MovieChat Forums > Escape to Witch Mountain (1975) Discussion > Just saw it again for the first time in ...

Just saw it again for the first time in 20 years

posted 15 years ago by vulpix
2 replies | jump to latest

I was awed by this film when I saw it as a kid. I felt a deep sense of empathy for the kids without parents--Tia's visions in particular captivated me. Were their parents still alive? What was the story behind their parents? What kind of a place did they come from? These questions fueled my imagination. There was a mysterious quality to the film, exemplified in the scene where Tony plays the harmonica to put on a puppet show.

Looking at it again as an adult, that mystery is gone. I can identify the synthetic soundtrack, the stilted acting, and even, on occasion, a thin wire used for the special effects. The ending of the film I now recall being disappointed by when I saw it twenty years earlier.

That said, Escape to Witch Mountain is not a bad film by any means. It's just one of those movies that you have to see when you're young to truly appreciate.

[–] ticalinda1969 15 years ago

Just like Vulpix I saw this movie but in my case probably over 30 years ago and I loved it, the images stayed in my head until I saw it the second time a couple of years ago because I wanted my son to watch it too.... I was sooooo dissapointed and same as you, there were wires moving the puppets and is not that the movie is bad, technology is better and we are getting used to see all this amazing special effects and no movie from when I was little can compare to what we see today I would say (Im 40 y/o), except for The Wizard of Oz, that will forever be an amazing movie....

"A palabras necias, oídos sordos".(Take no notice of the stupid things people say)

[–] vulpix 15 years ago

Thanks for the comment, ticalinda1969. As I said, I still think the film is very good; it's mainly the technology that's outdated.

And, like you, I have a fondness for The Wizard of Oz as well. Great film.