Race to Witch Mountain: Difference between revisions
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*[[Meredith Salenger]] as reporter Natalie Gann |
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The stars of the original 1975 movie, Disney's ''[[Escape to Witch Mountain (1975 film)|Escape to Witch Mountain]]'' - [[Kim Richards]] and [[Ike Eisenmann]], have small roles in this new movie. Kim originally played Tia and Ike played Tony in the first movie. In ''Race to Witch Mountain'', Kim is the waitress, Tina, who helps Jack and the kids escape from the restaurant, and Ike (now going by the name [[Iake Eisenmann]]) is Sheriff Antony, whom Jack uses to delay the government agents so they can get out of the restaurant without being caught. Another Disney cameo is made by actress [[Meredith Salenger]]. She starred in the well-reviewed 1985 Disney movie ''[[The Journey of Natty Gann]]''. In a reference to that movie, a female reporter in ''Race to Witch Mountain'' is played by Salenger and identifies herself as reporter "Natalie Gann." |
The stars of the original 1975 movie, Disney's ''[[Escape to Witch Mountain (1975 film)|Escape to Witch Mountain]]'' - [[Kim Richards]] and [[Ike Eisenmann]], have small roles in this new movie. Kim originally played Tia and Ike played Tony in the first movie. In ''Race to Witch Mountain'', Kim is the waitress, Tina, who helps Jack and the kids escape from the restaurant, and Ike (now going by the name [[Iake Eisenmann|Ike Eisenmann]]) is Sheriff Antony, whom Jack uses to delay the government agents so they can get out of the restaurant without being caught. Another Disney cameo is made by actress [[Meredith Salenger]]. She starred in the well-reviewed 1985 Disney movie ''[[The Journey of Natty Gann]]''. In a reference to that movie, a female reporter in ''Race to Witch Mountain'' is played by Salenger and identifies herself as reporter "Natalie Gann." |
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==Music== |
==Music== |
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Revision as of 22:36, 19 March 2009
| Race to Witch Mountain | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Andy Fickman |
| Written by | Andy Fickman Mark Bomback Matt Lopez |
| Produced by | Andrew Gunn Mario Iscovich (executive) Anne Marie Sanderlin (executive)[1] |
| Starring | Dwayne Johnson Carla Gugino AnnaSophia Robb Alexander Ludwig Tom Everett Scott |
| Cinematography | Greg Gardiner |
| Edited by | David Rennie |
| Music by | Trevor Rabin |
| Distributed by | Walt Disney Pictures |
Release date | March 13, 2009 |
Running time | 99 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $24,402,214 [2] |
Race to Witch Mountain is a re-imagining of the 1975 film Escape to Witch Mountain. Both versions of the film are based on the 1968 novel Escape to Witch Mountain by author Alexander Key. The film is directed by Andy Fickman and stars Dwayne Johnson, AnnaSophia Robb, Alexander Ludwig, and Carla Gugino.
Filming began in Los Angeles in March 2008. Race to Witch Mountain was released on March 13, 2009.
This is Dwayne Johnson's second Disney movie, the first one was the 2007 family comedy The Game Plan.
Plot
In the beginning of the movie, news of UFO sightings around the world appear.
Jack Bruno (Dwayne Johnson) is a cab driver in Las Vegas, who is picking up and dropping off passengers to the UFO convention at the Planet Hollywood Casino and Hotel. One of his passengers is Dr. Alex Friedman (Carla Gugino), a failed scientist who is giving speeches about legitimate scientific theories of UFOs and outer space.
The next day Bruno is approached by two large men telling him that Wolff would like to see him. After fighting them, Bruno drives off, later noticing two children, Sara (AnnaSophia Robb) and Seth (Alexander Ludwig) sitting in the back seat of the cab. They tell him they need to go to a certain destination and are willing to pay all they have to get there. They lead him to a run down house in the middle of nowhere. Meanwhile, Major Henry Burke (Ciaran Hinds) is searching for information on the two aliens that landed some days earlier.
When they arrive at the house, the children tell Bruno that they will be re-united with their relatives soon. Before leaving Bruno hears a crash coming from the house. He is startled to find them hiding behind a couch. Though grateful for his concern, the children tell him they must continue their journey without him, as they can trust no one. Nevertheless, Bruno decides to follow them, which leads him to the basement of the house. There the kids are pursued and attacked by a strange creature as they retrieve an object in a plant. They manage to escape this creature.
When leaving they are attacked by a "Siphon", a creature built to destroy a certain target, in this case the children are the target. Siphon pursues them until it causes a crash of his spaceship into a train, the creature survives, though wounded. The trio eventually find themselves in a small town, hiding. They explain to Bruno that they are aliens from an distant planet, who are sent to earth by their parents because the government of their dying planet intends to attack and invade Earth so that their kind may live on there. They also explain that the object they obtained at the house contains the results of an experiment which their parents set up. The research from this experiment will save their planet without having to attack and invade Earth. However their planet's military prefer the idea of invading Earth and sent the Siphon assassin to stop them. They are next pursued by government agencies trying to retrieve the children for experiments.
They are joined by Dr. Friedman at the UFO Expo, who is familiar with outer space and travel. When the Siphon arrives, it prepares to attack but Sara uses her powers to knock him through a wall. At first the children are eventually captured along with Bruno and Friedman. Nevertheless the two humans escape and come to rescue the kids. The Siphon causes a distraction by attacking the base. They manage to free the kids and reach their ship. By running the Siphon over they can escape but the Siphon hangs on gets on board. Bruno and Seth battle the Siphon in the lower sections of the ship, unmasking him in the fight. Finally Bruno defeats the evil alien by knocking him out of the ship's airlock, finally killing him. The kids drop Jack and Alex off and after a tearful goodbye, head back to their ship but give Bruno and Alex a device that will allow the kids to always find them. Meanwhile, Burke is punished for failing to stop Seth and Sara, as well as the assassin.
The last scene during the credits show Bruno and Dr. Friedman speaking at a UFO convention about their new successful book called "Race to Witch Mountain". The last scene shows them driving off in a car Bruno dreamed of getting honestly as he had mentioned to Friedman earlier - a Mustang similar to that driven by Steve McQueen in Bullitt. As they are about to leave, the device the kids gave Bruno before they left goes off indicating that they may be returning.
Production
In July 2007, Walt Disney Pictures hired Andy Fickman to direct and co-write with Matt Lopez[3][4]and Matt Lopez.[5] The film was re-titled Race to Witch Mountain, and it began filming in Los Angeles in the same month.[6]
The convention center in Pomona, California was converted into the film's UFO Expo 9, and the interior of Witch Mountain was designed using photographs from a tour of NORAD's Cheyenne Mountain.[7] A cabin for the story was also built in Agua Dulce, California.[8] The director sought assistance from UFO experts, the military, and CIA advisers to shape the elements of the film.[9] He also introduced a new element in the remake, an extraterrestrial creature called Siphon. The creature was conceived by the design team who created the look for Alien and Predator.[10]
Cast
- Dwayne Johnson as Jack Bruno
- AnnaSophia Robb as Sara
- Alexander Ludwig as Seth
- Ciarán Hinds as Henry Burke
- Carla Gugino as Dr. Alex Friedman
- Tom Everett Scott as Matheson.
- Garry Marshall as Dr. Donald Harlan
- Cheech Marin as Eddie.
- Chris Marquette as Pope.
- Kim Richards as Tina the waitress
- Ike Eisenmann as Sheriff Antony
- Meredith Salenger as reporter Natalie Gann
The stars of the original 1975 movie, Disney's Escape to Witch Mountain - Kim Richards and Ike Eisenmann, have small roles in this new movie. Kim originally played Tia and Ike played Tony in the first movie. In Race to Witch Mountain, Kim is the waitress, Tina, who helps Jack and the kids escape from the restaurant, and Ike (now going by the name Ike Eisenmann) is Sheriff Antony, whom Jack uses to delay the government agents so they can get out of the restaurant without being caught. Another Disney cameo is made by actress Meredith Salenger. She starred in the well-reviewed 1985 Disney movie The Journey of Natty Gann. In a reference to that movie, a female reporter in Race to Witch Mountain is played by Salenger and identifies herself as reporter "Natalie Gann."
Music
The score to Race to Witch Mountain was composed by Trevor Rabin, who recorded his score with a 78-piece ensemble of the Hollywood Studio Symphony and a 24-person choir at the Sony Scoring Stage.[11] Two of the songs in the movie were written and performed by country and western band Brokedown Cadillac, which appears briefly in an opening scene.
The movie also features hit single Emergency by Hollywood Records artist Steve Rushton, featured on the soundtrack.
Reception
Reviews for Race to Witch Mountain have been mixed. Based on 74 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, the film currently has a 38% approval rating from critics, with an average score of 5.1/10.[12] By comparison, Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film has received an average score of 50, based on 23 reviews. [13]
Despite its mixed criticism, the film opened #1 at the box office becoming the first Disney film to open #1 in 2009 [14] grossing $24.4 million. [15]
References
- ^ "Race to Witch Mountain". Blethen Maine Newspapers, Inc. Retrieved 2009-03-03.
- ^ "Race to Witch Mountain (2009)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2009-03-16.
- ^ Kit, Borys (July 23, 2007). "Director Fickman to conjure "Witch" redo". Reuters. Retrieved July 15, 2008.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help) - ^ [gukrstgwrjgwprgW:AFEOJAg "Coming soon: Race to Witch Mountain"]. New York Daily News.
{{cite web}}: Check|url=value (help) - ^ "Carla Gugino Joins Race to Witch Mountain". ComingSoon.net. Coming Soon Media, L.P. March 14, 2008. Retrieved July 16, 2008.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help) - ^ "Irishman Hinds playing bad guy in "Witch" redo". Reuters. March 5, 2008. Retrieved July 15, 2008.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help) - ^ Chupnick, Steve (July 16, 2008). "Race to Witch Mountain Set Visit: Part I". ComingSoon.net. Coming Soon Media, L.P. Retrieved July 16, 2008.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help) - ^ Newgen, Heather (August 4, 2008). "Race to Witch Mountain Set Visit: Fickman & Gunn". ComingSoon.net. Coming Soon Media, L.P. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help) - ^ Vejvoda, Jim (July 24, 2008). "SDCC 08: IGN Scales Witch Mountain". IGN. Retrieved July 25, 2008.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help) - ^ "Set Visit: Race to Witch Mountain - Part One". IGN. July 16, 2008. Retrieved July 25, 2008.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help) - ^ Dan Goldwasser (2009-02-18). "Trevor Rabin scores Race to Witch Mountain". ScoringSessions.com. Retrieved 2009-02-18.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Race to Witch Mountain Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes. IGN Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-03-11]].
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "Race to Witch Mountain (2009): Reviews". Metacritic. CNET Networks. Retrieved 2009-03-11.
- ^ "'Witch Mountain' Is Top Film, First of '09 for Disney". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2009-03-15.
- ^ "Weekend Box Office Results for March 13-15, 2009". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2009-03-15.
