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Willy is a wild orca that was trapped and separated from his parents. He is sent to an aquarium. Jesse (Jason James Richter) is a street kid who gets caught vandalizing the tank. He still believes his mom will come back. His social worker Dwight gets him off as long as he cleans up his mess. He's placed with Glen (Michael Madsen) and Annie Greenwood. Jesse is guarded and Glen is reluctant also. At the aquarium, he befriends Willy who saves his life one night. Willy won't perform for trainer Rae Lindley (Lori Petty) but he's willing to do it for Jesse. The owner Dial (Michael Ironside) is under pressure from the non-performing whale.

It's a reasonable family picture. It has a whale and the little kids may find it fascinating. The story is compelling enough that the older kids will also like it. It's very much following a try and true formula. The young lead is acceptable even when he doesn't have the whale. He has some good drama to play off against. It's important to note that Keiko the whale was eventually freed. If that's all the movie achieves, that's plenty.

Free Willy may be a heartwarming and touching boy-befriends-whale tale, but the film's clichés, the killer whale's moodiness and the unlikeable past of the lead character each play a big part as well. To begin with summing it all up, Simon Wincer's charming 90s adventure does and likely always will deserve its labelling as a family classic, simply because it's charming and loveable, but also because it's original and thematic.

The film centres on a young boy whose mother verbally implicitly abandoned him. He's a street kid, and he's arrested and placed into a loving foster home after vandalising a theme park. The first thing you can with all reasons say is this is our main character, who starts off in a portrayal that only makes him unlikeable. Although his and the other cast's performances are undeniably solid, it's difficult to have to attach to what most would call a pest.

As the plot progresses, it's still hard to completely love and relate to the main character, but his unforeseen connection to the whale (foreseeable from the audience perspective) compels you into the story again. The whale can also unfortunately be quite moody, difficult and sort of irritating at times. This is definitely a watchable film that the younger kids will really appreciate without thinking too hard.

Another perfectly reasonable why Free Willy might not be doing to well with the critics or other high anticipators is because it's mainly a clichéd story about a sweet relationship between a human and a creature, not living up to the title's suggestion at all. There's lots of dramas packed throughout the whole film, but the actual threat and the need to rescue the whale doesn't occur until the last half hour.

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While the plot is quite hackneyed, it's fine that we have movie like this. The news is out on the treatment of Orcas by places like Sea World. These magnificent creatures are kept in tight quarters and made to perform at shows. Willy is one of those whales, and a young boy, who has had a checkered past, and his friend decide it is time to put him back in the open sea. The movie has to do with the logistics of getting this done. As is usually the case, there are some bad people determined to stop this. While it's lightweight and pretty hard to believe, it's a nice movie with a good heart. I'm happy that my children enjoyed this and developed a good attitude about the treatment of animals.

I loved this film as a child and absolutely love Orcas but I found this film harder to watch in 2019 than when I was young. Knowing the fate of Keiko the whale and knowing more about the intelligence of this marvellous species as well as the controversy around keeping them in capativity (Blackfish) made this much harder to watch.

This is a good-looking family drama with marvellous scenes, natural ecologism , gorgeous outdoors and high sensibility . When a boy learns that a beloved killer whale is to be killed by the aquarium owners, the boy risks everything to free the whale . Willy is trapped and his family swims mournfully away . Cut to an angelic street-kid , Jesse (Jason James Richer) , caught graffiti-ing Willy's tank , the only way to escape baby jail he discovers is to go to well-meaning but stiff foster parents (Michael Madsen , Jayne Atkinson) and clean up the tank under the tutelage of Haida Indian Randolph (August Schellemberg) . A 12 year old street kid !. A 3 ton orca whale !. A friendship you could never imagine !. An adventure you'll never forget !. Make room in your heart for a six-ton Pet!!!He is the biggest hero in the whole wide world of adventure!. When You're Six Tons -- And They Call You Killer -- It's Hard To Make Friends...

Agreeable and charming family tale made with sense , sensitivity and wonderful sea images. This is a good-natured family drama with emotion, ecologism, gorgeous outdoors and high sensibility . Many years before , this Orca saga was preceded by a similar film : ¨Namu , the Killer Whale¨ (1966) directed by Laslo Benedek with Robert Lansing . It contains ample and gorgeous sea vistas, being very well photographed the exterior scenes, as well as underwater images with the great Orca whale jumping and diving. This well acted movie has a straight-faced tone which is hard to resist . Including good messages : love for animals , environmentalism , fraternity , fight for survival , need for family coexistence friendship , while boy and whale get on because they are both looking for a family .

Special mention for excellent musical score by magnificent composer Basil Poledouris , including sweeping strings accompanying the opening sequence of balletic whales cavorting in brilliant blue sea , changing abruptly to cacophony as the bad guys with nets chug up in their tugs . The motion picture was well directed by notorious filmmaker Simon Wincer . He is a Western expert , as he emigrated Hollywood from Australia and subsequently directed to Tom Selleck in ¨Monte Walsh¨ , ¨Crossfire trail¨ and ¨Quigley Down Under¨ to Paul Hogan in ¨Relampago Jack¨ and ¨Cocodrile Dundee in L. A.¨ and usually directs episodes for TV mini-series, such as ¨Into the West¨, ¨The Ponderosa¨ , ¨Lonesome Dove¨ and ¨The adventures of young Indiana Jones¨ , among others . Rating : good for the sensitive direction and proficient film-making ; the result is a sort of pacifist-ecological adventure for kiddies and adults. Worthwhile watching . The pic will appeal to animals enthusiasts .

Even though I didn't grow up with this film, I can see why this would have had an impact on someone who was a child when this was originally released. It is a very sweet, charming, and touching film. Although the overall the plot is a little shaky and so is some of the dialogue.

I love the ending but still feel that they could have extended the ending to wrap up other plot points.

And Willy (Keiko) was probably the best character and somehow still underused in my opinion. But it is a pretty good film that people of all ages could enjoy together.

"Free Willy" is an Adventure - Drama movie in which we watch a boy tries to rescue a killer whale from an aquarium because the aquarium owners will kill it. The boy risks everything to save the whale and he is devoted on his goal.

I liked this movie because it had a simple but interesting plot with a good direction by Simon Wincer. The interpretations of Jason James Richter who played as Jesse and August Schellenberg who played as Randolph Johnson were very good and made the movie even better. It's a classic afternoon family movie that I am sure that the whole family will enjoy. Therefore I recommend everyone to watch it because I believe that everyone can gain and learn something by watching this boy trying to save Willy.

Free Willy is the quintessential 90s family film along the lines of Home Alone - innocent, schmaltzy and full of cloying sentimentality. It contains everything you've seen before and has passed into cliché - misunderstood kid who just wants to prove himself, heartfelt friendship with a precious animal, plot to thwart secret bad guys and so on - but it does so with such determined idealism that you can't help but feel a sheer, overwhelming joy. Free Willy is the family movie to end all family movies, a condensation of so many feelgood tropes that it collapses under its own gravity to form a singularity of Hollywood magic.

It's ok, a bit run of the mill and predictable, my 9 year old daughter liked it.

First of all, I want to say some of my thoughts about IMDb ratings. If you look at IMDb top 250 you can hardly find any family movie . In fact, there are only three family movie (I mean live action movies not animated flicks) in this chart. They are Princess Bride on the 99 position (haven't seen yet), A Christmas Story on 142 (a movie nobody heard of besides English speaking countries) and the E.T. on the 244 (forever classic - no point denying that). And I bet you would be unable to find another one even in top 500. On the other hand you can find in this list, for example, more than eighty thrillers or more than thirty 30 war movies. Does that result means that family movies can't be good. Obviously it is not. For me the point is that many of people as well as lots of critics don't appreciate movies sweet movies without profanity, drugs, sex and violence. Cheesy movie for kids only that's not a fair grade. Well it's only my opinion but for me it's very sad when such a beautiful movie become so undeservedly underrated. Now, more directly to our movie. I watched Free Willy no less than four or five times and found it one of the best family and animal movie ever made. The bonds of friendship between man and animal are shown incredibility well here. From this point Free Willy remembered me another beautiful animal movie The Black Stallion. The unlikely friendship between twelve years old Jesse and giant whale as the main element of the story is very sweet and touching. Overall plot is well constructed (and there's no point to complain its unreality) with decent development of the main characters. Young and definitely talented Jason Jammes Richter created terrific performance of a young lonely problem boy Jesse. Also very good in the movie were August Schellenberg (as Randolph) and Michael Madsen (as Glen). As I always mentioned cinematography is pretty good, including first-rate animal action (Keiko is so cute there). The beautiful movie soundtrack written by Basil Poleuydouris a bit resembled for me terrific Carmine Coppola's score for The Black Stallion. And finally, that's maybe the most important Free Willy is a very humanistic movie, a movie that what was made with love and care about nature. Thanks to Simon Wincer for this great masterpiece. We need more movies like this, not a laughable rubbish that Hollywood studios now provide for family entertainment. I rated Free Willy 10 out of 10 as an excellent and beautiful family friendly movie. Check out also its two sequels. They are also pretty good.

Thanks for reading and sorry for my bad English.

Well I like to say that this movie is just DECENT. Some people say this movie is a classic and others say it was kind of bad. I kind of liked it and I usually felt sorry for that whale. Jessie was kind of an annoying character and that Indian dude was a little to weird. I used to love this movie actually when I was a teenager but now when I watch it I'm just like saying it's ok and all. The story was pretty good and I liked the music which was pretty good for the movie also. I really liked the whale but I dont think they should bad guys in the film It's just kind of stupid. The film had its moments though and it was the best out of the Free Willy trilogy.

6/10

First, of all it is impossible for a 12-year old kid to have a friendship with a killer whale. However, it is pure magic. A 12-year street kid Jesse(Jason James Richter) ends up getting arrested for spraying graffiti all over a northwest aquatic park. He ends up having the responsibility to clean up. Meanwhile, he lives with a foster care family, the Greenwoods(Micheal Madsen and Jayne Atkinson) until Dwight(Mykelti T. Williamson)can find his mother. But, he ends meet a pal by the name of Willy. He's a killer whale. He's a beautiful animal and well tamed, but he is very, very sick, needs his family and wants to go back out into the ocean. The emotion in this movie is touching.

Being a 24 year old, I had a ball.

Ahh, screw it. This movie is a total guilty pleasure but at the same time is a very complete dramatic feature. I won't get into specific details but I can tell you that the movie is not only about a social message; it deals with an intense problematic about animal rights plus the relationship (magical) between a young boy and a whale. I was really convinced that this movie was only to cash some money but the truth is that is a very powerful film experience.

I watched it on theaters and it made me feel really good, powerful at some aspects. Plus the movie's main song courtesy of Michael Jackson is really haunting.

A movie not to be missed and a classic of 90's Cinema.

For example, Willy has lived most of his life without any contact or interaction with orcas, and will not be able to integrate properly. He will probably live his life alone and then die prematurely.

The same thing happened to the whale who played Willy, Keiko. They released him and he died less than a year later. Pneumonia. He was 27. Whales can reach the ages of 50-80, which makes it especially sad.

Also, both Jesse and his dad committed destruction of property (Jesse kicked a park trash can and the dad busted the marina gate with his car), and most of the characters technically committed theft. The police wouldn't care that you saved the orca because the park owners wanted to kill him. The police would say you should've called 911 to report animal abuse. Of course, Willy would have died by the time the police could save him, like they said in the movie, but still.

That means that, realistically, Willy will die soon and several characters will be arrested on charges of Destruction of Property and Theft.

HOWEVER, this movie made me very happy and I smiled a lot, so I give it a 7/10 after all that.

My favorite part is the little kisses Jesse plants on Willy's nose.

I enjoyed Free Willy as it is a great family movie. The camera shots are good, too. What can I add? It's just an all round classic that will probably be remembered for a long time to come as it deserves to be.

88%

The best things about this Disney "Save The Whales" movie of 1993 were the opening and closing credits. They were beautiful shots, just awesome. Sadly, most of the stuff in the middle wasn't all that good. Oh, everyone likes a nice feel-good story about saving some animal or whale (how about humans?) but what ruined the movie for me was the main character "Jesse."

"Jesse" (Jason James Richter) is another Hollywood film brat, the typical snotty, smart-mouth kid film idiots like to present us, not like your kids.

There are some implausible scenes, such as no adults present when kid is tapping on the glass at the aquarium, but every movie has those, so I'm not going to trash the film for that.

Suffice to say the kid, and the overly PC- Disney folks (i.e. their typical Native American good-guy as the boy's whale-mentor), turned me off, only because there are so many Disney clichés and stereotypes in here it is ludicrous.

Why is it always some rebel kid, some punk who deserves a good spanking, who saves the day, who is shown smarter than most adults? Disney and Spielberg, love that crap.

Michael Jackson sings the movie song's finale. 'Nuff said.

I was full of trepidation revisiting this favorite from my youth. Some movies just don't stand the test of time from youth to adulthood, and I loved this movie in my youth. I was pleasantly pleased with Free Willy, the 1993 feature from director Simon Wincer. Starring a perfectly cast Michael Madsen, Lori Petty, and Jason James Richter, Free Willy follows a boy who has never known a home and a whale who was pulled away from his. Home means different things to different people, but for all of us, human or not, home is always a place where one belongs and can feel free.

Jesse (Jason James Richter) is a young troubled boy who has been abandoned by his mother and is getting shuffled through the system in foster care. When he and his friend Perry (Michael Bacall) a boy in a similar position as Jesse, are caught vandalizing the local marina, Jesse takes full responsibility allowing Perry to escape police custody. Jesse's social worker Dwight Mercer (Mykelti Williamson) keeps Jesse out of juvenile detention given he cleans the damage caused at the marina. Dwight also finds Jesse a home with a foster couple, Glen and Annie Greenwood (Michael Madsen & Jayne Atkinson). Reluctant to settle in another temporary home and displeased to be cleaning the area he vandalized, Jesse goes on with his punishment, as he views it. While cleaning, Jesse learns that there is an orca whale there that was captured by fisherman to be placed in the marina as a show animal. Willy, the orca, has not adapted well to his new surroundings, does not respond to his trainer, Rae Lindley (Lori Petty) well, and has no desire to perform for the public. Feeling a kinship to the animal that misses a real home and his family, Jesse and Willy become fast friends, with Jesse even sneaking out of the house to spend more time with Willy. When Jesse learns that Willy will be killed if he doesn't begin performing for the marina, he decides the only thing he can do is release Willy back into the wild where he can find his home and be free.

(Almost) Any film that has a lot of animal shots is going to look visually impressive. Free Willy was filled with shots of the orca all throughout the film which were breathtaking. I better understand now as an adult why I enjoyed Free Willy so much as a child; Free Willy is a family movie that is wrought with lessons, yet avoids the moralistic high horse. Of course, an adult, even a child, can recognize the correlation between Willy and Jesse both not fitting into the world in which they inhabit; yet instead of overtly making this connection, the audience gets to see the connection played out on screen as Jesse also discovers it. A fun family film shot in a visually pleasing way with a great understated morale, Free Willy is still a movie my adult self can enjoy that was a favorite of my child self.

Sardine oil about a little punk kid who befriends a big whale named 'Willy'.

Jesse is a troubled boy who is compelled to do things like goofing off on his summer job, kicking a public trash can off of its mooring, and throwing a baseball through his foster parents' window. But this is only because Jesse is scared since he doesn't understand his feelings. Maybe he'll understand if I put my foot up his butt.

Meanwhile, hot Lori Petty is an animal trainer who spends her time working with Willy by riding around on his back all day long.... lucky Willy.

The best moment in the film never arrives. That would be when Jesse tries to pet Willy. Go ahead, Jesse. Stick your whole head in his mouth, he won't bite you.... heh-heh-heh.

Oh, this one is underrated here. The story of Jason James Richter's character trying to escape from a life of crime and missing prospects is way beyond the average. The growing affection for Willy is not even stereotyped or clichéd. It's a genuine bond that focuses on two outcast characters who slowly but surely come to experience true friendship and the value of trust. Jason's performance really appealed to me when I saw this movie as a kid. It is a sincere depiction of friendship, of a way out, of fighting for your values against all odds and of never giving up. Right, I'm grown up now, but this is one of the movies of my childhood I'd like to watch again, and I'm sure I'd enjoy it almost as much as back then. Jason James had very few acting appearances, but the Free Willy series assured him his place in movie history. His entire performance in here is sincere and straight, he doesn't laugh nor smile if it wasn't just natural in the specific sequences. His facial expressions and body language fit into the total frame as well. The story has some profoundly human themes to it. I can't help it, I think this one is both entertaining and deep, dealing with emotions and prospects of life, with integrity and courage in the face of danger.

This is certainly one of the films that made an impression on people during the 90's, and that maintained its popularity and sympathy for many years. Today I think it has been forgotten, and in part I feel sorry for it. However, I believe that the film has already done its job: not only did it entertain those who saw it and continue to see it, but it also had a certain social role in the way it awakened in younger people (but not only them) a certain awareness of ecology, for the preservation of endangered animals and species. I also believe that the film had a certain responsibility for changing the thinking of zoos and places that keep animals in captivity: instead of being "animal deposits" for public entertainment, they became institutions with ever greater relevance in the preservation of animals: today, they are essential for the survival of species whose natural habitats have been destroyed and which are only perpetuated in captivity. They also take the lead in the assisted reproduction of many animals, such as the Giant Panda Bear, for example, as well as in the rescue, veterinary treatment and preparation of animals that, having been illegally hunted or lived many years in human company, need to return to wildness.

Thus, this film turns out to be more relevant for the effect it had on people than by itself. Analyzing it in a simple way, it is a rather sugary film, loaded with clichés and without great artistic quality. A family entertainment film, excellent to watch with the kids and which, for years, was almost institutional on television during the Christmas season. The script is quite simple, and takes a rebellious and angry teenager to regenerate when he begins to have contact with an orca that has lived in captivity for years. The friendship between them is touching and sincere, as well as the boy's efforts, and the friends he makes, to release her to the seas, in a race against time and against the action of the villains, the owners of the park where she is kept, and who don't care about her at all. It is an extremely predictable film, which excessively romanticizes the release of animals kept in captivity, making the public forget that a whole previous preparation is necessary, taking several years, and that we never know if the animal, after years depending on humans, is it really going to adapt. Keiko, the orca that the movie used (and who lived in captivity for years after the movie), would eventually be prepared and released to the sea, but as we know, she never adapted to the wild.

The film has a good cast, but a terrible conception of characters. None of the characters are really good and all are clichés: the heroic teenager, the Native American full of ancestral wisdom who knows animals like no one else, the arrogant capitalists with no respect for anything or anyone... Excluding the orca Keiko, it's Jason James Ritcher who will stand out as an actor, in the role of the teenager who saves the day. He does what it takes, and I think he was relatively credible in his effort. Michael Madsen also deserves praise for his work, in a film that, incidentally, will be one of the most popular of his artistic career. Lori Petty and Jayne Atkinson are pretty good, August Schellenberg does what he can with the cliché given to him. The rest simply doesn't matter.

Technically, the film stands out for its good cinematography. A lot of '90s movies seem ancient when we see them now, but this is one of those laudable exceptions that deserves to be mentioned. The filming locations, as well as the sets, also deserve a positive note for their visual beauty. The sound effects are very good, and the visual and special effects deserve praise, in particular the animatronic whale, which is quite realistic. Finally, a note to praise the quality of the main theme of the soundtrack created for this film, which is one of the most beautiful of its time.

i kinda expected something else.what,i'm not sure.i mean the movie is well made and all,but i found it dangerously close to being boring at times.it is pretty slow.the scenes with the whale(s)were nice though.and the there are some pretty touching moments.i didn't find the movie had a lot of realism to it though.the way some of the things happened just didn't ring true.but,i guess the biggest problem i had was there wasn't really much sense of adventure,and the movie isn't really fun.however,if you are looking for a movie the whole family can watch,this might be it.most kids will probably be entertained,and adults will be happy there is something their kids can watch.but for me,Free Willy is a 4/10.

Perhaps the best reason to see Free Willy on the big screen is the photography. Both underwater and above-the-surface scenes are filmed with style, and much of the impact will be lost in a television picture. The special effects are good -- it's almost impossible to tell where the real whales end and the mechanical ones begin. Another asset are the actors. Jason James Richter does a credible job as Jesse. This may be his first film, but you can't tell from the polished performance he gives. Lori Petty's Rae is every bit as strong and capable as any of the men in this picture. Message or not, Free Willy is one of only a handful of non-Disney titles worth considering for a family movie outing.