Walt Disney Studios may be best known for their
animated films that sometimes you can just forget that they have also been
producing live action family films for decades. In many ways there are similar
to their animated brothers in that they have to tread the fine line between
being interesting to the kids while keeping the adults watching with them
suitably engaged. One example of a success in this field is the 1975 movie
‘Escape to Witch Mountain’. The film was originally released as the annual
Disney Easter offering; a perfect time for a family flick since the kids are on
break from school and the parents are going crazy trying to keep them busy.
Admittedly it is not the best of Disney’s live action movies but it does provide
a lot of entertainment and does everything that a family flick is supposed to
accomplish. It has a pair of adorable children as the protagonists guided by a
kindly adult. There is a dastardly villain who is out to capture the kids and
use them for his own evil plans. The film contains age appropriate danger and
excitement without being as violent or scary as to keep the children up with
nightmares. In other words it is fun is a fun and harmless flick that everybody
in the family can get into. The film may lack the charm of something ‘the Absent
Minded Professor’ or the quirkiness of ‘The Shaggy Dog’ but it has more than
enough good points to it. Most of Disney’s live action flicks can be divided
into two categories; science fiction or magic. In this case Sci-Fi is the
properly assigned genre. While this genre is most frequently associated with
more intense stories it has always been a favorite with the younger set. Many of
my peer group from the fifties got their start with literature and movies with
Sci-Fi. There is an inherent sense of wonderment and thrills that makes this
type of story perfect for all ages. Like an animated movie a Sci-Fi flick
doesn’t have to obey the normal rules of the physical universe. It is a lot like
magic in many ways. In fact famous science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke once
noted that any technology beyond our own level of accomplishment would appear
indistinguishable from magic. This also provides a plot device that can help to
bridge the often conflicting expectations of the children and adults. From the
child’s point of view the amazing things that the kids on the movie can do seem
like magic. For the parents there is an intellectually satisfying way out of
such incredible powers that is explained in the context of science fiction. Now
is the perfect time for Disney to revisit this film. They are releasing it and
the first sequel ‘Return to Witch Mountain; on DVD as part of their ‘Family
Classic’ line. It also coincides with the 2009 release of the remake ‘Race to
Witch Mountain.
The story originated with the novel of the same name
by Alexander Key. Fans of the book will have to accept a simple fact of life
that the story in the movie has numerous alterations from the novel. A lot of
people a re prone to complain about this but when you consider that cinema and
literature are two completely different formats for telling a story such
differences are natural. In order toe be true to even a rather simple story line
a film would have to be longer than usual. For a movie primarily geared towards
children this has typically been the kiss of death. It is difficult to get a
child to sit still for over two hours. The writer of the screenplay, Robert M.
Young, understood this and streamlined the story to fit in the 97 minute time
frame. Before working for the Mouse on this story Young had considerable
experience in television. Most of that was in highly successful series that
included ‘Marcus Welby’ and ‘Night Gallery’. The later provided experience with
tales that are more inclined to the paranormal. This story was designed to tug
at the old heart strings. The brother and sister at the center of the action;
Tony (Ike Eisenmann) and Tia Malone (Kim Richards) are orphans. Throughout time
an orphan has been seen as a child deserving of special protection and
assistance. It you want to set up a bad guy just let him go to the local
orphanage to look for kids to exploit.
Directing the movie was John Hough who also had a lot
of previous television experience. In this flick Hough manages a very difficult
task; he holds the narrative of the story together in the midst of child
oriented fantasy. There are so many challenges inherent in a film of this type
that it is amazing that any director would want to take it on. First there are
the children. Bylaw they can only work a couple of hours a day and tutors have
to be on set. There is also a featured role for a bear. When you have to
reconcile the schedule demands of children and animals you have a nightmare of a
project plan going. The last factor adding to the degree of difficulty is the
special effects. This was years before the digital age and the computer
revolution so if you wanted to see a boy fly you had to hook him up to wires and
hope for the best. With all of this working against him Hough did a very good
job of bringing out a workable family movie. He paces the film in such a way as
to not bore the children or adults. We are immediately introduced to the
children and not long afterwards the diabolical plot against them is hatched.
The film moves along peppered with enough action and danger to keep things
interesting.
Tony and Tia are orphans who do not remember much of
their young lives. There are fragments of memories that are more confusing than
helpful. They are also endowed with some very special powers. Tia is clairvoyant
and telepathic. She also has a degree of telekinesis that enables her to move
small objects and manipulate locks and other mechanisms. Her brother Tony also
has telekinesis to a greater degree especially when his focus is added by
playing his harmonica. He can hear Tia’s thoughts but is unable to send her any
mental messages. Tia can also use her mental abilities to control animals that
turns out to be very useful. They have fragments of memories of a ship wreck at
sea and the loss of a dear uncle but little more to inform them of their
origins. The only other clue is the star case which is more of a mystery than
anything else. Their abilities come to the attention of Aristotle Bolt (Ray
Milland) who has an obsession with the occult. He is determined to capture the
kids and use their powers to become even richer and more powerful. The siblings
try to escape by sneaking into an old motor home owned by Jason O'Day (Eddie
Albert). He decides to help them and the chase is on.
The film is enjoyable and well suited to a family
movie night. Just put on the popcorn and sit back. As is typical for a Disney
release there are plenty of extras also included such as a new pop up trivia
section and a look at Disney science fiction. There is also a featurette on the
special effects which may seem dated but this was near state of the art back in
the day.