THE MOVIE PAGES presents DWAYNE JOHNSON & ANNASOPHIA ROBB in RACE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN racetowitchmountain.htm

What Do The Critics Say?

"A satisfying snack of a family adventure. It doesn't condescend to youngsters or shortchange adults. After a title montage in which presidential statements by Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton are edited to give credibility to the notion of alien encounters."
Colin Covert MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE
"A new family classic the entire family can actually enjoy."
Luke Y Thompson E! ONLINE
"Kids will want to root for their alien counterparts on screen. But they are second fiddle to the Rock wracking it up."
Matthew Sorrento FILM THREAT
"This is a perfect family film that entertains, provides good escapist fun as well as delivering some nostalgia for fans of the book and the original movies."
Louise Keller URBAN CINEFILE
"But "Race to Witch Mountain" proves that some remakes can be just as entertaining if not more so, than the original. It helps to have one of the rising stars in Hollywood in it too."
Jeffrey Lyles GAZETTE
"A fun, heart-racing adventure. This one has it all. The filmmakers wisely keep the retro tone of the book and earlier films. State of the art visual effects and movie magic."
Pete Hammond HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
"Saves its best for last and emerges as an enjoyable and competent bit of family entertainment. If one half of a movie must be better than the other, then it should be the second half."
Jeffrey Westhoff NORTHWEST HERALD

"Despite the nominal heroes being kids, the movie really belongs to Johnson, who continues to refine his shtick, which revolves almost entirely around comically exaggerated incredulity that belies his massive presence. A decent and at times entertaining bit of kid-centric fantastical escapism that alternates its hectic chase sequences and special effects spectacle with comedy involving government conspiracies and a geeky sci-fi convention."
James Kendrick Q NETWORK
"An unexpectedly entertaining mixture of good, clean Disney fun with some rather more modern action scenes, lent charm by Johnson’s natural swagger. One of the better family films in a while."
Chris Hewitt EMPIE MAGAZINE (UK)
"It’s a rattling good chase movie. The young aliens have useful tricks. Johnson is the contractual comic liability. Perfect holiday nonsense."
James Christopher TIMES (UK)
"An action movie for kids that adults should have no problem sitting through."
Chris Hewett ST PAUL PIONEER PRESS
"The Rock's skill at making the transformation from an "aliens are all around us" skeptic to a true believer is the rock solid foundation for this delightful kids' flick."
Lori Hoffman ATLANTIC CITY WEEKLY
"Baby boomer parents have the opportunity during spring break to take their youngsters on a nostalgic trip down memory lane. "Witch Mountain" has heart, humor and a touch of magic. The movie leaves open the distinct possibility for a sequel."
Keith Cohen ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK

The Inside Story For many moviegoers in the 1970s, "Escape to Witch Mountain" (1975) starring Eddie Albert, Ray Milland and Donald Pleasence with Kim Richards as Tia Malone and Ike Eisenmann as Tony Malone and its sequel, "Return from Witch Mountain" (1978) starring Bette Davis and Christopher Lee with Kim Richards as Tia and Ike Eisenmann as Tony , were popular sci-fi adventures that became warmly recalled touchstones of youth as those audiences grew from children to adults. The central duo of both films, alien children Tony and Tia, became icons of sorts, their adventures fondly recalled by scores of viewers who introduced the films to their own children by watching television, videotapes or DVDs. Such was the popularity of these films that Gunn Films founder, producer Andrew Gunn, asked to attempt a new version of the "Witch Mountain" story once he made a deal to operate his company at Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. He had found success with his remake of the studio’s "Freaky Friday" in 2003 and wanted a chance to create something new for "Witch Mountain". But this re-imagined version would be a much more action-filled story, complete with breathtaking sequences and state-of-the-art special effects. "It is no accident we ended up with the title Race to Witch Mountain", says Gunn, "because once this film starts, it takes off like a shot. We wanted it to be a ride that, once you got on, you weren’t getting off until the end." Director Andy Fickman, who had just completed the hit comedy "The Game Plan" for Walt Disney Pictures, heard that Gunn was contemplating a reworking of the "Witch Mountain" franchise. "I loved "Escape to Witch Mountain"; it was one of my all-time favorite films as a kid," says Fickman. "Nothing excited me more than the movie as well as reading the book it was based upon. So when I was given an opportunity after "The Game Plan" to continue my relationship with Disney, I told them I wanted to make "Race to Witch Mountain" as memorable for audiences today as it was for me in 1975." For Fickman, having a fascination for the unexplained and inexplicable began almost at birth—he was born in Roswell, New Mexico, a small town made infamous by a supposed crash of a UFO that the government and the military allegedly covered up. And in "Race to Witch Mountain", that predilection for the mysterious (along with the Roswellian theme of the collision of two worlds) proves central to the plot of the high-octane story and highly enjoyable storyline. Having signed on to the production, Fickman went to work tailoring stunts and action sequences that might interest his "The Game Plan" star, Dwayne Johnson, in coming aboard the project. "Having Dwayne Johnson be involved would be a dream come true, I thought," Fickman says. "He showed so much heart and warmth and charm in "The Game Plan", and I wanted to combine that with more action than he has ever seen in one movie. I wanted him to see that this new film would mean bigger stunts, scarier thrills, greater characters and more adventure than ever before. I wanted him to know we were racing up a much bigger mountain." As it turns out, the film was not a hard sell to Johnson, who was a fan as well of the original movies in the 1970s. "I got a phone call from Andy, who invited me to lunch to discuss a new project for us to do together," Johnson says. "We sat down and he asked me if I was familiar with 'Witch Mountain'. Not only was I familiar, I told him, I loved the films when I was a kid. In fact, I had just watched 'Escape to Witch Mountain' with my little girl! When Andy pitched me this great story that made the whole thing a compelling and contemporary thrill ride, I was in." Johnson's reaction was simple. "Where do I sign up, coach?" The character of Jack Bruno, a cab driver and ex-con who has gone straight, didn’t exist in either earlier film.

"Jack is a cab driver in Las Vegas who has been dealt a bad hand in life," Gunn ("Sky High") explained. "Jack Bruno is a guy who has struggled to stay on the right path in life for some time," Johnson ("Welcome To The Jungle") says. "The only personal relationships he has are taking fares from point A to point B in Vegas. But once these extraordinarily gifted kids step into his cab, he gets an opportunity to do something that is really, really special. And that is the opportunity to save the world!" The central characters of "Race To Witch Mountain" are two alien children who are on a quest with a clear goal and a very short timetable to achieve it in. They must retrieve a device left on Earth by their parents that holds the secret to saving not only their world but ours as well. "Seth and Sara are visitors from another planet who have a unique mission," 2005 Deauville Film Festival "Première" Award winner Fickman ("Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical") says. "They have the weight of two worlds on their shoulders." Seth and Sara possess some very powerful paranormal abilities. "Sara has the power of telepathy as well as telekinesis," Gunn says. "She can read your mind or move things with hers. Seth, her brother, has the power to change the density of his body." Two very talented and resourceful teenage actors were needed to carry the film and create new characters that, while original, contained echoes of their popular predecessors, Tony and Tia. Almost immediately, Fickman found his perfect Sara in AnnaSophia Robb ("Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "The Reaping"). "I thought AnnaSophia, who broke hearts in "Bridge to Terabithia", would be remarkable as Sara," Fickman recalls. "She was the first person we cast after we had Dwayne." Robb, a fifteen year old from Colorado, who picked up the 2008 Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film (Leading Young Actress) revealed she wanted to play Sara from the moment she walked into Fickman’s office to talk about the role. "He really didn’t have a finished script at that time to show me," Robb ("Because of Winn-Dixie") recalls. "I was so excited just to be considered at that time, and as we went along, the script took shape. By the time we started to cast the movie, I walked back into his office and saw pictures of Dwayne, aliens and little UFO toys: and me! I knew then that I was going to be involved. It was an honor to be considered first all along." Finding a young actor to play the enigmatic Seth would prove to be more of a challenge. Until Fickman remembered a fifteen year old Canadian actor named Alexander Ludwig ("The Seeker") who hails from West Vancouver, British Columbia. When it came time to cast "Race to Witch Mountain", he remembered Ludwig and arranged an audition. "I loved working with him immediately. I later met Dwayne and AnnaSophia for a final audition and we really connected. Not only did we have some serious chemistry," he says, "but we really had a lot of fun." Ludwig describes his character as "a serious kind of guy, not very trusting. He has an interesting character arc and becomes a lot more loving and caring as the film progresses." With those key roles in place, Fickman and Gunn turned to casting the other roles in the film. They concentrated initially on who would play a beautiful and brainy astrophysicist, Dr Alex Friedman. She's giving a presentation at a UFO conference when she meets Jack. "We were lucky to have Carla Gugino walk through our door," Gunn says. "She is very much like her character: smart, pretty and funny. We could tell from the very first scenes we shot with Carla and Dwayne that there would be a real cohesive bond between these two people.

"I was already a big fan of the original films," Gugino ("Watchmen" & "Sin City") says. "But when I met Andy, I realized he was such a collaborator and creative force. He was already very well-versed in the UFO culture and the paranormal, which gave me a strong point from which to build my character." Playing the role of a cerebral scientist, Gugino has begun to wonder if she was becoming somewhat typecast. "Now I’ve played an astrophysicist, a neurosurgeon, a rocket scientist and a contingency analyst," the gorgeous thirty seven year old (who played Ingrid Cortez in the "Spy Kids" trilogy) says. "But what I love about playing Alex is that she is also a total goofball. I like the fact that when we meet her, she has gone from lecturing at Harvard and Stanford to speaking at the UFO convention in Las Vegas, but only because she truly believes in her information and findings." For the role of the crusty UFO specialist Dr Donald Harlan, the filmmakers had just one actor in mind: 2004 Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the Year Award winner Garry Marshall. Does the name have a familiar ring? It should! Marshall wrote and directed for the TV smash hits, "Happy Days" & "Mork and Mindy". And, he directed a few well known films too: "Beaches" (1988), "Pretty Woman" (1990), "Runaway Bride" (1999), "The Princess Diaries" (2001), "The Princess Diaries 2" (2004) and most recently, "Georgia Rule (2007) starring Oscar ® winner Jane Fonda. "I guess you could say my character has something in common with Eddie Albert’s in the first film, and that is living in the same Winnebago," Marshall says. "Only I have a Bronx accent, very different from Eddie. I enjoy the fact that my character is very eccentric. One of the reasons I took this role was that my own children enjoyed the original films." But there was another reason. What was it? "Now my grandchildren will enjoy this new one." It was important to the filmmakers that they create strong antagonists to match the charisma of the film’s heroes. In the original films, celebrated actors such as Oscar ® winners Ray Milland and Bette Davis, Caixa de Catalunya winner Christopher Lee and Donald Pleasence had played those parts. In "Race to Witch Mountain", it is two time Irish Film and Television Award winner (2004 & '07) Ciarán Hinds playing the government’s lead UFO investigator: the no-nonsense Henry Burke. "He is a part of a very hidden organization, a group charged with working against any sort of extraterrestrial invasion," Hinds ("Veronica Guerin", "There Will Be Blood" & "Munich") says. "They don’t know what is out there, but they are vigilant in case something comes their way. He has been at the helm a long time, and he finally has a chance to grab hold of these creatures and find out if they are a threat or not." Iake Eissinmann (who initially spelled his name Ike Eisenmann) and Kim Richards, who appeared in the two original film, were cast in two pivotal roles specially created for them. Richards plays sympathetic waitress Tina at Ray’s Tavern in the small town of Stony Creek, while Eissinmann plays the town’s lawman, Sheriff Antony. Stony Creek is the same town that Tia and Tony were trying to get to in the 1975 film "Escape to Witch Mountain". "The whole experience was a wonderful dream come true for me," says forty four year old Richards ("Black Snake Moan"). Eissinmann (who played Tony in "The Blair Witch Mountain Project"), is now a successful voiceover artist and founder of his own digital animation production company, Mighty Mojo Studios in Florida. He remembers "I would look around and see the space my original trailer was parked in, and where Kim and I attended school, and where Kim and I played together between takes." Synopsis

In the dark of night, a mysterious object crashes to Earth, blasting a huge crater in the surface. Sophisticated tracking equipment has locked in the location of the crash site and a covert government department, specializing in Extraterrestrial activity notified. Meanwhile in Las Vegas, surly former felon Jack Bruno is trying to stay out of trouble by driving a cab in Las Vegas. He embarks upon the adventure of a lifetime when two teens appear in his taxi and need a ride to, seemingly, the middle of nowhere. Jack quickly realizes siblings Sara and Seth, are far from average: especially when they are pursued by a villain wearing a high-tech suit of armor. With the help of Dr Alex Friedman, the four travels to Witch Mountain, a secret government outpost in the Nevada desert. Deep inside the mountain is the siblings space craft. The plan is to send Sara and Seth home and thereby save the Earth.

The Verdict

"Adults shouldn't be fooled into thing that "Race To Witch Mountain" is only for the kids. Far from it. This is one film older cinemagoers will get a big kick out off. Not only because it is good fun (and entertaining to boot), but also because it will provide a nostalgia trip for 'Baby Boomers' and 'Gen-X'ers who were lucky enough to see the original films. The realization that we are all growing old, is apparent when Kim Richards and Ike Eisenmann, who played the original kids, appear on the screen. Crikey! How fast have those thirty plus years passed by? To fast, me thinks! "Race To Witch Mountain" has all the right ingredients to ensure audience leave the cinema feeling satisfied. Dwayne Johnson, Carla Gugino, Alexander Ludwig and a young actress with a big future, AnnaSophia Robb (whose praise I have been singing since she appeared with Jeff Daniels in "Because of Winn-Dixie") give solid performance. The same goes for IFTA Award winner Ciarán Hinds who plays the intimidating 'bad guy', Henry Burke. There's a lot of chemistry between the cast and that's always a good sign. Add to that a good mix of action, CGI effects, chases, thrills and stunts, all of which are guaranteed to keep audiences focussed on the screen. In a homage to the late Eddie Albert (star of TV's "Green Acres" and Jason O'Day in 1975's "Escape to Witch Mountain"), the filmmakers wrote in the character of mechanic Eddie Cortez, played by Cheech Marin. Plenty here for young and older cinema fans alike. Parents attending with kids will find RTWM very appealing. With Dwayne Johnson in the driving seat, it's highly recommended. 4 STARS." Who Plays Who?

Dwayne Johnson
AnnaSophia Robb
Alexander Ludwig
Carla Gugino
Ciarán Hinds
Tom Everett Scott
Chris Marquette
Billy Brown
Garry Marshall
Kim Richards
Ike Eisenmann
Tom Woodruff Jr
Sam Wolfson
Bryan Fogel

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Jack Bruno
Sara
Seth
Dr Alex Friedman
Henry Burke
Matheson
Pope
Carson
GDr Donald Harlan
Tina
Sheriff Antony
Siphon
Imperial Stormtrooper Ciardi
Imperial Stormtrooper Gray

The Production Team

Director
Screenplay
Matt Lopez
From the book
Producer
Executive Producers
Original Music
D.O.P.
Film Editor
Casting
Production Designer
Art Direction
Set Decoration
Costume Designer

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Andy Fickman
Matt Lopez and Mark Bomback
Screen Story
"Escape to Witch Mountain" by Alexander Key
Andrew Gunn
Mario Iscovich & Ann Marie Sanderlin
Trevor Rabin
Greg Gardiner
David Rennie
Sarah Finn & Randi Hiller
David J Bomba
John R Jensen
Patrick Cassidy & Kara Lindstrom
Genevieve Tyrrell