To be honest, a 1970’s, live-action Disney film was not something that I was terribly excited about watching and my expectations were low (due to the fact that children’s films from that time period are typically underwhelming to audiences who had not viewed them when they were younger). However, it seems that Disney, not too surprisingly, got their ducks in a row before making this film. The film was, on many levels, corny and even cringeworthy at times, but the film was actually a lot of fun. The two leads, Kim Richards (Tia) and Ike Eisenmann (Tony) held their own considering this was essentially the first major role for either of them. The two young actors had great chemistry not only with one another, but with Eddie Albert (Jason) as well. The three worked seamlessly along-side one another and help convey a story of love, struggle and, finally, of success. The acting, as a whole, was ultimately impressive; no one actor outshined the others and, similarly, no actor fell short of hitting their mark. It seems that Disney had attempted to create a film that veered from the typical Disney production due to the death of Walt Disney less than a decade before this film’s began production. Walt Disney Pictures wanted to take this film in a darker direction than the company’s earlier films (The Aristocats (1970), The Love Bug (1968), Robin Hood (1973), etc.) due to the founders death and it appears that they were successful in doing so. While the term “dark” has a significantly different meaning today, Escape to Witch Mountain manages to include themes that certainly correspond with this idea. Director (John Hough) and writers (Robert Malcolm Young and Alexander Key [who wrote the novel]) use kidnapping, emotional abuse and bullying to drive the story of Tia and Tony and these themes made the film a success. The film follows the journey of two magical children and animation was an important part of telling their story. As usual, Disney was ahead of its time when it came to animation and the animation in this film played a significant role in its success. Again, I had low expectations for this film but found that, through the themes, acting and animation, I enjoyed it very much. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072951/?ref_=nv_sr_2?ref_=nv_sr_2
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