The movie was a bit boring. There is a lot of shooting but no one gets shot.
Race to Witch Mountain
(2009, Rated PG, Science fiction, Starring Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, AnnaSophia Robb, Alexander Ludwig)
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Is it age appropriate?
About our ratings -
Is it any good?
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Common Sense says
Sci-fi remake is action packed and intense for a PG film.
Why We Rated This 
for Ages 8 and Up
The good stuff
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Educational value:
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Role models:
What to watch out for
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Violence & scariness:
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Sexy stuff:
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Language:
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Consumerism:
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Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
What Parents Need to Know
This review of Race to Witch Mountain was written by Sandie Angulo Chen
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."
Families Can Talk About
Talk to your kids about the media in their life. We have more tools and tips that can help
- 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?
Have you seen it? Review It!
More on Race to Witch Mountain
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.
Movie Details
Studio: Walt Disney Pictures, Director: Andy Fickman
Run time: 98 minutes
Theatrical release: 3/13/2009, DVD release: 8/4/2009
MPAA Rating: PG for sequences of action and violence, frightening and dangerous situations, and some thematic elements
Run time: 98 minutes
Theatrical release: 3/13/2009, DVD release: 8/4/2009
MPAA Rating: PG for sequences of action and violence, frightening and dangerous situations, and some thematic elements
Our Members Say
See all 59 member reviews
Most Recent Reviews
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I rate this title on for age 8 and give it
A bit of a flop but younger kids will like it
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I rate this title iffy for age 8 and give it
Ok movie for kids, but kinda boring for me.
Kids 8 and older may like this movie, but to me it was lame, boring, and just plain bad.The special effects were ok in some scenes, but it others they were just plain lousy. The acting is so-so, and it has enough action/adventure to keep you hooked in, but not for long. Definetely not worth a third watch. (I watched it once in the theater and once on DVD)
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I rate this title on for age 8 and give it
Fun for 8+
Sexist
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I rate this title iffy for age 10 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Excessive consumerism
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
I went to see Race to Witch Mountain at the cinema with two 8 year olds who get frightened by very little. They found this film rather scary. The opening bit with the UFO's was creepy and the end bit when the alien took off his helmet was horrible. Deffinately wouldn't let anyone under 10 see it.
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I rate this title on for age 10 and give it
e.g. Perfect for older kids, but not for tweens
family perfect movie. Little violence in a galactic saga formed in Las Vegas. good movie.
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I rate this title on for age 10 and give it
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
Good for 10 and up
Perfect a little hard to understand for younger viewers and with disney predictability but still amazing
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I rate this title on for age 8 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate language
- Excessive consumerism
- Negative role models
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
Perfect for 8+
One of the best Disney movies of all time! "Race To Witch Mountian" Is an instant HIT! A little scary for kids 7- A little language like "Your Dead" but is a great movie!
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I rate this title iffy for age 8 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Negative role models
It's not your classic Disney film.
Race to Witch Mountain is a great film to watch. But even though it's a Disney film, watch out! There is a lot of violence with explosions and people being punched. Also, a UFO shoots laser beams. The role models aren't good. There is the F.B.I that are trying to track down the aliens for research. They have a lot of guns. One of the 'good guys' has a Swiss army knife. Overall, it's a good film, but it's scary for few, and there's a lot of violence.
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I rate this title iffy for age 12 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
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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I rate this title off for age 10 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
Borring
Pretty boring
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I rate this title on for age 12 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Excessive consumerism
- Drinking, smoking, or drug use
- My highlights are:
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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I rate this title on for age 6 and give it
Give it a break guys, a wholesome if cartoon-violence style film suitable for 6 and up.
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I rate this title on for age 7 and give it
Great for kids of all ages (including one of 39yr's old!!)
My Kids Loved it. Youngest (4) found a few scenes a little perilous, but manageable. Very exciting for them as it was almost 'grown' up entertainment (yes I enjoyed it too!) so a good film for everyone to sit down and watch together.
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I rate this title on for age 8 and give it
ok movie..
This movie had little violence, but there were plenty of car chases and gunshots. This is not the best movie I have ever seen, but if you are looking for a good sci-fi movie to watch with your kids, this is the one.
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I rate this title off for age 6 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
this should have been pg-13
a butt-load of violance but theres pretty much nothing else
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I rate this title on for age 10 and give it
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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I rate this title iffy for age 7 and give it
The scary scenes would be for 8 and up but the rest of the movie was probably fine for 6 and up.
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I rate this title on for age 9 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- My highlights are:
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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I rate this title on for age 8 and give it
good for 8 and up
okay movie
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I rate this title iffy for age 8 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
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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Ratings at a Glance
| 57% | of parents say it's too violent |
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