IGN.com|AskMen.com|Rotten Tomatoes|GameSpy|FilePlanet|TeamXbox|CheatsCodesGuides|GameStats|Direct2Drive

RottenTomatoes.com

Register | Log In | What is RT?
It's our 10th birthday, so you get presents!
Home Movies DVD Celebrities News Critics Photos & Trailers The Vine Forums
Box Office | Best Of | Certified Fresh | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
 
MOVIES / ON DVD / FREE WILLY
Free Willy

Rate This Movie

Write a Review
Share This Movie
Add to List
Buy Poster

Bookmark and Share

Free Willy (1993)

50%
100%
59%
N/A
N/A
N/A
50 %
Reviews Counted: 20 Fresh: 10  Rotten:10 Average Rating: 5.4/10

How does the Tomatometer work?

The Tomatometer measures the percentage of positive reviews from Approved Tomatometer Critics for a certain movie.[-]

Runtime: 1 hr 52 mins

Synopsis: Jesse, a homeless orphan who spends his days evading the police, finally gets caught spray painting a whale tank at a local park. Because he distrusts adults intensely, Jesse's not too happy when authorities place him in a foster home and sentence him to clean up the tank he vandalized. ... Jesse, a homeless orphan who spends his days evading the police, finally gets caught spray painting a whale tank at a local park. Because he distrusts adults intensely, Jesse's not too happy when authorities place him in a foster home and sentence him to clean up the tank he vandalized. Unexpectedly, Willy, the whale who inhabits the tank, takes a liking to Jesse, and the animal and child develop a bond -- a bond that also helps Jesse open up to the adults in his life, including his new parents and the whale's caretakers. But then Jesse learns that Dial, who owns the park, only wants to keep Willy if he can be trained to perform for an audience. Can the boy find a way to save his beloved whale before Dial plays some dirty tricks of his own? [More]

Genre: Dramas

Starring: Jason James Richter, Jayne Atkinson, Michael Madsen, August Schellenberg, Lori Petty

Director: Simon Wincer

DVD Info

Release:

Apr 1, 2005

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Region 1
  • Snap Case
  • Anamorphic Widescreen - 2.35
  • Single Side - Dual Layer

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
  • Dolby Surround - English
  • Dolby Surround - French

Additional Release Material:

  • Interview - 1. Bob Talbot - Cinematographer
  • Music Video - 1. "Will You Be There" by Michael Jackson
  • 2. Whale Ballet
  • Trailers - 1. Original Theatrical Trailer
  • 2. FREE WILLY 2
  • 3. FREE WILLY 3

DVD-ROM Features:

  • Games - 1. ESCAPE FROM THE NETS

Reviews

 
T-Meter Critics
 
 
Top Critics
 
 
RT Community
 
 
My Critics
 
 
My Friends
 
 
DVD
 
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
Arrange By: Name | Fresh | Rotten | Date | Source
 
 
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
01/26/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
3/5

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
04/17/01
Almar Haflidason
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
06/23/08
Leonard Klady
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
3/5

Save the whale! Still a good family film with a great Michael Jackson title song.

comment Comment
02/17/08
Steve Crum
Kansas City Kansan
Ratings Image
3/5

Good family flick

comment Comment
03/11/06
Clint Morris
Moviehole
Ratings Image
2/5

Schmaltzy.

comment Comment
07/14/05
John Wirt
Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA)
Ratings Image
2/5

Keiko sure knows how to jump

comment Comment
07/08/05
Stefan Birgir Stefansson
sbs.is
Ratings Image
3/5

No review available.

comment Comment
07/06/05
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
Ratings Image
3/5

No review available.

comment Comment
07/16/04
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Ratings Image
2/5

Gooey pap that drowns in its own phoniness.

comment Comment
05/26/04
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Ratings Image
3/5

No review available.

comment Comment
08/29/03
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
05/20/03
Vincent Canby
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
3/5

A good family picture that does not get too sweet; worth a look.

comment Comment
05/01/03
Bob Bloom
Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)
Ratings Image
N/A

Free Willy focuses on the friendship between a troubled 12-year-old boy and an orca at an adventure park. It will appeal tremendously to all "friends of nature," a term coined by Albert Schweitzer.

Full Review | comment Comment
02/06/03
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice
Ratings Image
6/10

...many adults will find it too blatantly manipulative, but all the same it is decent, lightweight, juvenile entertainment.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/14/03
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com
Ratings Image
2.5/5

Michael Madsen as a "good guy" foster father? Lori Petty as a whale trainer? Who cast ths movie!?).

Full Review | comment Comment
01/11/03
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com
Ratings Image
2/5

It's like Lassie with whales. Only siller.

comment Comment
11/22/02
Scott Weinberg
eFilmCritic.com
Ratings Image
2/5

No review available.

comment Comment
10/04/02
Brian J. Arthurs
Beach Reporter (Southern California)
Ratings Image
2/5

Inspiring environmental tale for the kiddie-set.

comment Comment
07/26/02
Audrey Rock-Richardson
Tooele Transcript-Bulletin (Utah)
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
01/09/02
Movieline
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
See More Topics...

Related Forums

Click here to be the first to post a message on this forum.

Around the Network

• Free Willy at Rotten Tomatoes
• Free Willy at IGN
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | ModCenter | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2008, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.