Escape To Witch Mountain [DVD]

Brother and sister, Tony and Tia Malone are young orphans with psychic powers. Aristotle Bolt (Ray Milland) is a nasty millionaire who hears of the children’s talents and decides to trap them so he can he use their powers for his own evil doings. But the children manage to escape his clutches and while doing so they makes friends with a camper and the secrets of their past and how they have their psychic ability are brought to light. However soon the local people in the town are on the rampage after them – branding them as witches and running them out of town for the unusual occurences they have brought about. Then someone with greater powers than theirs takes hold – and the experience is truly marvellous!
The effects are low-tech and no longer special, but Escape to Witch Mountain still has plenty of Disney live-action charm. It’s rather quaint by later standards, coming just two years before Star Wars upped the ante on movie magic, but the story’s got timeless appeal as a precursor to Harry Potter’s more lavish brand of kid-wizardry. Here you’ve got Tony (Ike Eisenmann) and sister Tia (Kim Richards), orphans unaware of their mysterious past, who are taken in by a nefarious liar (Ray Milland) seeking to exploit their supernatural powers. Populated by ’70s stalwarts like Donald Pleasance and Eddie Albert (the latter playing the kids’ grown-up accomplice, unwittingly rescuing them from Milland), this lightweight Disney fare is perfect for kids under 10, with such enticements as a clever cat mascot named Winky (because he winks a lot), Tony’s magical harmonica… and a Winnebago that flies! With a sci-fi climax, this popular hocus-pocus spawned a 1978 sequel (Return from Witch Mountain) that proved similarly popular with kids. –Jeff Shannon