1995 saw the release of “Free Willy II: The Adventure Home,” sequel to the 1993 movie “Free Willy.” All of the original cast was present to reprise their former roles. Well, I don’t know if the whales were the same, but all the people were.
Jesse (Jason James Richter) has made a pretty decent life for himself with Glenn and Annie Greenwood, his foster parents. When his social worker stops by, Jesse assumes it’s for a social call, but in reality, they’ve finally had word of Jesse’s mother. She passed away in New York City, leaving behind an 8-year-old half-brother of Jesse’s. The Greenwoods agree to take the brother with them on vacation to allow him to get to know Jesse.
When he arrives, he’s full of attitude. Named Elvis, he’s a street-wise smack-talking compulsive liar, and Jesse worries that he’ll ruin the family vacation. They all pile in the truck, going to visit Randolph at his new job working with the orca whales out in the wild.
When they get to their destination, Jesse discovers that Randolph has a helper, a cute girl named Nadine. She and Jesse hit it off right away, their common love of wildlife helping. Jesse is excited to discover that Willy, the whale he helped free in the first movie (hence the name) is living near the cove where they are camping, and he’s able to resume his friendship there.
But when an oil tanker runs aground and oil starts to spill into the cove, things get dangerous. Not only do the whales need medical attention, but a greedy oil baron decides to capitalize on the misfortune by stealing the whales and selling them. Putting their differences aside, Elvis and Jesse work as a team to save the whales.
The conclusion is quite thrilling and I admit, I bawled like a baby for the last ten minutes. I think this sequel was every bit as good as the first movie, which is a rare thing. The danger in this film is a little more intense than was in “Free Willy,” so you may not want to show it to your very young children, but I think that after the age of 8, it’s a great family film. I give it two flippers up.
This film was rated PG.
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