| Free Willy | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Simon Wincer |
| Screenplay by |
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| Story by | Keith A. Walker |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Robbie Greenberg |
| Edited by | O. Nicholas Brown |
| Music by | Basil Poledouris |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
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Running time | 112 minutes |
| Countries | United States Netherlands France |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $20 million[1] |
| Box office | $153.7 million[2] |
Free Willy is a 1993 Americanadventuredrama film, directed bySimon Wincer, produced byLauren Shuler Donner and Jennie Lew Tugend, written byKeith A. Walker and Corey Blechman from a story by Walker and distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures under theirFamily Entertainment imprint. The film starsJason James Richter in his film debut,Lori Petty,Jayne Atkinson,August Schellenberg, andMichael Madsen with the eponymous character, Willy, played byKeiko.
The story is about a 12-year-old orphaned boy named Jesse who befriends a captiveorca, Willy, at an ailing amusement park. When he discovers that the park owner has been planning to dispose of Willy, he hatches a scheme to break Willy out of captivity.
Released on July 16, 1993, the film received positive attention from critics and was a commercial success, grossing $153.7 million from a $20 million budget. It grew intoa small franchise, including ananimated television series,twosequels, and adirect-to-video reboot in addition to inspiring the rehabilitation and release of Keiko. The film marked Keith A. Walker's only film as screenwriter, and last project before his death in late December 1996.
On thePacific Northwest coastline, apod oforcas is tracked down bywhalers. An adolescent male orca is captured and separated from his family and sold to the Northwest Adventure Park.
Months later, Jesse, an orphan abandoned by his estranged mother six years ago, fled from Cooperton with his fellow orphans and spends three days roamingPortland, begging for money and robbing food. To evade police in pursuit later that night, he and Perry break into the adventure park's observation area unaware that they triggered an alarm. While doinggraffiti on the walls and its water tank, Jesse comes face to face with the orca before getting caught by the police. Dwight informs Jesse that his newfoster parents, Glen and Annie Greenwood, would be happy to take him in. Jesse, who hopes to be reunited with his mother, begrudgingly goes to live with them inAstoria.
To avoid being sent to juvenile hall if he flees again, Jesse is allowed to make up for his vandalism by cleaning and repainting the observation area. He forms a bond with the orca, named Willy, when he takes a liking to Jesse'sharmonica playing. With probation ending, and his job almost up, Jesse sneaks out of the house to visit Willy and falls in the tank. He nearly drowns but Willy saves and brings him to the surface. Randolph and Rae, Willy's respective caretaker and trainer/veterinarian, notice that Jesse is the only human normally ill-tempered Willy responds to, and eventually, Jesse is offered a summer job. He also starts to warm up to the Greenwoods.
Park owner Dial sees Jesse and Willy's talent in hopes of finally making money from the orca, who has thus far been a costly venture for him. On opening day, however, he refuses to perform due to being antagonized by children in the observation area. Jesse, unable to get him to do tricks while dealing with pressure from spectators except the Greenwoods and Dwight, tearfully storms off. Willy cracks the tank with his stress-induced rage, having had enough of the children's constant banging. Jesse plans to find his mother despite Dwight affirming that she does not want him. He sneaks out to stop by the tank to say goodbye to Willy. Before leaving, something responds to Willy's calling again. Jesse follows the responses and realizes Willy is communicating with his pod. The discovery is interrupted when park manager Wade and some colleagues sneak into the observation area to deliberately damage the spot where Willy smashed the tank so that the water will leak out.
Randolph explains to Jesse that Dial plans to kill Willy and collect the million-dollar insurance. Jesse hatches a plan to return him to the ocean, with Randolph and Rae joining in. They use a forklift to transport Willy from tank to Glen's pickup truck Jesse and Randolph stole. Dial launches a search when he is informed by Wade about Willy. When the truck gets stuck in the mud on Old Forest Road, Jesse uses the truck'sCB radio to call Glen and Annie for help. Both of them arrive and Glen is reluctant to assist but relents when Jesse pleads with him. After a brief stop at a car wash to wet Willy more, Glen drives the truck to Dawson's Marina, where Dial, Wade, and their men have assembled at the gates to halt them. Glen's truck smashes through the gate and backs Willy into the water.
After a struggle with Dial's men and Wade, Willy manages to swim away, but two of Dial's whaling ships seal off the marina. Jesse runs toward thebreakwater and encourages Willy to follow him and jump over. On the breakwater, Jesse recites a Haida prayer Randolph had taught him through the story ofNatsilane, before giving Willy the signal to jump. Willy makes the jump over and lands in the ocean on the other side, free to return to his pod, while a dismayed Dial and Wade can only watch. Jesse thanks and hugs Glen and Annie as Willy calls out to him in the distance.
Then-Astoria mayorWillis Van Dusen made a cameo appearance as a fish vendor.Jim Michaels was the announcer for the Northwest Adventure Park's aquatic theater. Additionally,Moultrie Patten and Ed Murphy play two homeless men at the car wash station where the former makes a compliment to Randolph after seeing Willy getting sprayed.Debi Derryberry was a stunt double for Jason James Richter in some scenes including Willy saving Jesse.
The project first originated in 1984 whenKeith A. Walker conceived of the story while working onThe Goonies with the film's directorRichard Donner, who would eventually serve as one of the executive producers forFree Willy. In the original script, the character of Jesse was amute 10-year-old boy living with nuns.[3] Donner and his wife, producerLauren Schuler Donner, hired screenwriter Corey Blechman to update the script and to make it less sentimental, including making Jesse older and into a street tough-type.[3] Schuler Donner cited the film as part of a broader initiative of making commercial films that while entertaining alsoconvey important messages.[4]
Filmmakers searched throughout the U.S., Japan, France, Spain, and Argentina for an orca to portray Willy before settling onKeiko, a twelve-year-old orca that had been residing atReino Aventura amusement park inMexico City since 1985.[5] The production team was able to film Keiko in the park while it underwent renovations from May and June 1992.[5] A wooden backdrop was used to make the Reino Aventura aquatic arena appear as if it was located in the Pacific Northwest.[5] Once filming concluded in Mexico City, production moved to Oregon andWashington for location shooting. Oregon locations featured in the film includeEcola State Park,Oregon Convention Center,Pioneer Courthouse Square,Morrison Bridge, 14th Street Pier,Tom McCall Waterfront Park,Burnside Skatepark andOaks Amusement Park. The climactic jump scene takes place at the Hammond Marina inWarrenton where a rocket launcher was used to shoot the Willy animatronic out of the shoot.[5] The final scene along with the opening and end credits featuring wildlife montages of theSouthern resident orcas were shot by Bob Talbot.
Most close-up shots involving limited movement by Willy, such as when he is in the trailer and the sequences involving him swimming in the open water, make use of an animatronic stand-in.Walt Conti, who supervised the effects for the orcas, estimated that half of the shots of the orca used animatronic stand-ins. Conti stated that the smaller movements of a real orca actually made things difficult in some ways for him and his crew; they had to concentrate on smaller nuances in order to make the character seem alive.[6] The most extensive use of CGI in the film is the climax where Willy jumps over Jesse and into the wild. All stunts with Keiko were performed by the young orca trainer Justin Sherbert (known additionally by his stage name, Justin Sherman).
Principal photography took place from May 18 to August 17, 1992.[5]
The film was released alongsideHocus Pocus andBenefit of the Doubt on July 16, 1993, and grossed $7,868,829 domestically in its opening weekend.[2] It went on to make $76 million in its foreign release and $11,181 from the 2021 re-release in some domestic markets, bringing the film's gross to $153,709,806.[2] Upon its initial release,Free Willy ranked number 5 behindHocus Pocus plus holdovers fromJurassic Park,In the Line of Fire andThe Firm at the box office before moving to number 4 by the following weekend and it stayed there for two more weeks. Afterward, its rank in the box office began to gradually decline, with the exception of a three-day weekend (September 3 to 6), in which gross revenue increased by 33.6%.[2]
The film has received positive reviews from critics. TheRotten Tomatoes website reported that 71% of critics have given the film a fresh rating based on 31 reviews, with an average rating of 5.6/10.[7] The site's critics consensus reads: "Free Willy tugs at the heartstrings skillfully enough to leap above the rising tide of sentimentality that threatens to drown its formulaic family-friendly story".[7] The film onMetacritic has a weighted average score of 79 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable" reviews from 14 reviews.[8] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[9] The film received a negative review fromGene Siskel, who said he had "a problem with the whale as a creature to be loved" since "[its] eyes are so set far apart you can't even see them".[10][11]
| Award | Date | Category | Recipient(s) and nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Youth in Film Awards | February 5, 1994 | Best Youth Actor Leading Role in a Motion Picture: Drama | Jason James Richter | Won1 | [12] |
| Outstanding Family Motion Picture: Drama | Free Willy | Won | |||
| Kids' Choice Awards | May 7, 1994 | Favorite Film | Free Willy | Nominated | [13] |
| Favorite Movie Actress | Lori Petty | Nominated | |||
| MTV Movie Awards | June 4, 1994 | Breakthrough Performance | Jason James Richter | Nominated | [14] |
| Best Kiss | Jason James Richter andWilly | Nominated | |||
| Best Song From a Movie | "Will You Be There" byMichael Jackson | Won | |||
| BMI Film & TV Awards | 1994 | BMI Film Music | Basil Poledouris | Won | [15] |
| Environmental Media Awards | 1994 | Feature Film | Free Willy | Won | [16] |
| Genesis Awards | 1994 | Feature Film | Free Willy | Won | [17] |
| Golden Screen Awards | 1994 | Golden Screen | Free Willy | Won | |
Notes:
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Free Willy sold almost 9 million units on videocassette following its release on December 11, 1993.[18][19] The original VHS, 10th Anniversary DVD, and Blu-ray releases also had a music video of the Michael Jackson song, "Will You Be There".
| Free Willy: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by various artists | |
| Released | July 13, 1993 |
| Length | 59:26 |
| Label |
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| Producer |
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| Singles from Free Willy: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | |
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [20] |
TheFree Willy film soundtrack was released on July 13, 1993, on CD and audio cassette by MJJ Music in association with theEpic Records sub-labelEpic Soundtrax.[21] It contained all the songs that were featured in the film.Michael Jackson wrote, produced and performed "Will You Be There", taken from his 1991 albumDangerous, which can be heard during the end credits (without the orchestral prelude and interlude). The single version, under the title "Will You Be There (Reprise)", is also included. The song went on to become a top 10 hit in theBillboard Hot 100 charts and was certified platinum as well as winning the1994 MTV Movie Award forBest Song from a Movie. A remix ofSWV's 1992 song "Right Here", which contained a sample of Jackson's "Human Nature", became the group's highest charted single to date and the second biggest hit off the soundtrack when it also landed in the Hot 100 chart at No. 2.New Kids on the Block recorded their first song since they briefly changed their name to NKOTB.[22]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Will You Be There (Theme from Free Willy)" | Michael Jackson | Michael Jackson | 5:53 |
| 2. | "Keep on Smilin'" |
| NKOTB | 4:36 |
| 3. | "Didn't Mean to Hurt You" | 3T | 5:47 | |
| 4. | "Right Here" (Human Nature Remix) | SWV | 3:50 | |
| 5. | "How Can You Leave Me Now" | Paul Frazier | Funky Poets | 5:43 |
| 6. | "Main Title" | Basil Poledouris | 5:07 | |
| 7. | "Connection" | Basil Poledouris | 1:44 | |
| 8. | "The Gifts" | Basil Poledouris | 5:19 | |
| 9. | "Friends Montage" | Basil Poledouris | 3:40 | |
| 10. | "Auditon" | Basil Poledouris | 2:04 | |
| 11. | "Farewell Suite
| Basil Poledouris | 12:01 | |
| 12. | "Will You Be There" (Reprise) | Michael Jackson | Michael Jackson | 3:42 |
| Total length: | 59:26 | |||
The aquatic star of the film was an orca namedKeiko. The huge national and international success of this film inspired a letter writing campaign to get Keiko released from his captivity as an attraction in the amusement parkReino Aventura in Mexico City; this movement was called "Free Keiko". Warner Bros. was so grateful for the whale, and so moved by the fans' ambition, they contributed to rehabilitate and (if possible) free Keiko. He was moved toThe Oregon Coast Aquarium in Oregon by flying in a UPSC-130 cargo plane. In Oregon, he was returned to health with the hopes of being able to return to the wild.[23] In 1998, Keiko was moved to Iceland via aUS Air Force C-17 to learn to live in the wild. After working with handlers, he was released from a sea pen in the summer of 2002 and swam to Norway following a pod of wild orcas.[24]
His subsequent return to humans for food and for company, and his inability to integrate with a pod of orcas confirms that the project had failed according to a scientific study published in the journalMarine Mammal Science (July 2009).[25][24] Keiko eventually died of pneumonia exacerbated by a deformed fin in a Norwegian bay on December 12, 2003.
A decade later in 2013, aNew York Times video reviewed Keiko's release into the wild.[26] Reasons cited for Keiko's failure to adapt include his early age at capture, the long history of captivity, prolonged lack of contact with other orcas, and strong bonds with humans.[27]
