Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home

The boy is back. The whale is back. Most of the supporting cast from the 1993 cult classic "Free Willy" is back for the sequel, which hit theaters before an excited crowd of youngsters and their parents in 1995. But the cheer-inducing magic that I loved so much in the original has gone in "Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home" which isn't quite the adventure that the title seems to hint at. The title just seems more marketable and that's the way the movie feels, too. It's got the typical monotonous, rushed feeling that I tend to find most sequels have and while it's far from a disaster, it is a letdown from the warmness and nostalgia-stirring charm that I adored so much in the original film.

In the last movie, the beloved orca Willy (Keiko) leaped to safety from greedy marine park owners and escaped to the wild while the little boy he befriended, Jesse (Jason James Richter) finally came to peace with his foster parents. Two years later, Willy is still running free in the wild with his kin and the boy is reaching that age. You know. The age where girls send his heart pumping and the news that he has a half-brother strikes him like a ton of bricks. His estranged mother has passed away and so he and his foster parents have to take the unwanted, obnoxious brat from New York (Francis Capra) on their camping trip. Jesse's not so interested in camping, but more in meeting up with his old friend (August Schellenberg), his pretty goddaughter (Mart Kate Shellhardt), and of course, lovable Willy and his family. But things take a turn for the worse when an oil tanker runs aground in the cove where the whales are living and it's then that I realized "Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home" should have been titled "Free Willy 2: The Escape" because that's more of what it's about. Or why not just "Free Willy 2"? Oh, yeah. Marketable.

Everything that I loved so much in the first movie has been watered down here. First of all, the sheer awe and magic of the killer whales. Whereas I could really feel the majesty and the amazing presence of Willy and the other whales in the first film, here it seems more like placid outtakes from a rather cheap documentary, as if the cast cheering at the sight of Willy were doing so at pictures and not the real thing. Amazing as it sounds, but even though his namesake is the title of the movie, Willy has very little to do with the movie at all. He's really just there for more marketing value. It's not until the third act, the only energized moment in the picture, that he really comes into play and even though, just briefly.

Furthermore, the character dynamics are diminished. The sequel tries to explore the further complications of Jessie's life, but it only cracks open the doors of opportunity, never exploits them. The dynamic between him and his foster parents is just dimmed-down reruns of the same stuff we saw in the first movie. Even his relationship to the whale is dumbed away. But how about his new cast mates? Well, Mr. Capra does what he can, but he has one of the most aggravating characters in children movie history to play here. Even when his heart gets put into the right place, he's really hard to put up with and as a result, becomes hard to care about. And pretty and talented as she is, as Jesse's love interest, Miss Shellhardt does not have much to do and their romance is contrived, tiresome, tedious, and boring. As most teenage love stories are. Maybe that's just the key. Maybe the reason I've never bought teenage love stories in movies is because I don't believe in them. I don't buy the gimmicks they use here, especially considering the age. But that's a subject for another day. The point is: their scenes together go on forever but leave about as much impact as a speck of sand on the wing of a plane.

The first two acts of "Free Willy 2" are really slow-going. Not until the third act does the movie even pick up a little. The director, Dwight H. Little has talent. He knows how to use a camera well and he has skill with working around actors and his crew. The movie is well-shot...most of the time. The whale scenes aren't very well-staged. But what ultimately founders the movie is the severely diminished screenplay. Now I saw this movie more than ten years ago, as a child, having fallen in love with the original film. But whereas the first "Free Willy" stuck in my memory into my adulthood, this one did not. I only remembered flashes of it. Looking back on it again, I can clearly see why.

Plot close to unbelievable but absolutely stunning photography. Plus relatively fast-paced action still make superior family viewing for those with kids 10-14 range.

I catched this on satellite before trying to watch a video from my watchlist collection.

Because of it's charm I couldn't get my self to stop watching it. Aware and knowing that it has a sequel-B movie vibe on it.

That being said I think this movie is pretty decent for it's level. Though not being the ambitious "I want to be a big franchise" type of movie. It still has a well thought plot. And I think those are enough for a good family moment.

For size, you can see how the camera works to find the emotion of Willy the whale. Making it live enough to enjoy.

Keiko, Richter, Schellenberg, Madsen, Atkinson, and Williamson all return for a new adventure about friendship and family. Two years after setting Willy free, Jesse is still rebellious, but nothing very bad. He enjoys girls and time with his adoptive parents. Things get shaken up when he finds out his mother died and he has a half-brother named Elvis that will be staying with him for a while. They go on a camping trip and contend with sibling rivalry. Not far into the vacation, Jesse is thrilled to see Willy again. But everything is put in danger when an oil spill traps Willy and his family and endangers their habitat. Jesse leads a group to put out crooked businessmen and save his best friend. Many people did not like this one. Many people found it better than the first. The first is a typical lonely kid that becomes best friends with a non-human and saves him. This is similar, but there is more danger that adds excitement and entertainment. And the subplot with Jesse and Elvis is great too. Regardless, all Free Willy movies are great for nostalgia sake, whether you originally liked them or not. Screw those dog and chimp family movies.

3/4

The original Free Willy film of 1993 was a huge success to the point that there was a animated television series that ran from 1994 to 1995. Obviously not a huge hit but perhaps they were giving Willy fans something to hold the interest for the sequel which came out in 1995 titled: Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home. Much of the cast from the first film returns for this film and a lot of the same people also return. But, we have a new director this time around with Dwight Little in the director's chair this time around. Funny enough, some notable directing credits to his name are Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, an episode of Freddy's Nightmares, The Phantom of the Opera (1989), an episode of The X-Files, the Tekken movie, and various episodes for various drama TV shows (too many to name). This is very surprising seeing what this film is and looking at the other films and shows that this director has worked on. And the even funnier thing is is that Dwight Little is married to Jason James Richter's mom. Despite the original film being a success, this film bombed at the box office making only $30 million against a $31 million budget. It also was not as well recieved as the previous film. Notably, Roger Ebert, who gave the original film a positive review, gave this film a negative review.

Jesse has been living with the Greenwoods for a couple of years now. One day, Dwight (a guy from the foster care business who was in the first film) comes by the house to tell Jesse that his mom that he has not seen in eight or so years has died and that Jesse has a half brother named Elvis. Elvis is going to be staying with the Greenwoods for a little bit. Jesse is not happy with this. When Elvis arrives, the Greenwoods and Jesse bring Elvis along on a camping trip. Well, it just so happens that Randolph is there (I am sure there is a reason here) and he is with his Goddaughter doing whale stuff. It just so happens that they find Willy (along with his family) there. Then a big oil tanker comes buy and causes an oil spill and the whales are in danger. It is up to Jesse and co. to help save the whales.

My little plot description is essentially the whole film. I mean that because when you briefly describe a film, you have to include the conflict of the film. The conflict of this film is the oil spill. But that does not come up until the very end of the film. Which is a huge problem. The least that I can say that is good about this film is that it at least feels like a sequel even if large parts of what made the first film an enjoyable experience is gone. The cinematography is still fairly good here. There is one particular aerial shot (actually it is literally the first shot of the film) that does come close to rivaling the cinematography of the first film. But in all, it largely does not come close to the first film. Basil Poledouris does return to do the music for this film and while it is mostly the same music from the first film, it is still enjoyable to listen to. Aside from Basil Poledouris, Michael Jackson does return with another song called "Childhood". This is a song I am not too familiar with and it is not as good and as memorable as "Will You Be There". There are some other songs that make an appearance as well. There is the cover of Forever Young that I really enjoyed and might put that on a playlist at some point. Despite having the climax come really late into the film, I will say that it is at least memorable for a film that is largely forgettable. It is most definitely not on par with the original but of all of the things that I remembered from this film, it was the climax. Another thing is the special effects. I had no clue that they used fake whales for pretty much the whole entire film which blew my mind as the fake whales are really convincing. Now what are my mixed feelings about this film? The acting is one but there nothing new to say. Michael Madsen still looks tired in this film. The plot is another. While definitely something that is important in the real world, I would rather watch something else about the environment. In this film, it is not very subtle either. Plus, what can I do to prevent a big oil tanker from spilling oil and having the expertise that Jesse has in working with kilelr whales? Exactly. A well meaning story, but it just does not work well with this film. Now for my negatives. The characters from the previous film are not as interesting. The new characters are just horrendous. Elvis is the most annoying little kid that I have seen in quite some time. This was probably done on purpose that way he can go through some sort of character change at the end. Whether it happens or not, I don't care. He is annoying. He lies throughout the film and some of these lies just make me want to punch him in the face. Also, good job in finding a twelve year old to portray an eight year old. Jesse has a new love interest with Randolph's granddaughter named Nadine. It feels forced because Jesse is a teenager and he needs to have a love interest. With that being said, her character is not well developed and even I do not know why Jesse is specifically attracted to her. Perhaps shared interests in whales? There is supposed to be a "villain" but it is only touched on in one scene and it is easy to forget that there is a villain in this film. Another complaint (and this just came to me) is the title. First of all, not an adventure. What would be an adventure would be what I was promised on the DVD cover (I am certain that the cover is used on other releases as well) with Jesse riding on Willy with other killer whales surrounding. Yes he rides on a whale but not like on the cover. Second, the adventure home? Is Willy and his family lost? It seems to me that they are already home and it just so happens that it is near a camping spot. Oh and yes, Willy has a family which makes sense I guess.

The strange thing about this film was that I remember liking it when I was younger but now that about 15 years have passed, I don't seem to have the same feelings. Free Willy 2 is not anywhere on the same level as the first film. I know there are people who like this film but I just happen to be the one who does not.