What can you say about a made-for-TV Disney movie that you don’t already know? The Disney engine is probably one of the most well-oiled machines of the modern world. Say what you want about pandering to the populace, and spit as much venom as you can at teen superstars like Lindsay Lohan and Raven. You can’t deny the fact that the executives of the Disney Channel know their audience.

For a critic like me – a man in his mid-30s who is a father but not a father of young girls – a lot of the appeal of the Disney Channel is lost. My sons watch the Disney content, but mostly it’s the feature animation and series like “Power Rangers.”

A made-for-TV movie like “Twitches” isn’t exactly my cup of tea. I can appreciate the so-called “girlie” shows like “Lizzie McGuire” and even the sort-of girlie “Phil of the Future,” but these aren’t exactly shows I’d watch on my own.

Tia and Tamera Mowry of “Sister, Sister” fame are the latest stars to be dropped in a made-for-TV movie from the Disney Channel. “Twitches,” starring the twin sisters as teenage witches separated at birth, are decent enough carrying the show. They’re charismatic, but the storyline isn’t as strong as some recent Disney Channel Original Movies like “Cow Belles.”

However, “Twitches” does have the Halloween theme going for it. Now that the “Halloweentown” movies have run their course, the seasonal favorite this year is the Mowrys. The story follows the twin witches in separate lives, a la “Upstairs, Downstairs,” as they are reunited on their birthday. Together, the girls learn about their past as they share visions of the magical land of their past, Coventry.

There are plenty of “Harry Potter” motifs in this film, which is brilliant on the part of the filmmakers but a bit annoying to watch. In fact, so much is taken from the “Harry Potter” handbook that its pretty exhausting. There’s an evil wizard who tried to kill the girls at birth. They are pining for their lost parents (only with the father dead, unlike “Harry Potter”). They have guardians to watch over them as they develop their powers. Just get them on a train to a countryside school of magic, and you might have a lawsuit on your hands.

There are some standard Disney Channel elements that really don’t quite work in this film. For example, the girls get over the initial shock of finding their long-lost twin pretty darn easily. That’s a bit hard to swallow. Plus, with their magical land of Coventry in peril, the girls find it pretty easy to go on living their normal human lives completely with a birthday party bash.

For the Disney Princess crowd that’s moving into their teenage years, “Twitches” should work. It’s not bad, per se. But it is just another Disney Channel Original Movie.

The DVD comes with an alternate ending and a crystal ball game. There’s also a behind-the-scenes look at the movie along with a bevy of DCOM DVD extra featurettes from the online world.



Specifications: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. Fullscreen (1.33:1). English language subtitles for the hearing impaired.