| Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Dwight Little |
| Written by | Karen Janszen Corey Blechman John Mattson |
| Based on | Characters byKeith A. Walker |
| Produced by | Lauren Shuler Donner Jennie Lew Tugend |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | László Kovács |
| Edited by | Robert Brown Dallas Puett |
| Music by | Basil Poledouris |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 98 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $31 million[1] |
| Box office | $68 million[2] |
Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (also known asFree Willy 2) is a 1995 Americanfamilyadventuredrama film directed byDwight Little from a screenplay by Karen Janszen, Corey Blechman andJohn Mattson. It is the sequel to the 1993 filmFree Willy and second installment in theFree Willy film series distributed byWarner Bros. under theirWarner Bros. Family Entertainment label.Jason James Richter,Jayne Atkinson,August Schellenberg,Michael Madsen andMykelti Williamson reprise their roles from the first film. New cast members includeJon Tenney andElizabeth Peña. Unlike the previous film whereKeiko played Willy, a robotic double created by Edge Innovations was used to play the eponymous whale while the Free Willy Keiko Foundation devised a plan to bring Keiko to theOregon Coast Aquarium where he would be rehabilitated from poor health, although Keiko did make an uncredited appearance, reprising his role as Willy through an archival clip shown in the film.
Set two years after Jesse freed his orca friend Willy, who is now reunited with his family which includes sister Luna, brother Littlespot and mother Catspaw, the plot follows Jesse in a race against time after an oil spill separated Willy and his siblings from their mother and it is up to him to get them back home before the oil traps them in the cove for good.
Filming commenced inAstoria, Oregon and theSan Juan Islands between April and August 1994 with additional filming taking place inCalifornia. The film opened on July 19, 1995 to mixed reviews from critics. Despite underperforming at the box office, a third filmFree Willy 3: The Rescue was subsequently released in 1997.
It has been two years since Jesse freed Willy and got him back home to his pod. The Greenwoods are planning a trip to the San Juan Islands to visit Randolph while camping at Camp Nor'Wester. Before they leave, Dwight arrives with news that Jesse's mother was found dead inNew York City and left behind another son. This devastates Jesse after many attempts at finding her, but comes to terms with it, after talking his feelings out with Glen. Jesse's half-brother Elvis is morose, overly talkative and mischievous. He is also prone to telling lies and easily gets on Jesse's nerves. To make matters even worse for Jesse, Elvis is invited along on their trip, so that they can get to know each other. At the environmental institute, Jesse reunites with Randolph, becomes smitten with hisgoddaughter, Nadine, and is introduced to Willy's family during a day ofwhale watching. He tracks and reunites with Willy that night.
As the Greenwoods continue to enjoy their camping trip, Liberianoil tanker, theDakar, runs aground on Lawson Reef and spills oil due to an engine malfunction, trapping Willy and his siblings Luna and Littlespot at the campsite. Luna gets oil in her lungs and beaches herself. Jesse and the adults get her back in the water but need further assistance. Benbrook Oil CEO John Milner announces a plan to move the whales into captivity until further notice. Jesse challenges this, making him promise to do whatever he can to get them safely back to their mother, Catspaw, or else he'll be blamed for Luna's death. Luna's condition worsens the day after Kate Haley treats her. Jesse and Randolph use an old Indian remedy that helps her recover.
At a donut shop, Elvis, who ran away yesterday after Jesse, Glen and Annie denied help which in-turn caused Annie to accidentally break her promise in allowing him to contribute more, overhears John and Wilcox's real plan to sell the whales. With the oil spill reaching dangerous proximity to the cove, Benbrook Oil and the whalers boom it off despite Jesse, Randolph, and Nadine's objections and begin extracting the whales. Elvis rushes back to camp to warn Jesse and Nadine. They confront John, and he and his assistant are knocked into the water for breaking his promise. Willy rescues Littlespot from the extraction. Jesse hijacks theLittle Dipper to lead the whales to safety. On Jesse's signal, Willy breaks the boom and leads his siblings away. TheDakar explodes due tofuel vapors igniting after engineers try to start the generator, resulting in the crude oil catching fire.
Randolph picks up Glen and Annie, who just returned from their unsuccessful search for Elvis until they spotted him on theLittle Dipper, and the trio follow the kids' path as Randolph sends a distress call. The whales swim under the flaming oil to safety, but the kids fall into danger when they head into another cove. The fogginess from the smoke causes Jesse to hit a rock, and theLittle Dipper begins to sink while the flames seal off the cove. A search and rescue helicopter locates them, pulling Elvis and Nadine to safety, but Jesse slips out of the harness and the helicopter is forced to leave him behind due smoke choking the engine. Jesse nearly drowns, but Willy returns for his friend and carries him safely under the fire in time for the adults to retrieve Jesse. Though Jesse is curious as to why Willy hasn't left, Randolph reveals the signal must be performed. Jesse does it and he, Glen, and Annie say goodbye to Willy.
Shortly after the Coastal Marine Patrol deliver Elvis and Nadine, Elvis gives Jesse a taped old photograph of Jesse and their mother. It is revealed by Elvis that she talked about Jesse all the time and felt bad about abandoning him. Jesse thanks him and is able to make peace with what happened with his mom. Glen approves Annie's proposal of adopting Elvis. When Elvis asks Jesse how he knows the whales' whereabouts, Jesse clutches his necklace and says "I know". He then recites the old Haida prayer as Willy, Luna and Littlespot reunite with Catspaw.
In November 1993, producerLauren Shuler Donner and her husband and co-executive producerRichard Donner were pursuing active development of a sequel toFree Willy following the breakout success of the first film, but unlike the first film the whale was fully animatronic.[3]Jason James Richter returned to reprise his role as Jesse after renegotiating the original sequel option from the first film from $150,000 to $1.5 million with an option for a third sequel.[4]
Free Willy 2 grossed $30 million in the United States and Canada[5] and $68 million worldwide[2] on a $31 million budget.
The film received mixed reviews from critics, though many were impressed with the film's subtle approach to pollution and other environmental issues, while focusing on family values.[6][7][8][9][10] On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 50% of 26 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.9/10. The website's consensus reads: "Good-natured yet utterly unsurprising,Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home will strike all but the youngest of viewers as a poorly orca-strated sequel."[11] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale.[12]
Free Willy 2 was nominated for Worst Sequel and The Sequel Nobody Was Clamoring For at the1995 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards, but lost toAce Ventura: When Nature Calls andHalloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers, respectively. Willy won Favorite Animal Star at the1996 Kids' Choice Awards.
| Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by various artists | |
| Released | 1995 (1995) |
| Length | 39:15 |
| Label | |
| Producer | various |
Released through MJJ Music in association with550 Music andEpic Soundtrax in 1995, the soundtrack contained most of the songs from the film plus two additional tracks fromBrownstone, whose song "Sometimes Dancin'" first appeared on their debut albumFrom the Bottom Up, and3T who previously recorded "Didn't Mean to Hurt You" for the previous film. "My Spirit Calls Out", the K 'aw Daa Gangaas penned Haida song Randolph sings when he heals Luna, is the lone song not included on the soundtrack.
Basil Poledouris returned to compose new music and also incorporated several scoring elements from the previous film.
Michael Jackson continued his affiliation with theFree Willy franchise when "Childhood", originally released from his greatest hits/ninth albumHIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I as adouble A-side with that album's lead single "Scream", served as the main theme around Elvis. The instrumental version is featured when he looks at a photo of the Greenwoods with Jesse while spending the night alone.
An instrumental version ofNathan Cavaleri's song "Lou's Blues" was used to dub Jesse's offscreen guitar playing.
Additionally, two renditions ofBob Dylan's "Forever Young" are also featured in the film. One from Jackson's sisterRebbie can be heard inside the donut shop Elvis and Wilcox attend, while the end credits (which featured orca footage background shots by Bob Talbot) used the previously recorded version byThe Pretenders from the filmWith Honors and the band's albumLast of the Independents.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Childhood (Theme from "Free Willy 2")" | Michael Jackson | Michael Jackson | 4:27 |
| 2. | "Forever Young" | Bob Dylan | Rebbie Jackson | 4:24 |
| 3. | "Sometimes Dancin'" (feat.Spragga Benz) | Brownstone | 5:47 | |
| 4. | "What Will It Take" | Taryll Jackson | 3T | 5:17 |
| 5. | "I'll Say Goodbye for the Two of Us" | Diane Warren | Exposé | 4:47 |
| 6. | "Forever Young" | Bob Dylan | Pretenders | 5:03 |
| 7. | "Lou's Blues" | Nathan Cavaleri | Nathan Cavaleri Band | 3:14 |
| 8. | "Main Titles" | Basil Poledouris | 3:30 | |
| 9. | "Whale Swim" | Basil Poledouris | 3:18 | |
| 10. | "Reunion" | Basil Poledouris | 3:38 | |
| 12. | "Childhood (Theme from "Free Willy 2")" (Instrumental) | Michael Jackson | Michael Jackson | 4:27 |
On early UK home video promotions, the film was titled simply "Willy 2: The Adventure Home", presumably because the film's premise, unlike its predecessor's, does not involve Willy being freed.[citation needed]
