Free Willy (franchise)

American children's film media franchise

Free Willy

Created by| Keith A. Walker
Original work| Free Willy
Owner| Warner Bros. Pictures
Years| 1993-2010
Films and television
Film(s)| Free Willy
Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home
Free Willy 3: The Rescue
Animated series| Free Willy
Direct-to-video| Free Willy: Escape from Pirate's Cove
Audio
Soundtrack(s)| Free Willy
Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home
Free Willy 3: The Rescue

Free Willy is a media franchise from Warner Bros. that started with the 1993 film Free Willy that went on to become a sleeper hit at the box office. The original series primarily follows a street kid named Jesse who befriends an orca named Willy whom he develops a strong friendship with. He and Willy are challenged with overcoming or defeating various hazards to the ocean or Willy himself including corporate greed, hunters, poachers, and oil disasters.

Following the success of Free Willy, it was followed by an animated series, two sequels, and a direct-to-video reboot.

## Films

[edit]

### Free Willy (1993)

[edit]

Main article: Free Willy

A delinquent orphan named Jesse is forced to clean up graffiti at the Northwest Adventure Park as part of his probation while staying with new foster parents. There, he becomes attached to a captive killer whale, the film's eponymous "Willy", until he discovers a secret from the park's greedy owner that threatens their friendship.

### Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995)

[edit]

Main article: Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home

Two years after setting him free, Jesse reunites with Willy during a camping trip in the San Juan Islands with the Greenwoods and newly-discovered half-brother named Elvis as the teenager tries to help Willy and his siblings Luna and Littlespot return to their mother Catspaw after an oil spill separated them in addition to endangering Luna.

### Free Willy 3: The Rescue (1997)

[edit]

Main article: Free Willy 3: The Rescue

Jesse now works with his old friend Randolph at an orca institute where he tracks down Willy and his mate Nicky, and also teams up with Max to stop the latter's father from hunting the whales.

### Free Willy: Escape from Pirate's Cove (2010)

[edit]

Main article: Free Willy: Escape from Pirate's Cove

Kirra discovers a baby killer whale washed ashore in the lagoon near her grandfather's rundown seaside amusement park during her stay in South Africa. She names the orca Willy and embarks on a quest to lead him back to his pod before he is sold.

Film  | U.S. release date  | Director(s)  | Screenwriter(s)  | Story by  | Producer(s)

|
|
|
|
|

Free Willy | June 11, 1993 (1993-06-11) | Simon Wincer | Corey Blechman & Keith A. Walker | Keith A. Walker  | Jennie Lew Tugend & Lauren Shuler Donner
Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home | July 19, 1995 (1995-07-19) | Dwight Little | John Mattson, Karen Janszen & Corey Blackman
Free Willy 3: The Rescue | August 7, 1997 (1997-08-07) | Sam Pillsbury | John Mattson  | Jennie Lew Tugend
Free Willy: Escape from Pirate's Cove | March 23, 2010 (2010-03-23) | Will Geiger  | Cindy McCreery  | David Wicht, Laura Lodin & John Stainton

## Television

[edit]

### Free Willy (1994 - 1995)

[edit]

Main article: Free Willy (TV series)

Season| Episodes| Originally released

|
|

First released| Last released
1| 13| October 1, 1994 (1994-10-01)| December 24, 1994 (1994-12-24)
2| 8| September 9, 1995 (1995-09-09)| December 16, 1995 (1995-12-16)

## Cast and crew

[edit]

### Cast

[edit]

List indicators

This section includes characters who have appeared in major or notable roles in the franchise..

* An empty grey cell indicates the character was not in the film.
*  V indicates a voice-only role.

Characters  | Original series  | Animated series  | Reboot

|
|
|

Free Willy | Free Willy 2:
The Adventure Home | Free Willy 3:
The Rescue | Free Willy | Free Willy:
Escape from Pirate's Cove
Season 1  | Season 2
Jesse  | Jason James Richter | Zachary BennettV |
Willy  | Keiko | Appeared[a] | Paul HaddadV | Appeared
Randolph Johnson  | August Schellenberg | Michael FletcherV |
Annie Greenwood  | Jayne Atkinson |  | Sheila McCarthyV |
Glen Greenwood  | Michael Madsen |  | Ron LenV |
Rae Lindley  | Lori Petty |
Dial  | Michael Ironside |
Wade  | Richard Riehle |
Dwight Mercer  | Mykelti Williamson |
Perry  | Michael Bacall |
Gwenie  | Danielle Harris |
Elvis  |  | Francis Capra |
Nadine  |  | Mary Kate Schellhardt |
John Milner  |  | Jon Tenney |
Kate Haley  |  | Elizabeth Peña |
Wilcox  |  | M. Emmet Walsh |
Captain Nilson  |  | Steve Kahan |
Commander Blake  |  | John Considine |
Drew Halbert  |  | Annie Corley |
Max Wesley  |  | Vincent Berry  |
John Wesley  |  | Patrick Kilpatrick |
Kron  |  | Ian Tracey |
1st Mate Sanderson  |  | Peter LaCroix  |
Captain Drake  |  | Matthew Walker |
Dineen  |  | Stephen E. Miller  |
Mary Wesley  |  | Tasha Simms  |
Rockland Stone
The Machine |  | Gary KrawfordV |
Marlene  |  | Rachel CrawfordV |
P.R. Frickley  |  | Andrew SabistonV |
Mr. Naugle  |  | Neil CroneV |
Lucille  |  | Alyson CourtV |
Amphonoids  |  | James KidnieV |
Kirra Cooper  |  | Bindi Irwin
Gus Grisby  |  | Beau Bridges
Mansa  |  | Bongolethu Mbutuma
Sifiso  |  | Siyabuela Ramba
Rolf V.D. Woods  |  | Stephen Jennings
Blikkie  |  | Matthew Roberts
Jayce  |  | Heima Jaffa
Dr. Sam Cooper  |  | Kevin Otto
Diff  |  | Louw Venter

### Crew

[edit]

Film  | Crew/Detail

|

Composer(s)  | Cinematographer  | Editor(s)  | Production companies  | Distributing companies  | Running time
Free Willy | Basil Poledouris | Robbie Greenberg | O. Nicholas Brown  | Alcor Films
Le Studio Canal+
Regency Enterprises
Donner/Shuler-Donner | Warner Bros. | 1 hour and 52 minutes
Free Willy 2:
The Adventure Home | László Kovács | Dallas Puett
Robert Brown  | Alcor Films
Le Studio Canal+
Regency Enterprises
Shuler-Donner/Donner  | 1 hour and 38 minutes
Free Willy 3:
The Rescue | Cliff Eidelman | Tobias A. Schliessler | Margaret Goodspeed  | Regency Enterprises
Shuler Donner/Donner  | 1 hour and 26 minutes
Free Willy:
Escape from Pirate's Cove | Enis Rotthoff  | Robert Malpage  | Sabrina Plisco  | Film Africa Worldwide
ApolloMovie Beteiligungs  | Warner Premiere | 1 hour and 41 minutes

## Reception

[edit]

### Box office performance

[edit]

Film  | Release date  | Box office revenue  | Budget  | Ref.

|
|
|
|

North America  | Other territories  | Worldwide
Free Willy | July 16, 1993  | $77,709,806  | $76,000,000  | $153,709,806  | $20,000,000  | [1]
Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home | July 19, 1995  | $30,077,111  | —  | $30,077,111  | $31,000,000  | [2]
Free Willy 3: The Rescue | August 8, 1997  | $3,446,539  | —  | $3,446,539  | —  | [3]
Total  | $111,222,275  | $76,000,000  | $187,222,275  | $51,000,000  |

### Critical and public response

[edit]

Film  | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | CinemaScore[4]

|
|
|

Free Willy | 71% (31 reviews)[5] | 79 (14 reviews)[6] | A
Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home | 50% (26 reviews)[7] | —  | A-
Free Willy 3: The Rescue | 44% (16 reviews)[8] | —  | B+
Free Willy: Escape from Pirate's Cove | —  | —  | —

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Free Willy (1993)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
2. ^ "Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
3. ^ "Free Willy 3: The Rescue (1997)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
4. ^ "CinemaScore". CinemaScore. Archived from the original on April 13, 2022. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
5. ^ "Free Willy". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
6. ^ "Free Willy". Metacritic. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
7. ^ "Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
8. ^ "Free Willy 3: The Rescue". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 12, 2020.

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ While Willy appears in Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home and Free Willy 3: The Rescue, Keiko did not perform scenes for either of these films, and the character was portrayed using an animatronic Orca.

## External links

[edit]

* Free Willy at IMDb
* The Adventure Home at IMDb
* The Rescue at IMDb
* Escape From Pirate's Cove at IMDb

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Free Willy

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* Free Willy
* Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home
* Free Willy 3: The Rescue

|

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