I absolutely loved this movie. I saw it when I was much younger. It certainly left a good impression on me. i have been searching for this movie on video for the last 5 years. I used to watch it on the Disney channel all the time. It's a great movie about a set of twins trying to find each other. they are from another planet and they try to find away home. it's weird that all the twins are either girl, girl or boy boy. but the main characters are a boy and a girl. it has a villain that happens to be like a billionaire. and his butler, there's a surprising twist there. any way i highly recommend this movie it is absolutely fantastic. but hey thats just my opinion. and i also haven't seen the movie in years but i know it was a great movie.
32 Reviews
It was pretty good
vampsf19 July 2006
This version of this movie was pretty good. It was a different kind of take on it. As to the comment that one person made about the previous film; it was made in 1975, not the 50's. If you're going to comment on something, know what you're talking about it. The kids' acting could have been a little bit better, but look at how young they are. It was the beginning of most of their careers. Most kids that age don't have the experience to be perfect actors. Cut them some slack. For a TV movie, it was pretty good. The special effects for this were pretty good. The script kept you interested and wanting more. People always seem to be expect movie quality from TV movies, that's just not that realistic. They don't have that kind of budget.
Rather average, but has some good performances
TheLittleSongbird1 April 2010
The 1975 version was a charming film, so the writers here had a hard feat to make this 1995 TV remake as good. Surprisingly, it is not as good, to be honest I found it rather average, but it does have some redeeming merits. The obvious plus is the cast, Elizabeth Moss and Erik Von Detten are appealing as Danny and Anna, and Robert Vaughn while not as malevolent as Ray Milland is suitably nasty as Edward Bolt. Among them and doing more than adequately are Brad Dourif, Henry Gibson and Vincent Shiavelli. The film is nicely shot, Bolt's house looks amazing and the special effects are decent for a TV movie. However, the script is weak and the plot is formulaic in a lot of places. Consequently it lacked the charm of the 1975 film. Also for an 87 minute film, it is rather short, so the character development wasn't particularly that strong. Though Danny and Anna's chemistry was believable enough, the music was lovely and the ending had a sense of poignancy. Overall, not great but not a complete time-waster. 5/10 Bethany Cox
so much better than 1st
oliviabonevento28 October 2007
It is so much better than the 1st! I loved Anna and Danny's relationship! It was so good. The characters were so much better! They should do a sequel to this.... It is so awesome (I'm not allowed to long word, just ad like 40 s's to that) awesome! I recommend to anyone who liked the first, or the second, old one. I heard their doing a remake. i doubt it will be better than this though. I loved it!!! The boy was adorable, the girl was great too. Same concept as the first, but it was still a lot better. The plot was good, I loved Xander he was awesome. That man was horrible, I swear I thought Anna would die in that cave. lol! it was great
While it lacks the theatrical polish of the original Escape to Witch Mountain, this '95 remake updates the material while staying reasonably faithful.
IonicBreezeMachine29 October 2021
At an isolated smalltown diner near Witch Mountain, two babies, Anna and Danny, appear out of nowhere bathed in purple light with the only witnesses waitress Zoe Moon (Perrey Reeves) and a mute hermit (Brad Dourif) who separates the two by putting Anna on a nearby delivery truck. Nine years later Danny (Erik von Detten) has bounced from foster home to foster home and ended up at a children's home where he is reunited by chance with his sister Anna (Elisabeth Moss). The two eventually discover they have inexplicable powers that are amplified when they're in proximity to one another. When local magnate, Edward Bolt (Robert Vaughn), makes a publicity visit to the orphanage Anna and Danny save Bolt through their premonitions by helping him avoid a collision with a runaway truck. Bolt sees their powers as an opportunity to attain greater wealth and seeks to gain control of them. Meanwhile, Zoe Moon continues to search for the mysterious twins all these years later, with a mysterious man in purple (Vincent Schiavelli) knowing much more than he lets on.
The third of a wave of four made for TV remakes of Disney films in 1995 (The Shaggy Dog, The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, and Freaky Friday being the others). Escape to Witch Mountain is a remake of the 1975 John Hough movie of the same name. Written and directed by Peter Rader whose prior credits include directing B-movie horror and action with Grandmother's House and Hired to Kill as well as a co-writer on the movie Waterworld. Escape to Witch Mountain '95 follows the plot of the original '75 film relatively closely, but does make some adjustments the material to account for audience tastes at the time such as Twin Peaks, Eerie Indiana, Quantum Leap or various other sci-fi/fantasy shows of the 90s. Escape to Witch Mountain probably didn't strictly speaking need to be made, but despite the inherent limitations with TV movies this is actually pretty decent and even improves on issues I'd had with the original.
The casting is really on point as the filmmakers have assembled a really strong team of child and character actors to support the film. Elisabeth Moss and Erik von Detten are really good as Anna and Danny respectively and you do buy their relationship as long lost brother and sister. Robert Vaughn is also quite good as Edward Bolt playing a reimagined version of the character Aristotle Bolt played by Ray Milland in the original and while still adding a bit of camp to his performance (as expected) there are moments where Vaughn does get fairly intimidating. Brad Dourif is also fun playing against type in a dual rule as both a lonely mountain man, Burno and Bolt's put upon reluctant henchman/chauffeur, Luthor. Dourif has always been a strong character but has often found himself playing villain roles (quite well, no question there) so it's nice to see him stretch his legs in something he's not regularly associated with. For the most part Dourif does quite well even if the comedy is very broad and doesn't play to his strengths (particularly in the Luthor role).
Story wise most of the plot is fairly similar to the original with the children being adopted by Bolt and seemingly given everything they desire, only to realize there's something amiss and going on the titular escape. The movie does do some new things such as separating the twins for 9 years which creates a rift in their relationship and the characters have more friction here than they did in the original film making the drama more engaging. The stock bully character from the original film (who was named Truck if memory serves) has also been retooled as Xander played by Sam Horrigan who is more expanded here becoming an ally for the two and now has feelings for Anna. The movie also feels like it's more well-constructed in terms of building its mystery so the conclusion feels more natural than the "flying saucer" even if the ending maybe goes a tad too melodramatic for my tastes.
Despite being a TV movie, the 1995 remake of Escape To Witch Mountain has a good cast and solid writing/direction by Peter Rader keeping the spirit of the original while adding a contemporary spin on the material. While the movie is smaller in scope and scale thanks to its TV budget, it gives more weight to character and drama to make up for its lack of effects work. It's honestly a shame this isn't available on home video alongside other entries in the series.
The third of a wave of four made for TV remakes of Disney films in 1995 (The Shaggy Dog, The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, and Freaky Friday being the others). Escape to Witch Mountain is a remake of the 1975 John Hough movie of the same name. Written and directed by Peter Rader whose prior credits include directing B-movie horror and action with Grandmother's House and Hired to Kill as well as a co-writer on the movie Waterworld. Escape to Witch Mountain '95 follows the plot of the original '75 film relatively closely, but does make some adjustments the material to account for audience tastes at the time such as Twin Peaks, Eerie Indiana, Quantum Leap or various other sci-fi/fantasy shows of the 90s. Escape to Witch Mountain probably didn't strictly speaking need to be made, but despite the inherent limitations with TV movies this is actually pretty decent and even improves on issues I'd had with the original.
The casting is really on point as the filmmakers have assembled a really strong team of child and character actors to support the film. Elisabeth Moss and Erik von Detten are really good as Anna and Danny respectively and you do buy their relationship as long lost brother and sister. Robert Vaughn is also quite good as Edward Bolt playing a reimagined version of the character Aristotle Bolt played by Ray Milland in the original and while still adding a bit of camp to his performance (as expected) there are moments where Vaughn does get fairly intimidating. Brad Dourif is also fun playing against type in a dual rule as both a lonely mountain man, Burno and Bolt's put upon reluctant henchman/chauffeur, Luthor. Dourif has always been a strong character but has often found himself playing villain roles (quite well, no question there) so it's nice to see him stretch his legs in something he's not regularly associated with. For the most part Dourif does quite well even if the comedy is very broad and doesn't play to his strengths (particularly in the Luthor role).
Story wise most of the plot is fairly similar to the original with the children being adopted by Bolt and seemingly given everything they desire, only to realize there's something amiss and going on the titular escape. The movie does do some new things such as separating the twins for 9 years which creates a rift in their relationship and the characters have more friction here than they did in the original film making the drama more engaging. The stock bully character from the original film (who was named Truck if memory serves) has also been retooled as Xander played by Sam Horrigan who is more expanded here becoming an ally for the two and now has feelings for Anna. The movie also feels like it's more well-constructed in terms of building its mystery so the conclusion feels more natural than the "flying saucer" even if the ending maybe goes a tad too melodramatic for my tastes.
Despite being a TV movie, the 1995 remake of Escape To Witch Mountain has a good cast and solid writing/direction by Peter Rader keeping the spirit of the original while adding a contemporary spin on the material. While the movie is smaller in scope and scale thanks to its TV budget, it gives more weight to character and drama to make up for its lack of effects work. It's honestly a shame this isn't available on home video alongside other entries in the series.
Horrible
Sparrow_in_flight20 August 2003
What can I say? This is a failed Disney remake. When movies are remade, that does not mean change the plot into a pile of mumbo jumbo that doesn't fully make sense. I've never figured out why the purple light was so important, though they gave a reason. The only decent parts were throwbacks to the GOOD version, such as the horse.
Oldie and a goodie
taranichols-8566120 September 2019
Screenplay Couldn't Be Saved by Decent Acting
KCS8225 July 2000
As much as one wants to try to forgive family oriented films for having implausible, ridiculous storylines, this film was so poorly written that even fairly good performances by the actors cannot raise it above the ranks of a simply poor movie. While (younger) children may enjoy the magic and fantasy elements, older audiences and parents can easily afford to leave the room.
I absolutely Love the Disney's TV movies!!!!
branhams11 October 2019
Robert Vaughn, what were you thinking of?!
wristwatchraver-121 October 2006
Could someone inform me what was the point of this movie? Any fan of the original should steer well clear! The story was shoddy and Robert Vaughn was unusually an unconvincing villain. This had none of the punch and believability of the original. The original is miles better. Respects to all the participants and I suppose they must've done their best but to all those fans of Tony and Tia (myself included) give it a miss. If you haven't seen the original then perhaps you might find some merit in this but I don't! I didn't think movies could be this bad (and I've seen Showgirls!) I was horrified the last of The Magnificent Seven, the god-like Robert Vaughn would lower himself to be in something as bad as this. He should've stuck to cowboy's and Napoleon Solo!
Awesome!
feathers_20086 August 2004
I really enjoyed watching this movie when I was seven years old, and I have been looking for this movie for a long time. Other people don't like this movie, but I really liked because of the special effects. I thought that the original movie was all right but not as good as the remake. The purple light was a really really good special effect. I liked the purple store even though I haven't seen the movie in a long long time. I found this movie the other day when i was looking up a character that played Edward Bolt, and I was very glad that I found this movie. This movie means something to me because if it didn't, I wouldn't have spent all this time to find the movie.
I recommend that you watch it if you love watching Disney channel.
I recommend that you watch it if you love watching Disney channel.
My vote watch the first one.
cyuskus15 April 2006
The effects were better, but the plot sucked. The original was WAY BETTER. As a kid I rented the movie so much that I practically bought it ten times over. I was excited to see that they did a remake only to be disappointed that the plot, there wasn't any. It was such a bummer, but at least now I do have the original movie that I can see as often as I like. I felt that the remake stuck with the original plot line as much as an orange is an apple. A lot of the message that they were trying to tell was lost, and the depth of characters, .... what depth? It was like looking at the new breezy my little ponies, when the flutter ones are where it's at.
Very fun!
chaze_r28 April 2000
This made for TV flick that can often be seen on the Disney Channel was a real treat. It's based on the 1975 Escape to Witch Mountain, but it's got new special effects. I liked this one better than the first. The acting is much better and special effects are far, far improved. Robert Vaughn plays the part of an evil millionaire who wants to use two twins that have magical powers for his own gain. They are called by an unknown force to Witch Mountain for an unknown reason. Check it out! It's really fun to watch!
not a good movie
TiggerRoo3 September 2007
I didn't like this movie I am not going to rant and rave, but just lets say I read the book and there is nothing in this movie that in the book at least nothing I can remember reading..... if you want a movie that more to the book watch the 70's version it waaaaay better.
I think there only thing that is in the book are it about a girl/boy set of twins that are magical and they start out in a group foster home and run away to follow there "feelings' of others like them out there. Oh and there is a bully in the Foster home..... all in all the movie should not have been named escape from witch mountain due to its a completely different story from the book....
"To enjoy the rainbow.... you must get through the rain"
I think there only thing that is in the book are it about a girl/boy set of twins that are magical and they start out in a group foster home and run away to follow there "feelings' of others like them out there. Oh and there is a bully in the Foster home..... all in all the movie should not have been named escape from witch mountain due to its a completely different story from the book....
"To enjoy the rainbow.... you must get through the rain"
Escape to Witch Mountain
pebbles_4life5 July 2005
Escape to witch mountain (1995) was one of my favorite movies. i'm kinda upset that most people find it a horrible movie. if this is not a good movie then i don't know what is. i still remember my friends and i would play scenes from the movie. so i'm not the only one that enjoyed the movie. there are still people out there that would still enjoy it. plus it's a great movie for little kids. there is probably no doubt that kids all over the world would watch this. if only this movie would come back on the Disney Channel. most people forget about the movie now because it hasn't been around since it was released on TV, but i haven't. even now i would still watch it over and over again.
Escape to Witch Mountain
jboothmillard17 June 2005
Warning: Spoilers
I saw the original 1975 Disney film when I was a kid, and enjoyed it a few times, and obviously the reasonable sequel Return from..., and before the modern remake Race to... with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, I saw this remake, made for TV. Basically, Zoe Moon (Child's Play 3's Perrey Reeves) sees a mysterious beam of purple light come from Witch Mountain, two magical babies are in this light, but they wind up separated. A few years later, these children have grown up, Danny (Erik Von Detten, the voice of Sid in Toy Story) and Anna (The Handmaid's Tale and Top of the Lake star Elisabeth Moss) are in an orphanage together, and it is there they find out they are related. The brother and sister also rediscover their powers, to manipulate the purple light, giving them the ability to communicate telepathically, and move objects. Local magnate Edward Bolt (Robert Vaughn) is witness to one of these powers, when Anna saves him from being hit in his car by a colliding truck. Mr. Bolt decides to adopt Anna and Danny, giving them a new home, and tries to make them use their powers to his advantage, While Danny initially trusts Mr. Bolt, Anna sees his nasty motives. They realise his true nastiness when they refuse to show their powers, and are chained up until they will do so. Luckily, they are rescued by Xander (Sam Horrigan), who has a crush on Anna. Mr. Bolt's loyal but eventually changed chauffeur Luthor (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest's Brad Dourif) tries to stop them, but they escape the mansion on formerly aggressive horse Thunderbolt. They go to the store of knowledgeable Waldo Fudd (Ghost's Vincent Schiavelli), who teaches them that they and everybody comes from a parallel dimension. They comes from a planet just like Earth, but everyone has a twin, but they have all lost touch with the light. Anna and Danny head to Witch Mountain, aided by hermit Bruno (also Dourif) and Zoe. Using the power of the light, the group manage to get to the top of the mountain, while Mr. Bolt is arrested. Xander, Zoe and Sheriff Bronson (Kevin Tighe) watch as many people enter a giant beam of purple light. One by one, the people connect hands and rise into the air, and disappear to be transported into the other world. Bruno and Luthor discover they are separated twins and also go into the light. Anna and Danny are the last to be teleported. Also starring Lynne Moody as Lindsay Brown, Lauren Tom as Claudia Ford, Henry Gibson as Ravetch and Bobby Motown as Skeeto. The performances by Von Detten and young Moss are alright, Vaughn is okay as the villain, Schiavelli is relatively likeable being eccentric, and support from Dourif and Tighe are fine, the less said about Reeves the better. The story is essentially the same as the original, two humanoid alien children travelling to get back home, and a millionaire villain trying to exploit them. But the special effects are terrible, the dialogue and script is overly cheesy, you can just tell that it is a television made movie, a silly and not that worthwhile family adventure. Adequate!
Good for younger kids but that's about it
Willow1928 April 2001
This was one of those cheesy kind of movies that little kids who know no better will enjoy. Based on the original 'Escape to Witch Mountain' this one just doesn't deliver the same as the original. Sure the effects are better, the color looks crisper, and most of the actors are pretty good. But none of that could save this movie from an incredibly unbelievable script and horrible direction. The first movie was more believable than this. The whole 'purple power' was incredibly stupid and unimaginative. Watch the first one, it's way better than this piece of garbage. On the upside...The money hungry adoptive father does a pretty fine job and the kid that plays Xander is kind of cute...::wink wink::
Has absolutely nothing to do with the book, and little to do with the original film
Ardath_Rekha10 March 2012
As a grade-school child, I had watched (and been impressed by) the original '70s film version of Escape to Witch Mountain. I liked it enough that I went to the library and borrowed the original book by Alexander Key, and then kept checking it out until my parents finally decided that they should buy me my own copy. After several readings I had decided that, cute as the Disney film was, it had missed most of the crucial points of the book and hadn't even bothered to convey any of the depths that existed within it -- and which were well within the abilities of kids to comprehend -- and I started hoping that someone would remake it and "do it right." The 1995 remake emphatically didn't.
For someone who never saw the original film, much less read the book it's all purportedly based on, this might be a charming piece of fluff. But as a big fan of the original book, I was beyond disappointed and well into appalled and disgusted after watching the TV movie. Absolutely nothing remained of the original plot. Nothing. Not even character names had been preserved. Most of the scenes that the film had in common with its predecessor were fluffy add-ons that never even occurred in the book at all, so it was painfully obvious that nobody involved in producing this thing had ever bothered to crack open the book and see what was actually there. So do yourself a favor and just read the book yourself, in favor of trying to find this schlock. You'll get a story that makes actual sense, that way.
For someone who never saw the original film, much less read the book it's all purportedly based on, this might be a charming piece of fluff. But as a big fan of the original book, I was beyond disappointed and well into appalled and disgusted after watching the TV movie. Absolutely nothing remained of the original plot. Nothing. Not even character names had been preserved. Most of the scenes that the film had in common with its predecessor were fluffy add-ons that never even occurred in the book at all, so it was painfully obvious that nobody involved in producing this thing had ever bothered to crack open the book and see what was actually there. So do yourself a favor and just read the book yourself, in favor of trying to find this schlock. You'll get a story that makes actual sense, that way.
Excellent
boxerpuppyluver19 March 2005
Warning: Spoilers
I saw this movie when i was 4 years old. I loved it! In fact i've been trying to find it this whole time. This movie is a must see! I would recommend that You try and watch it with your kids. They will love it. I haven't seen the old one but I'm sure this one is better. Summary: Twins (boy and girl) have a purple power. They get separated and the girl gets sent to a greedy adopted dad's house. She gets reunited with her brother and they escape to the mountain with all the people with purple power. I may have forgot something because my memory is vague of this movie. I mean I saw this a long time ago(I'm 13). Hopefully this will assist you in if you want to see this movie or not. I highly recommend that you do.
Cool movie
Linda-7830 March 2002
The Best Movie I've Ever Seen By Far
AxelOlivera18 March 2007
Escape To Witch Mountain is an amazing movie that you will instantly take a liking to the first time you see it. I saw it 11 years ago when I was 5 and it first came onto television. Though I haven't seen it since then, I haven't forgotten this movie and wish I could see it again.
It has everything a good movie needs. Great characters, a new story, a new idea, and the feeling of wanting to see more. This movie did that for me and it will surely do that for you. It's sad this hasn't come out on DVD, as I would totally buy about 5 copies in case I lost some, or my friends wanted one. This movie was the BEST movie in the world, even to today, NO movie I've EVER seen can beat it. Every second of this movie had me excited and amazed at what happened in every scene. The movie had surprise, fun, mystery, and a lot more. I remember sometime after I saw it years ago I would always pretend I was JUST like the twins in the movie. I wanted to be able to do everything they could do so badly. Call me crazy, but this movie is PERFECT! You'll love it after the first few minutes, trust me.
I only have one thing to say to Disney... PLEASE PUT IT ON DVD!
It has everything a good movie needs. Great characters, a new story, a new idea, and the feeling of wanting to see more. This movie did that for me and it will surely do that for you. It's sad this hasn't come out on DVD, as I would totally buy about 5 copies in case I lost some, or my friends wanted one. This movie was the BEST movie in the world, even to today, NO movie I've EVER seen can beat it. Every second of this movie had me excited and amazed at what happened in every scene. The movie had surprise, fun, mystery, and a lot more. I remember sometime after I saw it years ago I would always pretend I was JUST like the twins in the movie. I wanted to be able to do everything they could do so badly. Call me crazy, but this movie is PERFECT! You'll love it after the first few minutes, trust me.
I only have one thing to say to Disney... PLEASE PUT IT ON DVD!
Quantum leap beyond the original version
lisalawrence28 August 2002
An absolute deLight. (Pun intended) I only wish it would be released for the cinema. This 1995 version is a wake-up call for all beings and contains an uncompromising message of Light. Watch it with an open mind and an open heart and let the message transform you. You will recognize the truth that is being offered you. This is a quantum leap beyond the milk-toast "family-values" storyline of the 1975 version. Don't miss the gift of this film for adults and children. Thank you to screenplay writer, Robert M. Young, and to the producer(s) for taking it all the way! A shame this has not been released on video for general viewing/purchase. Disney, are you listening?
I Love This Movie.
timeforamax8 July 2006
I really liked this movie! I Haven't seen it in a long time so my memory of it is very vague. I really want to buy this from somewhere! Anyone know where??? My biggest memory is the purple light between the hands.. This is the movie right??? Me and my best friend used to think that we were the twins when we were younger.. Anyway if you know where I can get that movie let me know. I got the original movie today and it wasn't the one that i expected. I really liked the remake (1995 version) better than the 1975 version. Just let me know if you know where i can get that movie!! :) I really liked.. like the person before me posted about how all of the twins are either both boys or both girls.. I think this movie is AMAZING! I really want it! If You haven't seen it see it! And by the way good luck at trying to find it. :-\.
Definitely for children under ten.
sabrial0231 May 2003
I saw this movie when it first came out, and I was as unimpressed then as I am now. The cheesy special effects and poor direction aside, the movie breaks so far away from the plot of the book that you have to wonder why they would still retain the title. I could see the appeal for an audience of seven year olds, but even my eleven year old mind couldn't stand this nauseatingly, soporific mess.
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