Internet Movie Database Movie Reviews
From the book of the same name by Alexander Key.
There’s a SPOILER at the end, if you care.
It was time for the New Year’s Day Moviefest (this years theme: WITCHES) and I picked this as one of the possibles; I am so glad that we drew it from the Bowl of Movies to watch! (New Year’s Day movies are drawn randomly, we usually start with eight movies and watch five or six.)
I loved this book as a young Otter; I remember reading it over and over and over. There was a sequel, Return from Witch Mountain, but it wasn’t as good. This one was a real favorite.
I was 16 when the movie came out, though, and not only was I too old to go see a Disney live-action kids’ movie, but I really didn’t want to; I figured it wouldn’t be as good as the book had been, and didn’t want to be disappointed.
So I was pleased when we invited a lot of people to the moviefest, and several of them said, Oooh, you’re showing Escape to Witch Mountain, that was one of my favorites when I was a kid!
And it was good! The kids were cute, in that wholesome Disney way. The cat (I had completely forgotten about the cat) was great, and Eddie Albert curmudgeoned like a pro, although you could see his soft marshmallowy insides the whole time.
The writing and acting were good, and the special effects, although dated, were fun.
A very enjoyable return to my youth, even though, as Spider Jerusalem pointed out, the only connection to witches this movie had was the title; the kids are actually stranded aliens. But the title was enough to count for the day, and it was a great addition.
theotterlimits 