voorzitterfront What an amazing movie! In the Netherlands, we have King Willem Alexander. But in the ocean, you have King Willy. The contours of this whale are perfect. His black and white dots are such an amazing appearance. The story, where some bad guys want to kill this beautiful animal are disgusting. Then we have Jesse, also a great guy. One day, he also will be king and the leader of all orcas. The story says that Jesse is disappeared right after the recordings of the movies and he lives under the water with his orca family now. I have no more words to say, Free Willy! Free the King!

oOoBarracuda 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.

TheLittleSongbird This is a perfect example of a family film that knows exactly what it's doing. While a little too clichéd and some of the villainy is a tad overdone, Free Willy is still very entertaining and touching. The cinematography is lovely and the scenery is beautiful, but the combining of animatronic shots and of Keiko the killer whale is astoundingly good. Simon Wincer directs efficiently, the family-bonding scenes are nice and sweet, the soundtrack is delightful and the script has its touches of honesty and humour. The acting is good too, it is wonderful to see Michael Madson again and he is excellent, and Jason James Richter is believable as Jesse. However, it is killer whale Keiko as Willy who makes the movie, for a killer whale, Willy is very cute and endearing, and the scenes with Richter are irresistible. Overall, just an entertaining family film. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Kyle Hodgdon I'm not entirely sure why this movie has the low rating that it does because I really feel that "Free Willy" is a pretty entertaining kids movie. I first watched this film in the theater when I was ten years old. I really enjoyed it at the time. However I could not remember it all too well so I decided to watch it again sixteen years later and I still thought it was a pretty good kids movie.When you watch this you must keep in mind that it is intended to be for kids, not adults. It's not something like "The Brave Little Toaster", which is a kids movie but can also be thoroughly enjoyed by adults. "Free Willy" is just a bit too silly to be taken seriously by adults.I mean, stealing a whale and driving all over town with him in the back of your truck? I think that just about sums up how ridiculous this movie gets. But kids do think about things like that. It's a good plot for a child.I think the 5.2 rating on IMDb is not a just one, but at the same time this film is not one of the best kids movies I have seen. I would recommend showing it to your child though.