Free Willy
Directed by	Simon Wincer
Produced by	Jennie Lew Tugend
Starring	Keiko Jason James Richter Lori Petty Jayne Atkinson August Schellenberg Michael Madsen Michael Ironside Michael Bacall
Music by	Basil Poledouris
Cinematography	Robbie Greenberg
Editing by	O. Nicholas Brown
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	July 16, 1993
Running time	112 min.
Language	English
IMDb profile

Free Willy is a 1993 Warner Bros. film about a boy who befriends an Orca whale. Image File history File links Free_willy. ... Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... Keiko (1976 - December 12, 2003) was an orca (or killer whale) who stared in the first of three Free Willy movies. ... Jason James Richter (born January 29, 1980 in Medford, Oregon, USA) is an US actor. ... Lori Petty (born October 14, 1963 in Chattanooga, Tennessee) is an American movie actress. ... Jayne Atkinson (born February 18, 1959) in Bournemouth, Dorset, UK is an American stage, film, and television actress. ... August Schellenberg is a Canadian actor, born in Montreal. ... For other uses, see Michael Madsen (disambiguation). ... Michael Ironside (born Frederick Reginald Ironside[1] on February 12, 1950) is a Canadian character actor. ... Michael Jermaine Dwight Bacall the 29th was born on June 9th 1980 in Holland. ... Basil Poledouris (Greek: Βασίλης Πολεδούρης) (August 21, 1945 - November 8, 2006) was an American film composer. ... “WB” redirects here. ... is the 197th day of the year (198th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... “WB” redirects here. ... Binomial name Orcinus orca Linnaeus, 1758 Orca range (in blue) The Orca or Killer Whale (Orcinus orca) is the largest species of the oceanic dolphin family (Delphinidae). ...

Plot

The film begins with a pod of Orca swimming near the coastline of the Pacific Northwest. Unfortunately, this family of orca is tracked down by a large group of whalers, and a single orca gets caught in their net. Unable to save him, his family leaves him behind, and he is taken away to a local marina water park. Binomial name Orcinus orca Linnaeus, 1758 Orca range (in blue) The Orca or Killer Whale (Orcinus orca) is the largest species of the oceanic dolphin family (Delphinidae). ... The Pacific Northwest from space The Pacific Northwest, abbreviated PNW, or PacNW is a region in the northwest of North America. ...

Sometime later Jesse (Jason James Richter), a street-wise boy who has been on the run since he was abandoned by his mother six years before, gets caught vandalizing the marina along with a gang of other abandoned kids. However, his social worker helps him avoid legal consequences, provided he cleans up his mess at the marina. While there, Jesse befriends the dolphin, named Willy by the park owners, and teaches him behaviors, something the trainer, Rae (Lori Petty), had failed to do. Over time, Jesse and Willy become the best of friends, and Jesse earns a long-term job at the marina while learning to live with his new and supportive foster parents. Jason James Richter (born January 29, 1980 in Medford, Oregon, USA) is an US actor. ... Lori Petty (born October 14, 1963 in Chattanooga, Tennessee) is an American movie actress. ...

However, when Willy is unable to perform effectively in front of the audience, the owner of the marina plans to kill Willy for the insurance money. Thus, Jesse and his friends, including an Indian shaman named Randolph (August Schellenberg), must free Willy. The shaman is an intellectual and spiritual figure who is regarded as possessing power and influence on other peoples in the tribe and performs several functions, primarily that of a healer ( medicine man). The shaman provides medical care, and serves other community needs during crisis times, via supernatural means (means... August Schellenberg is a Canadian actor, born in Montreal. ...

Commentary

• The aquatic star of this film was an orca named Keiko. The huge national and international success of this movie inspired a letter writing campaign to get Keiko released from his captivity as an attraction in the amusement park Reino Aventura in Mexico City, this movement was called "Free Keiko". Keiko was released into a bigger pool in Oregon when it was discovered that the combination of the chlorination and the excessively warm temperature of the water was causing skin lesions. Though Keiko was eventually released, he continually sought out human contact, and eventually died of pneumonia near Norway on December 12, 2003.

• The famous scene where Willy jumps over Jesse to freedom was parodied in the Simpsons episode "The Boy Who Knew Too Much". Homer watches a version of the film where Willy doesn't make it and crushes Jesse. Dismayed, Homer says, "Oh, I don't like this new director's cut!"

Keiko (1976 - December 12, 2003) was an orca (or killer whale) who stared in the first of three Free Willy movies. ... Reino Aventura (Spanish: Adventure Kingdom) was an amusement park located in Tlalpan in the south-western part of Mexico City. ... Nickname: Motto: Ciudad en movimiento Location of Mexico City in central Mexico Coordinates: , Country Federal entity Boroughs The 16 delegaciones Founded c. ... is the 346th day of the year (347th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Simpsons. ... A directors cut is a specially edited version of a film, and less often TV series, music video, commercials or video games, that is supposed to represent the directors own approved edit. ...

Sequels and Spin-offs

• Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995)
• Free Willy 3: The Rescue (1997)
• Free Willy (TV series) (1994), a two-season animated spin-off in which Willy and other sea creatures could talk (and, perhaps more awkwardly, come up against a cyborg enemy). Although it was released between the first two films, it fits better in continuity terms between the second and third films (see summaries linked above).

The 1995 film Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home stars Jason James Richter and August Schellenberg. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... For the band, see 1997 (band). ... Free Willy is an animated television series, inspired by the 1993 film Free Willy. ... Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar). ... For other uses, see Cyborg (disambiguation). ... In fiction, continuity is consistency of the characteristics of persons, plot, objects, places and events seen by the reader or viewer. ...

Music

• Michael Jackson produced and performed "Will You Be There", the theme for the movie which can be heard during the film's credits.

Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958), commonly known as MJ as well as the King of Pop, is an American musician, entertainer, and pop icon whose successful career and controversial personal life have been a part of pop culture for the last three decades. ...

External links

• Free Willy at the Internet Movie Database