- Title: Escape to Witch Mountain
- IMDb: link
Throwback Tuesday takes us back 50 years to the Disney adaptation of Alexander H. Key’s novel. The film, which whitewashes the protagonists and tones down the violence for a younger audience, is an odd tale of two orphans (Kim Richards and Ike Eisenmann) with paranormal powers who are adopted by rich industrialist Aristotle Bolt (Ray Milland) obsessed with the subject. Bolt’s interest in them causes the pair to flee to a spot known for bizarre phenomena called Witch Mountain. Eventually revealed to be extraterrestrial witches, the two kids are reunited with their people at the end of the film flying back into space.
Definitely fitting into the classic Disney kiddie film mode, with a huge helping of 70s style, Escape to Witch Mountain is mostly notable for the old school effects used to showcase the siblings powers (such as those used against bullies or to help those in danger which lead to the pair being noticed by Bolt’s henchman played by Donald Pleasence).
From a nostalgic point of view there’s some fun here, especially for younger viewers, although I’ll admit to a wanning interest over the film’s last half-hour. Despite the pair leaving the Earth at the end of the film, aboard a flying saucer, Escape to Witch Mountain would spawn two sequels over the next seven years along with two later attempts to pump new blood into the franchise without much success. More of a curiosity than anything else, the film is currently available to stream on Disney+ (who also briefly considered rebooting the franchise as a streaming series).
