Escape to Witch Mountain

Alexander Key's popular pre-teen novel concerns two orphaned siblings with supernatural powers taken in by a nefarious millionaire (named Aristotle Bolt!) who wants to exploit their magical abilities for personal gain. Top-notch Walt Disney adventure for families has natural, non-precocious performances from young Ike Eisenmann and Kim Richards as the gifted kids, and their friendship with good-hearted traveler Eddie Albert is sweet but not sticky. The eerie flashbacks to the youngsters' early beginnings are well-captured by director John Hough, who is otherwise forced (perhaps for budgetary reasons) to skimp on genuine atmosphere in place of an elongated chase. Too bad the finale replaces emotion with effects, as these characters are quite remarkable. Followed by a fairly wan sequel, 1978's "Return From Witch Mountain", in which the special effects became the whole show. **1/2 from ****

It always puzzles me how adults can review movies that were meant for a young audience and review it negatively (through adult eyes), completely forgetting about a child's unique and innocent perspective on the film. Shame on them all!!

As a young kid in the 70's, Disney, cartoons and sports were all weekly staples- so many good memories!! Escape to Witch Mountain was one of the first movies I saw in the theater, and was both entertaining and fun. A good adult cast; Donald Pleasence, Ray Milland and the underrated Eddie Albert, all provide good support for our two hero kids who use their powers to not only try to find home again but thwart the evil intentions of those trying to use their powers for their own benefit. The movie is well paced and has the usual hi jinks one expects in a "chase" film. I enjoyed it then and liked it just as much after a recent viewing on cable.

This movie also illustrates how one doesn't need bad language or crude behavior/jokes to appeal to kids. What some people regard as "corny" others find a refreshing change from today's standards of "acceptable" programming.

Having seen the new version of this film recently ("Race to Witch Mountain"), I cannot tell you how much of a pleasant surprise "Escape to Witch Mountain" was to me. The new version, in my opinion, lacks any kind of character development and is full of annoying characters that do nothing to help the movie. Essentially, the new version basically did away with the first 45 minutes or so of this film, which helped set up the story, develop the characters, and give us a better sense of why the kids are running away. Also, Dwayne Johnson is incredibly lacking in emotion and character compared to Eddie Albert in this movie. While I admit that most of the special effects in this film may seem cheesy by today's standards, they actually make the film even more fun to laugh at. This film came out of a couple of decades when Disney was at its height of live action movies, when even film of this type they turned out was at least worthwhile. This is an enjoyable movie, with good jobs of acting done by basically all of the characters. Appropriate for anyone in the family, exciting, funny, and likable.

***1/2 out of ****

The 1970's was not a good time for the Disney Studios. Much of the stuff that came from Disney at this time were corny and fluff. This movie however is a rare exception, esp. for it's time.

This film is about a bother and sister, Tony & Tia (Ike Eisenmann and Kim Richards)who have powers(ESP, Levitation and the like)but they don't know how or where these powers come from. Tia is being bothered by memories of an accident that she can't piece together. However, as the film progresses-the pieces come together like a puzzle and they figure out the answer to the question: "Where are we from?"

I must say that the chemistry between Eisenmann & Richards worked so well, people actually believe that they are brother & sister. It's really remarkable how well they worked together-no wonder it looked so real. This is remarkable acting talent on the part of these two and no one could have done it better. This is why I think these two actors are underrated.

I'm not going to go into detail of the rest of the film. Read the other reviews for that. One thing I need to mention is that the special effects were great for it's time. Maybe They were a little Cheesy, but the essence of the story is not the powers these kids have, but they are searching for their home and looking for answers about where they come from. To me, this is the real story-not the special effects.

I just got my DVD copies of both films This and "Return From witch mountain" They done a good job remastering the soundtrack in THX, 5.1 Dolby surround sound. It sounds as good as it does in the theater if you have a home theater system.

Well, I'm from Spain so excuse my English. I'm not really an expert, but i have seen this film between 10 - 20 times when I was less than a teenager. I think if I could watch it now, I got sleep before second act starts. But, a kid can find so much interesting dreams to have in the future. YOU'RE SPECIAL!! That was exactly I thought each time i watch it. A Kid always want to be heard & considered by his parents & society. The power of the imagination, the "can do what i want" & the "not possible identification" with other powered heroes (too old, too far, too big or too dangerous) makes this film indispensable for kids.

Maybe this film was a FIASCO for Disney, but in Spain (and in other countries, i guess), many people considered it like a Bible of entertainment and easy cinema. Only in Hollywood! And with the inducement to see one of the later monkees component doing the levitation that never obtain with his music.

A classic.