What Do The Critics Say

"You might be rather surprised at just how likeable the bubblegum teen romance of Hannah Montana: The Movie actually is. And this is due in no small part to the superior comic acting chops of amiable bow-legged songbird, Miley Cyrus. Cyrus'S performance supplies the material with a much-needed sharpness. She should go on to better things." Alan Mack LITTLE WHITE LIES "Older viewers will find plenty to smile at, even if it is simply recognising that you would have absolutely loved this movie when you were twelve years old. It's hard to find fault with much of Hannah Montana: The Movie. There's no denying Miley's natural talent both as a singer and an actor." Rhiannon Sawyer FILMINK (AUST) "I may be putting my career on the line.. this movie was enjoyable, well directed and well acted." Kevin McCarthy CBS RADIO "With its kid-friendly mix of tunes and chaste romance, this is sure to leave its target demographic grinning widely. Rest assured this fish out of water yarn is resolved with a pop concert: what else?" Neil Smith TOTAL FILM "This Disney film is a hand-tooled, eight-cylinder charm offensive: the landscape is ravishingly shot, the songs are cute, the plot moves from slapstick to romance at a cracking pace. Surprisingly entertaining." John Walsh INDEPENDENT "Cyrus, as always, is a professional charmer (it's hard to resist when she leads a hip-hop hoedown), and the crusty folkiness of Billy Ray Cyrus as her real-life dad is as welcome as ever. The surface lesson of the movie is that celebrity looks easy but is hard." Owen Gleiberman ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

"The film slips into American schmaltz at times, but it’s really a thing of wonder: an infectious and irresistible fantasy that all the family can enjoy. She (Miley Cyrus) has a great screen presence and her songs bounce along nicely." Cosmo Landesman UK SUNDAY TIMES "Extolling the virtues of honesty, decency, friendship and family while portraying capitalism as the root of all evil, this big-screen outing for Disney's latest pop princess is a wholesome treat for her legions of young fans. It looks great and, more importantly, gives the kids exactly what they want." Elliott Noble SKY MAGAZINE "I'm almost embarrassed at how entertained I was." Katey Rich CINEMABLEND 'Like the girl at its center, Hannah Montana The Movie ain't perfect, but it sure is likable, and a whole lot of fun. The cinematic outdoor settings look beautiful and help the movie feel worthy of the big screen." Carolyn Arends CHRISTIANITY TODAY "A fun musical with the spiritual messages that the journey is what matters and who we are has a lot to do with where we come from." Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat SPIRITUALITY & PRACTICE "Fans will be ecstatic about Miley's cinematic adventure. For everybody else, the humour will be cheesy, the romance at a primary school level, but this light, nice movie is undeniably likeable all the same. Fans would give this an automatic "Five Star" rating. Newcomers would be more comfortable with "three stars". In fact, it's got to be somewhere in between, y'all." Sara Klein EMPIRE MAGAZINE

The Inside Story Miley Cyrus's top-rated Emmy ®nominated television series, "Hannah Montana", sold-out 70city concert tour and third consecutive top-selling album ("Breakout") in less than two years have propelled the young actress, singer and songwriter to international stardom. Following the series’ sensational debut in March 2006 (five million four hundred thousand viewed its premiere), Cyrus became an immediate hit with audiences, and her own exploding popularity has mirrored those of her increasingly famous television alter egos, Hannah Montana and Miley Stewart. "Miley is one of those rare, incredible talents. She can sing, she can dance, she can act: and she’s funny," says "Hannah Montana: The Movie" producer Al Gough. Gough, who executive produced 152 episodes and wrote one hundred and sixty episodes of "Smallville" between 2001 and 2008 notes: "To be natural on film is the hardest thing in the world, and she does it without any effort, her instincts are so good. To watch her grow as an actor over the course of making this film has been amazing." Bringing 'Hannah Montana' to the big screen was a natural step in the evolution of Cyrus’ multiple talents and the audience’s rabid desire to know more about their beloved heroines, Miley Stewart and Hannah Montana. In the movie, Miley sings, dances and performs thirteen songs and musical numbers, many as Hannah Montana, some as Miley Stewart. It’s when her Hannah Montana persona begins to take over the responsibilities and commitments of Miley Stewart’s life that her father, Robby Ray, decides to intervene and try to set things right. "As the film starts in Los Angeles, the pressure is building on Miley with the demands of being Hannah Montana," says 2008 BMI Songwriter of the Year Billy Ray Cyrus, who plays Miley’s father, Robby Ray Stewart, and is Miley’s real-life father. "She’s kind of lost herself, the little girl from Tennessee. Robby Ray decides the best medicine would be to go home. In real life, my dad always says it is important to be aware of your surroundings and where you’re at. Always be looking forward and know where you want to go but, most importantly, never forget where you come from. That’s what this story is about." "The story shows how you need to be able to take the time to realize who you are and where you’ve come from. I know I have to do that in my life sometimes. It feels great to come home to Nashville and be comfortable with who I am. Where you’re from reflects a lot of who you are and who you’ll become as you get older. Like what happens in the movie, you have to take it back down to the real world," says 2009 MTV Movie Award winner Miley. When Miley returns home for her Grandma Ruby’s birthday party, she’s not just returning to Tennessee after a long absence, she’s also rediscovering how much her family, friends and home mean to her after her emerging success as a pop star. In the film, the audience gets to travel back home with Miley Stewart and see where it all began and how she became Hannah Montana. "On the TV show, you never got to see the origins," screenwriter Dan Berendsen (TV'S "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch") says. "This movie takes you full circle to how she became Hannah Montana without being a flashback." As Miley Stewart finds in the course of the movie, you can go home again. Since its 2006 debut, the TV series "Hannah Montana" has become a pop culture phenomenon, garnering an ever-expanding, loyal fan base. It found wide appeal with family audiences, holding the number one spot for series among children six to fourteen on U.S. cable television during its first two years on the air. "With '‘Hannah Montana', the character is the concept, so it easily translates to film," says Gough. "It’s basically a superhero movie for girls. She’s a normal high school student by day and pop star by night. So, she’s dealing with identity issues, family issues, relationship issues. Most kids and adolescents who deal with the same issues feel as if they don’t have any power, so the idea of putting on a wig and a costume and being a powerful superhero is teen wish fulfillment." With their exceptional chemistry, the father-daughter dynamic easily translated into an accessible blend of music and comedy. Miley and Billy Ray and Miley and Robby Ray had become inspiredly intertwined. "It’s pretty much art imitating life imitating art," says Billy Ray about their onscreen counterparts. "We never planned it, but once it happened, Miley and I worked hard to make it and keep it real." When the idea for a feature film based on the series was discussed, returning Miley and her father to Tennessee seemed an ideal and natural extension of the characters’ storylines to the big screen. "We wanted to open it up, get it outside and let it breathe," says Gough about the "Hannah Montana" story. "As we developed the screenplay, we had a couple of rules up front. One was we were not going to use any of the sets on the television show. And secondly, we wanted it to be filmed in real places, actual locations: Nashville, Malibu, the Santa Monica Pier, Beverly Hills." "Our goal as the producers was always to make a movie that would surprise people. I think people have an expectation based on the sitcom of a goofy, very broad comedy. But we wanted this movie to have incredible heart, vistas, landscapes, beautiful photography, great dance numbers, phenomenal music and a big scope. And this movie is all of that," says producer Miles Millar (who wrote "Spider-Man 2" & "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor"). In telling a feature length film story, the producers wanted to find a director who would knock down the confines of the sitcom walls and bring Miley/Hannah’s world to a big-screen reality. Producers Millar and Gough needed a performance-oriented director with the breadth of experience to take the film’s wide range of music, comedy and drama and craft a simple, genuine story of a teenage girl searching for her true self. "If you look at Peter Chelsom’s films, all the ingredients for this movie are in those movies: comedy, family, melody and emotion. Peter covers the gamut in his films," Gough explained. "Peter always gets the performance, it always comes first, and we needed a director to take most of these kids through their first film, especially Miley. Peter was an actor for ten years working with The Royal Shakespeare Company, The Royal National Theatre and in TV and film, so to have a director who can actually speak to the actors and bring a range of vision and an experienced hand is exactly what we wanted." In addition to his strengths as a visualist and performance-oriented director, Chelsom also brought a couple of other highly desirable attributes, including a complete lack of knowledge about the secret pop-star sensation. "He had never heard of Hannah Montana, which made it even better because we wanted fresh eyes on the material," says Millar. "We wanted the script to work without knowledge of the show or the characters, and it did. After Peter became involved, of course, he became completely engrossed in watching all the episodes and became a Hannah expert." "This film reminded me of the Disney films of the '60s that felt like real five-course meals the whole family could go and enjoy," says Chelsom ("Serendipity" & "Shall We Dance"). "Disney let me make the film I wanted. Now a film about Hannah Montana is going to have certain elements: shopping, partying, music; but we really worked hard to incorporate a lot of substance in it, to make it genuinely a family movie with range, with a richness and beauty that reminds people of those classic Disney family films." While characters returning home to find themselves again are a staple in classic storytelling, "Hannah Montana The Movie" transcends the line between fiction and reality. In taking Miley Stewart and Hannah Montana back to Crowley Corners, Tennessee, the film transported Miley Cyrus, her father and co-stars back to the Cyruses’ real-life hometown, the city of music Nashville, giving the young actress a chance to be home again following her meteoric two year rise to stardom. "It’s super important to stay true to yourself and your family and stay in touch with who you are," says Miley. "When audiences walk away from the movie, I hope they feel like they’ve been to my home. I hope they feel like they understand Nashville because Nashville is my everything. Nashville is who I am." For Billy Ray, having the chance to return to Tennessee to shoot the film and be at the family’s farm, where Miley lived until age thirteen, was truly having the best of both worlds. "In the evenings, after work, she’s out climbing trees, riding horses, she’s that little girl again. She’s Miley," he says. Watching and working with his talented daughter is a remarkable experience for Billy Ray. "I’m so proud of her, not only as a daddy in her personal life, but as a musician to see the kinds of songs she writes. Then, as an actress to see her evolve from a Lucille Ball-inspired comedienne to a role with some real depth is amazing. I think she brings inspiration to a lot of kids out there to follow your dreams, to pursue what you love and never give up." In the film, Miley experiences her first serious romance. Filmmakers say the role of Travis was the hardest one to cast. Once again, they passed on the idea of stunt or star casting in favor of finding the most real actor for the role of a young southern kid on his way to becoming a man. "We were basically looking for that young Brad Pitt from "Thelma & Louise", and lo and behold, in from Atlanta, Georgia, on this tape comes Lucas Till. When we brought him in to screen test with Miley, they clicked, and we knew we had our guy," Gough recalls. "There are a lot of similarities between me and Travis, which really attracted me to this role," says Till ("Walk the Line"). "Like a lot of southern guys, he’s reserved, and I’m from the South, and I’m a reserved guy. I don’t really like to show my emotions too much, and Travis kind of holds his feelings back. He loves riding horses, and I found out I really love riding horses. So Travis and I, we have a lot in common." For his role as Travis, Till took guitar and piano lessons and began horseback riding a couple of hours a day for a few weeks before shooting began. Till, who had never ridden a horse before beginning rehearsals on the movie, was hooked. The production was divided into shoots in the Nashville and Los Angeles areas. Near Nashville, they created the fictional Crowley Corners, an idyllic small American town. In the city of Los Angeles, they wanted to show off the California dream: the beaches of Malibu and Santa Monica, the glitz of Beverly Hills, a stadium concert at the Forum. "This movie takes 'Hannah Montana' to another level, a different scale," says Jason Earles (Miley’s brother in the film and the TV show). "The film is grand in scope, but it all comes back to this real place: family and friendships and relationships we’ve created and stayed true to." The Verdict "One of the joys of having four grand-daughters is that, like many a Grandparent, I've discover the delightful world of "Hannah Montana" on Foxtel'S Disney Channel. Never boring, always fun-filled it's a joy to sit down with the girls and follow the zany adventures of Miley a.k.a Hannah Montana starring: Miley, Billy Ray, Emily, Mitchel, Jason, and Moises. Of course having Foxtel IQ, makes it easy for me to catch up on missed episodes because the girls are always recording the show, so while they can go back and watch them over and over, I get to catch up on missed episodes. I guess that made it a lot easier for me when it came to taking in Miley's feature film debut (no, the World Tour Concert wasn't a starring role on debut). It's an easy film to take in and one that offers much to enjoy for parents of teen and tweener fans. A fight in a shoe store, a birthday party that goes wrong, a forced return to her grass-roots, discovering love and the realization that staying true to ones self, kin and friends, is paramount in life. And, as you would expect, music and songs play an important role. Thirteen songs including "The Climb", "Hoedown Throwdown", "Butterfly Fly Away" and more add to the entertainment value that is "Hannah Montana The Movie". One things for sure, this is one family film that never drags on or becomes tedious. Toe tappin', finger snappin' good ol fashion fun. Don't let the kids have all the fun! Easy to recommend. 4 STARS." Synopsis

With a crazy double life in California as an everyday teen with the secret pop-star persona Miley Stewart (a.k.a Hannah Montana) has forgotten who she really is. Miley has become so obsessed with her fortune and fame that she has become another person and she's getting uglier by the day. To get her back on track, Miley’s dad, Robby Ray Stewart, decides that she needs some time back on the family farm in Tennesseex. Miley thinks her dad has hired a Lear Jet to fly her to New York, where her maganger Vita has arrange her appearance. Shock horror. When she alights from the plane she's back in good ol Tennessee. At first, Miley is belligerent. Two weeks seems an eternity. But with the help of goodlooking and cute Travis (a former childhood crush who now works for Grandma Ruby as a farmhand), she begins to realize what is most important to her. Unintentionally, Miley finds herself involved in saving Crowley Corners from Mr Bradley, a developer who wants to build a new Mall and, highrise tourists apartments.

Who Plays Who?

Miley Cyrus Billy Ray Cyrus Emily Osment Jason Earles Mitchel Musso Moises Arias Lucas Till Vanessa Williams Margo Martindale Peter Gunn Melora Hardin Jared Carter Barry Bostwick Beau Billingslea Katrina Smith Emily Grace Reaves Jane Carr Taylor Swift

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Hannah Montana/Miley Stewart Robby Ray Stewart Lilly Truscott/Lola Luftnagle Jackson Stewart Oliver Oken/Mike Standley III Rico LTravis Brody Vita Ruby Oswald Granger Lorelai Derrick Mr Bradley Mayor Mayor's Wife Cindy-Lou Lucinda Herself

The Production Team

Director Written by Characters Producers Original Music Cinematography Film Editor Casting Production Designer Art Direction Set Decoration Costume Designer

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Peter Chelsom Dan Berendsen Michael Poryes/Rich Correll & Barry O'Brien Billy Ray Cyrus/Alfred Gough/Miles Millar John Debney David Hennings Virginia Katz Lisa Beach & Sarah Katzman Caroline Hanania Elliott Glick Fontaine Beauchamp Hebb Christopher Lawrence

Run Time 102 minutes Rated G [AUST] Copyright ©2009 - Disney Films - All Rights Reserved ©1999-2009 All Rights Reserved - The Movie Pages & Impact Internet Services - Protected by Australian & International Copyright. Trademark Laws Apply.