Dir. Andy Fickman, USA , 2009, 98 mins
Cast. Dwayne Johnson, Anna Sophia Rob b, Alexander Ludwig, Carla Gugino
Review by Michelle Moore
A new development in recent years has been the concept of re-imaging films, as film makers call it, when making a new instalment of an old favourite many years later rather than revisiting the old story lines. Never did I think the 1975 classic Escape to Witch Mountain would be one of them.
The tale of Witch Mountain and the aliens dates back longer than I have been on this planet. In the original stories two very intelligent young children named Tia and Tony find help in locating Witch Mountain and a way back to their home planet, later returning for a visit. Race to Witch Mountain sees two more young children, Sarah and Seth coming to Earth to retrieve a gadget that will help save their planet. Things are never simple though and a Siphon, a creature built to destroy a specific target, has been sent to destroy the children, so the aliens can invade Earth and claim it as their own.
I loved the stories of Witch Mountain when I saw them as a child, so was a little concerned with the result a modern revamp may have. However there is a real buzz around this film and it had me tingling all over from the first explosion to the last. In comparison to the subtlety of the first two films, which was mainly due to the era in which they were made, this one is explosive, full of gunfire and car chases and action packed. This may seem a little advanced for a children's flick and may shock some parents at first, but when seen in its entirety, the explosions and chaos build up a satisfying suspense, which makes it worth watching and enjoyable. The opening with clippings about various UFO sightings seems pretty realistic and similar to something you would catch Mulder and Scully looking into. It gets adults in the mood for an alien investigation and what follows gets the heart pumping twice as fast as normal.
The abilities the children present are basic telekinesis and telepathy for Sarah, whereas Seth's ability is much more complicated; he is able to change his molecular structure to move through objects and become basically invincible - nifty abilities, which give children the opportunity to dream about being super human, which we all know they love to do.
This is not Johnson's first Disney appearance as he was in The Game Plan , but this one seems to suit his personality much more; always on the move, getting into trouble and wrecking cars . Stars of the original 1975 movie, Kim Richards (Tia) and Ike Eisenmann (Tony) make cameo appearances. I was hoping they were going to recapture their previous characters and return as family of the young visiting children, but sadly they do not.
I had my doubts about re-imaging the Witch Mountain stories but Director Andy Fickman has done wonders and really bought the characters to life and the story to a state easily understood by the young and enjoyable to any age. It is time to share one of your favourite childhood movies with your children and there is no better way than heading out to see Race To Witch Mountain .
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