Powerful

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

What an amazing movie! In the Netherlands, we have King Willem Alexander. But in the ocean, you have King Willy. The contours of this whale are perfect. His black and white dots are such an amazing appearance. The story, where some bad guys want to kill this beautiful animal are disgusting. Then we have Jesse, also a great guy. One day, he also will be king and the leader of all orcas. The story says that Jesse is disappeared right after the recordings of the movies and he lives under the water with his orca family now. I have no more words to say, Free Willy! Free the King!

This is a feel-good family film that very much follows the heart-warming and fun adventure elements of Flipper, Lassie and all those animal movies. It involves a boy who risks everything to save a killer whale from extermination by the owners of the aquarium where the creature lives. James Jason Richter did a nice job portraying Jesse, and he has a touching on-screen chemistry with the magnificent orca. The chemistry also demonstrate the friendship, courage and innocence in a teenager's life - some very meaningful and encouraging things, which are sorely missing in some of today's teenage-catered movies and TV shows. I first watched this movie in middle school; it has a bit of a slow plot at times, but it does have its fun adventures and breath-taking scenery, reminding you of a care-free atmosphere and the miracles of life. Overall, it is a heart-warming and innocent film that is great for the entire family.Grade B

Although we could not deny that there are many other films that feature aquatic animals, what makes Free Willy different from other related films are its twists, distorted character profiles, and exciting plot.Why would the director or the writer even think of having Jesse's mind baffled instead of just making it smoother by having Jesse focused on what he is doing? But those flabbergasting twists are what makes Free Willy a good movie. It never ran out of good ideas to convolute the screen portrayal so that the audience may be stimulated. In fact, boredom seldom touched me, being an audience and a critic.There were just some scenes that irritates me because I believe that the producers could have intensified these sequences even more by adding some action scenes so that they may be able to add a greater tension on the viewers and that the audience may really feel and take in what is happening on screen.The animatronic stand-in that was used in most close-up scenes of Willy also was quite good. There was never a time when the CGIs (Computer Generated Effects) failed. They really looked like real and natural. And the stunts made, although was created with the extensive use of CGI, was perfect and was pleasing to the eyes.The screen portrayal of the actors and actresses also were quite good and was enough to please the audience.The musical scoring of the movie was satisfactory, nevertheless. It was good especially during the crises of the movie, but I was expecting for more since musical scoring are a great factor to catch the audience.I guess there's not much to say about this movie because I believe that its succeeding sequels are enough to prove how successful the movie is and that couldn't have been achieved if the quality was poor. All in all, congratulations to the movie and the people behind its production.8 out of 10 for you guys!

I loved this movie as a kid, watched it over and over and it always made me cry at the end again. Now, several years later, I bought it again on DVD just yesterday. I watched it back, and even though it's clearly a children's movie, I was filled with nostalgia and I fell in love with this movie again, even through an adults view. The concept of a friendship with an animal that wild, powerful, big, gracious and un-pet-like, used to stimulate my imagination as a kid, and the movie still knew how to charm me. To see how the connection between Willy and Jesse develops is a moving thing to see. So it's not true that only kids can enjoy it, I still loved it even now. You should judge it in the perspective of the target age group it's meant for, it's a great children's movie. One of the greatest, if you ask me. They don't make 'em like these anymore.Main actor Jason James Richter is great as Jesse, he has a lot of charisma, and his acting is very natural. I also have always liked the character Randolph, the wise Indian guy. He just makes the Free-Willy-picture complete somehow.Moving story, and fantastically performed. Show your kids this one, and not the remake. It's a pleasure to all the family.