 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Race to Witch Mountain
- Review Date: August 2, 2009
- PG
- Genre: Science Fiction
- 2009
Common Sense Media says
Sci-fi remake is action packed and intense for a PG film.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this new take on Disney's classic Escape to Witch Mountain is scary -- the destruction of the world is at stake, and the main characters are in constant peril. And, for a PG-rated film, it has more violence and intense moments than you might expect. Since the alien villain and government agents are all trying to kill or capture the extraterrestrial teens, the kids are constantly in danger and have to ward off many threats, including explosions and direct gunfire. There's also a little bit of mild flirting between two characters and several product placements. Language is mostly limited to threats like "you're dead."
What's the story?
Jack Bruno (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) is a Las Vegas cabbie who picks up an unusual fare one afternoon -- teenage siblings with a huge roll of cash. Jack soon discovers that Sara (AnnaSophia Robb) and Seth (Alexander Ludwig) aren't just runaways with awkward social skills. They're aliens on a mission to return an ecological secret to their home planet. If they don't find their spaceship and go back, earth's population will be destroyed. Jack enlists a beautiful astrophysicist (Carla Gugino) to help the kids overcome two formidable obstacles: U.S. Homeland Security agents who want to capture and study the "illegal aliens" at a remote government base called Witch Mountain and the villainous alien Siphon, a Terminator-like assassin sent to prevent the kids from going home -- by any means necessary.
Is it any good?
Director Andy Fickman, who hired Johnson for RACE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN while they filmed the family comedy The Game Plan, knows how to ramp up the action while keeping the humor a kid-friendly PG. With his bulging muscles and surprisingly acute comic chops, Johnson proves he's the Arnold Schwarzenegger of this generation, able to kick serious butt one moment and be the butt of a joke the next. Gugino (of Spy Kids and Night at the Museum fame) is always perfectly pleasant, if a bit unbelievable as a Ph.D., while Irish thespian Ciaran Hinds is adeptly menacing as a government agent, and Cheech Marin and Garry Marshall provide some comic relief.
Even the original movie's child stars -- Ike Eisenmann and Kim Richards -- get more than the usual one-line cameos as a helpful sheriff and waitress, respectively. As for their contemporary counterparts, Robb is sweetly ethereal and clearly a rising star, leaving Ludwig slightly underwhelming by comparison. Kids will a kick out of the teens' telekinetic and shape-shifting abilities, and parents will appreciate the one-liners about Vegas, sci-fi conventions, fanboys, and, ultimately, the concept of teens who act like aliens.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about whether the amount of violence in this movie is OK for the kid audience it's being advertised to. Kids: Was it scarier than you thought it would be? Is it less scary because the main characters are aliens? Why or why not?
How are Seth and Sarah different from other aliens you've seen in
movies and TV shows? What do they learn about humankind -- and vice
versa?For fans of the original Disney Witch Mountain movies, how does this remake compare?
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- All members
- Parents
- Teens & kids
Kid, 10 years old
March 19, 2010
AGE
Action PACKED
Some violence. Theres a quick glimpse of an Aliens brain.
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AGE
Great movie, not for little kids. 10+
I saw this movie in the theaters, and it was great. It was pretty violent for a PG movie, though. Someone uses the word "p*mped", and two characters flirt.
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AGE
It was a fairly entertaining film. The alien teens' powers are pretty cool. Like mentioned earlier, this film does have plenty of violence, however no one gets killed. But if a kid likes action films they may be able to handle this one.
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AGE
A sci-fi thriller that doesn't deserve the hype.
This movie is just for the fun of it; as advertised "awesome special effects" didn't live up to it's goal, and in some scenes the explosions look plain cheesy. The main character uses unnecessary violence against scientists who don't believe that keeping the kids captive is a good idea. This movie in my opinion was horrible, not much to describe about it.
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AGE
PG Rating FRAUDULENT
Do not allow anyone under 12 years old to see this movie that SHOULD have been rated PG-13 AT LEAST for all the excess violence. A great movie for those 12 and older, lots of action and adventure - despite obvious product-placement. I have never let my children watch anything like this before age 12 - but, regretfully, did NOT check the reviews ahead of time. Shame on me for not checking (also trusted Disney, PG, kids movie...) SHAME ON YOU, DISNEY! Shame on those of you letting your young children watch this kind of crap and worse! As an educator, I see first-hand every day the effects of TOO MUCH MEDIA, TOO MUCH VIOLENCE and the OVER-SEXUALIZATION of our children - to the point that NO ONE seems to think ANYTHING IS WRONG! How disgusting...We REAP what we SOW, America!
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AGE
I LOVED IT!!!
I watched this movie with my family recently and I thought that it was really good! There's action and danger everywhere! There aren't really any concerns except for constant violence. Although, It might be scary for some younger children. It's about these alien kids that have come from a different planet to retrieve a very special item. When they landed, their ship was taken and they had to get it back with some help from Jack Bruno, AKA, The Rock. This was a really good movie and I hope that you enjoy it, too!
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AGE
I was uncomfortable watching hand to hand fighting and gunfire with my nine year old daughter. Although she seems to love action adventure movies, there was entirely too much violence for 8+.
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AGE
should be rated PG-13
there was a lot more intense vilont parts then i thought there would be. And in some parts it actually scared me.
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AGE
A Movie That Adults Will Also Enjoy
I've read all the reviews and almost universally it seems that younger girls reacted more negatively to the action than did the boys. Parents may want to take that into account.
My husband and I watched this with our two sons (9 and 12) and we all thought it was a fun action/thriller. No one was disturbed by the violent content. (For the record, we do not allow Teen games or PG-13 films.)
It can be difficult for us to find age-appropriate movies that don't bore the adults to tears. This film was entertaining for all.
If your children are more sensitive then definitely check out the original Witch Mountain movies.
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Kid, 10 years old
January 8, 2011
AGE
danger , fight scenes , and shootings but no one is killed characters make threats and scene with bullets everywhere is a little scary
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| Topics: | adventures, book characters, space and aliens |
| Studio: | Walt Disney Pictures |
| Director: | Andy Fickman |
| Cast: | Alexander Ludwig, AnnaSophia Robb, Dwayne The Rock Johnson |
| Genre: | Science Fiction |
| Run time: | 98 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | March 13, 2009 |
| DVD release date: | August 4, 2009 |
| MPAA rating: | PG |
| MPAA explanation: | sequences of action and violence, frightening and dangerous situations, and some thematic elements |
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