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But somewhere in the nether regions of the 1970's, Walt Disney was floundering. Their antiquated notions of what constituted solid family entertainment was hopelessly outdated and their frequent attempts to straddle the cutting edge failed miserably. Bombs such as The Black Hole, The Watcher in the Woods and TRON (sorry, love the film but it didn't make much money) may have been noble efforts but either felt like too little, too late or worse, such total rip-offs of blockbusters like Star Wars as to be downright embarrassing.

But there were a few bright spots in the Disney oeuvre during this period, most notably the charming kiddie thriller Escape to Witch Mountain. The story is innocuous but classic Disney. Precious little tykes Tia (Kim Richards) and Tony (Ike Eisenmann) are orphans with magical powers. They can move objects with their minds, speak to each other without opening their mouths and have a strange connection with animals. Then sinister millionaire Lucas Deranian (Donald Pleasance) lures them to his mansion to exploit them, and the two set off on a grand adventure - kindly old camper Jason (Eddie Albert) helps them plot their escape, but where does their real home lie? Is it on Witch Mountain...or out of this world?

Escape to Witch Mountain is one of those movies that is totally cheesy and dated but succeeds because it has been made with so much love, energy and pure goodwill. The story is pretty hokey but universal - who hasn't felt at one point or another that they just didn't belong? Kids often feel they have little control over their lives (for good reason), and here's a movie that grants them fantastic powers and proves that most adults are ineffectual buffoons. And the film, if inadvertently, tapped into the burgeoning sci-fi/UFO craze, predating the Star Wars boom by a good couple of years. How unusual - an old-school Disney film that was actually ahead of its time and not behind.

But more than just an amusing relic, Escape from Witch Mountain still strikes a chord because of the appeal of Richards and Eisenmann. They are amazingly cute but never annoying - just a couple of kids you don't mind spending a couple of hours with. And if the adult actors ever felt like they were slumming, it never shows. Albert, Pleasance (pre- channeling Dr. Loomis to great effect) and Ray Milland chew the scenery but never condescend to the material. And frequent Disney helmer John Hough adds in a few dashes of style that elevates Witch Mountain above most family fodder of the period, Disney or otherwise.

Needless to say, Disney followed up one of their rare hits of the periods with a generally needless sequel, Return from Witch Mountain. Richards and Eisenmann had grown a bit too much in the intervening three years, and while fun it lacked the genuine spark of the original. So sequel or no sequel, and as cheesy as it is, Escape to Witch Mountain remains one of the better family flicks of the 70's.

Video: How Does The Disc Look?

Walt Disney Home Video has once again dusted off one of their vault classics and given it the spiffy new DVD treatment. Escape to Witch Mountain has certainly not looked this good in years, so even if it is not perfect it is hard to complain. Remastered here in 1.75:1 anamorphic widescreen, the print is in great shape with only minimal dirt and blemishes. Colors are somewhat dated in appearance but generally vibrant and cleanly reproduced. However, fleshtones appear a little off; Richards and Eisenmann often look like two little piglets. Blacks are more consistent and accurate, with only a few effects shots suffering from a bit of fading and a lack of sharpness. Edge enhancement is not a problem nor are there any apparent compression artifacts. Aside from the reddish fleshtones, a very slick transfer.

Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

Disney has also remixed Witch Mountain in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround, and while it is a laudable effort this is one of those soundtracks where it is hard to tell the difference. Certainly, the source elements are in good shape - high end is typically flat and low end lacking, but frequency response overall is strong for a film of this period. Dialogue is generally clean and clear if only hushed tones hard to discern. Stereo separation across the fronts is pretty good but surround use is limited; I couldn't detect much in the way of true discrete effects, just some rear score bleed and slight front to back pans. Still, not bad for a film like this.

Subtitles are available in English along with English Closed Captions.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

Another nice effort from Disney. Included here is a solid assortment of extras, all new...

First up is a screen-specific audio commentary with director John Hough and, recorded separately as a pair, Kim Richards and Ike Eisenmann. Hough, as usual with his commentaries, focuses primarily on the technical and how he accomplished certain shots, and his lack of modesty may strike some as self-aggrandizement. Richards and Eisenmann are of course a lot more fun, even if their recollections are mainly comprised of the mundane. Eating ice cream, wearing pajamas and working with that darn cat don't make for much more than cute if slight stories. But hey, it's Escape to Witch Mountain, so I guess it serves the material.

Next we have five featurettes which give a pretty good overview of the Witch Mountain "phenomenon." Making the Escape (27 minutes) is comprehensive overview of the flick, with the commentary participants plus costar Dermott Downs and effects artist Danny Lee. There is some redundancy with the commentary but the chance to see Richards and Eisenmann today is worth the price of admission alone. Lost Treasures (10 minutes) is a pretty neat recap of the era of pre-CGI special effects - focusing on Disney films, of course. Conversations with John Hough (7 minutes) gives a quick recap of the director's Disney career but is too brief to offer much insight. And both Disney Sci-Fi and 1975 Disney Studio Album are mere 3-minute montages of other Disney flicks - why include these, but no actual trailers for the Witch Mountain flicks?

Other extras include the charming short cartoon Pluto's Dream House, which you can play before the feature just like the old days or access directly as a supplement. The quality is pretty good with a fairly clean print and bold colors. Finally, the Still Galleries section is fairly robust, with advertising, publicity and merchandising sections, plus a few shots of the Witch MOuntain comic book and some filmographies for the main cast and crew.

DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the disc in your PC?

Pretty typical Disney - a plain jane custom skin with DVD controls and weblinks, plus the opportunity to register your DVD for support and notification of future goodies.