It is said by the Nostalgia Critic (link below) that the only reason this movie is famous is because Michael Jackson attached a song to it. That makes perfect sense because there is really little originality to this Film aside from the poster. All of you know the poster, where the whale jumps over a wall of rocks with the boy underneath him guiding him to the other side. It is a scene that is easy to satirize given its cheesy nature, but sadly the rest of the film is not silly enough to satirize effectively. At least not for me, but I don't make a living turning flat-as-a-training-bra movies into comedy gold unlike the Nostalgia Critic mentioned above.
This is a movie that made me someone regretful I am a teetotaler because it's not stupid enough to warrant a wacky time but not interesting enough to exercise my brain intellectually. I truly believe that this film would have more potential to be memorably bad if it viewing it were somehow connected with alcohol. I can see drinking games being born out of this film. For example, every time the lead character of Jesse acts like a brat, take a shot; every time the Aquatic Amusement Park violates animal welfare laws and somehow gets away with it, take a shot; every time Willy should have died in the third act of the movie during the "rescue" take a shot (although you will most likely get alcohol poisoning with that last one).
For the benefit of all two of you who don’t know, Free Willy centers around a runaway foster kid named Jesse (played by Jason James Richter) who, through a series of rebellious rapscallion choices, becomes assigned to clean up a mess he made at the Oregon based aquatic amusement park. He and the whale, named Willy, become best of friends despite the whale hating most people. Jesse trains the whale a bit, a mishap happens, a garish villain is thrown into the mix, and all of these little pieces collide together to force Jesse to make the heartbreaking choice of letting something go because you love it.
Willy and Jesse seem to only connect because the plot tells them they have to rather than because they have anything in common. At least in a movie like Air Bud, both Josh and the dog were looking for some kind of mentor, one of which previously coming from an abusive owner. But in this film, while both of them are separated from their family, Jesse actually gets assigned to a pair of foster parents who want to get to know him and raise him. They have genuinely nice talks sometimes and even put some effort into exploring how hard it is for foster kids and parents to adjust to a situation that happened out of usually less-than-ideal circumstances. With no help from the whale’s acquaintance, Jesse seems to be doing fine in reconnecting with his happy inner child with his new arrangement. That alone sounds like a much better movie. How many kids out there are stuck in the foster care system with trust issues out the wazoo? Lots. Lots and lots of them all over the world.
But do we get an interesting character study or familial dilemma that people can relate to? No, we have to have a poorly executed animal rights plot because that is what was popular at the time. Even for 1993 when the film was released, the premise was recycled. I got more entertainment out of my friend Mark (who I was watching it with) yelling about the whale’s captivity than I did anything else.
Speaking of which, if this film wanted more so to focus on the friendship of Willy and Jesse, why not take out the foster situation, and make the villain the idea of animal captivity. What if Willy were rescued from some kind of bad situation that stemmed in his habitat like an oil spill, and the water park kept him longer than they should have. What if the movie were about the reveal of his animal abuse and the boy trying to get him out thus being forced into freeing him illegally. Maybe these are all stupid concepts for a script, but somehow I get the feeling I’m throwing darts at a board of much more interesting ideas than this film gave me in a two-hour span.
I don’t think Free Willy is deemed a classic by moviegoers as the only thing I have ever seen referenced is the poster. Rightfully so as well. Except for one or two moments, this film was mediocre at holding my attention, and I think I’m being generous with that adjective. If you have some Jack Daniels nearby, then I’d say turn this movie on and have a party. But if you don’t, eh, maybe watch the Nostalgia Critic review in the link below instead.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcbLM6xjVpA
