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ARTICLE

DVD Review: Twitches
by R.J. Carter
Published: September 23, 2006

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Rating:

Country: USA
Release Date: September 5, 2006
Distributor: Disney Video
Director:
· Stuart Gillard
Cast:
· Tia Mowry
· Tamera Mowry
· Jennifer Robertson
· Pat Kelly
Related Sites:
· IMDb: Twitches

Grade: B+

Tia and Tamera Mowry play twins separated at birth, adopted by different families, who then discover each other later in life.

No, I haven't accidentally pasted a Sister, Sister review under the wrong title. That's the main premise for this Disney Channel Original Movie, "Twitches". It stands for "twin witches", in case you were wondering if it were about nervous tics.

Alex and Camryn were born Artemis and Apolla, in an alternate magical dimension called Coventry. On the day of their birth, a prophecy was declared that the twin witches would hold the key to defeating the Darkness, an amorphous evil magic that was slowly taking over the world. To protect the infants, their protectors Ileana (Jennifer Robertson) and Karsh (Pat Kelly) take the girls to Earth's dimension, where they end up at different hospitals and left for adoption (under the surriptitiously watchful eye of Ileanna and Karsh.)

For twenty-one years, neither sister knew about the other. But on this day, their birthday (and, appropriately, Halloween), that's all about to change. After several near misses, Karsh and Ileana manage to get the girls to bump into each other, and it's culture-clash at first sight. Camryn was raised by wealthy parents who spoiled her rotten, while Alex is from a more middle class background -- and the mother she knew has died. But when an excited Camryn grasps Alex's hand, things become magically weird.

Back at Camryn's place, the girls make their first unexpected venture to Coventry through Camryn's closet. There, they learn about The Darkness, the prophecy, and how their father died protecting them. And now it's time for the girls to face down the Darkness. Alex wants nothing of this -- it's far too dangerous. You see, for years Camryn has been drawing images from her repressed memories, which match the images they now see in Coventry; but Alex is a writer who has written down her tales of what she thought was a dreamland -- and she claims to know how the story ends.

Alex and Camryn: Twin Witches.
L-R: Tia Mowry, Tamera Mowry

When the Darkness escapes into Earth's dimension and attacks the girls, their positions reverse. Alex, having learned their mother is alive, wants to go back and fight to save her. But Camryn thought that having magical powers was going to be fun; now that she knows that she can get hurt, she backs out.

The girls spend the remainder of their birthday apart -- Alex with her best friend Lucinda (Jessica Greco, "Assault on Precinct 13"), a no-nonsense person who can always put Alex in her place; Camryn with her parents at the mansion where a big Halloween birthday bash is underway in her honor.

But the Darkness isn't going to leave the girls alone just because they refuse to play, and before this story is over, they learn to band together, increasing their power two-fold, finding the light within them to banish the Darkness and save Coventry.

For the tween crowd, this is a perfectly fun movie, filled with enough exciting and tearful moments to make it seem like it's taking place over several days, and not just a single afternoon. Robertson and Kelly provide nice bits of comic relief from their place on the sidelines, and the special effects are well-done for a made-for-TV movie. And, of course, throwing in a track from Disney Channel duo Aly & AJ's "Into the Rush" will get the kids bouncing as the Twitches go about town testing out their newfound abilities.

Bonus features on this disc include a "Twitches' Crystal Ball Predictions" activity. It's basically the old "pick a number and I'll guess it" game, shuffled between some distracting multiple choice questions and with the answer provided in the form of a symbol with a meaning. (The symbols will always change, as will their meanings, so it won't get old even though the math stays the same.) There are also two featurettes on the making of "Twitches" -- "The Magic Behind Coventry", at six minutes long, and "DCOM Extras" (DCOM standing for Disney Channel Original Movie), which is four minutes of what seems to be separate short behind-the-scenes plugs that probably played intermittently on Disney Channel to drum up interest in the movie.

More interesting, perhaps, is the alternate ending. At barely shy of two minutes, this ending differs entirely from the original, and would have set things up nicely for "Twitches II".

Previews on this disc include "The Little Mermaid", "Cars", "Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior", and Hannah Montana Volume One. Additionally selectable sneak peeks include "The Wild", "The Fox and the Hound" 25th Anniversary Edition, "Cinderella III: A Twist in Time", That's So Raven, "Meet the Robinsons", and Jesse McCartney's new CD, "Girl Next".