Free Willy (1993)

Directed by

Simon Wincer

Genre

drama film, adventure film, family film

Country

United States

Runtime

1h 47m

Rated

PG

Rating

6.2 of 10 from 1,996 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A 12-year-old orphaned boy named Jesse befriends a captive orca named Willy at a struggling amusement park. He learns the park owner plans to get rid of Willy, so Jesse works to free the whale from captivity.

heartwarminghopefulupliftingtouchingsentimentalfamily-friendlyadventurousemotional

What happens

Free Willy is a 1993 family drama film, directed by Simon Wincer, produced by Lauren Shuler Donner and Jennie Lew Tugend, written by Keith Walker and Corey Blechman from a story by Walker and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures under their Family Entertainment imprint. The film stars Jason James Richter in his film debut, Lori Petty, Jayne Atkinson, August Schellenberg, and Michael Madsen with the eponymous character, Willy, played by Keiko. The story is about a 12-year-old orphaned boy named Jesse who befriends a captive orca, 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 into a small franchise, including an animated television series, two sequels, and a direct-to-video reboot in addition to inspiring the rehabilitation and release of Keiko. The film marked Keith Walker's only film as screenwriter, and last project before his death on December 30, 1996. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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