Cinefantastique Online

Walt Disney Pictures is reviving its long-dormant WITCH MOUNTAIN franchise, which spawned two films back in the 1970s: ESCAPE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN (1975) and RETURN FROM WITHC MOUNTAIN (1978). The new film will re-team Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and director andy Fickman, who recently collaborated on the family comedy THE GAME PLAN. The new script, by Matt Lopez, has the Rock as a cab driver who picks up a pair of kids with extraordinary powers. Andrew Gunn will produce the film, which is set to begin lensing in March.

The original films – which were actually about orphaned aliens who merely seemed like witches because of their telekinetic powers – were a sign of Disney’s growing pains at a time when the studio, mostly known for animated kiddie films, was trying to reach out to a wider audience, including teen-agers who enjoyed action-packed summer blockbusters like JAWS and STAR WARS. Both ESCAPE and RETURN were directed by John Hough, who had helmed such serious fare as THE LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE and DIRTY MARY, CRAZY LARRY. The first film included familiar faces and former stars like Ray Milland (FROGS, THE MAN WITH THE X-RAY EYES) and Donald Pleasence (later star of the HALLOWEEN films) to lend a little adult credibility, and Bette Davis (WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE) and Christopher Lee (HORROR OF DRACULA) showed up in the sequel. Unfortunately, neither of the original films breaks free of the Disney formula, but the premise certainly has potential in this day and age, when Disney has shown itself a bit smarter about reaching a wider audience.