Disney has always had a good marketing department. Still it’s not hard to believe that today’s Disney is more about making money than producing quality entertainment. Every now and then it gets back to the business of producing good films and TV shows, but more times than not Disney knows who its target demographic is and what they want. They cater directly to mostly tweens and early teens. Perhaps the show that started all this madness was Hannah Montana, which premiered back in 2006. Six episodes from the third season have been picked for this latest release, Hannah Montana: Miley Says Goodbye?. Could it actually be the end or could it just be another smart marketing ploy by Disney?
The series Hannah Montana is about the life of a 14-year-old named Miley Stewart (Miley Cyrus), who is the precocious daughter of former singer/songwriter star, and widower, Robbie Stewart (Billy Ray Cyrus). Living in a Malibu beachfront home, Miley hides the fact that she lives a secret second life just so she can live a relatively normal teenage life. That second life consists of her donning a blonde wig, and becoming “Hannah Montana,” a famous tween pop singing idol adored by millions of American boys and girls. But soon complications arise as Miley tries to negotiate her real-life and fantasy personas. Meanwhile, her father has double-duty keeping “Hannah’s” career on track, while making sure that Miley’s career doesn’t get in the way of her learning the difficult lessons all teenagers have to learn. She lives with her brother Jackson (Jason Earles) who is a goofball who tends to get himself into some sort of predicament at home or at work at the hot dog stand owned by young entrepreneur Rico (Moises Arias). Fortunately for Miley/Hannah, she is fortunate to have her best friends Lilly Truscott (Emily Osment) and Oliver Oken (Mitchel Musso) around at times to be her voice of reason and to help bail her out of trouble.
In this set, there are six random episodes from season three put together, including the two-part conclusion to the season. But the featured episode on this set is the two-part episode that asks the question, is this goodbye for Miley? In this episode, Miley finds herself dreaming about her horse Blue Jeans. Longing for the country life, she talks her father into bringing the horse to California. But Blue Jeans isn’t satisfied at just being left in the stables; he begins following her home, to school, the beach, and just about everywhere she goes. Not knowing what to do about her horse’s wandering ways, she goes back to sleep and once again dreams about Blue Jeans, who helps her realize that she wasn’t just missing the horse, but missing Tennessee as well. And the only thing to do is to pack up her belongings and move back home. While she struggles with her decision and how she is going to tell her two best friends, Lilly (Emily Osment) and Oliver (Mitchell Musso), that she’s leaving, her brother Jackson (Jason Earles) is busy struggling with his first apartment and the fact that it’s falling apart. To make things even more complicated, Oliver has been asked to open for the band “Tepid Funk” on their six-month world tour. This means they would both be leaving Lilly totally alone. Feeling guilty, they decide to take her out for a day of fun and adventure, so she’ll have something to remember them by. After a little more soul searching, some advice from her brother, a pinch of wisdom from her father, and a musical montage about friendship, everything works out in the end.
The main problem with this DVD set is that it’s just a blatant money grab. Most of these Disney sets have always considered that, but this one especially. Sure, if you buy this DVD set, you get to see the conclusion of the third season. But with the announcement of a fourth season, Miley saying goodbye is not really true, unless Disney has decided to let this cast do their own thing sooner rather than later. So this ultimately makes this DVD set pointless. Of course, if you really think that you aren’t really the target demographic for this series anyways. Fans of the show will certainly love this random collection of episodes.
To be honest, this set of episodes is short enough and mature enough to not be as annoying as some of the earlier seasons of Hannah Montana – especially for parents who have to watch it with their kids. Obviously, if this turns out to be the series finale, this will be a no-brainer purchase.
Episodes:
Episode 1 – You Never Give Me My Money
In need of cash, Miley asks her father for an allowance raise, only to get $5,000 of Hannah’s earnings deposited into a checking account that she then tries not to touch. Jackson’s missing cell phone poses an obstacle to his party night plans. Rico introduces empanadas.
Episode 2 – Papa’s Got a Brand New Friend
Hannah accidentally knocks her choreographer out a window (seriously). The replacement she hires, Shawn (Philip Anthony-Rodriguez), immediately befriends Robbie Ray, but is less appealing as a choreographer. Oliver tries to get his athletic girlfriend (Hayley Chase) to dump him.
Episode 3 – Promma Mia
After Gabe (Chris Zylka) doesn’t invite Miley to junior prom as hoped, she thoughtfully agrees to go with a nerd (Nate Hartley, doing what he do). But then “American Idol” runner-up David Archuleta comes calling to record a duet. Robbie Ray tries to get Jackson to register for community college.
Episode 4 – He Could Be the One
The truth comes out that Miley has secretly again been dating actor Jake Ryan (Cody Linley) for weeks, and disapproving Dad is disappointed he didn’t know about it. Meanwhile, a love triangle is formed with Hannah bandmate Jessie (Drew Roy), a bad boy guitarist. Who will Miley/Hannah choose? Jackson and Rico narrate this hour-long episode as minstrels, experimenting with a variety of musical styles.
Episode 5 – Miley Says Goodbye? (Part 1)
Blue Jeans, Miley’s childhood horse back in Tennessee, talks to her in her upsetting dreams. As a result, the Stewarts have the horse moved to California, but he won’t stay put there. Also, Jackson gets his own apartment, where he and Oliver hang out.
Episode 6 – Miley Says Goodbye? (Part 2)
Picking up where last episode left off, Miley and Oliver find it difficult to tell Lilly their plans to go in different directions. Though this isn’t the end of “Hannah Montana”, the episode carries an air of finality, complete with a stroll down memory lane, a street that — thanks to puberty — feels longer than it really is.
The video is given in fullscreen color with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The transfer is good with colors generally looking bright and vivid details everywhere. It is disappointing to not see this show in widescreen high-definition format, but as it is, it’s pretty solid. No major problems.
The audio included is available in English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo sound, Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo sound, and French Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo sound. There are subtitles available in English, French, and Spanish as well. The dialogue and music come out loud and clear. No major problems here either, but again you will be disappointed if you expect more than the basic quality they give you here.
“He Could Be The One” Alternate ending – This runs 3 minutes and it’s a different ending to the love triangle in the “He Could Be the One” episode. Either ending will probably make some fans mad and some fans happy. So they are just trying to please everyone here.
“Sister Secrets” Featurette – This runs 8 minutes, and in it Miley’s older sister, Brandi Cyrus, takes a camera around and asks behind-the-scene questions of the cast. She also shows off the wardrobe department’s holdings, unseen parts of sets, and Grandma Cyrus at work sorting through Miley’s fan mail.
“Hannah’s Highlights” Trivia Track – You can select this feature for the “You Never Give Me My Money” episode. it involves trivial facts regularly popping up on the screen. Fans will probably enjoy watching this episode again with this feature turned on.
Cardboard Photo Frame – This is a picture frame that can hold a picture 2 inches wide and 3 inches high. The picture included with it has Hannah with microphone or Miley with Blue Jeans, depending on your viewing angle. It’s almost 3D looking.
The only people who will want to own this DVD set are the hardcore fans of the show, who must own every Hannah Montana related thing. But if you only want a select sampling of what this show is all about, then newcomers could do worse than watching this DVD set.
Walt Disney Home Entertainment presents Hannah Montana: Miley Says Goodbye?. Created by Michael Poryes, Rich Correll, and Barry O’Brien. Starring Miley Cyrus, Emily Osment, Mitchel Musso, Jason Earles, Moises Arias, and Billy Ray Cyrus. Running time: 162 minutes. Rated: NOT RATED. Released on DVD: March 9, 2010. Available at Amazon.com.
