At six years old, I firmly believed that I was capable – if it became necessary due to an evil millionaire wanting my ‘powers’ – of leaving home by myself, travelling across the United States, and finding a mysterious mountain I’d never heard of before. Why did I think this? Because of the Disney movie Escape to Witch Mountain. I didn’t want to leave home. I had a happy childhood surrounded by family I love and trust. This movie just convinced a young me that I COULD if I had to.
Do you remember the original movie from 1975? I am off that age so I do. We went to the Princess Theater in Decatur and saw several of the live action Disney movies of that time. Herbie the Love Bug, The Apple Dumpling Gang, The Shaggy DA, Freaky Friday, Return from Witch Mountain (starring Bette Davis and Christopher Lee!)… Such good memories. Maybe not the best movies, but as a youngster sitting in a hot, sticky-floored theater with popcorn and soda, I thought I was living the life.
What I didn’t know at the time was that Escape to Witch Mountain was actually based upon a 1968 novel from Alexander Key. I realized as I was researching for this article that I had never read the original source material. I had only read the Disney adaptation of their movie.
Both book and movie follow the same premise – twins Tony and Tia are orphans in a children’s home. Both exhibit psychic powers; Tia has minor telekinetic abilities and can ‘talk’ to animals, while Tony, with the aid of a harmonica, can move inanimate objects. They can also communicate telepathically with each other. Tia also suffers from nightmares of a boating accident. As a six-year-old, her dreams of thunderous waves, crashing water, and an adult with them slipping away into the tide haunted me. I still remember them today. (I also remember the huge crush I had on Ike Eisenmann, the actor who portrayed Tony! He was adorable!)
Through a series of unfortunate incidents, the children’s powers come to the attention of an obsessive millionaire (isn’t there always an obsessive millionaire?). After being taken from the orphanage, the children realize he wants to exploit their abilities and they escape. Thanks to a special purse of Tia’s she has always had and calls her star case, they know where they need to go. They don’t know the name of the place yet, but we as the audience know they are headed to Witch Mountain.
After their escape, the book and movie diverge. In the book, Tony and Tia meet Father O’Day, an inner-city priest. The novel emphasizes the trope of ‘good versus evil’ and finding the meaning and purpose of your life. In true Disney fashion, there are no religious overtones in the movie. The children instead hide in a Winnebago and meet a crotchety old man named Jason O’Day. Both men decide to help the children, and a good portion of the movie is the kids running from the millionaire.
I won’t give away the ending of the movie. I do recommend it for a family friendly movie night. No swearing, no adult themes of a physical nature, no gratuitous violence. According to Google, you can stream it on Apple TV, Disney Plus, Prime Video, or Fandago at Home.
I am going to track down an original copy of the book. I did find one on Ebay, but it was $35. A bit more than I want to pay! So now I have a treasure to locate at the thrift stores!
NOTE: I totally forgot there was a 1995 remake and a 2009 remake. I have not seen either so I can’t recommend or not. If it helps, Dwayne Johnson is in the 2009 one! He’s no 1975 Ike Eisenmann, but he will do!
