Escape to Witch Mountain (Special Edition) (1975) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Growing up as a child in the 1970's I remember watching THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF DISNEY every Sunday evening at 7pm. I of course enjoyed the cartoons but also enjoyed the many live action Dinsey movies such as THE SHAGGY DOG, THE SHAGGY D.A., POLLYANNA, THE WHIZ KIDS movies and of course the WITCH MOUNTAIN movies. I remember looking forward to ESCAPE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN and would make it a point to never miss this movie when it aired.
The story is about a brother and sister, Tony & Tia, who along with their alien family tried to migrate to Earth but crashed upon arriving. Tony and Tia then try to locate their family with the assistance of a widower while trying to avoid a rich villan who wants to use the kids Extra Sensory Powers (ESP) to further his greedy goals. As a child I actually found this movie to be very scary. I actually feared for Tony and Tia. Now as an adult it has lost the scary aspect. That comes with age I guess. It is still a good watch though.
I have wanted to purchase this film for years so my children could watch it. Now that they are pre-teens and begining to lose their childhood innocence I was finally able to purchase this new DVD. As I suspected they were reluctant to watch this movie and the sequel RETURN FROM WITCH MOUNTAIN. I finally got them to watch the films and they did enjoy the them but obviously it did not have the same effect on them as it did me. However younger children, especially those who have not been spoiled by CGI special effects will no doubt still enjoy the films. I tried to explain to my children that as a grade schooler I had a huge crush on Kim Richards (Tia). I got teased for that and of course when I teased my boy about his attraction to Hillary Duff that was a different matter. Go figure.
The DVD has some nice special features. Interviews, cartoons and other such material. I don't have enough positive things to say about Disney's old movies being offered through their Vault Disney line of products.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Escape to Witch Mountain (Special Edition) (1975)

A vehicle floats in midair ... a coat rack comes to life and attacks a sheriff ... and wild animals are putty in the hands of Tony and Tia Malone in Disney's thrilling fantasy adventure about the psychic powers of two young orphans. Their clairvoyance prompts evil millionaire Aristotle Bolt (Ray Milland) to lure them to his mansion to exploit their powers. While escaping, they meet a friendly camper (Eddie Albert) and begin to unravel the mystery of their origin. Soon, all three are fleeing townspeople who have branded the children witches. But then IT happens! Someone with even greater powers takes over and leads the children -- and the audience -- into a dazzling and unexpected experience ... one that is truly out of this world!

Get 51% OFF

Click here for more information about Escape to Witch Mountain (Special Edition) (1975)

Read More...

Young Sherlock Holmes (1985) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Fans of Harry Potter should check out this Victoriana fantasy ; in style and tone, they have much in common. They share the classic English boarding school setting, and are filled with magic and monsters, jaw-dropping sets, and wonderfully crusty and unusual British personalities.
Chris Columbus, who helmed the first two Harry Potter movies, wrote the script for this bouncy marriage of a Sherlock Holmes detection story and an Indiana Jones-style cliffhangers. This odd combination received a lot of criticism when the film was first released, but ultimately the mixture of a Victorian detective story and an ancient Egyptian cult is charming and a lot of fun.
Nicholas Rowe is perfect as the snotty, elegant young Sherlock Holmes, and Sophie Ward is absolutely radiant as his romantic interest. Alan Cox as Watson (a dead-ringer for Daniel Radcliffe who plays Harry Potter) is less effective, but tolerable. The effects were groundbreaking in their time, featuring the first computer-generated characters -- animated by Pixar before they became a household word -- and still hold up nicely. They actually have more charm than most modern CGI effects. The film does suffer from slow patches and a premise that could have been pushed even further, but this is still a good family film and most older kids and adults interested in special effects should enjoy it. (Be warned, however: younger children may find parts too frightening.)
Sadly, as far as extras goes, the DVD is "Elementary, my dear Watson": nothing, not even a trailer. That's a shame, since many special effects breaththroughs were made on this movies, such as the computer animated stained-glass window character, and early work from Pixar (yes, Pixar!)
P.S.: Make sure you watch all the way through the end credits for the quick bonus scene.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)

YOUNG SHERLOCK HOLMES - DVD Movie

Get 13% OFF

Click here for more information about Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)

Read More...