Hannah Montana: The Movie

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 produced by Walt Disney Pictures, rather than a Disney Channel Original Movie.[10]

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 thought of involved returning to her hometown of Nashville, Tennessee.[10] Cyrus spent most of her time away from her beloved home since Hannah Montana was taped at Tribune Studios in Hollywood. She spent up to eight and a half hours a day working on the set.[10]

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. 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."[10] The movie went into production on an estimated $30 million budget.[11]

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 on to say there would be many guest stars, and she'd ride horses and attend school.[12]

Filming began in April 2008 in Los Angeles, California and Columbia, Tennessee.[4] It entered production in May 2008[13] and post-production in July 2008. The beginning of the film was shot in Los Angeles including, The Forum where the concert was, 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.[14]

There is a carnival scene filmed at Smiley Hollow in Ridgetop, Tennessee 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.[15]

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.[16][17] 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.[15] In some scenes, Miley rode horses.[12]

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.[6] Scenes were also filmed at Franklin High School. The school stood-in for the fictional Seaview High School which Miley and Lilly attend.[6]

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".[18]

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.[19] The score was originally to be written by 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 composer John Debney, who recorded his score with the Hollywood Studio Symphony at the Sony Scoring Stage.[20] 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.

Hannah Montana: The Movie was released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on DVD and Blu-ray on August 18, 2009.[30] 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.[31] 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)

Miley Cyrus at the premiere for the film

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 U.S., 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.[3]

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."[32] Metacritic gives a score of 47 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[33] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[34]

Entertainment Weekly praised: "The surface lesson of the movie is that celebrity life looks easy but it's 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."[35] 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."[36]

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.'"[37] 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."[38]