The Golden Age of Disney Channel, as it has been labeled over the years, was a time of grand success in children's television. While every generation of kids has its own connection to the network's history, perhaps none exhibit the rise in teenage stardom more than 2006, also known as the year that Hannah Montana was introduced to the world.
Right off the back of High School Musical's success, Disney Channel was introducing a new level to their achievements and asking an integral question about the future of the network: Could they take a fictional character and make them a real-life phenomenon? The Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special not only proves that they could but also that the longevity was strong enough to keep Hannah Montana relevant in 2026, years after the peak of the show's success.
Hannah Montana represented a pivotal change in what Disney Channel was capable of and how fans from all over the world would respond to it. The Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special represented some of the best parts of nostalgia in its hour-long love letter to the title character and how it helped catapult Miley Cyrus to stardom. However, the special bounced between a legitimate representation of the Hannah Montana television series and an in-depth view of Miley Cyrus herself.
In terms of positivity, Miley Cyrus herself goes all out, dyeing her hair to match Hannah Montana's blonde wig, singing 3 songs from the series and the movie, and visiting two of the show's main sets. It is nostalgia bait for fans who grew up watching Miley Stewart struggle to balance her double life.
There is an honesty to Miley Cyrus’ performance, as several sections of her interview and speaking portions sound less scripted and more off-the-cuff. This is the work of someone who wants to acknowledge and celebrate the past, what this show meant to her, and what it helped her achieve in life. The updated performances of “The Best of Both Worlds” and “The Climb” even sound noticeably more mature while staying true to what made them so integral to the franchise in the first place.
But once you strip away the joy and excitement of seeing Miley Cyrus perform dressed as her iconic alter ego, the special starts to lose some of its charm when thinking of everyone who was not there. A successful television show is more than its popular main character or face of the show.
The rest of the ensemble helped build out the world, which makes it all the more confusing that none of the main cast members outside of Miley Cyrus and Billy Ray Cyrus made an appearance. Emily Osment, Mitchell Musso, Jason Earles, and Moisés Arias were all absent from the special. To make matters worse, the characters of Jackson and Rico were barely even mentioned. The closest the special gets to another cast member is a cameo from Selena Gomez, who played Hannah's pop rival, Mikayla.
There are several stories about the making of the show, which includes a cameo from Gary Marsh, the former President of Disney Branded Entertainment, and Jamal Sims, the choreographer of the "Hoedown Throwdown."
Additionally, Cyrus is joined by her mother, Tish Cyrus-Purcell, when they look through set props, clothes, and a picture book. However, there are times when the special is more interested in Miley Cyrus’ personal life at the time that Hannah Montana was airing. Miley Cyrus name-drops ex-boyfriends Dylan Sprouse and Nick Jonas in regard to previous relationships, while explaining that her relationship with Nick Jonas is what resulted in the Jonas Brothers appearing on the Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds tour.
However, there is no mention of working with either of them on Hannah Montana, even though the Jonas Brothers did guest-star in a season 2 episode, and Miley Cyrus did two crossover episodes with Dylan Sprouse.
Selena Gomez's appearance is a fun reunion for anyone who grew up watching Hannah Montana and Wizards of Waverly Place. However, they do not really talk about their time sharing the screen, with the exception of Selena Gomez's blue alien outfit and Mikayla's hat.
In a special meant to look back on the joys of the show, there could have been an opportunity here for them to go deeper into the development of their on-screen rivalry (other than the duo mentioning that it was meaner than what Disney Channel would potentially allow today). There could have been substance here and even the chance to address how they never got to interact as Miley Stewart and Alex Russo during the Wizards on Deck with Hannah Montana crossover event and what an interaction between those two characters could have looked like.
One of the other main cameos is more random than organic, with the special finding a way to bring in Chappell Roan. For as successful as Chappell Roan is, and as much of a Hannah Montana fan as she may have been as a child, she had absolutely nothing to do with the series or with Disney Channel. As honest as Chappell Roan may have been about Miley Cyrus paving the way for Chappell Roan to step up, this moment feels more like a moment for a Miley Cyrus special, not a celebration of Hannah Montana.
The main stars of the special are Miley Cyrus, Call Her Daddy podcast host Alex Cooper, and Tish Cyrus-Purcell. Miley Cyrus is absolutely celebrating the persona of Hannah Montana in the special, but even then, it sometimes comes across as if the alter ego of Hannah Montana and the show Hannah Montana are two completely separate entities. A celebration of the full show would have incorporated more of the original cast, main and recurring, as well as its showrunner and writing team.
Hannah Montana's 20th Anniversary Special is representative of a time in Disney Channel history when their performers were just as involved in mainstream pop culture trivia as anyone else. It takes longtime fans back to their childhoods, where it seemed as if someone had to be living under a rock to not know of High School Musical or Hannah Montana. It plays into the nostalgia of when fans would see Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens on the front of every magazine with each release of the next High School Musical movie. It reminded audiences of a time when Disney Channel could turn its leads into what seemed like world-dominating stars, something Disney Channel has not replicated in years.
The fantasy of Hannah Montana helped build a childhood for millions of kids across the world and defined a generation. Hannah Montana will always be embedded in the fabric of one of Disney Channel's biggest success stories, and for all it achieved, it is a well-deserved recognition. However, the 20th Anniversary Special never quite gives its audience the best of both worlds, choosing instead to exist on the line between fiction and reality. Miley Cyrus’ success from Hannah Montana was absolutely deserved. But, the success of Hannah Montana was not only her victory but also several others' who put all they had into the show and also deserved the recognition for helping make the series one of the most beloved sitcoms in Disney Channel's history.