Free Willy

The reason that the TV series of "Free Willy" was out of continuity with the second and third movies is that it came before the second and third movies... but the real reason to not watch is that it just wasn't very good. There have been worse spinoffs of TV shows, but there have also been better. Definitely better.

Elsewhere on the IMDb it's mentioned that Michael Kamen (RIP) did the theme for the brilliant "X-Men" cartoon - this comes as a surprise to me, as I doubt a production company headed by two composers (Saban and Levy) would have turned to outside help for a theme; and why wasn't he credited? Kamen definitely did, however, write the theme for the tele-version of "Free Willy" (though why Basil Poledouris, who scored the movie and the first sequel, wasn't involved is a mystery).

I suppose a cartoon was inevitable, but things could have worse. On the good side, at least the producers tried to make the series action oriented, and some of the plots were pretty decent. And it kept in continuity with the first movie (but not the second and third films)

On the bad side, Jesse was far more annoying than in any of the movies, the villain looked like a Borg reject, and to top it all off, Jesse had the inexplicable power to "talk" with Willy and other sea life. But I suppose it could still be an enjoyable cartoon if you like old Saturday Morning television.

While better than your average Saturday morning cartoon, the FREE WILLY cartoon is not nearly as good as the FREE WILLY movies. Instead of having to face whale poachers, Jesse has to face a villian called The machine in almost every single episode. The FREE WILLY movies were cute, but the FREE WILLY cartoon is just plain stupid.

It was a fun cartoon, but it will never beat the movie. The kid who did the voice of Jesse sounded sort of like Jason James Richter, which was a plus for the cartoon. Willy and Jesse were constantly trying to save the ocean - of course, what else would the show involve? Actually, I think there may also have been a few episodes where they tried to avoid Willy getting captured again - what sticks in my mind the most was that it seemed that nearly every episode, there was a "Willy jump" like at the end of the movie. And Jesse was almost always in his wetsuit. It was a nice kids' show while it lasted, but I'm not surprised it only lasted one year. If by some random chance it shows up at an odd time on a random cable channel, and you happen to be a fan of the movie, then try watching it.

OK I got a question for everyone... does anyone remember the necklace that came on the cover of the Free Willy VHS when it first came out?? That was the coolest necklace and I can't find anyone who remembers it, and I can't find it on ebay. It used to be my favorite necklace, and I lost it when I was like 6 and I was just trying to find other one to see if I could buy it from someone, but there are no records of it ever existing on the internet. I really don't know where else to look if I can't even find it on the internet. So, if anyone knows anything about it, or remembers it, Please email me at TexasSoxSS19@comcast.net I'd really appreciate it!Thanks.