Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds 3-D Concert (DVD)

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Year 3000" (Jonas Brothers only)
"Start All Over"
"See You Again" (Miley co-wrote)
"Right Here" (Miley co-wrote)
"I Miss You" (Miley co-wrote)
"Girls Night Out"
"If I Were a Movie"

In one of the songs Cyrus pays a kind of mild tribute to Madonna, where she dances with people dressed in Spanish attire. But that down-home look holds true here too, with Cyrus eschewing the high heels other dancers wear for the number and sporting athletic shoes. She does, after all, need them in a concert like this, where she works up a sweat. In perhaps the most fun number, she and the backup singers and female dancers come out in Fifties´-style jackets and knee socks and skirts, looking a bit like roller derby queens, as they belt out "Girls Night Out." But all of the songs will have young viewers up and dancing along. It´s a solid concert, and a solidly edited production that does a nice job of incorporating behind-the-scenes footage so that it comes at a time when Cyrus would be taking a natural breather and her band would maybe do a song without her. It all feels pretty organic, rather than an interruptive blend of documentary footage and concert tape. For that, credit director Bruce Hendricks. Nice job. But I´ll tell you right now that there´s a noticeable difference between the Blu-ray and the DVD.

Video:
Like most 3-D releases, there´s a 2-D option for casual viewing, and on the DVD you can also choose from full screen (1.33:1 pan-and-scan) or widescreen (1.85:1 "enhanced") versions. Both the concert footage and behind-the-scenes clips that are interspersed throughout. The black levels seem a little lighter on the DVD version, and there´s a little more texture and grain, in both the 2-D and 3-D versions. But as with the Blu-ray, skin tones are extremely natural, which isn´t always easy to accomplish with concert lighting. Edges aren´t as clean on the DVD, and the 3-D doesn´t have the same "wow" factor as the Blu-ray.

As for the 3-D, the unfortunate thing is that only the concert sequences are in 3-D, which means that the standard scenes look a little weird with those traditional red-and-blue cardboard glasses (four pair of which are provided here, designed for small heads). Since this is Disney, I´ll compare it to the 3-D shows at the Disney theme parks. Unlike those films, which extend the illusion of objects going into the audience so that they appear to almost touch you, the illusional extension here is roughly six feet from the TV set, and that occurs when drumsticks, a guitar pick, and confetti appear to be launched in the direction of the crowd. When Hannah/Miley struts her stuff on the runway, those runway shots appear as a roughly four-foot extension from the set. The rest of the concert 3-D effects add an illusion of depth within the television itself, adding about a two-foot depth and creating a diorama effect. Again, this looks fine (kids will say "awesome") when the concert footage is airing, but when the backstage clips come on, either you suffer with inferior picture quality or you take those glasses off. And while the Disney theme park 3-D experiences are full-color 3-D, this film incorporates the old red-and-blue color process that´s been around since those early horror films.

My guess is that Hannah Montana fans will watch the concert once in 3-D and again with friends, but for everyday repeat viewing, the 2-D version is more consistently superior, even in the DVD version. Even after watching this one after seeing the Blu-ray first, I'm not sure why this is the "extended edition."

Audio:
As with the video, the audio is a step down from the Blu-ray´s DTS-HD Lossless Master 7.1 Surround (48kHz/16-bit). You´ll have to really crank up the volume to get even close to the dynamics of those seven channels with the DVD´s Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround soundtrack. It just doesn't have the same crack off the bat. Meanwhile, the only subtitles are in English (CC).

Extras:
For a big release, the bonus features are a bit skimpy. An "Ultimate Personal Tour" is just an abbreviated day-in-the-life of Miley Cyrus that runs only 11 minutes. But the target audience will enjoy seeing what goes on backstage. Costume change? Quick as an Indy pit-crew, with Cyrus just standing there, arms out, while mom and three others rip off one outfit and put on another and all the hair and accessories, all under a minute´s time. The Jonas Brothers talk about how this is their first arena tour, and it´s also interesting to see how Kenny Ortega (of "High School Musical" fame, who choreographed this concert) insisted that Miley be scooted in a wheelchair under the concert stage to an elevator that takes her onstage. And if you´re wondering about the Cyrus siblings, one of them (Brandi) talks briefly about how the whole Cyrus clan attends each concert and has a prayer-circle/pop-off before she goes onstage. It´s all quite wholesome.

But I have to say that for a concert tour that caused such a sensation, with parents bidding thousands of dollars for tickets and men running races in high heels to try to win tickets for their daughters, there could have at least been an extended feature on the whole phenomenon of the Best of Both Worlds Concert.

Aside from that short tour, the only other bonus features are two bonus songs ("S.O.S." performed by Jonas Brothers, and "Good and Broken" performed by Cyrus) and a sing-along option that puts the lyrics onscreen for the film. Six trailers are also included, but I have to say that nothing annoys me more than to have to keep hitting the "next" button to skip those, because it takes SO MUCH LONGER on a Blu-ray. Come on, Disney, lighten up on your buying public. Activate that menu button for a quick by-pass!

The one advantage the DVD has over the Blu-ray is the packaging. This one has a cardboard slipcase that incorporates one of those holographic designs that shows Miley when you tip the cover one way and Hannah when you tip it another.

Bottom Line:
Miley Cyrus is a talented young woman, and this concert is a high-energy platform for her and her alter-ego, Hanna Montana, to strut their stuff. "Tweens and younger will like this concert as much as the other Disney musicals. And parents will appreciate that Cyrus is a good role model. There´s nothing here that a five year old couldn´t watch. And yet, the target age group will think it´s a rockin´ good time.

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