We all know Miley Cyrus as one of the most popular pop stars in the music industry right now, but her beginning started on the breakout Disney Channel series, Hannah Montana. The show starred Miley as Miley Stewart, a young girl living a double life as an ordinary Malibu teenager and superstar, Hannah Montana.
The show was so successful, it earned millions in merchandising and beyond, even earning its own live-action theatrical film. It also inspired many copycat series on the network after it ended. In some ways, the series is timeless, but in others, it’s aged poorly.
Aged Poorly: No One Could Maintain A Double Identity Like That Now
One of the main plot elements of Hannah Montana was Miley’s struggle to maintain her popstar identity and her normal day-to-day identity. It would be harder for a plot like that to work on television today simply because it’s so unrealistic someone could maintain that.
They would have to go entirely off the grid if they wanted to truly live a double life. Social media is far more prevalent now than it was when the series initially premiered. If Hannah was “real” people would be following her every move. Can you imagine someone like Ariana Grande trying to live a double life? It’d be near impossible.
Timeless: The Music Is Still Incredibly Catchy
Regardless of whether you were a big fan of Hannah Montana or not, odds are you’ve heard many of the songs from the series. When the show was in the height of its popularity you could hear the music coming from everywhere.
Even now, the music is still really catchy. It’s hard to listen to any of the songs and not get them stuck in your head. They’re all total ear worms. No one would blame you for keeping a couple of Hannah’s classic songs on your iPhone!
Aged Poorly: The Character Of Thor
Not just Thor but Hannah Montana had a bad habit of making fat-shaming and fatphobic jokes. The character of Thor was one of the most obvious examples. He was very much portrayed as a stereotypical “fat person” character. Looking back, it was disappointing to see the series play up that trope. Thor wasn’t on the show for long, only for a few episodes in the second season.
But he and Jackson became friends and Jackson eventually defends him against bullies. That said, it’s still unfortunate to recognize how the series used him as a joke. However, it’s also somewhat funny that they had a character named Thor given Miley’s eventualy relationship with Liam Hemsworth, whose brother Chris plays Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Timeless: The Series Still Has A Legion Of Fans Despite Critics Disliking It
Surprisingly, critics weren’t fond of Hannah Montana. It never received much praise during its run and even the Hannah Montana Movie was panned. The movie was also nominated for several Razzie awards.
That said, the series has a devoted following. Even fans who were kids when it premiered are still fond of the series as adults. Despite critics disliking it, the series became enormously popular for Disney Channel.
Aged Poorly: Jackson Gets Attacked By An Alligator
At one point in the Hannah Montana Movie, Jackson gets bit by an alligator while he’s at the zoo. This may not seem like a big deal but looking back on it now it might resonate differently after the devastating Disney World attack where a young boy was actually mauled and died by an alligator attack.
The attack took place at a Disney resort. It might be a stretch to say that aged poorly but those who were affected by that incident might feel differently.
Timeless: Miley Cyrus Is A Superstar
Sometimes you star in a hit show as a kid and afterwards you’re never really heard from again. There are plenty of child stars who were super famous only for their star to fizzle out as they got older. That wasn’t the case for Miley Cyrus. Despite her somewhat sordid career ups and downs, Cyrus is still incredibly popular with millions of followers across all her social media platforms.
She continues producing hit songs and acting in interesting project. Recently, she collaborated with Ariana Grande and Lana Del Rey in the theme song for the new Charlie’s Angel movie.
Aged Poorly: Miley Worries About Hannah Becoming A Bad Influence On Her Fans
There is an episode of Hannah Montana where Miley worries about her image as Hannah Montana. She fears she could wind up becoming a bad influence on them. This is somewhat ironic given the real Miley’s reputation for being a party girl.
She took on a distinctive, edgy, persona after ditching her Disney days and gave some infamous performances without many clothes and beyond. While Miley has never been involved in a serious scandal and more or less just gives in to a party girl image, it’s still kind of funny to consider the way real life mirrored this show plot.
Timeless: The Friendship Between Miley And Lily
Miley and Lily’s friendship on the series is the essential heart of the show. Lily has been there for Miley since the very beginning and even gets her own alter ego in the form of Hannah’s assistant. Despite their fights, at the end of the day they could always depend on each other. In fact, many fans even shipped the two together romantically and considering Miley is open about not being straight in real life… Well, who knows?
Aged Poorly: In Real Life, Miley Comments On Disney In A Black Mirror Episode
Miley recently starred in an episode of Black Mirror where she played a pop star named Ashley O. Ashley’s character is forcibly used by her aunt to become the “perfect” money-earner.
Miley has been vocal about how she was intrigued in doing this episode because of how it reflects some of the real situations she went through with Disney. It’s not news that Disney is very controlling about the image and perception of their stars. Young actors for the company are put under great amounts of pressure to perform in certain ways.
Timeless: The Series Had A Great Array Of Guest Stars
Even if you didn’t like Hannah Montana, the show and film had a stunning array of guest stars. From Dolly Parton to Tyra Banks to The Rock and beyond, the show had an eccentric array of guest stars, some of them with a great deal of fame who you might not expect to be on a Disney Channel series.
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