Return from Witch Mountain facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Return from Witch Mountain |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | John Hough |
| Produced by | Ron Miller Jerome Courtland |
| Written by | Malcolm Marmorstein |
| Starring | Bette Davis Christopher Lee Kim Richards Ike Eisenmann Jack Soo Anthony James |
| Music by | Lalo Schifrin |
| Cinematography | Frank V. Phillips |
| Editing by | Bob Bring |
| Studio | Walt Disney Productions |
| Distributed by | Buena Vista Distribution |
| Release date(s) | March 10, 1978 |
| Running time | 94 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Return from Witch Mountain is an exciting science fiction and adventure film from 1978. It's the second movie in the Witch Mountain series. This film continues the story of two special kids, Tony and Tia, who are aliens with amazing powers.
The movie was made by Walt Disney Productions. It was written by Malcolm Marmorstein, based on characters created by Alexander Key. Ike Eisenmann plays Tony, and Kim Richards plays Tia. They are siblings from another planet. They have special abilities like telepathy (reading minds) and telekinesis (moving things with their minds).
In this adventure, Tony and Tia face two new villains. Bette Davis plays Letha Wedge, a woman who wants to get rich. Christopher Lee plays Dr. Victor Gannon, a scientist who wants to control people's minds.
In September 1978, the movie was shown in theaters again. It was paired with the first film, Escape to Witch Mountain. A TV movie called Beyond Witch Mountain was also made in 1982.
Contents
The Story of Return from Witch Mountain
Tony and Tia, the two alien siblings, need a break. Their Uncle Bené drops them off in their flying saucer at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Los Angeles. But soon after arriving, they get separated!
Tony's Capture
Dr. Victor Gannon and his assistant Letha Wedge see Tony using his powers. Tony saves Letha's nephew, Sickle, from danger. Realizing Tony has special abilities, Dr. Gannon uses a tranquilizer to capture him. They take Tony to their secret lab.
At the lab, Dr. Gannon tests a new mind-control device on Tony. Under its power, Tony becomes like a robot. He does everything his kidnappers tell him to do. This includes stealing gold from a museum. He even tries to stop Tia from finding him. Dr. Gannon hopes to become famous and powerful using Tony's abilities. Letha just wants to get her money back from investing in the doctor's plans.
Tia's Search and New Friends
Meanwhile, Tia meets a group of boys called the Earthquake Gang. They are being chased by another group, the Golden Goons. Tia uses her telepathy to help the Earthquake Gang get rid of the Goons. The boys are impressed and let Tia join their gang. They agree to help her find her brother.
Tia sleeps in their secret hideout. She starts having visions that show her where Tony is. First, she sees him at the gold museum. Tony is controlled by a chip on his ear. He unstacks gold bars. A truant officer, Mr. Yokomoto, sees them. He thinks Tony should be in school. Mr. Yokomoto chases the doctor, Letha, Sickle, and Tony in his minibus. He doesn't catch them and accidentally damages public property. Because of this, Mr. Yokomoto loses his job.
The Plutonium Plant Plan
Next, Tia uses her telepathy to find Tony's new location. But Sickle catches her using chloroform. Tia quickly sends a telepathic message to Alfred the goat. She asks the goat to find the Earthquake Gang. The gang follows the goat back to the hideout where Tia is.
At the same time, Tony, Letha, Sickle, and Victor go to a plutonium plant. They plan to steal plutonium. Tia traces their location and describes it as a "big round ball." One of the gang members guesses the wrong place, and Tia gets upset. They then meet Mr. Yokomoto, who tells them he lost his job. He says his radio is the only thing that still works. The radio news talks about the plutonium plant and mentions "molecular flow."
The Final Battle
Tia asks Mr. Yokomoto to drive them to the plant. She magically fixes his minibus. When Victor and his group arrive, he shuts down the plant's cooling system. He demands 5 million dollars to turn it back on. The plant workers start to arrange the money.
But Tia arrives just in time! She and Tony have a mental battle to turn on the cooling system. Tia manages to turn it on. Victor then commands Tony to hurt his sister. During this struggle, Tia realizes how Tony is being controlled. She destroys the mind-control device.
Tia explains everything to Tony. Tony then uses his powers to make Victor, Sickle, and Letha float up to the ceiling. They can't get down! Mr. Yokomoto drives the kids back to the Rose Bowl Stadium. The Earthquake Gang comes along to say goodbye. Tony and Tia say farewell to their new friends. They get into their flying saucer and fly back to Witch Mountain.
Meet the Cast
Many talented actors brought the characters of Return from Witch Mountain to life.
- Bette Davis played Letha Wedge, the greedy woman.
- Christopher Lee played Dr. Victor Gannon, the mind-controlling scientist.
- Kim Richards played Tia Malone, the girl with special powers.
- Ike Eisenmann played Tony Malone, Tia's brother with similar powers.
- Jack Soo played Mr. "Yo-Yo" Yokomoto, the truant officer.
- Anthony James played Sickle, Letha's nephew.
- Richard Bakalyan played Eddie.
- Ward Costello played Mr. Clearcole.
- Christian Juttner played Dazzler.
- Brad Savage played Muscles.
- Poindexter Yothers played Crusher.
- Jeffrey Jacquet played Rocky.
- Stu Gilliam played Dolan.
- William Bassett played the Operations officer.
- Tom Scott played Monitor.
- Helene Winston played Dowager.
- Albert Able played Engineer.
- Denver Pyle played Uncle Bené.
Kim Richards and Ike Eisenmann have acted together in several movies. They were in the first Escape to Witch Mountain film and also in a TV movie called Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell. They even appeared in a remake of the original film, Race to Witch Mountain, in 2009.
Return from Witch Mountain was the last movie for actor Jack Soo. The voice of the emergency radio announcement about the plutonium plant was done by Gary Owens.
Where the Movie Was Filmed
Filming for Return from Witch Mountain began on April 11, 1977. Many scenes were shot in different parts of California.
- The run-down mansion hideout of the children was on a vacant lot in the Alameda Street railroad yard in California. An old house from the 1880s was there, waiting to be moved. It was later torn down in 1979.
- Dr. Victor Gannon's mansion, where his lab was, was filmed at Moby Castle in Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles.
- The exciting tunnel scenes were filmed at the Fillmore and Western Railway in Fillmore, California. A fake tunnel was built for the movie, and you can still see it today from CA-126.
- The scene where gold bars are stolen was filmed at the Natural History Museum in Exposition Park, Los Angeles. The outside of the museum, facing the park's Rose Garden, was used.
- The scene where Mr. Yokomoto's minibus flips over and breaks a fire hydrant was filmed near the Sunset Boulevard bridge and Glendale Boulevard underpass intersection, in the Echo Park area.
The Book Version
Alexander Key, who created the characters, also wrote a book version of Return from Witch Mountain. It was based on the movie's script by Malcolm Marmorstein. The book was released in 1978, at the same time the movie came out in theaters.
Watching at Home
Return from Witch Mountain was first available on VHS tapes in April 1986. Later, it was released on DVD as a Special Edition in 2003. It was also released in a two-movie collection with Escape to Witch Mountain in 2006. In 2009, it was re-released as part of the Walt Disney Family Classics collection.
On October 13, 2015, the movie became available on Blu-ray as a special item for Disney Movie Club members.
See also
In Spanish: Los pequeños extraterrestres para niños
