Alexander Key's popular pre-teen novel concerns two orphaned siblings with supernatural powers taken in by a nefarious millionaire (named Aristotle Bolt!) who wants to exploit their magical abilities for personal gain. Top-notch Walt Disney adventure for families has natural, non-precocious performances from young Ike Eisenmann and Kim Richards as the gifted kids, and their friendship with good-hearted traveler Eddie Albert is sweet but not sticky. The eerie flashbacks to the youngsters' early beginnings are well-captured by director John Hough, who is otherwise forced (perhaps for budgetary reasons) to skimp on genuine atmosphere in place of an elongated chase. Too bad the finale replaces emotion with effects, as these characters are quite remarkable. Followed by a fairly wan sequel, 1978's "Return From Witch Mountain", in which the special effects became the whole show. **1/2 from ****

While not perfect, this Disney sci-fi drama is one of their better films of the 70s. Some of the special effects may be dated by today's standards, but some weren't that bad, and the film does meander towards the end. But essentially this film is really quite charming, with a nice story, lovely music and a well written narrative. The direction is also good, and the cinematography is on the most part beautiful. But it is the performances that make Escape to Witch Mountain worth watching. Kim Richards and Ike Eisenmann are surprisingly good as Tia and Tony, while Donald Pleasance is a very good Lucas Deranian. It is Ray Milland who steals the show though, in a deliciously evil performance as Aristotle Bolt. Aside from the performances, this movie does have a lot of nostalgic value that holds up on repeated viewings. Followed by a follow-up movie Return from Witch Mountain and an inferior but average 1995 remake this is a very nice film that has enough thrills to delight kids and adults. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Having seen the new version of this film recently ("Race to Witch Mountain"),I cannot tell you how much of a pleasant surprise "Escape to Witch Mountain" was to me. The new version, in my opinion, lacks any kind of character development and is full of annoying characters that do nothing to help the movie. Essentially, the new version basically did away with the first 45 minutes or so of this film, which helped set up the story, develop the characters, and give us a better sense of why the kids are running away. Also, Dwayne Johnson is incredibly lacking in emotion and character compared to Eddie Albert in this movie. While I admit that most of the special effects in this film may seem cheesy by today's standards, they actually make the film even more fun to laugh at. This film came out of a couple of decades when Disney was at its height of live action movies, when even film of this type they turned out was at least worthwhile. This is an enjoyable movie, with good jobs of acting done by basically all of the characters. Appropriate for anyone in the family, exciting, funny, and likable.

***1/2 out of ****