The Disney+ Sci-Fi Action Reboot With A Global Superstar No One Ever Talks About

I grew up on the 1975 sci-fi film Escape to Witch Mountain as well as its 1978 sequel Return from Witch Mountain. I watched it so many times that at one point the disc was rendered useless from all the scratches it accumulated.

So when 8-year-old me saw the trailer for Race to Witch Mountain, I was determined to be the first in line at the box office on release day.

Race to Witch Mountain follows two aliens disguised as teenagers (AnnaSophia Robb and Alexander Ludwig) who team up with an ex-mob taxi driver (Dwayne Johnson) to get back to their spaceship on Witch Mountain.

The film is packed with car chases, men in black, government agents, space travel, and alien superpowers. In short, it’s completely and totally awesome.

The Walt Disney film, Race to Witch Mountain, was mainly marketed towards young audiences despite it being a reboot of a franchise most of their parents grew up with.

I was probably an outlier in the fact that I was a child familiar with the original. However, a large selling point to the kids unaware of the source material was the cast, specifically that of AnnaSophia Robb and Dwayne Johnson.

By 2009, the release year of Race to Witch Mountain, every elementary schooler already had some sort of obsession with AnnaSophia Robb and/or Dwayne Johnson.

Robb was a lead character in the 2007 gut-wrenching film Bridge to Terabithia, and Johnson had recently starred in his first Walt Disney film, The Game Plan, also released in 2007. Both were highly successful films and ensured that young audiences would have Robb and Johnson fresh on their mind.

Child me personally loved seeing them share the screen and it’s probably why I still have such a fondness towards the reboot, because it’s a pretty terrible one.

While Race to Witch Mountain was successful at the box office, earning a Total Lifetime Gross at the Domestic North American Box Office of $20 million, to fans of Escape to Witch Mountain it was extremely disappointing.

Part of the joy of the original movie, especially as a young viewer, was that the film was driven entirely by the young leads. From the start they are on their own and throughout the movie, even when adult characters intervene, it is still their journey alone.

Race to Witch Mountain almost feels like a Dwayne Johnson movie supported by two young leads and somehow removes the fantasticalism of unassuming kids being bestowed with a world-changing quest.

I used to love pretending to be one of the twins from Escape to Witch Mountain trying to make my way back to my home planet and besting adults left and right. Race to Witch Mountain didn’t inspire much imagination beyond wondering if Dwayne Johnson can actually maneuver a taxi like that.

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I do truly believe that Race to Witch Mountain should not have been forgotten as easily as it was and if you separate it from its predecessor, it’s a decent sci-fi family flick. However I will always recommend people watch Escape to Witch Mountain instead, sometimes you just can’t beat the power of practical effects and nostalgia. Both titles are currently available to stream on Disney+ and I highly recommend you check them out yourself to see which is superior.