Free Willy
How far would you go for a friend?
1993 • 112 min • Family · Adventure · Drama
Synopsis
When maladjusted orphan Jesse vandalizes a theme park, he is placed with foster parents and must work at the park to make amends. There he meets Willy, a young Orca whale who has been separated from his family. Sensing kinship, they form a bond and, with the help of kindly whale trainer Rae Lindley, develop a routine of tricks. However, greedy park owner Dial soon catches wind of the duo and makes plans to profit from them.
Our family guide
Best from age 6- 33 Reviewers · 3 · 53%
- 62 Audience · 2013 · 47%
Jesse, a troubled orphan, finds an unlikely friend in Willy, a captive orca at a theme park. As their bond grows, Jesse discovers Willy’s longing for freedom and must risk everything to help him escape his greedy captors and return to the ocean. It
- Violence & peril
- 2/10
- Language
- 1/10
- Drinking, drugs & smoking
- 0/10
- Romance & sensuality
- 0/10
- Scary moments
- 3/10
Heads up
- Depiction of animal abuse
- Separation from family
- Minor peril during escape
What it models well
- Empathy for animals
- Importance of family
- Finding your place
- Courage to do what's right
Talk about it after
- Animal captivity and welfare
- Trust and friendship
- Environmental protection
Written by the Movie Knight editorial team for Free Willy. Our own words, our own scoring — always double-check against your family's standards.
Where to watch
Rent
- Amazon Video
- Apple TV Store
- Google Play Movies
- YouTube
- Fandango At Home
- Spectrum On Demand
Amazon Video
Apple TV Store
Google Play Movies
YouTube
Fandango At Home
Spectrum On DemandBuy
- Amazon Video
- Apple TV Store
- Google Play Movies
- YouTube
- Fandango At Home
Links go straight to each service. Some are affiliate links that support Movie Knight at no cost to you. Availability data by JustWatch via TMDB.
Top billed cast
Director: Simon Wincer • Crew: Corey Blechman, Keith Walker, Keith Walker
Trailers & clips
Reviewer notes
Not recommendedThe song by Michael Jackson was epic and I saw clips from this movie in there and it motivated me to watch this movie. But I must say I wasn't impressed. It was a feel good movie for sure, but I must say I enjoyed Dolphin Tale more. The story was slow and action sequences seemed a little far fetched like seriously breaking a 3,000kg animal out of jail!
Not recommendedTrusted family reviewersI guess Free Willy depends on how old you were in 1993. For the most part, I really like Family Friendly, if they are done right they can be entertaining and uplifting. And, the kid in me can still see how people would love it, and still love it, if they saw it as a little kid. But I was 13 when Free Willy came out, and, honestly, it's not E.T., it's not The Goonies, it's not even Radio Flyer let alone Sandlot.…
RecommendedTrusted family reviewers**Despite being predictable and loaded with clichés, it is a film that marked a generation, alerted many consciences to very serious issues, and is still very beautiful thirty years later.** This is certainly one of the films that made an impression on people during the 90's, and that maintained its popularity and sympathy for many years. Today I think it has been forgotten, and in part I feel sorry for it.…
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Gallery
Details
- TMDB audience
- 6.2/10 (2,013)
- Age rating
- PG
- Status
- Released
- Budget
- $20,000,000
- Box office
- $153,698,625
- Franchise
- Free Willy Collection
- IMDb
- tt0106965
