Search - Escape to Witch Mountain (Special Edition) on DVD

Tim T. (FireflyDaddy) from IRON CITY, TN
Reviewed on 9/1/2013...

This movie was made back when the movie people really made movies. This one is the first of many. I have seen loads of spin offs from this one movie. Sure the effects where campy and weak what do you expect CGI? Get real when this was made computers had K not mb or gb.
But the movie tells a story of two orphan children and their search for home, and how they find themselves along the way.

Escape to Your Childhood!

AbeStreet | Mayfield Heights, OH United States | 12/31/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Growing up as a child in the 1970's I remember watching THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF DISNEY every Sunday evening at 7pm. I of course enjoyed the cartoons but also enjoyed the many live action Dinsey movies such as THE SHAGGY DOG, THE SHAGGY D.A., POLLYANNA, THE WHIZ KIDS movies and of course the WITCH MOUNTAIN movies. I remember looking forward to ESCAPE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN and would make it a point to never miss this movie when it aired.



The story is about a brother and sister, Tony & Tia, who along with their alien family tried to migrate to Earth but crashed upon arriving. Tony and Tia then try to locate their family with the assistance of a widower while trying to avoid a rich villan who wants to use the kids Extra Sensory Powers (ESP) to further his greedy goals. As a child I actually found this movie to be very scary. I actually feared for Tony and Tia. Now as an adult it has lost the scary aspect. That comes with age I guess. It is still a good watch though.



I have wanted to purchase this film for years so my children could watch it. Now that they are pre-teens and begining to lose their childhood innocence I was finally able to purchase this new DVD. As I suspected they were reluctant to watch this movie and the sequel RETURN FROM WITCH MOUNTAIN. I finally got them to watch the films and they did enjoy the them but obviously it did not have the same effect on them as it did me. However younger children, especially those who have not been spoiled by CGI special effects will no doubt still enjoy the films. I tried to explain to my children that as a grade schooler I had a huge crush on Kim Richards (Tia). I got teased for that and of course when I teased my boy about his attraction to Hillary Duff that was a different matter. Go figure.



The DVD has some nice special features. Interviews, cartoons and other such material. I don't have enough positive things to say about Disney's old movies being offered through their Vault Disney line of products."

Superb and timeless.

dmurphy28 | Kansas City USA | 09/17/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I like Escape To Witch Mountain better than any other Disney film. It's probably in the top 5 best kid-movies ever made for that matter. I'm now 36, but was 7 when I first saw it. I probably had a crush on Kim Richards back then but I clearly remember seeing the movie at the theater and loving it.Looking at the dvd now.. the direction by John Hough is crisp and the effects, though not digital, have loads of SOUL, creativity and charm. When a car full of bad guys wrecks.. the fact that they show the 4 occupants safely getting out of the car is a nice touch (after all kids are watching this).. and that (and lots of other things in this movie) speak to the innocence that still actually existed for those of us lucky to be kids in the 1970s... there was still a common-respect in large parts of society.. kids could be kids .. and all the in-your-face junk that permeates much of the world of kids today was years away...Back on the subject at hand...I watched the DVD (which is nicely loaded with extras) and was surprised by a couple of moments in the film that clearly ...we'll say INFLUENCED.. a certain Mr. Spielberg years later. One involves a menacing object being shown in a rear-view mirror (like Jurassic Park!). The 2nd is when the Winnebago eludes its chasers (I won't say exactly how!).... looking rather similar (shot for shot!) to a scene in E.T. involving a chase and bicycles. (This film is HUGELY suprior to E.T. by the way!)But I don't want to get too bogged down in how other movies clearly ripped this great one off! This film is amazing with it's memorable musical score, acting by Albert and the kids, mystery-unfolding storyline and warm, nicely-done conclusion. The open credit sequence is really good too. Perhaps most of all... it has something that gobs of movies today certainly DO NOT - a great story.I plan to show it to my 5 year old neice this weekend!Enjoy it!"

Two kids searching for home.

M. Jay Babb | Lewiston, ID United States | 10/13/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I just got my DVD copies of both films(This & Return from witch mountain.) This is a very good movie. It's about two kids who have supernatural powers. They can forsee the future, talk to animals, lift things in the air-and jump 15 feet in the air to catch a baseball.However, they don't know how they got these powers. Where they born with these powers? The two kids Tony & Tia(Played by Ike Eisenmann & Kim Richards)are different from the other kids. After a confrontation with Truck(Dermott Downs), They discover a map inside of Tia's star case.After saving the life of a man, he comes and claims to be thier uncle-they are forced to live with him. It turns out that his employer is none other than Mr. Bolt(Ray Miland)who wants to use them for his own ends. Tia smells rotten fish (Try Rotten eggs)-she senses very strongly-that Mr Bolt is not a very nice man and she senses danger if they stay at Mr. Bolt's Mansion.Then, when they dine with Mr. Bolt(I never did say he wasn't a gentleman-just not a very nice one)Mr Bolt tells them that he knows about thier powers and tells them how to make it profitable. After going to another room, Tia & Tony overhear a coversation that MR. Bolt is planning to have them locked away on a deserted island. Tia & Tony then make plans of esacpe.They do escape and are chased till the end of the film. Helping them is a crusty old man Jason O'Day(Well played by Eddie Albert)Who has a winnebego. I must say that the Chemistry between Eisenmann & Richards worked so well, people think they are brother & Sister in real life. They are not related in real life. I think it's the acting talents of these two is what made it work so well. Dirctor John Hough(The legend of hell house)did a remarkable job on this film.The special effects were great for it's time. Some of them were cheezy, but in those days(The 70's)they didn't have computors. But in my opinion, the powers these kids have is not the real story. The real story is that two childern are searching for home, and discovering who they really are. This is the story.The DVD has some special features on it and an audio commentary by Kim & Ike and John Hough. It provides a lot of insight on how the film was made."