Free Willy: Escape from Pirate's Cove (2010 Video) User Reviews

Free Willy rebooted!

[Reno-Rangan · 6/10 · 14 June 2017]

I did not know there was a fourth 'Free Willy'. This is not exactly a follow-up. There's no connection between previous films and this, except the Orca named as Willy. They call it a reboot, but instead they should have turned it into a prequel. Because this storyline was very much like that kind. I'm not a big fan of this franchise, so I was not expecting anything big. One of the reason I watched it for our Steve Irwin's beloved daughter. This is her acting debute and she was quite good, though not the ideal one.

She as Kirra lives alone with her single father and after he met with an accident, she was sent to her grandfather's in South Africa. The old man who runs a small seaside amusement park, Kirra does not find hard to get adjusted, not without initial dislike for him. But it was when she finds a baby Orca that trapped in the park's small lagoon. Since she begins to fight for its freedom, but has to go through many obstacles and in the end how the story end was told with a tiny twist.

Not a bad film. Small cost film, a neat production. Nice performances too. Simple and predictable story, but would work well for little kids. Beautiful places, well, most of the film was shot in a single location, though it looked very nice. And the killer whale calf was a toy in most of the closer shots, as well in a few stunt sequences. Not a film for deliberately jump in to watch, but if you decide to watch, just keep away your grownup egos to enjoy it as a kid. Particularly for its message, to save the wild animals from human's captivity.

6/10

The Movie

[darkmale · 4/10 · 15 March 2016]

I bought the movie in a set of pack of 4 with the first 3 intending to relive a peace of the 90's. Now certain aspects of the movie are right, and the idea is sort of there. the plot could have been developed a bit more. But I have a feeling this movie was intended to drag in the interest of a new generation of kids to get there interest going. Today, the kids are all watching computerized cartoons, and the idea, I think is to drum up the sales and to teach kids a interest of it, so they wont mind watching the older movies from the 90's which are much better. Oh yes, the actors and actresses did a good job for what they had to work with. A whale that washes into a cove is a whale that's stuck. Can't go nowhere and a man wants it. Family movies to obvious? Depends on which ones you watch. Are the 90's in this movie? Nope. The 90's are done. If you wanna go back to the 90's where you grew up, my advice is to get movies you might have watched growing up: Home Alone & H.A. 2, Free Willy 1; 2; 3. LOL. Kids today are NOT 90's kids and wont be. Or even those darn kid movies u watched as a kid. LOL, even if they were kids. As for the above movie, use it to get your kids interested in the originals. :)

Decent movie, could have been better, could have been worse

[kitethewolf · 6/10 · 23 October 2010]

I wasn't too sure about whether or not I'd like this movie, but since I've been a Free Willy/Steve Irwin fan my entire life, I gave it a shot. Overall, it was decent. The acting, in my opinion, was good. I felt that Bindi did a fantastic job. The storyline, though very similar to the first and second Free Willy movies, was decent, though more effort could have been made to make the storyline a little more original. However, its still a heartwarming story. If this movie had come out when I was a little kid, I would have watched it often. I did have some problems with this movie, though. For one, they named the whale Willy, even though it had nothing to do with the original whale. That bothered me simply because this whale wasn't the Willy I grew up loving in the other movies. I think they should have at least made this whale be Willy's son Max, who was born in the end of the third movie. It would have at least given this whale a connection to the real Willy. For two, the robot-whale didn't look very realistic at all. It seemed as though it was unable to close its mouth completely and in the scenes leading up to "Willy"'s release, its mouth was hanging open slightly, which...erm, made the whale look kinda...deceased. Three, I didn't feel the connection between Kirra and "Willy" like I did between Jesse and Willy. Kirra obviously cared about "Willy" and the whale seemed to like her, but I didn't personally feel like the connection was very strong. I'm a very emotional person, and I didn't even tear up when "Willy" was released and Kirra had to say goodbye (I cry at the end of Free Willy every time, though). Four, a minor complaint, but I wasn't completely satisfied with the lack of footage of real orcas used in this film. This film relied heavily on computer generated images and the robot, even though the back of the case shows Kirra riding a clearly real orca. I had hoped and expected to see at least -some- footage of "Willy" using a real whale, judging from the pictures on the back of the case. In conclusion, it could have used some improvements, but it isn't a terrible movie. Younger kids would probably enjoy it more than teenagers and adults. My personal recommendation is to watch the first Free Willy film if you're going to choose between the four. I enjoy kids movies, but I usually shut this movie off about halfway through.

Don't watch this if you enjoyed Free Willy 1, 2, or 3

[carlys299 · 1/10 · 12 May 2010]

The fact that this movie is associated with Free Willy 1,2, or 3 is disgraceful! I was excited to see another Free Willy come out but in the end it was a bust. I purchased the movie and wish I could get my money back. The only scenes that focused on Orcas and not Bindi Irwin were computer generated images of whales. Also, Bindi blindfolds "Willy" (the impostor) which I think is a form of animal cruelty. The story was way more focused on Bindi and Beau than orca whales. Also, some people are calling it Free Willy 4 and it is not a sequel, but definitely not a remake. Bring back the original cast and make an actual Free Willy 4 with real whales and passionate human beings who aren't just trying to get their 15 minutes of fame. Bindi's a cute girl and a decent actress, but we watch Free Willy to see whales. We miss you Jesse!!!

What were they thinking

[khanson_25 · 1/10 · 25 April 2012]

This movie should not have been made, what is wrong with TV and movie producers these days.

More important it should not be called free Willy 4. Seriously.. its made 10 years later and has nothing to do with the original films and it takes place in like Britain or something. They couldn't have named it something else! And what is with the random penguin.. horrible movie, horrible acting. Just garbage there is a reason why this never made it to theaters. They only reason i tried watching this was because it came in a pack with the 3 original movies I think i might just throw it away.

Loved Willy in the 90s? Don't Look for Him Here!

[CharlyHarms · 2/10 · 24 June 2013]

Growing up loving the first 3 Free Willy Movies, I was obviously excited when I heard there was going to be a new one, but I found myself almost completely disappointed by this . . . "sequel".

The only relation that this film has to the "original three films" is the fact that we just happen to have a - much younger - orca named Willy and a - much younger and feminine - adolescent with severe family issues.

Now I do not claim that the original three Free Willy movies were the best films Hollywood has ever had to offer, but this film fails to achieve the structure of the original films - it just doesn't belong! The producers probably slapped "FREE WILLY" on the title to insure that they would at least get a little business from the folks that loved the 90s Willy.

And if that is the truth, they were right - for the most part. However, they did not get any business from this 90s girl! I checked this movie for free - thanks to my public library.

But, alas, this movie may not be a complete tragedy for everyone. I speculate that folks who did see or grow up loving any of the first three Free Willy films, may moderately enjoy this film in its simplicity.

Predictable but enjoyable

[sligocait · 7/10 · 9 April 2010]

I bought this DVD for two reasons. First, I'm a long-time fan of the Bridges acting family. Second, I was a huge fan of Steve Irwin and I thought that the combination of Bindi Irwin and Beau Bridges would be marvelous. For me, it was. I have read the negative reviews of this movie here and, while the plot is pretty predictable (what family-oriented film plot isn't?), I thought that the chemistry between the actors was wonderful and I disagree with the cynics, especially about Bindi's performance. I found Bindi Irwin's performance to be charming and Beau Bridges didn't disappoint either. Together, they are irresistible even in an obvious plot like this one, and the music is lovely as well.

I have no small children at this time and as yet I have no grandchildren. I bought this DVD for myself, and I would do it again. This film is fun and joyous and brought tears to my eyes at the same time. It is engaging and appealing on its own, even with the reference to the "Free Willy" franchise. This film could stand on its own without that title.

Australia should consider Bindi Irwin to be a national treasure, and I found this movie to be absolutely charming.

Not as good as the original...

[Thanos_Alfie · 3/10 · 31 January 2021]

"Free Willy: Escape from Pirate's Cove" is an Adventure - Drama movie in which we watch a young girl finding a baby Orca in a lagoon close to her grandfather's amusement park. She tries to help and rescue the baby Orca.

Since I had already watched the original franchise of "Free Willy" I knew what to expect from this movie. "Free Willy: Escape from Pirate's Cove" is the new version of the movie "Free Willy" of 1993. The interpretation of Bindi Irwin who played as Kirra, it was good but not enough to save this movie. I am not saying that "Free Willy: Escape from Pirate's Cove" is a bad movie, I am just saying that it's another below average family movie and nothing more. Finally, I have also to say that if you want to watch a nice family movie with the same context then you should definitely watch the first movie of "Free Willy" of 1993.

Exceeded my Expectations

[mattcc119 · 7/10 · 30 April 2010]

I wasn't looking forward to watching the most recent addition to the Free Willy franchise. My choice to rent the movie was a last resort decision but fortunately I do not regret my choice. While the movie was far from a master piece and wasn't nearly as good as the first Free Willy it is still very entertaining. Once I became accustomed to the cliché family film feel of the movie I was able to enjoy the story for what it was. My biggest complaint is that the movie was very different from the other previous Free Willy films to the point where it should have been called something else. This Free Willy movie is obviously made for the younger audience, the acting is overly comedic, the bad situations are always humorously harmful and the entire movie is very predictable. The movie overall just seems much more family oriented then the first film. That is not necessarily negative, I just wasn't expecting the family style to be pushed as hard as it was. In addition to that, the protagonist Kirra took a while to warm up to. I thought Bindi Irwin was simply a poor actor at first but I eventually realized that the acting flaws seemed more like they were caused by the director constantly looking for the overly fun family film style. While the acting seemed flawed, in the end I rather liked the character.

If you enjoy family films then I believe you'll find the movie entertaining, however, if you're not accustomed to family films I suggest you avoid watching the movie, especially if your looking for a movie similar to the original Free Willy.

my opinion about the movie

[tjaka_rahantoknam · 26 March 2010]

I think the is a humiliation, when you compare this one to the first three this one is not well. Also the music sounds terrible. I think they needed to use some old Basil Poledouris tracks.

He also did the music for free Willy 1 and 2.

The story is very bad. And some parts about the orca's looks like computer games,

I don't have anything good to say about this movie, because the first three were perfect.

and this one don't get close to the first 3

Maybe there are some kids over the world who will love it.

But I don't

Maybe this is a negative review but i'm just critical

Bad idea

[zangetsutensho · 1/10 · 20 August 2012]

Movie isn't a remake and its an insult to Keiko (free Willy) who died in 2003 how dare they make another movie this terrible and call it free Willy I'm not saying that there shouldn't be a remake just do it respectably they should have gone with cg or something better this was a disgrace. I loved free Willy this movie isn't just terrible because its terribly made, but it horrible to do after Willy died. If they wouldn't have tried to use Willy as a something to show this movie off and make money i might have actually enjoyed it. It is much more slapstick and poor quality than the original 3, not that they should have used a real whale to shoot the movie that would have made it 100% worse than the terrible animatronic doll which trust me is not made well at all just so you know there is hardly any showing of the "Whale" who i refuse to call Willy because hes not. if you want a good whale movie than watch the original 3 but remember whatever you watch be prepared to explain to your children that free Willy is already dead.

Charming Simple Story

[PosteLafayetteGav · 8/10 · 13 August 2010]

I was a bit alarmed at the start of this film - the acting, especially by young Bindi Irwin was not great BUT it improved a lot as the film went on and slowly I began to really like the setting, the actors and the simple story. Yes it is predictable, yes it is a bit silly at times but it is good wholesome family entertainment and quite old-fashioned in a way - which is no bad thing. My only slight criticism is the obvious computer generated undersea orcas, but this aside the film provides a lot of entertainment, some very sweet moments and a nice chemistry between Bindi Irwin and Beau Bridges. The latter, as always, is excellent and the former is quite charming at times. If you want to watch a nice easy family film then choose this one. If you don't, then this is probably not for you.

Good Child Empowerment Message. Bindi Irwin Was Just Great.

[johnstonjames · 7/10 · 28 March 2011]

Bindi Irwin was really good in this. she wasn't half bad as a actress. she handled a crying scene well, something actors will tell you is often demanding, and i liked her song at the end of the film. i've always liked Bindi Irwin and thought she had a interesting career. her father was a fine man and his death was a real loss. i'm not sure that Bindi will ever be able to fill her father's shoes (he was larger than life), but maybe she will grow up to be a important animal rights activist or something like that.

this movie was a lot better than i thought it was going to be. i mostly watched it for a brain dead junk experience, but found i rather liked it. it wasn't as maudlin or as syrupy as my suspicions were for it, and i was really impressed by Bindi Irwin's engaging performance. i also really enjoyed it's message of child empowerment (although a lot of these kind of movies convey that message), and thought it's environmental messages to be just great. i was even amused at the jabs the film took at government officials and authority.

the only thing i felt that kept this nice little film back was too much reliance on animatronic animals and CGI FX. when i sit down to watch a film about nature, i wanna see real animals. the only time that fakes ever really worked was in 'Jaws' and 'Greystoke'.

all in all this was a great film for kids and will teach them the power of voice. lets just hope the little nippers don't get too mouthy.

Artificial environment for artificial story

[lumberjack-07519 · 3/10 · 2 April 2024]

The entire story and the environment seems artificial as well as the whales. The animation of whale movements are bad and too fast.

The good thing is, you can be sure, that no whale suffered during the shooting. But this is the reason why no film would be better than this film.

The dialogs are weak with less depth. The story line is predictable.

The childreen does not act like childreen. They act like adults in smaller bodies (training a whale, driving a car, fly alone, rescue a whale, ...).

Here it becomes obviously that the film title Free Willy was used to lure the audience without any connection to the other three movies.

The One No One Asked For

[dickinsonjason-34081 · 1/10 · 7 July 2020]

This Is The One No One Asked This Was Dumb And Stupid

Bindi Irwin - a great draw!

[Hoosierpete · 8/10 · 11 December 2015]

First, I have NOT seen any one of the three previous Orca interacting-with-kid-concept films nor, did I expect to see this one. My Granddaughter had other ideas. It's a very good film. my Granddaughter and I stayed glued and time seemed to pass quickly as you get wrapped up in the simple but, familiar, yet, very entertaining plot. 11yr-old Bindi Irwin was at the making of this film in 2010, as she is today, adorable and amazing! She is a great draw and her acting seemed to get better as the film clicked along. Beu Bridges portrayed the likable, but unprincipled Grandfather who happens to own a rag-tag carnival that oft times masquerades as a not-so-sea-worthy theme park. Again simple, familiar but, pretty good stuff. And Bridges did very well with the character. Another plus is he beautiful South African countryside. Our two thumbs are up!

Really enjoyed this film

[jenny_emma_bruce · 8/10 · 27 January 2017]

I have to disagree with a lot of people's reviews on here as I really enjoyed this movie and thought it was well made. I like how they referenced the original movies by having the bad guy say "did you have to name him Willy" as if to say "did you have to give him the same names as the one who was returned to the sea all those years ago" (I don't know how far in the future after the last film this was meant to be set). I have to say that the one thing that it didn't have that would have made it a 10 out of 10 for me was an appearance from the original movies character Jessie. It would have been great if they could have had him appear in it now as an adult as maybe one of the marine biologists and helping Kiera set this new Willy free. Jennifer xx :-)