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 and eventually develops a strong connection. While trying to juggle his newly found life, 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.
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.
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.
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.
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's sold.
Film | U.S. release date | Director(s) | Screenwriter(s) | Story by | Producer(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Free Willy | June 11, 1993 | 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 | Dwight Little | John Mattson, Karen Janszen & Corey Blechman | ||
Free Willy 3: The Rescue | August 7, 1997 | Sam Pillsbury | John Mattson | Jennie Lew Tugend | |
Free Willy: Escape from Pirate's Cove | March 23, 2010 | Will Geiger | Cindy McCreery | David Wicht, Laura Lodin & John Stainton |
This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in more than two films in the series.
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 Bennett V | ||||
Willy | Keiko | Keiko U | Paul Haddad V | CGI Orca | ||
Randolph Johnson | August Schellenberg | Michael Fletcher V | ||||
Annie Greenwood | Jayne Atkinson | Sheila McCarthy V | ||||
Glen Greenwood | Michael Madsen | Ron Len V | ||||
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 Krawford V | |||||
Marlene | Rachel Crawford V | |||||
P.R. Frickley | Andrew Sabiston V | |||||
Mr. Naugle | Neil Crone V | |||||
Lucille | Alyson Court V | |||||
Amphonoids | James Kidnie V | |||||
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 |
Film | Crew/Detail | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Composer(s) | Cinematographer | Editor(s) | Production companies | Distributing companies | ||
Free Willy | Basil Poledouris | Robbie Greenberg | O. Nicholas Brown | Alcor Films Le Studio Canal+ Regency Enterprises Donner/Shuler-Donner | Warner Bros. | |
Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home | László Kovács | Dallas Puett Robert Brown | Alcor Films Le Studio Canal+ Regency Enterprises Shuler-Donner/Donner | |||
Free Willy 3: The Rescue | Cliff Eidelman | Tobias A. Schliessler | Margaret Goodspeed | Regency Enterprises Shuler Donner/Donner | ||
Free Willy: Escape from Pirate's Cove | Enis Rotthoff | Robert Malpage | Sabrina Plisco | Film Africa Worldwide ApolloMovie Beteiligungs | Warner Premiere |
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 |
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 | — | — | — |
Keiko was a male orca captured in the Atlantic Ocean near Iceland in 1979. He was best known for his portrayal of Willy in the 1993 film Free Willy. In 1996, Warner Bros. and the International Marine Mammal Project collaborated to return Keiko to the wild. After years of preparing Keiko for reintegration, Keiko was flown to Iceland in 1998 and in 2002, became the first captive orca to be fully released back into the ocean. On 12 December 2003, he died of pneumonia in a bay in Norway at the age of 27.
Free Willy is a 1993 American family drama film, directed by Simon Wincer, produced by Lauren Shuler Donner and Jennie Lew Tugend, written by Keith A. Walker and Corey Blechman from a story by Walker and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures under their Family Entertainment imprint. The film stars Jason James Richter in his film debut, Lori Petty, Jayne Atkinson, August Schellenberg, and Michael Madsen with the eponymous character, Willy, played by Keiko.
Jason James Richter is an American actor and musician. He is best known for his role in the Free Willy film series as Jesse, the boy who befriends Willy the orca.
Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home is a 1995 American family adventure drama film directed by Dwight Little from a screenplay by Karen Janszen, Corey Blechman and John Mattson. It is the sequel to the 1993 film Free Willy and second installment in the Free Willy film series distributed by Warner Bros. under their Warner Bros. Family Entertainment label. Jason James Richter, Jayne Atkinson, August Schellenberg, Michael Madsen and Mykelti Williamson reprise their roles from the first film. New cast members include Jon Tenney and Elizabeth Peña. Unlike the previous film where Keiko played Willy, a robotic double created by Edge Innovations was used to play the eponymous whale while the Free Willy Keiko Foundation devised a plan to bring Keiko to the Oregon Coast Aquarium where he would be rehabilitated from poor health, although Keiko did make an uncredited appearance, reprising his role as Willy through an archival clip shown in the film.
Orca is a 1977 American thriller film directed by Michael Anderson, from a screenplay by Luciano Vincenzoni and Sergio Donati, and starring Richard Harris, Charlotte Rampling, Will Sampson, Bo Derek, Keenan Wynn and Robert Carradine. The film follows a male orca tracking down and getting revenge on a fishing boat and its captain for intentionally killing the whale's pregnant mate and their unborn calf.
True Crime is a 1999 American mystery thriller film directed by Clint Eastwood, and based on Andrew Klavan's 1995 novel of the same name. Eastwood also stars in the film as a journalist covering the execution of a death row inmate, only to discover that the convict may actually be innocent.
Free Willy 3: The Rescue is a 1997 American family film directed by Sam Pillsbury and written by John Mattson. Released by Warner Bros. under their Warner Bros. Family Entertainment banner, it is the sequel to Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home in addition to being the third film in the Free Willy franchise and final installment of the original storyline as well as the last to be released theatrically. Jason James Richter and August Schellenberg reprise their roles from the previous films while Annie Corley, Vincent Berry and Patrick Kilpatrick joined the cast. The story revolves around Jesse and Randolph attempting to stop a group of whalers, led by its ruthless captain, from illegally hunting Willy while secretly receiving help from an unlikely source involving the captain's young son after an accident changed his view on whales.
Free Willy is an animated television series, inspired by the 1993 film of the same name. The television show was produced by Warner Bros. Television, Regency Enterprises, Canadian company Nelvana and French company Le Studio Canal+ for Warner Bros. Studios.
Saw is an American horror media franchise created by Australian filmmakers James Wan and Leigh Whannell, which began with the eponymous 2004 film and quickly became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded from films into other media, including a television series, video games, comic books, music, theme park attractions, and merchandising including toys, masks, and clothing. Saw is the seventh highest-grossing horror film franchise.
Far from Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog is a 1995 survival adventure film starring Jesse Bradford and directed by Phillip Borsos in his final directorial film. Its cumulative box office earnings were $11,642,946 according to Box Office Mojo.
Space Chimps is a 2008 animated comic science fiction film directed by Kirk DeMicco, who wrote the screenplay with Rob Moreland. It features the voices of Andy Samberg, Cheryl Hines, Jeff Daniels, Patrick Warburton, Kristin Chenoweth, Kenan Thompson, Zack Shada, Carlos Alazraqui, Omid Abtahi, Patrick Breen, Jane Lynch, Kath Soucie, and Stanley Tucci.
Beethoven is a series of eight American films, created by John Hughes and Amy Holden Jones, in which the plot revolves around a family attempting to control the antics of their pet Saint Bernard. The first two films were theatrical releases and all subsequent releases have been direct to video. The original Beethoven was released in theaters in April 1992. Its opening grossed $7,587,565 and was the year's 26th largest grossing film in the U.S. at $57,114,049.
The Chaser (Korean: 추격자) is a 2008 South Korean action thriller film starring Kim Yoon-seok and Ha Jung-woo. It was directed by Na Hong-jin in his directorial debut. Inspired by real-life Korean serial killer Yoo Young-chul, certain scenes were shot on location around Mangwon-dong in the Mapo District, Seoul.
Ice Age is an American media franchise centering on a group of mammals surviving the Pleistocene ice age. It consists of computer-animated films, short films, TV specials and a series of video games. The first five films were produced by Blue Sky Studios and distributed by its then parent company 20th Century Fox. The series features the voices of Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary and Chris Wedge, who were the only constant cast members for the original films.
The Raven is a 2012 American crime thriller film directed by James McTeigue, produced by Marc D. Evans, Trevor Macy and Aaron Ryder and written by Ben Livingston and Hannah Shakespeare. Set in 1849, it is a fictionalized account detailing the last days of Edgar Allan Poe's life, in which the poet and author helps the police pursue a serial killer, whose murders mirror those in his stories. While the plot of the film is fictional, the writers based it on some accounts of real situations surrounding Edgar Allan Poe's mysterious death. Poe is said to have repeatedly called out the name "Reynolds" on the night before his death, though it is unclear to whom he was referring. The film stars John Cusack, Alice Eve, Brendan Gleeson and Luke Evans. Its title derives from Poe's 1845 poem "The Raven", in a similar manner to the earlier unrelated 1935 and 1963 films.
The fictional animated singing group Alvin and the Chipmunks created by Ross Bagdasarian have appeared in eight feature-length films since their debut.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a media franchise based on the 1964 novel of the same name by British author Roald Dahl. It includes two books, three live-action theatrical films, three video games and miscellaneous other properties, such as touring musicals and theatrical adaptations, various merchandise and defunct amusement park ride.
Curious George is an American media franchise based on the animated television series of the same name by H. A. Rey and Margret Rey. The series began with the theatrical release of the first film in 2006. The film's success led it to receiving direct-to-video sequels, a television series as well as a video game.
Ring, also known as The Ring, is a media franchise, based on the novel series of the same name written by Koji Suzuki. The franchise includes eight Japanese films, two television series, eight manga adaptations, three English-language American film remakes, a Korean film remake, and two video games: The Ring: Terror's Realm and Ring: Infinity. While most installments of the franchise are dramatic supernatural horror fiction, other genres are also explored with the novel Loop (1998) being science fiction-focused, and the manga series Sadako-san and Sadako-chan (2019) and Sadako at the End of the World (2020) and feature film Sadako DX (2022) being comedy-focused.
The Flipper franchise consists of American family-adventure installments including three theatrical films, and two television shows. Based on original an original story created by Arthur Weiss, Ricou Browning and Jack Cowden, the plot centers around a family who becomes friends with a notably intelligent bottlenose dolphin they rescued from injuries, which they name Flipper. Through the events of the franchise, Flipper regularly gives aid to his human friends and selflessly comes to their rescue to return the favor.