Customer Reviews

Escape to Witch Mountain [VHS]

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have seen this movie a lot ever since about 1985 on the Disney Channel and I have caught a recent airing of Escape to Witch Mountain and still not got tired of it. I just love this movie, about two psychic alien kids, Tony and Tia, brother and sister who need to find a way to get back home. They were held prisoner by a creep, they escape and then tagged along by a cranky old guy who reluctantly helped them get back home. At the time I first saw it, I just loved the idea of psychic kids who are able to move things by blowing on a harmonica or Tia's ability to predict the future. I am particularly fond of the scene where the RV floated so they could escape being chased by bad guys, and eventually they trick another bad guy in the helicopter to fly upside down, so in the end, he had to land the chopper on top of its rotors (which is physically impossible to do in real life). When I found out this movie was being remade in the 1990s, I had my biggest fears that they would embarass themselves big time with that remake (after all, with too many remakes, they have to make it "hip" for the 1990s by adding rap or alternative rock music to the score and have kids wear baggy pants, but not with this film). Surprisingly that version was well done too and didn't fall in to that trap that I criticize many '90s remakes of 20+ year old films, it was not a copycat of the original with new actors, and a more modern twist, but actually with a different concept (where many different people of different ages were actually aliens). I think what I really like of the 1975 original is the innocence found in the kids that I feel is so sorely missing these days. And that 1978 sequel Return to Witch Mountain was also quite a worthy sequel. If you were a kid who grew up in the 1970s, or you fancy the idea of a movie with psychic kids meant for the whole family, try this, it's one of those few family films that I actually find very watchable and fun.

The original Escape To Witch Mountain (1975) is one of my favorite non-animated Disney movies and also one of my favorite movies about children with magical powers, the other one being Matilda but I think I like this a little bit more. It is about a brother and sister named Tony and Tia played by Ike Eisenmann and Kim Richards who go to live in an orphanage after their adoptive parents die. Tony and Tia have special powers and after a creepy guy discovers their secret he pretends to be their uncle and takes them to live with his boss who is an even bigger creep who wants to use them for his evil plans but they escape with their adorable cat Winky and befriend a grouchy but lonely man named Jason O'Day who helps them get away from the creeps but a big chase ensues and Jason helps them learn the truth about who they are and why they have special powers. Kim Richards, Ike Eisenmann and Eddie Albert are all wonderful and I highly recommend this movie to anyone who likes Disney movies and movies about kids with special powers. Kim Richard's sister Kyle Richards (Alicia Edwards on Little House on The Prairie) has a small don't blink or you will miss me roll as a 3 year old Tia when she and Tony were rescued from the water after the accident at sea. This movie is a gem and I wish that Disney would put it out On DVD!!

When I first saw this movie in the theatre as a child in 1975, I was captivated by its magic. Who wouldn't want to be a kid with the ability to fly, unlock doors, levitate things, and teach bullies a lesson? Now, having recently revisited Witch Mountain on video, the movie still brings back pleasant, familiar emotions -- and as an adult, I find new dimensions to this Disney classic. While kids will appreciate the fantasy/mystery aspect, it also teaches practical values: honesty, integrity, and being true to oneself (among others). This is a perfect family film, and features remarkable performances by Eddie Albert as a grumpy old man whose icy heart is melted by the two young orphans, and Ray Milland who, as always, is a perfectly charming (if scary) villain. It's a shame, though, that the two young stars (Ike Eisenmann and Kim Richards) pretty much disappeared after this film and its sequel; their careers apparently never much got off the ground (although Eisenmann did make a cameo appearance in "Star Trek: Wrath of Khan"), which is a shame because they are both quite talented actors.

Escape To Witch Mounatin is an awesome movie. I tried to read the book the movie got its idaes from but I just couldnt get into it but I love the movie!

Kim Richards is a very good actress and very pretty (I wish I and hair like hers,a nd Iake Eisenman is a a good actor and cute too and I also thought that Kim's little sister Kyle was good too in her brief rool as little Tia and she is pretty.

I have the movie on DVD and I really like it and I recommend it!

FYI: in real life Kim and Kyle Richards are the aunts of Paris and Nicki Hilton. Kim and Kyle's sister Kathy is Paris and Nickie's mother.

This is a great little story about...well I'm not going to tell you, I much rather see you buy it and watch it for yourself. It is a great film, and old disney classic, this is what movie's are all about, it has special effects that were considered impossible back them, but they pulled them off, no fancy computers of CGI and all that stuff, just good ol' fashion moviemaking at it's finest. I treasure this film and it is one of my favorite Disney movies. I miss films like this! Great great family film and very entertaining to watch, kids adore it!

Escape to Witch Mountain is the all time favorite. It's just really good. I especially like Tony, just as well as Tia. But, the book has to be better, even though I haven't read it yet. This movie was especially queer, like the part when Tony beats up this bully guy with no hands. That's one of his tricks. He and his sister, Tia, are supernatural beings who are trying to find out their mysterious past. I really like supernatural stuff, so this movie was particularly good.

My first exposure to the siblings from Witch Mountain was years ago, in watching the sequel Return from Witch Mountain. I loved the film, and was thrilled to discover an earlier film shortly after, Escape to Witch Mountain, which introduces us to Tony and Tia as young children.
I haven't read the book on which this film is based, nor am I likely to, so my review is completely unbiased.
Tony and Tia are two young children whose foster parents have just died. The film begins with their arrival at an orphanage, and it isn't long before we're shown just how different these two children are.
A run-in with the district bully quickly earns them a reputation for 'being a couple of weirdos', but it is in saving the life of a man who would otherwise have been possibly killed in a car accident that their adventures really start.
Claimed as niece and nephew by the very man they saved, they are taken to live in the fortress home of mega-rich Aristotle Bolt, who has been told of the children's gifts and typically wants to exploit them for his own gain.
It doesn't take Tony and Tia long to figure out Bolt's agenda and, after hearing plans to have them locked away in an island tower, they run away with the help of a rogue stallion that no one else was able to tame.
From there, the children soon come across grumpy nomad Jason O'Day, who reluctantly takes them in after they beg him for help.
The rest of the film is probably fairly predictable, given your average Disney plots, but still enjoyable nonetheless. Of course there's going to be a 'happily ever after' (at least until the next movie) but the fun is in seeing how they get there. There are still a few surprises in store before the finish, including an escapee bear, a sheriff who learns the tango the hard way, and a chopper pilot who gets a flying lesson like never before.
Escape to Witch Mountain is thoroughly enjoyable, as is its sequel, and are even better for having Ike Eisemann and Kim Richards play the main characters of Tony and Tia in both films.
On another, distantly related note, Disney did produce another Witch Mountain vignette style show some time later, called Beyond Witch Mountain. The story involved Tony and Tia leaving the Witch Mountain community to find their Uncle Bene's long lost grandson. Bolt and O'Day were both along for the ride, but this was not a patch on the two proper movies, and really shouldn't have been made. Especially since it was meant to be just recently after Tony and Tia found their way to Witch Mountain in the first place, and it portrayed Uncle Bene as dying. (Anyone who has seen Return from Witch Mountain knows full well that Uncle Bene was alive and well in that film, and Tony and Tia were bordering on teenhood, by then)
At the end of this particular episode, Tony and Tia also decide to stay away from Witch Mountain, and go with O'Day to continue searching for survivors. As anyone who has watched the two movies would know, their 'holiday' in the second film was supposed to be their first trip away from the mountain community since their original rescue from the clutches of Aristotle Bolt.
I'm aware that some people have been searching for this particular installment. My advice is, don't bother. It does not fit in with the sequence of films, and does not even have the benefit of the original child actors.
Stick with the excellent and unsurpassed Escape to Witch Mountain, and Return from Witch Mountain. These are fantastic films, and worth every cent.

Tia and Tony are nice twins and they have very special powers.

I thought that it was really cool how they could do things like unlock doors that are locked outside when they didn't have the key.

There were these really fast dogs and they ran faster and they were just jogging.

I liked the rooms they got, but I hate that bad man who gave them the rooms. He was trying to steal their powers, but they didn't want him to, so they used their powers to run away to find their uncle.

Escape to Witch Mountain is a wonderful movie about 2 super natural kids named Tony and Tia.This movie is about Tony and Tia adventure as they try to find their "people" with the map in Tia's star case.With the help of Jake O'Day and the black cat,Winky they will began the search for their people.Bring this adventure into your home and enjoy this movie that will be talked about for a life time or more.

This is one of my all-time favorite movies. I remember when it came out in theatres, and I had already read the book 15 times! Granted, if Disney had stayed true to the book version, it would have been much better,but I still loved the movie very much. I wish Disney would do a book-accurate remake, using today's special effects, etc. The TV remakes were a little disappointing. This movie is and always will be a favorite.