Summary
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.
Good for
- Date night
- Family movie night
- Friends night
Skip it if
- You want dark or edgy material
Where to watch
Fingerprint
At a glance
Critics vs audiences
Critics like it more than audiences (+15)
Critics 75Audiences 60GoodWatch 68
Metascore79
Tomatometer71%
User score6.8
Letterboxd · 106 K ratings3.1/5
IMDb6.1
Audience score50%
Box office
7.7×its budget
- Budget
- $20 M
- Worldwide
- $154 M
Worldwide it earned $134 M more than it cost.
Running time
1 h 52 min
Longer than most family movies, +17 min on the typical 95
typical 95112Half of all family movies run 88–106 min.
Reach
Streams in 40 countries, rent or buy in 54 more
+30Released
1993
July 16, 1993
33 years ago
Genres
FamilyAdventureDramaLanguage
English
Original language
Made in
United States
France
Rated
- PGUnited States
Yes: it's rated PG in the United States for violence, and the viewing guide lists it for kids.
What's in it
- ViolenceLittle or none
- Gore, disturbing imagesLittle or none
- Frightening scenesLittle or none
- Sex, nudityLittle or none
- Dark themesLittle or none
In white: what the content advisories name. Levels from the title analysis.
Viewing guide
AdultsDate NightFamily Movie NightFriends NightIntergenerationalKidsPartner WatchPublic Viewing SafeSolo WatchTeensComfort WatchPure Escapism24 of 24
Jason James RichterJesse
KeikoWilly
Lori PettyRae Lindley
August SchellenbergRandolph Johnson
Michael MadsenGlen Greenwood
Jayne AtkinsonAnnie Greenwood
Michael IronsideDial
Richard RiehleWade
Mykelti WilliamsonDwight Mercer
Michael BacallPerry
Danielle HarrisGwenie- IMIsaiah MaloneVector
- BTBetsy TollPasserby #1
- RSRob SamplePasserby #2
- MJMerrilyn JonesPasserby #3
- MGMickey GainesWaiter
- JRJustin R. HallFish Thrower
- RMRobert M. DuqueFish Thrower
- SSSam SamsonFish Thrower
- WVWillis Van DusenWillis Van Dusen
- TLTom LasswellBrody
Moultrie PattenHomeless Man- EMEd MurphyHomeless Man
- JMJim MichaelsAnnouncer
Directing · 3
- Simon Wincer Director
- Jim Van Wyck First Assistant Director, Co-Producer
- Mark Cotone Second Assistant Director
Writing · 2
- Keith Walker Story, Screenplay
- Corey Blechman Screenplay
Production · 11
- Arnon Milchan Executive Producer
- Richard Donner Executive Producer
- Lauren Shuler Donner Producer
- Jennie Lew Tugend Producer
- Judy Taylor Casting
- Lynda Gordon Casting
Camera · 4
- Robbie Greenberg Director of Photography
- Pete Romano Underwater Camera
- Marty Snyderman Underwater Camera
- Sunny Johnson Grip
Editing · 1
- O. Nicholas Brown Editor
Sound · 15
- Basil Poledouris Original Music Composer
- Tim Chau Supervising Sound Editor, Sound Designer
- Michael Jackson Theme Song Performance
- Bernard Weiser Sound Editor
- Albert Gasser Sound Editor
- David Kern Sound Editor
Art · 6
- Charles Rosen Production Design
- Chas. Butcher Art Direction
- Diane Yates Art Direction
- Harold Fuhrman Set Designer
- James W. Slater Leadman
- Mary Olivia McIntosh Set Decoration
Costume & Make-Up · 3
- April Ferry Costume Design
- Pamela S. Westmore Makeup Artist
- Cheri Ruff Hairstylist
Other crew · 3
- Dennis Scott Stunt Coordinator
- Bob Talbot Cinematography
- Thomas R. Ward Special Effects Coordinator
Tropes
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Watch order
The Free Willy series
Film 1 of 3 · then Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home
- Free Willy (1993)
GoodWatch score 67You're here
- Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995)
GoodWatch score 50Film 2
- Free Willy 3: The Rescue (1997)
GoodWatch score 49Film 3
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