Escape to Witch Mountain

I was thrilled to see one of my favourite films, as a child, released on to DVD. I can now share some of my childhood with my own kids. No big surprise, but my older daughter (7) loves it. My younger daughter (2) thought some parts were "scary daddy"; the broom/jail scene was well done! Highly recommend it as a family film for folks that want a nice movie to watch with their kids.

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.

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.

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 ****

I first saw Escape to Witch Mountain when it came out in 1975. Even though I was 22 at that time, I still remember the warm feelings that were in my heart when the movie was over. It made me feel like a little boy again! Over the years, I must have seen this movie at least 50 times, and I still get heart-warming feelings every time I view it. I have three children, (girls), and made sure that they saw it. They loved it! I originally went to see this movie because I was a fan of Donald Pleasence and Eddie Albert. It was'nt long before I became a fan of Ike and Kim as well. It would be terrific if Disney would do a sequel, (with Ike & Kim).