In Honor of Her Disney Legend Status, This Is Miley Cyrus’ Best Hannah Montana Moment
On August 11, Miley Cyrus made history as the youngest star to ever earn Disney Legend status. The тιтle came due to her career-altering role in the TV series Hannah Montana, which propelled the artist to fame on and off TV. Much like the singer and actor, fans who grew up watching her onscreen couldn’t help but feel emotional about the recognition as well as nostalgic. When thinking back at Miley/Hannah’s trajectory, there were many instances that left a mark on fans’ minds (especially when she was accompanied by notable guest stars), but none were as poignant as Hannah Montana: The Movie‘s ending sequence.
‘Hannah Montana: The Movie’ Marked the First Time that Miley Reveals She Is Hannah
For context, the 2009 film came before the final season of the Disney Channel hit series, serving as a standalone project. It followed Miley back in Tennessee during a period of her career when she was beginning to lose touch with her life separated from stardom. In an attempt to teach the teen a lesson, Robby Ray Stewart (Billy Ray Cyrus) tells Hannah’s private jet pilot to change his course from dropping her off at an awards show in New York to taking her to Crowley Corners instead. Visibly bothered by her father’s decision, Miley isn’t pleased that she’ll have to spend time away from her blonde alter ego.
As she eases into the country lifestyle, Miley starts to connect with her hometown again and develops a sense of responsibility over it, especially since the land is expected to turn into a mall if enough money doesn’t get raised to keep it as is. In order to save the place from the threats of modernity, Miley decides to put on a show as Hannah and help the community. When the time comes for her to go on stage and perform for a crowd, the character is overcome by the feeling that she can’t hold onto her secret anymore and decides to take off the wig. This dramatic instance is significant because, up until then, only a select group of people knew about her double life. By revealing her idenтιтy to her hometown, Miley is finally ready to let go of something she holds near and dear: her freedom. Being Hannah full-time wouldn’t have allowed her to hang out with friends in public, attend school like a normal girl, or even have a private relationship. When she decides to let go of her freedom onstage, she knows that it might be the last time that she gets to live her dream.
‘The Climb’ Performance Was a Pivotal Moment For Both Miley Stewart and Miley Cyrus
After taking off the wig, Miley tells the audience that she remembers her first time performing on that same stage as a little girl. After returning to Crowley Corners, she got to remember her roots and learn more about herself, resulting in a brand-new song called “The Climb.” As she sings it for the first time, it is visible that everyone connects with the music and the empowering message that it carries. “The Climb” was the only track that Miley Cyrus promoted as one of her own. Back when she played Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana on the Disney show, she would release music under her own name to keep her music career separate from that of her pop star character. This particular moment in the film blurred the lines between Miley Stewart and Miley Cyrus, with her performing the song in and out of the film.
The song also happens to be one of the singer’s most chart-topping hits. To this day, it ranks at number 5 in her Billboard chart history, having spent over 28 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 after its release on March 21, 2009. Cyrus has admitted to resenting her career at Disney once Hannah Montana came to an end, having publicly admitted that she felt controlled by the channel and even underpaid. However, she still performs “The Climb” to this day. 15 years later, it continues to touch fans every time that she sings it because it reminds them of the poignant sequence in the movie when we first heard it.
‘Hannah Montana’s Finale Wouldn’t Be the Same If It Weren’t For the Movie’s Ending
Another reason why this scene continues to be so significant for Miley/Hannah’s journey is because it foreshadowed the inevitable. This moment sets the stage for when she actually reveals her idenтιтy to the whole world in the series finale during her guest appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Before Hannah decided to share her double life on live TV to the entire world, she did so at a small-scale event in the film. Different from what happens in the series, the crowd who see her performing “The Climb” promises to keep her idenтιтy a secret so that she can continue to follow her dreams a little bit longer. This allows her to make the official reveal when she is certain that the best of both worlds isn’t what she wants anymore.
The ending sequence of Hannah Montana: The Movie is the moment that fans are likely to reminisce on the most because of how emotional it was. Although the Disney Channel series did pull on the heartstrings occasionally, this scene in the film felt larger because the character was vulnerable to more than just her inner circle. She was willing to let go of her freedom in order to be transparent with the community she grew up with, and that carries much more weight than expressing it on a talk show as she did later on.
Her performance of “The Climb” became a high point not just in the movie but for Miley Cyrus’ career as well, and it remainds one of her most well-known and beloved tracks. Despite there being several iconic instances of Miley being Hannah, the first time she took off the wig to a crowd remains the most memorable.
The ending sequence of Hannah Montana: The Movie is the moment that fans are likely to reminisce on the most because of how emotional it was. Although the Disney Channel series did pull on the heartstrings occasionally, this scene in the film felt larger because the character was vulnerable to more than just her inner circle. She was willing to let go of her freedom in order to be transparent with the community she grew up with, and that carries much more weight than expressing it on a talk show as she did later on. Her performance of “The Climb” became a high point not just in the movie but for Miley Cyrus’ career as well, and it remainds one of her most well-known and beloved tracks. Despite there being several iconic instances of Miley being Hannah, the first time she took off the wig to a crowd remains the most memorable.
Hannah Montana: The Movie is available to stream on Disney +.
