Strengths and weaknesses equal fair quality

This movie was originally released in 1975 and Disney is now re-releasing it, coinciding with the semi-remake, Race to Witch Mountain.

Two siblings, Tony and Tia (Ike Eisenmann and Kim Richards), aged about twelve and ten, do not remember their past well. They have grown up as orphans, but now are being adopted by a rich man, Mr. Aristotle Bolt.

Tony and Tia are not your usual children, in ways other than their past history. They are capable of telepathy, telekinesis, and long-distance hearing. They do not know why they are different, but they are, and it does lead to complications. Their abilities are also the reason why the rich man is interested in them, and nurturing is not what he has in mind. Will the kids become pawns for the rich man’s research? Will they find any allies? Will they solve the mystery of their past and learn their true nature?

What I liked about this movie: Escape to Witch Mountain has an interesting premise and interesting characters, based upon the 1968 book by Alexander Key. The child-stars, Ike Eisemann and Kim Richards, are charming, attractive, and easy to like. Ray Milland, as the evil, rich Mr. Bolt, was already a veteran actor when the film was made, and his comfort with being on-screen translates into a very credible villain. Donald Pleasence, as Mr. Bolt’s attorney and right-hand man, and Eddie Albert as the grumpy but big-hearted ally, give equally smooth performances.

What I found lacking in this movie: I felt bad for Ike Eisenmann and Kim Richards. Robert M. Young, who wrote the screenplay, gave them, in my opinion, awkward, stilted, not-credible lines to deliver. I came away with the impression that the dialogue had been written by someone who seldom, if ever, spoke with children of the age portrayed by the two young actors.

I know this movie came out two years before the first Star Wars movie, but the special effects were very, very weak. The spaceship, seen near the end, looks like a hubcap with lights on it, and it wobbles as it flies. While you could not see the strings when Tony and Tia performed their paranormal activities, you could certainly tell that strings were in action. Maybe I am spoiled by today’s computer-generated imagery, but the special effects in the original Star Trek series, which predated this movie by a decade, were better, in my view.

The bonus features on the newly-released “special edition” DVD include pop-up fun facts, a brief documentary on the making of the movie, a discussion with director John Hough, a music video featuring special effects from various Disney films, a short documentary on Disney special effects, a Disney short film called “Pluto’s Dream House,“ a Disney “studio album” for 1975, and audio commentary for the movie.

Of these bonus features, I really liked the short on Pluto’s dream house. It was classic, traditional Disney animation and it was both cute and funny. It showed how dreams can morph into nightmares. I liked the music video on Disney special effects, which was a montage of segments of different movies, including Escape to Witch Mountain and its sequel, Return From Witch Mountain, plus other films, with a brisk, upbeat, slightly eerie musical score.

This DVD was given to me, free, by Disney, in exchange for an honest review.