IMDb > Free Willy (1993)
Free Willy
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Free Willy (1993) More at IMDbPro »

Videos (see all 2 NEW)
Free Willy (1993) -- Open-ended Trailer from Warner Bros.
Free Willy (1993) -- Trailerfan.com - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
5.4/10   11,235 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 19% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Simon Wincer
Writers (WGA):
Keith Walker (story)
Keith Walker (screenplay) ...
more
Contact:
View company contact information for Free Willy on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
16 July 1993 (USA) more
Genre:
Family | Adventure | Drama more
Tagline:
A 12 year old street kid. A 3 ton orca whale. A friendship you could never imagine. An adventure you'll never forget. more
Plot:
When a boy learns that a beloved killer whale is to be killed by the aquarium owners, the boy risks everything to free the whale. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
7 wins & 2 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(29 articles)
Michael Beardon Interview, This Is it
 (From MoviesOnline. 4 November 2009, 8:00 PM, PST)

'Battlestar Galactica' Alumni Link Up in 'The Green Chain'
 (From CinemaSpy. 21 August 2009, 11:23 PM, PDT)

User Comments:
5,2??? Don't believe in this rating!!! This is the best family movie of the 90-s and the sweetest one more (48 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Sauvez Willy (France) (dubbed version)
more
MPAA:
Rated PG for some mild language.
Runtime:
112 min
Country:
France | USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby Digital
Filming Locations:
Astoria, Oregon, USA more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Keiko, the killer whale used in the film, died on Friday 12 December 2003 after the sudden onset of pneumonia in the Taknes fjord in Norway. The whale was 27 years old. more
Goofs:
Continuity: When Jesse is riding Willy, first he is completely wet and then suddenly his hair is dry while the rest of him is wet. more
Quotes:
Perry: They looking for me?
Jesse: Nah.
Perry: Cool.
more
Movie Connections:
Spoofed in Tiny Toons Spring Break (1994) (TV) more
Soundtrack:
Will You Be There more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
46 out of 56 people found the following comment useful.
5,2??? Don't believe in this rating!!! This is the best family movie of the 90-s and the sweetest one, 20 April 2004
10/10
Author: Juni78ukr (juni78ukr@yahoo.com) from Odessa, Ukraine

First of all, I want to say some of my thoughts about IMDb ratings. If you look at IMDb top 250 you can hardly find any family movie . In fact, there are only three family movie (I mean live action movies not animated flicks) in this chart. They are Princess Bride on the 99 position (haven't seen yet), A Christmas Story on 142 (a movie nobody heard of besides English speaking countries) and the E.T. on the 244 (forever classic - no point denying that). And I bet you would be unable to find another one even in top 500. On the other hand you can find in this list, for example, more than eighty thrillers or more than thirty 30 war movies. Does that result means that family movies can't be good. Obviously it is not. For me the point is that many of people as well as lots of critics don't appreciate movies sweet movies without profanity, drugs, sex and violence. Cheesy movie for kids only that's not a fair grade. Well it's only my opinion but for me it's very sad when such a beautiful movie become so undeservedly underrated. Now, more directly to our movie. I watched Free Willy no less than four or five times and found it one of the best family and animal movie ever made. The bonds of friendship between man and animal are shown incredibility well here. From this point Free Willy remembered me another beautiful animal movie The Black Stallion. The unlikely friendship between twelve years old Jesse and giant whale as the main element of the story is very sweet and touching. Overall plot is well constructed (and there's no point to complain its unreality) with decent development of the main characters. Young and definitely talented Jason Jammes Richter created terrific performance of a young lonely problem boy Jesse. Also very good in the movie were August Schellenberg (as Randolph) and Michael Madsen (as Glen). As I always mentioned cinematography is pretty good, including first-rate animal action (Keiko is so cute there). The beautiful movie soundtrack written by Basil Poleuydouris a bit resembled for me terrific Carmine Coppola's score for The Black Stallion. And finally, that's maybe the most important Free Willy is a very humanistic movie, a movie that what was made with love and care about nature. Thanks to Simon Wincer for this great masterpiece. We need more movies like this, not a laughable rubbish that Hollywood studios now provide for family entertainment. I rated Free Willy 10 out of 10 as an excellent and beautiful family friendly movie. Check out also its two sequels. They are also pretty good.

Thanks for reading and sorry for my bad English.

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