If only all 1970s Disney live-action flicks had been this cool...

Tony (Ike Eisenmann) and Tia (Kim Richards) are subteen siblings in an orphanage with no clear memory of their origin, although a map, Tia's oldest possession, points to a certain Witch Mountain range. Stranger yet are their fantastic powers of telepathy, telekinesis, even fortelling the future. They come to the attention of Aristotle Bolt (Ray Milland), a greedy millionaire who want to use Tony and Tia for his own goals (like predicting the stock market). Bolt tries to win the kids over in his luxury mansion, but the kids' ESP cues them into his selfish nature, and they escape, hiding in the truck of crusty driver Jason (Eddie Albert), who escorts the children to Witch Mountain despite a manhunt and chase orchestrated by Bolt - and by townsfolk riled by the presence of "witches." Dodging the dangers and reaching the mountains, Tony and Tia reunite with their true family - friendly, human-looking but secretive extraterrestrials. Jason (and a defeated Aristotle Bolt) glimpse their saucer as the kids fly home to an alien colony on Witch Mountain.

As a youngster I watched "Escape to Witch Mountain" multiple
times in mid-70s theaters, enthralled by the matter-of-fact
presentation of spooky events. Funny thing was, mainstream
critics (the ones I followed in those days) unfairly slammed the flick whilst giving raves to far less engaging live-action Disney product, like the endless "Love Bug" sequels. Perhaps such injustice is why I myself became a critic (consequently ruining my life, but that's beside the point)...Yes, sophisticated special effects, slam-bang editing, and the more overt gruesomeness of the "Goosebumps" and "Gremlins" series make "Witch Mountain" look tame now, but it remains a nice, entertaining, G-rated alternative for audiences a little below the age of R.L. Stine readers. For small fry, Ray Milland and Donald Pleasance make a fine pair of Disney villains. They're more like humorless, strict school administrators, with no idea how to have fun, rather than antagonists who are truly cruel and evil. You can see the finale - in which Tony levitates Jason's RV, leaving their pursuers behind - as a portent of the stirring flying-bicycle scenes in "E.T. - The Extraterrestrial."