Today’s Prayer Focus
MOVIE REVIEW

Hannah Montana: The Movie

also known as “The Hannah Montana Movie,” “Hannah Montana—Le Film,” “Hannah Montana—O Filme”

Reviewed by: Thaisha Geiger
CONTRIBUTOR

Moral Rating: Better than Average
Moviemaking Quality:
Primary Audience: Kids Family Teens
Genre: Music Comedy Family
Length: 1 hr. 42 min.
Year of Release: 2009
USA Release: April 10, 2009
DVD: August 18, 2009
Copyright, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Copyright, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Copyright, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Copyright, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Copyright, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Copyright, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Copyright, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Copyright, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Copyright, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Copyright, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Relevant Issues
Copyright, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Lying

Truth

Why are people supposed to wear clothes? Answer

Music in the Bible

Horses in the Bible

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Featuring 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 Hagger Smith, Emily Grace Reaves, Jane Carr, Taylor Swift, Rascal Flatts, Joshua Childs, Rachel Woods, Natalia Dyer, Jerry Foster, Adam Gregory, Shawn Carter Peterson, Jamal Sims, John Will Clay, Darrell Hammond, Michael Cornacchia, Valorie Hubbard, Tommy Barnes, Gary Schleimer, Jaci Cordell, Jack Hoke, Lisa Darr, Paul Perri, Mario Carter, Amber Hubert, Ashley Sundberg, Travis Allen Archer, Cole S. McKay, Ben Hatchell, Chris O'Reilly, James Alexander, Shane T. Anderson, Tyra Banks
Director Peter Chelsom
Producer It’s a Laugh Productions, Millar Gough Ink, Walt Disney Pictures, John Albanis, David Blocker, Billy Ray Cyrus, Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, Steven Peterman, Michael Poryes
Distributor

“She has the best of both worlds… Now, she has to choose just one.”

“Hannah Montana” is the typical children’s movie to the core: sweet, a bit sappy, and slightly far-fetched. Miley fans will most certainly be thrilled with the teen sensation hitting the big screen. As for Christian parents, this movie is relatively safe for viewing as long as an after-movie discussion takes place.

As in the show, Miley Stewart (Miley Cyrus) is an ordinary teen by day and the pop star Hannah Montana by night. The demands of being Hannah Montana start to completely take over her ordinary life. Miley begins to put fame, shopping and even gigs above her family members and friends. Believing that she’s losing her humble roots, her father takes Miley back to Tennessee for two weeks for a “Hannah Montana Detox.”

During her stay, Miley begins to fall for her old childhood friend, Travis. Much to the town’s dismay, their small community is also being considered for a big development project, unless they can find the money to pay for the land. On Hannah Montana’s trail is tabloid reporter Oswald Granger, who’s determined to find some dirt on the pop singer.

Offensive Content

Only two kisses take place in the film. Impressively, the director only shows the back of their heads during the kisses. There are no curse words; the Lord’s name is profaned about 5 times. These profanities are only shrieked by two chaotic Montana fans and are barely understandable. Some females are shown in bikinis, and there are some very low-cut attire worn occasionally by the main cast. Some males were shown shirtless. Montana and Tyra Banks have a fight over some shoes. Hannah jumps on her back and throws the high heel at Tyra. While trying to distract Oswald, Miley opens someone’s truck and spills their potatoes, causing the reporter to fall.

In the beginning of the film, Miley is very disrespectful to her dad and blatantly disobeys him. Like the entire basis of the show, lying and deception are constant throughout the film. She lies to cover her true identity and whenever she feels it’s necessary. She doesn’t exactly apologize for these actions, but states that “she didn’t mean to.”

While some mild repercussions are shown about Miley’s lying, they are in no way realistic. Parents should take time to discuss with their children the true damage lies can have on any relationship. Most children’s movies use deception as their way of creating conflict, so many children might be desensitized, especially when it comes to telling “little white lies.” Take time to discuss with your children that God does not view any sin as “little.” One way of being a light for Christ is through our honesty. In Luke 16:10, Jesus said:

“whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.”

While the movie is extremely formulaic, adults might also be somewhat entertained as well. There were some funny moments. In addition, there are a good number of songs and performances throughout the film; Rascal Flatts and Taylor Swift had pleasant singing cameos. With the above reservations, I recommend the film.

Violence: Mild / Profanity: Minor / Sex/Nudity: None

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.


Viewer CommentsSend your comments
Positive
Positive—I got to experience the joy of watching an early screening of this movie, and it was probably the best live-action children’s disney movie that I have ever seen. It’s extremely fun, PERFECTLY clean (you don’t even see the characters kiss! Their mouths are hidden, and the camera quickly moves away), and Miley Cyrus is an absolute delight. There is also a great moral lesson in the story—Hannah/Miley learns some valuable life lessons that everyone should see. Billy Ray and Miley have great chemistry (as they are real-life father and daughter) and are delightful. I must say that I was never a big Miley fan, but after seeing this film I respect her a lot more. A song called “The Climb” that Miley performs near the end of the film is a beautiful song and really shows off Miley’s vocal talents. It is even being played on some Christian radio stations! All in all this is a terrific, fun, upbeat and CLEAN movie that is perfect for the whole family! My husband loved it and so did I. Go see it!!
My Ratings: Moral rating: Excellent! / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Jessaca, age 22 (USA)
Positive—I went to this movie with a friend with very low expectations, but I was pleasantly surprised. Hannah Montana, aka Miley Stewart, has been acting up lately. She forgot about her brother, about her best friend’s sweet sixteen, and got into a fight with Tyra Banks over a pair of shoes. Her dad, Billy Ray Stewart, decides she needs sometime alone in her hometown.

What follows is a compassionate and often funny story about friendship, love, honesty, family values, believing in yourself, and getting “the best of both worlds.”

The movie is somewhat predictable and corny at times, but the acting is great and Billy Ray Cyrus in particular is a good actor. The story is good, along with the message. There is no bad language, but God’s name is taken in vain a couple of times, and Miley’s attitude is bad at the beginning of the movie, but this is necessary to construct the story. I would recommend this movie for parents with teenage girls. It is a good movie for them, and a great date movie in general.

No doubt some Christians will ban this movie because of Miley Cyrus’s photo scandal. I’ll never understand why Christians are so quick to forgive sinners, but not each other.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 3½
Jacob Airey, age 20 (USA)
Positive—I took my 6 year old sisters and 9 year old brother to this movie and I really liked it. I went in, thinking that it would be a kids movie and it would be boring, but it wasn’t. Good story, good actors, great scenery; it had everything. This movie is good for everyone, even the teenagers, like me. Enjoy it!
My Ratings: Moral rating: Excellent! / Moviemaking quality: 5
Elena Manubens, age 18 (USA)
Positive—I went to this movie with my wife and 15 year old daughter, and really enjoyed it. the production values were great, the music was great. it was a good story about doing the right thing. it was hard to believe that the farm boy did not know she was hannah. it was a very emotional movie, but the father should have dealt with her about deceiving people. she wound up having to make a decision what to do, but at that point he was too hands off. he was very hands on earlier in the movie dealing with her behavior, which is a good lesson for any parent.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Excellent! / Moviemaking quality: 5
Bill Boylston, age 50 (USA)
Positive—I saw this movie in the theaters with my sister, and we were both pleasantly surprised of how good this movie was. It’s not the best movie EVER, but it was a very cute, sweet movie that I think is appropriate for all ages. There were some great lessons taught in it. Miley is pretty disrespectful to the people around her, but is reprimanded by her caring, wise grandmother. Her grandmother tells her that her behavior is very, very wrong and that she should be proud that she comes from such good town. Miley sees her mistake and immediately apologizes. ***POSSIBLE SPOILER*** When her boyfriend sees that she really is Hannah Montana, he is very upset. Miley tries to tell him that she really does care for him, he answers, “No, you don’t. Because if you did, you would have just told me the truth. I would never have done that to you.” Later, he does forgive her and the two are reconciled. ***POSSIBLE SPOILER ENDS HERE***

As a response to the reviewer who has not seen the entire film and commented about saying God’s name in vain… I do agree absolutely that taking God’s name in vain is very, very wrong and sinful. However, I feel like the comment was very harsh and disrespectful. I agree with the last person who made a post about the reviewer’s content. All sin is bad and displeasing to God. I’ve seen quite a lot of the episodes of Hannah Montana, and she does plenty of things I know that are not good. She lies repeatedly about her secret identity. She is dishonoring to her older brother and often acts sarcastic. I believe this behavior, along with saying God’s name in vain, is wrong and sinful too. If you were to watch the most cleanest TV show ever made, there would still be stuff in it that were not ok. Even in the older shows like “Little House on the Prairie” and “The Andy Griffith Show,” they always have things in it that the Bible clearly says are wrong. What about Harriet Olsen in “Little House” who always runs around gossiping? The Bible says gossip is wrong! What about the criminals who are constantly breaking the law in “Andy Griffith”? And Otis Campbell getting drunk? There will always be something in TV Shows and movies and books that are against what the Bible say. I’m not saying that makes it okay. I’m just saying it’s to be expected, with the sin natured world we live in. Jesus died on the cross for our sins. He took away our sins on the cross so we can spend eternal life with God and have a relationship with Him. Jesus offers us forgiveness for our sins if we accept Him into our hearts as our Lord and Savior. For all sins, whether it’s adultery, gossip, slander, lying, stealing, murder, or even saying God’s name in vain. There is no sin too great or too big for God to forgive. Jesus loves you so much! :) He has risen and wants you to spend eternity with Him!

Also, please understand I mean no disrespect towards the person posted the comment and who has not seen the movie. God’s name being said in vain is definitely sinful. But, I believe the person who wrote this review for the Hannah Montana movie on christiananswers.net was very, very wise and used great discretion while viewing this. I read this review before seeing the movie, and I appreciate so much for his/her time in writing this! :) I have always loved and appreciated this movie review site. The people who take time out of their day to write these reviews for movies so we can know what the content is should be respected and thanked. There are great lessons taught in Hannah Montana: The Movie, about true friendship, loyalty, honesty, truthfulness, and the importance of family and staying true to yourself. You can go out and see any other movie in theaters right now, and I can guarantee that most of those movies have anything BUT good lessons in them! While there is so much trash out there playing in theaters, this clean flick is worth your time and money. I would pay money to see it again if that was to encourage Hollywood in making clean, good quality movies with greats messages in them.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: 5
Sarah, age 18 (USA)
Positive—We watched the movie with our friends. The movie quality was okay for a younger audience, but, in my age, it was too plastic. There were a lot of good things. 1. Miley’s friend asked forgiveness from her, and she gave it. 2. There were many takes where family was together helping each other. 3. Miley told in her home county who she really was, and she got another chance. 4. Miley’s dad was keeping an order in her life. When he noticed that Miley was selfish, he guided Miley in the right way.

There were a couple things we didn’t like 1. Hannah’s dresses were too short. Come on, she’s 16! 2. Shooting “golden lines” were often focused on Miley’s bottom.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 3
Maria, age 22
Negative
Negative—Basically it is a take off of the show, However, Miley has such a big head and big ego of WHO she is… so her dad arranges for her to go to TN… when she thinks she is on her way to some other big City… after she missed her brothers going away for collage putting off family for Hannah business.

Of course she gets upset…sasses her dad…even telling him how she wants her life back…so he makes a deal…if she can change her ways, she can be Hannah again. So at first she puts on this big show of trying to be a country girl…and fails miserably. Meanwhile… a developer is trying to make the small town into a big city and they need to raise the money to keep it the way it is. So enter Hannah…

Now, Miley is in love with a boy and he is in love with her…until he finds out she is Hannah… Oh this is getting confusing… and honestly…towards the end she gets just as confused to sing at a benefit and stops singing and tells everyone she is just Miley and sheds the wig…and sings the song she wrote for everyone (and is being played on Christian stations) “Life is a Climb, but the view is great” However, upon finishing they all get her to don the wig again, the boy admits he is in love with her and even gives her a passionate kiss on the lips.

She dresses quite seductively in the beginning on stage—no modesty. Many of her dance movies also are quite questionable. The fact is, this movie and Hannah/Miley encourages girls to look and dress the part. I for one was not allowed to date till I was 16. We all know our youth are raging hormones at the most and of course on action leads to another.

Because her audience ranges in ages from 7+ years of age… these lessons of romance, dress, kissing sassing parents… well kids will learn from watching this. So from a mother that screens everything my kids watch…this is 2 thumbs down!

So there you have it… I think Miley needs to relax and enjoy her childhood and that her parents should let her be a child. Billy Ray is probably reliving his youth through her…let us face it… after Achy Breaky Heart… he was a one hit wonder! So through his daughter…he can be what he could not accomplish. Sad huh? Once again, the almighty dollar is the downfall of that family.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 3
Paula, age 40 (USA)
Comments from young people
Neutral—Truthfully, I love “Hannah Montana” the TV show! But, the movie I didn’t think was that good. It didn’t have much bad in it, but I don’t think it was great!

***SPOILER***
In the end you can’t really tell if she is going to be Miley or Hannah.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 3½
Lauren, age 10 (USA)
Positive—To sum up what I feel about this movie, I have just a few words to say: amazing acting, clean, sweet, cute, beautiful songs, hilarious, and overall, a movie kids, teenagers, adults, and grandparents will love!!!
My Ratings: Moral rating: Excellent! / Moviemaking quality: 5
Erica, age 13 (USA)
Positive—I thought this movie was very entertaining and really funny at times. If you liked the tv series you’ll love this. The songs were great and you really got to see Miley in a different way. “The Climb” was the best song in the movie and I think I heard some of the people singing along with it in the theatre. One part was HYSTERICALY funny when Jackson falls off the ladder and into the squash patch! I saw it with my two sisters and they found it funny (one of them was 15). Morally it was pretty good and teaches you an important lesson to always know where you come from. It was great and the father daughter relationship is great. SEE THIS MOVIE.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 4
Noah Dimitrie, age 12 (Canada)
Positive—This movie was amazing, it was nothing like the shows, the shows are for kids. This movie is for the whole family. It made me laugh, smile, and cry. It’s extremely clean!! I recommend this movie for everyone!
My Ratings: Moral rating: Excellent! / Moviemaking quality: 5
Ashley, age 14 (USA)
Positive—I believe that this movie was fabulous. There were not any swear words. No sexual content really a fabulous movie! I believe that this is a movie for everyone! If you want to see a pure movie this is it! Especially being a Christian! Hope you see it!
My Ratings: Moral rating: Excellent! / Moviemaking quality: 5
Maria, age 13 (USA)
Positive—I went in the theater thinking that I was ready to watch a movie for a younger age than myself, basically, seeing it as a joke. I was absolutely shocked to find it become one of my favorite movies! This is definitely a chick flick, because there is a love story, but at the same time, there are good lessons and morals to the movie. At the beginning, Hannah is on the wrong path, living for herself and her image, but later, she learns to “get real” and live. There are some things that parents might not want their 5 year old watching, such as kissing, even though it is very short and you can’t see much, by the way the camera is positioned (I was one of those children who weren’t allowed to watch movies with kissing in them), but other parents might not have any problem with their children watching. I find it absolutely clean and rate it well. I would suggest that people take their kids to it, especially girls.

My only beef is the fact that they show having a guy is basically going to make life amazing and everything will turn out right in the end. Most likely, the producers did this, suspecting that people wouldn’t watch it, thinking it was based realistically on life. Being a girl, I know how easy it is to fall into that belief, but at least Hannah and her guy don’t share an inappropriate relationship. All in all, I think this was a very good movie. I think it is a fun and happy film. I walked out of the theater, happily chatting about the movie with my friends. We all agree that it is one of our favorite movies.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: 4
Olivia D., age 15 (USA)
Negative—This was a very bad movie! I was so bored while I was watching it, I wanted to leave (unfortunately, I wasn’t allowed to). It was very poorly made… I do NOT recomend this movie. Nice try, Miley!
My Ratings: Moral rating: Excellent! / Moviemaking quality: 2½
Lili, age 12 (Canada)
Positive—This movie is good. It talks about following your dreams, and it explains the importance of integrity. Everything else is very mild, there is a scene where Hannah and Tyra banks are taking each other out. That’s innocent, but it gives the implication that cat fights are normal. As always Miley is disrespectful to her father, but you and your child can discuss his parenting and her behavior together as a family. This movie is entertaining, cute, and it will be sure to have you in laughs and smiles by the end.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: 3½
Jenny, age 14 (USA)
Positive—A lot of people hate Miley Cyrus because of jealousy. In the Bible, it states that jealousy is a sin. They think Miley is indestructible, just because she is a “superstar,” and they think that she is too strong to be hurt by the negative comments that they say. Look up any Miley Cyrus video on YouTube and look at the disgusting comments about her—about how ugly she is and how she can’t act or sing (clearly she can or she wouldn’t be the teen queen of the 2000’s). These people should be ashamed of themselves. For goodness sake, she is 16, and some of the comments are far more disturbing then those above. Miley is a normal teen, like me she struggles through acne, bad hair days, stupid mistakes, feeling self-conscious, and being judged unfairly. The only difference between me and Miley is that Miley is on a pedestal for people to judge her.

I personally think it’s great to have such a great role model for the teen community. This movie was excellent; Miley’s acting was superb, and the objectionable content wasn’t bad. There was one exclamation of Oh My God and another or of good Lord. There were a few kisses, but nothing too explicit.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
Anonymous, age 16 (Canada)
Positive—I actually really liked this movie. There were no sex scenes (which I am thankfull for!) and it was a really clean movie. It had a good message to. I reccomend this movie to all ages!
My Ratings: Moral rating: Excellent! / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Gloria, age 13
Positive—I actually really liked this movie. There were no sex scenes (which I am thankfull for!), and it was a really clean movie. It had a good message to. I reccomend this movie to all ages!
My Ratings: Moral rating: Excellent! / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Gloria, age 13
Movie Critics
…Filled with much fun and music… a family movie easy to commend…
Movieguide
Comments from non-viewers
…'Professing' Christians who say they “know” God’s word will realize that blasphemy is THE MOST OFFENSIVE thing to God. You will sit in a theater and totally sell out the God who gave you life and hear His name taken in vain not once,twice…but “about” 5 times! Hollywood seems to categorize cussing OVER blasphemy when God wrote in STONE with His own hand NOT to take His name in vain (ten commandment #3). Think of the most important person in YOUR life and picture sitting in a theater with them when one of the stars of the movie uses THAT persons name as a punch line to a dirty joke or just “tosses” THEIR name around like it’s nothing…would that OFFEND you? Yet it’s what is done in MOVIE after MOVIE and we sit say we “look” past it and “it’s no big deal.” would God take it seriously? and another thing… if the blasphemies are “barely understandable” then how do you know they are blasphemies? Our consciences are seared to this issue, and I pray that God convicts those who take the name of Christ by calling themselves Christians. That they will take a stand against blasphemy in movies and NOT go see movies that have blasphemy in them. Upon “hearing” of the blasphemy of this movie, I was deeply saddened because the TV show Hannah Montana has ZERO Blasphemy in it, so WHY put it in a movie of the same name? My little girls who watch HM on tv are saddened as well that the writers of this movie would POINTLESSLY include 3-5 OMG in this movie. it’s definitely NOT needed.
G.C. Reynolds, age 34 (USA)

Positive—This is response to the non-viewer comment Reynolds. I have to say that I was shocked at how rudely and judgmentally he attacked the reviewer’s faith and felt that I had to come to her defense. She writes some of the most biblically accurate reviews on this Web site. But above that, you should remember that God views all sin the same. You let your little girls watch “Hannah Montana”? Which is fine, but just because they do not profane the Lord’s name does not mean the show is morally sound, either. In the show, she also lies and is disrespectful. Those are sins as well. If you never want to expose your kids to any sin, then you might as well never see another movie. It truly depends on which sins lead you to temptation. You should love other Christians and not attack someone simply because they used the word “about.” Thank you.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 3½

Maria, age 22 (USA)