The film begins with a bunch of orcas swimming in the ocean. Then it switches to this troubled orphaned boy of around 12 years old, Jesse, who is asking strangers for money. He is with 3 other kids around his age.

After stealing food, including an anniversary cake, the children are caught by the police. But they split up and run in different directions.

Jesse ends up in a marine life park and sees an orca, not knowing what it is. He also sprays graffiti on the wall. Then the cops come and Jesse runs from them – only to get arrested and taken to the police station. A man named Dwight finds him a foster home. The people who are willing to take Jesse in are named Annie and Glen Greenwood. However, Jesse thinks he’ll find his mother, despite how no one heard from her in 6 years.

Dwight drops off Jesse at the Greenwoods’ house. They seem very nice, although Jesse isn’t that happy living with them.

In order to avoid going to juvenile hall, Jesse goes back to Northwest Adventure Park to clean up the graffiti and repaint the walls.

At some point, there is a sea lion show happening. Jesse is curious and watches it while out of sight. He then meets the trainer, who is a woman named Rae.

Rae teaches a lot of facts about marine life to Jesse. Some time later, Jesse comes across the same killer whale as before. He learns that the orca’s name is Willy and that he doesn’t seem to like anyone.

That being said, Jesse learns more about Willy by interacting with him. He even develops a heartwarming bond with him. He teaches Willy tricks, feeds him fish, and even pets him.

During a certain evening, Jesse sneaks out to Northwest Adventure Park to see Willy—except that he falls into the tank. Luckily, though, Willy saves him.

Annie and Glen Greenwood are not happy that Jesse snuck out at night. Glen reminds him of the rules from earlier. If Jesse wants to leave the house, he needs to tell him or Annie where he is going.

Later, Rae and Randolph, who care for Willy, see that Willy only responds well to Jesse. Not long after, Jesse is offered a summer job at the park.

When a show is about to happen, a bunch of kids bang on the glass of Willy’s tank. This stresses him out to the point where he won’t perform. Rae tries to keep the spectators engaged by giving facts about Willy, such as his age, length, and weight. However, Willy refuses to entertain the crowd.

Jesse storms off in tears. Dwight, Glen, and Annie find him. Jesse still thinks he can find his mother. But Dwight reminds him that even the government couldn’t locate her.

Jesse returns to the park to say goodbye to Willy. But Willy seems to be communicating with something else. It is a pod of killer whales from the ocean nearby. Jesse realizes that Willy wants to be free in the wild.

Unfortunately, there are two men who want to kill Willy to collect the million-dollar insurance. They even cause his tank to leak water, which will put his life in danger.

Can Jesse save Willy and set him free?

This movie kept my attention all the way through. There are many aspects about it that I enjoyed.

First, is the basic premise of a child doing community service after doing the wrong thing and forming a bond with an animal. I cannot emphasize enough how sweet Jesse’s relationship was with Willy. He talked to him like he was his pet. Although his affection with him was beautiful, I will admit that Jesse stroking Willy’s tongue grossed me out. But that was a minor issue.

Regardless of his bond with Willy, I didn’t always like Jesse. He could be difficult, argumentative, and troubled, even with his foster parents. But he was still likable, otherwise.

Like with any good movie, all the characters were well-developed. I admired the kindness and concern from Annie and Glen Greenwood, the intelligence and support from Rae, and even the no-nonsense attitudes and expectations from Dwight and Randolph.

Another interesting observation I had was how the opening was similar to that of Aladdin, where poor characters steal food to live. However, that was a small moment that really only happened at the beginning.

This movie was somewhat predictable, as well. One part is how it seemed to foreshadow the desires of orcas and other marine mammals in real life. Although this came out in 1993, a lot of its portrayals of what killer whales and other sea creatures want ended up coming true years later.

For example, after the 2010 incident in SeaWorld, where an orca killed a trainer (who was actually very experienced), the park eventually stopped doing killer whale shows. Recently, Mexico banned dolphin entertainment and is releasing the dolphins back into the wild.

Anyway, back to the review. Despite the film’s predictability, it still had enough twists and turns.

Overall, I enjoyed Free Willy. It was a very good movie that can appeal to people of all ages.

I give it 4 out of 5 stars.