Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995)

Teenager Jesse becomes reunited with Willy two years after the whale's jump to freedom as the teenager tries to rescue the killer whale and other orcas from an oil spill.

Director:

Dwight H. Little (as Dwight Little)

Writers:

Keith Walker (characters) (as Keith A. Walker), Karen Janszen

Stars:

Jason James Richter, Michael Madsen, Francis Capra

2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jason James Richter	...	Jesse
Francis Capra	...	Elvis
Mary Kate Schellhardt	...	Nadine
August Schellenberg	...	Randolph
Michael Madsen	...	Glenn
Jayne Atkinson	...	Annie
Mykelti Williamson	...	Dwight
Elizabeth Peña	...	Kate Haley
Jon Tenney	...	John Milner
Paul Tuerpe	...	Milner's Assistant
M. Emmet Walsh	...	Bill Wilcox
John Considine	...	Commander Blake
Steve Kahan	...	Captain Nilson
Neal Matarazzo	...	Helmsman Kelly
Al Sapienza	...	Engineer

Storyline

Willy the smart and rebellious whale and Jessie the orphaned boy team up to escape Willy's captivity and horrible owner to get back to his pod. Can they succeed with the help of Annie and Glenn Jessie's foster parents, Randolph the spiritual friend of Willy and Jessie, and Rae Willy's trainer?

---

Plot Keywords:

whale | boy | oil tanker | oil spill | killer whale | 

---

Taglines:

The adventure is back. The fun is back. Willy's back. And this time he's brought his whole family to meet an old friend ... and take on a new challenge.

---

Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Family

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild language and mild peril

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jesse's Seattle Seahawks cap is a nod to Jason James Richter being a fan of the team.

---

Goofs

When Jesse, Nadine and Elvis sets out in the boat towards the end of the movie, following Willy and the other Orcas, it's daylight. When the helicopter arrives to rescue them from the burning oil, it's suddenly dark out. It wouldn't take the rescue helicopter several hours to either locate or rescue them, so it couldn't have been evening/late at night.

---

Quotes

Elvis: What are you staring at?
Jesse: What are you staring at?
Elvis: Bunch of water.
Jesse: Yeah. Shows what you know.
Elvis: Is there at least an amusement park on this island?
Jesse: No. There's a whale spotting station.
Elvis: You mean where they paint spots on the whales?
Jesse: Yeah.

---

Alternate Versions

On the 2003 DVD, there is an error in the Warner Bros. Family Entertainment logo; when Bugs Bunny eats his carrot while posing by the WB shield, one second of it is skipped. However, the logo is fixed on digital platforms.

---

Connections

Referenced in At the Movies: Conspiracy Theory/Kiss Me, Guido/The Full Monty/Career Girls/Love Serenade/Free Willy 3: The Rescue (1997)

---

Soundtracks

Childhood (Theme from 'Free Willy 2')
"Childhood (Theme from 'Free Willy 2')"
Instrumental
Written by Michael Jackson
Produced by Michael Jackson and David Foster
Performed by Michael Jackson
Courtesy of Epic Records
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

What can I say? Overall, it's another unfulfilling family adventure

If you've seen my comment on the original "Free Willy", which is not a positive one, you might be wondering why I'm reviewing this sequel, why I would have bothered watching it. Well, the only explanation I can give is that I saw it at school back in 1996, on my last day of Grade 3. While I couldn't seem to remember that much of it from that first viewing, I clearly remember that the climax had my heart pounding, and it was a memorable way to mark the end of my years as a primary student. So, it's another film from my childhood which I decided to revisit, and probably wouldn't have ever ended up seeing at all had I not seen it before. Since I didn't like the original 1993 film when I watched it recently, it's no surprise I'm not too impressed with this 1995 sequel, either.

It has been two years since Jesse brought Willy, the orca whale, back to his natural habitat. The two haven't seen each other since then, but Jesse is happy living with his foster parents, Glen and Annie Greenwood. However, the teenager is not happy when he is informed that his birth mother has just died, and his younger half-brother, Elvis, is coming to live with them. Jesse and Elvis do not get along, and their conflict continues on a camping trip with their foster parents, on which they have to share a tent. On this trip, Jesse finally sees Willy again, and also reunites with his friend, Randolph. Randolph introduces his goddaughter, Nadine, whom Jesse quickly falls in love with. Trouble comes when an oil tanker crashes and spills its contents into the water, threatening the lives of the whales! While Jesse and others attempt to save these whales, Elvis has problems of his own.

I didn't care much for many of the characters in the original film, but this sequel introduces Elvis, played by Francis Capra, and he might be slightly worse than any character featured in the 1993 smash hit family movie. It seems Capra was given some poor lines in this role, such as what his character says when he realizes his foster parents aren't rich. Of course, not all cheesy lines in the movie come from him. Basically, most aspects of this movie weren't done so well, including the conflict between Jesse and Elvis, which may be a little extreme at times, and the teen romance between Jesse and Nadine. Like the original, there is some tension, and also maybe a few poignant moments, but at times, it may try too hard, or not hard enough. I have to admit, I actually found it mildly amusing when Glen and Annie go out looking for Elvis and Michael Jackson's song, "Childhood" suddenly begins. I'm sorry, I know it's a deeply personal song of Jackson's, about his tragic upbringing, and I know he is now dead, but in this movie, the song seemed to be thrown in, as a poor attempt to push the right buttons on the audience. I didn't even know the artist was Michael Jackson when I watched the film.

It seems "Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home" is less popular than the original "Free Willy", even though some critics considered it superior. Personally, I'm pretty much indifferent to both of them. I've explained why I decided to watch and review this sequel, but since I've never seen the final installment in the trilogy, 1997's "Free Willy 3: The Rescue" (which appears to be even less popular), to this day, I don't intend to watch it. I don't like what I've seen in the first two so much, so I obviously don't want to sit through another hour and a half or so of what is probably pretty much the same thing. Despite how long it's been since the last "Free Willy" movie was made, more than one source tells me that there will be a "Free Willy 4" released next year, starring Bindi Irwin, the daughter of late conservationist Steve Irwin (a.k.a. "The Crocodile Hunter"). Apparently, it will be a direct-to-DVD release. No offence to the Irwins, but I will definitely be passing on this one as well.

Details

Country:

France USA Luxembourg

Language:

English Danish Malay Dutch Indonesian Finnish Luxembourgish French Sign Language

Release Date:

19 July 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home

Filming Locations:

Washington, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,039,608, 23 July 1995

Gross USA:

$30,077,111

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$30,077,111

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alcor Films, Canal+, Donner/Shuler-Donner Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1