrote both songs and performs them at Lilly's birthday party on Santa Monica Pier. In some scenes, Miley will be riding horses.

A scene was filmed in the Cool Springs Galleria Mall (south of Nashville). It was filmed in the woman's shoe department of the Belk store. Miley Cyrus, Vanessa L. Williams, and Tyra Banks were all in the scene. 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 in 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. Fortunately, 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

See Hannah Montana: The Movie (soundtrack) for more information Walt Disney Records released the soundtrack on March 24, 2009, same day since Hannah Montana debuts in 2006 as the 3rd anniversary, 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. 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 #2 on the Billboard 200 with 137,592 sold first week, and after four weeks claimed the #1 spot. A karaoke version was released on August 18, 2009.

No.	Title	Recording artist(s)	Writer(s)	Time	Notes
1	"You'll Always Find Your Way Back Home"	Hannah Montana	Taylor Swift and Martin Johnson	3:45	Performed by Hannah Montana as the final song in the scene "The Reveal".
2	"Let's Get Crazy"		Colleen Fitzpatrick, Michael Kotch, Dave Derby, Michael "Smidi" Smith, Stefanie Ridel, Mim Nervo and Liv Nervo	2:37	Performed by Hannah Montana at Lily's Sweet Sixteen birthday party.
3	"The Good Life"		Matthew Gerrard and Bridget Benenate	2:59	Used in the background during the shoe fight between Hannah Montana and Tyra Banks.
4	"Everything I Want"	Steve Rushton	Steve Rushton	3:53	Played at Lily's Sweet Sixteen birthday party during Miley and Lily's conversation on the phone.
5	"Don't Walk Away"	Miley Cyrus	Miley Cyrus, John Shanks and Hillary Lindsey	2:48	Used while Miley is collecting eggs on the farm.
6	"Hoedown Throwdown"		Adam Anders and Nikki Hassman	3:02	Performed by Miley Stewart at the Crowley Corners fundraiser and also used during end credits.
7	"Dream"		John Shanks and Kara DioGuardi	3:23	Used in 2 montages for the film including the rope swing used in the trailer.
8	"The Climb"		Jessi Alexander and Jon Mabe	3:57	Performed by Miley Stewart at the beginning of "The Reveal" at the close end of the film.
9	"Butterfly Fly Away"	Miley Cyrus & Billy Ray Cyrus	Glen Ballard and Alan Silvestri	3:10	Performed by Miley and Robby Ray after Miley ruins her date. Also after it rained then they performed in the Gazebo on the farm.
10	"Backwards" (Acoustic)	Rascal Flatts	Marcel and Tony Mullins	3:25	Performed by Rascal Flatts at Grandma Ruby's house.
11	"Back to Tennessee"	Billy Ray Cyrus	Billy Ray Cyrus, Tamara Dunn and Matthew Wilder	4:17	Performed by Robby Ray at the Crowley Corners fundraiser.
12	"Crazier"	Taylor Swift	Taylor Swift and Robert Ellis Orrall	3:13	Performed by Taylor Swift at the Crowley Corners fundraiser.
13	"Bless the Broken Road" (Acoustic)	Rascal Flatts	Bobby Boyd, Jeff Hanna and Marcus Hummon	3:55	Performed by Rascal Flatts at Grandma Ruby's house on the porch.
14	"Let's Do This"	Hannah Montana	Derek George, Tim Owens, Adam Tefteller and Ali Theodore	3:32	Used during the credits.
15	"Spotlight"		Scott Cutler and Anne Preven	3:07	Used during the credits.
16	"Game Over"	Steve Rushton	Steve Rushton, Antony Westgate and Nigel Clark	3:53	Used at Lilly's Sweet Sixteen party.
17	"What's Not to Like"	Hannah Montana	Matthew Gerrard and Robbie Nevil	3:14	Not featured.
18	"The Best of Both Worlds (2009 Movie Mix)"			3:07	Performed by Hannah Montana as the film's opening number.

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 on 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.

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 and was released in cinemas (UK and Ireland) 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 $32,324,487 on its opening weekend, with a $10,367 average from 3,118 theaters, earning the #1 spot. However, the film lost 58% of its gross its second weekend, as it got the #3 spot its second weekend, 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

The film received generally mixed reviews. Rotten Tomatoes scored the film a 44% based on 119 reviews, and the average made 5.2 out of 10 average rating. Metacritic gives a score of 47% based on 25 reviews, indicating mixed or average reviews.

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 Disc 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)

Awards and nominations

MTV Movie Awards
Year	Category	Recipient	Result
2009	Best Song from a Movie	Miley Cyrus (for the song "The Climb")
	Breakthrough Performance Female	Miley Cyrus
Teen Choice Awards
2009	Choice Movie Actress: Music/Dance	Miley Cyrus
	Choice Hissy Fit
	Choice Movie Actor: Music/Dance	Jason Earles
	Choice Movie Fresh Face Female	Emily Osment
	Choice Movie Liplock	Miley Cyrus and Lucas Till
	Choice Music Single	Miley Cyrus(for the song "The Climb")
	Choice Movie: Music/Dance	Movie
	Choice Music Album: Soundtrack
Peoples Choice Awards
2010	Favorite Family Movie	Cast
Kids' Choice Awards
2010	Favorite Movie Actress	Miley Cyrus
Golden Raspberry Awards
2010	Worst Actress	Miley Cyrus
	Worst Supporting Actor	Billy Ray Cyrus

Television premiere

The film made its world premiere on Disney Channel on November 19, 2010, where it drew 4.6 million viewers.