Return from Witch Mountain

source: Return from Witch Mountain

SF-kidsmovie with cartoonish quality, lots of action and some painfully dated special effects. Pretty entertaining, but not quite the material for a screen legend. To see Bette Davis in other post-Baby Jane roles, more worthy of her talent, watch ´Death on the Nile´ (1978) and ´Whales of August´ (1988).

Disney fantasy full of adventure , tension , intrigue and spectacular images . Engaging Walt Disney Sci-Fi/fantasy in which we meet Tony (Ike Eisenmann , in 2009 recent version played by Alexander Ludwig ) and Tia ( Kim Richards , subsequently performed by Anna Rob ) as they are arriving along with their uncle (Denver Pyle) in a flying saucer at a stadium called Rose Bowl . They have special telekinetic powers which make getting along with the rest of the kids difficult . After that , the clairvoyant kids with special powers meet a Cabman getting into a car across the streets . Some baddies discover their supernatural powers and effect they can have on humans while the children being pursued . As Tony is abducted by the evil Dr. Gannon (Christopher Lee), his spinster pal Letha (Bette Davis) and hoodlum (Anthony James) who want to use his powers for his own objectives . Gannon puts him an artifact into the neck that allows him to control Tony's brain . As Tony will brainwashed into helping them commit several crimes , hoping to put his special faculties to evil . This mystery-fantasy is packed with amusing action , thrills, suspense and spectacular scenes with abundant but primitive effects. The two children with mysterious powers played by Kim Richards and Ike Eisenmann are enjoyable and phenomenal , as always , Christopher Lee as mean villain and likable Bette Davis as old nasty . The picture results to be the sequel to ¨Escape to Witch mountain (1978)¨ also by John Hough that holds a recent take on titled ¨ Race to witch mountain (2009)¨ with The Rock , Carla Gugino and Ciaran Hinds as government agent and as homage to former adaptation appears Kim Richards as Sara and Ike Isenmann as sheriff in a brief roles . This funny picture is well directed by John Hough . He has an eclectic and long filmmaker career , beginning in television series ( Avengers, Protectors , The champions ) , making Hammer film (Twins of evil) , classic terror ( Legend of hell house ) , average horror movies ( Howling IV, American Gothic, Incubus ) , adventures ( Island of treasure, Black arrow ) until wholesome Disney family fare ( The watcher in the woods , Return and escape to witch mountain) . The flick will appeal to Disney film buffs and wholesome entertainment enthusiasts . A good children's film with acceptable special effects by that time though nowadays corny . The motion picture is professionally made though with no originality because being a simple remake , being an agreeable fun from Walt Disney productions .

When I heard that there was a sequel to the charming 1975 film, I was a little worried. But after seeing it, I enjoyed the film. The effects are outdated, the plot is nothing particularly special and the script has some weak spots. But it is definitely worth watching, as the film skips along nicely, is well directed and there are some humorous scenes with the juvenile group. Not to mention the lively car chase. But the acting is the best asset of this film. Jack Soo is hilarious in his supporting role and Kim Richards and Ike Eisenmann reprise their roles and very well might I add. Christopher Lee is a finely sinister lead villain, but it is the legendary Bette Davis's picture all the way, as the actress brings a touch of colour into a film that could have easily been bland, and with that colour it made the film worth watching. 7/10 Bethany Cox

What a disappointment! Dull, uninteresting, unfunny, and badly acted by all - including Davis and Lee. The first film was a nicely-constructed fun light comedy only marred by Eisenmann's complete inability to act (I'd love to know how he was picked for these films - did they just pluck him off the street?) As a homeschooling family, we did get one good laugh at the warning given by the truant officer: a child can either go to school or "become a bum" - no other choice! Now that there are millions of homeschoolers, we shouldn't see that ignorant belief voiced in any more films, at least. Sequels are rarely as good as the original, but this film could hardly have been any worse. Save your sanity and skip this one.

"Escape to Witch Mountain" is not a perfect movie, but has a good plot, well-developed characters, and beautiful scenery. "Return from Witch Mountain", unfortunately, has none of those. In this contrived sequel, Tony and Tia are left to fend for themselves while on vacation in Los Angeles (all the better to save on the budget!), where they become mixed up with a mad scientist (Christopher Lee), his partner (Bette Davis), and various other Disney stock characters. What charms the original had are completely absent from this sequel, which seems to borrow every cliché from the scores of middling-to-bad Disney movies which littered the movie landscape in the 1970s. Much of the dialog is cringe-worthy; you'll actually be embarrassed watching it. You're better off re-watching the original.

What was mildly entertaining in Escape to Witch Mountain turns into patently stupid and mind-numbingly ridiculous in its sequel, Return from Witch Mountain. The principle characters, two kids with an earnest lack of skill, named Ike Eisenmann and Kim Richards return to dazzle us with their ability to read lines and stand where directed, but the real excitement is how many wheezy Disney-fied clichés--cute critters, stereotypical cab drivers, harried cops, and megalomaniacal mad scientists--can feed into this dull, under-plotted kiddie flick. Christopher Lee, the mad scientist and his compatriot, Bette Davis, are involved in some sort of mind-controlling, plutonium-stealing plot to make Lee famous and Davis rich. They kidnap one of the kids and the other kid uses telepathy to find the first kid and . . . why am I writing this? I don't care. Christopher Lee is still making movies and being cool. Davis is as dead as the careers of the two kids who are now, respectively, 44 and 42. By the end of the movie, the good guys have won (ohmigosh, now there's a headline!), the baddies are suspended in on a scaffold (highly comical, eh?), and a truant officer, played by Jack Soo, gets to transport the heroic mini-gang of kiddies--who helped Eisenmann and Richards--back to school in his bright and shiny Ford Econoline van. If none of this makes sense, don't worry your head about it. Neither does the movie.

"Escape" was better for the way it dealt with serious issues like prejudice and family tragedy. Tia is taken in by a fun-loving street gang and Tony is taken in by a typical Disney-type group of villains including Bette Davis and Christopher Lee. As an adolescent, I fell in love with Kim Richards after watching this movie, but that may be its only redeeming quality.

Disney's sequel to 1975's "Escape From Witch Mountain" scuttles all interest in its teen characters, Tony and Tia (the returning Ike Eisenmann and Kim Richards), for the sake of jazzier special effects. The kids return to Earth from outer space, where Tony is kidnapped by villains Bette Davis and Christopher Lee (and their chauffeur, Anthony James, who earlier played chauffeur in "Burnt Offerings"). Terrific cast, well-enough made, but the movie loses sight of what was so special about the first film: a kids' flick with the emphasis on character, not outlandish effects. Davis is alert and anxious, but she's practically smothered under her gaudy make-up job; Christopher Lee unceremoniously blends into the background without much of a character to play (it's easy to forget he's even in the picture). The plotting gets too heavy, what with Los Angeles about to be decimated and delinquent children running amok, but the worst decision was to separate the siblings for much of the movie. Jack Soo does nice work in a supporting bit, and there's also a goat who nearly saves the day. *1/2 from ****

I saw this film when I was about 10 years old and loved it. Now 30 years on, it is still one of my favourite films. I have just bought both 'Escape to witch mountain & Return from witch mountain for my kids as they love it as well. They sure don't make good old movies like this now.These films are a must when they are shown on TV. There are no swear words or violence which makes them suitable for all the family whatever the ages. Good family fun. My mum took me to the pictures to see this film and I always wanted to have 'powers' like Tony & Tia. Mind you the child in me still does. Perhaps thats why I have a passion for anything supernatural now.