Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home
Encyclopedia
Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home is a 1995 family film
, directed Dwight H. Little
, and released by Warner Bros.
under its Family Entertainment
banner. It is a sequel
to the 1993 film Free Willy
, also starring Jason James Richter
and August Schellenberg
. Free Willy 3: The Rescue
, was subsequently released in 1997, making a trilogy
. A fourth nonconsecutive film, Free Willy: Escape from Pirate's Cove
was released on DVD in Spring 2010.
, and in addition, she has left behind a younger half-brother, Elvis (Francis Capra
). Jesse ends up having to deal with Elvis, who he considers to be a virtual stranger to him. Elvis is sulky, overly talkative, and mischievous, and he is also prone to telling lies and easily gets on Jesse's nerves. He is invited on their trip to San Juan Island
so that he and Jesse might get to know one another.
At the environmental institute
there, Jesse reunites with his old Native American
friend Randolph Johnson (August Schellenberg
), a Haida
, and quickly becomes smitten by Randolph's attractive and kindly goddaughter, Nadine (Mary Kate Schellhardt
), but is reluctant to romantically approach her out of concern for his friendship with Randolph. Meanwhile, resentment and disrespect from the petulant Elvis continues to be a problem for him. Mindful of both frustrations, Randolph proceeds to tell Jesse the legend of Natsilane
and gives him a carved orca pendant
on a necklace to remind him of the power of his special connection to Willy. Jesse cautiously begins to show his interest in Nadine, also, and as the awkward teenagers grow closer, Jesse helps Nadine befriend Willy and his orca siblings, Luna and Little Spot, in part using amateur synchronized swimming
.
As they continue to enjoy their camping trip, notwithstanding more angst from Elvis regarding his unhappy childhood, an oil tanker
runs aground and spills oil
into the ocean, trapping the three young whales in a small cove. When word gets out that the whales are trapped and Luna is dying from the oil in her lungs, the president of the oil company
(Jon Tenney) arrives and announces a great plan to move the whales into captivity where they can recover from their injuries. His real plan, however, is to sell the whales to marine mammal park
s and have them perform in shows.
Jesse, Nadine and Elvis get the whales away from the cove by stealing the boat belonging to Glen, Jesse's adopted father, and leading them out of the cove to safety, but then they are not able to save themselves when the tanker explodes and the crude oil in the water catches fire. Their boat hits a rock and starts to sink, while Glen, Annie, and Randolph set out to find them in Randolph's boat and radio for help. Nadine and Elvis are lifted into a rescue helicopter summoned by Randolph's distress signal
s, but Jesse slips out of the harness when reaching for the rescuer's hand and crashes into the water below. Nadine and Elvis scream for Jesse and beg the helicopter to go back down, but the thick black smoke billowing up from the flaming oil begins to choke the chopper's engine, forcing the pilot to fly the chopper away. Jesse surfaces as the chopper leaves, but is unable to stay above water. He goes back underwater and sees Willy swimming towards him. Jesse grabs onto Willy's dorsal fin and Willy brings Jesse back up to the surface. Although they are trapped in the middle of the flames, Willy dives deep and is able to swim underneath, taking Jesse with him.
Once they surface, they come upon Randolph's boat. Glen and Annie pull Jesse aboard and they thank Willy for saving his life. Willy does not want to leave, but Jesse tells him he's okay so he can go. Willy still does not budge and Jesse looks to Randolph for help who gives him a signal. Jesse understands what it means and pets Willy one last time before giving him a signal to swim away. Willy does and is later reunited with his family again. Later, the rescue workers bring Nadine and Elvis to the boat where they are happy to see Jesse alive. Jesse acknowledges Nadine and then Elvis, who hands him a battered, folded up picture of Jesse and his mother. Jesse is stunned, and Elvis tells him that he had ripped up the picture out of anger, but then later had taped it back together for Jesse. Elvis starts to cry as he tells Jesse that their mother always felt bad about abandoning Jesse, something Jesse never knew. He thanks Elvis for the picture and for finally allowing him to put the past behind him, and hugs Elvis.
When they part, Elvis asks where Willy, Little Spot, and Luna are, and Jesse tells him that they are reunited with their mother again. Elvis asks him how he knows that and Jesse grasps the orca necklace Randolph gave him and tells him that he knows. Jesse, embracing the mission of Natsilane, then starts whispering the prayer Randolph taught him two years before as the screen fades in on Willy and his family swimming and jumping in the sea.
, based on 13 reviews.
Family film
A family film is a film genre that is designed to appeal to a variety of age groups and, thus, families.In December 2005, Steven Spielberg's 1982 film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial came first in a poll of the 100 Greatest Family Films. The genre today generates billions of dollars per annum.Family...
, directed Dwight H. Little
Dwight H. Little
Dwight Hubbard Little is an American film director, known for directing the films Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, The Phantom of the Opera, Marked for Death, Rapid Fire and Murder at 1600...
, and released by Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
under its Family Entertainment
Warner Bros. Family Entertainment
Warner Bros. Family Entertainment is the family film label of Warner Bros., established in 1992. It is best-known for producing numerous family films and television series in either live-action or animation .-History:The division was founded in 1992 to produce more family-friendly films.The first...
banner. It is a sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
to the 1993 film Free Willy
Free Willy
Free Willy is a 1993 family film directed by Simon Wincer, and released by Warner Bros. under its Family Entertainment label. The film stars Jason James Richter as a young boy who befriends an orca whale, named "Willy."...
, also starring Jason James Richter
Jason James Richter
Jason James Richter is an American actor.At the age of three, he and his family moved to Hawaii, where a Japanese casting agency discovered him and signed him up for three TV spots...
and August Schellenberg
August Schellenberg
August Schellenberg is a Canadian actor. His ethnicity is Mohawk and Swiss-German. He was trained at the National Theatre School of Canada.His first film was Rip-Off in 1971. In 1981, he did voices for the animated film Heavy Metal...
. Free Willy 3: The Rescue
Free Willy 3: The Rescue
Free Willy 3: The Rescue is a 1997 family film directed by Sam Pillsbury, and starring Jason James Richter and August Schellenberg. Released by Warner Bros...
, was subsequently released in 1997, making a trilogy
Trilogy
A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected, and that can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, or video games...
. A fourth nonconsecutive film, Free Willy: Escape from Pirate's Cove
Free Willy: Escape from Pirate's Cove
Free Willy: Escape from Pirate's Cove is a 2010 direct-to-video family film and the fourth installment in the Free Willy series. It stars Beau Bridges and Bindi Irwin. The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on 23 March 2010 in the United States. It was released on August 2 in the United Kingdom...
was released on DVD in Spring 2010.
Plot
Jesse, the boy who freed Willy the orca two years ago, has been adopted by his foster parents, Glen and Annie Greenwood. Jesse, now a hardy and responsible teenager, has an eye for girls, and he and his parents are preparing to go on a family camping trip to the Pacific Northwest. Before they leave town, however, Dwight, Jesse's former social worker, shows up to inform them that Jesse's birth mother, who abandoned him eight years before, has died in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and in addition, she has left behind a younger half-brother, Elvis (Francis Capra
Francis Capra
Francis Capra is an American actor. Some of his best known roles are a young Calogero Anello in A Bronx Tale, Max Connor in Kazaam, and Eli "Weevil" Navarro in the TV series Veronica Mars.-Personal life:...
). Jesse ends up having to deal with Elvis, who he considers to be a virtual stranger to him. Elvis is sulky, overly talkative, and mischievous, and he is also prone to telling lies and easily gets on Jesse's nerves. He is invited on their trip to San Juan Island
San Juan Island
San Juan Island is the second-largest and most populous of the San Juan Islands in northwestern Washington, United States. It has a land area of 142.59 km² and a population of 6,822 as of the 2000 census....
so that he and Jesse might get to know one another.
At the environmental institute
San Juan Islands National Wildlife Refuge
The San Juan Islands National Wildlife Refuge is located in the San Juan Islands of northern Puget Sound in the State of Washington. Originally created in 1976, it consists of 83 uninhabited small islands, with a combined area of approximately , scattered throughout the San Juans. The Refuge is...
there, Jesse reunites with his old Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
friend Randolph Johnson (August Schellenberg
August Schellenberg
August Schellenberg is a Canadian actor. His ethnicity is Mohawk and Swiss-German. He was trained at the National Theatre School of Canada.His first film was Rip-Off in 1971. In 1981, he did voices for the animated film Heavy Metal...
), a Haida
Haida
The Haida are an indigenous nation of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. Haida territories lie in both Canada and the United States, as do those of the Tlingit and Tsimshian. The Haida territories comprise the archipelago of Haida Gwaii in British Columbia...
, and quickly becomes smitten by Randolph's attractive and kindly goddaughter, Nadine (Mary Kate Schellhardt
Mary Kate Schellhardt
Mary Kate Schellhardt is an American actress. She is known for her role as Ellen in What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Nadine in Free Willy 2, and Jim and Marilyn Lovell's eldest daughter Barbara in Apollo 13. Other films in which she has appeared include Mr. Blue Sky, The Great Mom Swap and 9-9-09...
), but is reluctant to romantically approach her out of concern for his friendship with Randolph. Meanwhile, resentment and disrespect from the petulant Elvis continues to be a problem for him. Mindful of both frustrations, Randolph proceeds to tell Jesse the legend of Natsilane
Natsilane
Natsilane is a one of the Tlingit and Haida stories about how the various supernatural animal species from the Tlingit culture of the American Northwest coast was created. These stories follow an almost dreamtime-like description of humans and other animal species living completely harmoniously...
and gives him a carved orca pendant
Pendant
A pendant is a loose-hanging piece of jewellery, generally attached by a small loop to a necklace, when the ensemble may be known as a "pendant necklace". A pendant earring is an earring with a piece hanging down. In modern French "pendant" is the gerund form of “hanging”...
on a necklace to remind him of the power of his special connection to Willy. Jesse cautiously begins to show his interest in Nadine, also, and as the awkward teenagers grow closer, Jesse helps Nadine befriend Willy and his orca siblings, Luna and Little Spot, in part using amateur synchronized swimming
Synchronized swimming
Synchronized swImming is a hybrid form of swimming, dance and gymnastics, consisting of swimmers performing a synchronized routine of elaborate moves in the water, accompanied by music....
.
As they continue to enjoy their camping trip, notwithstanding more angst from Elvis regarding his unhappy childhood, an oil tanker
Oil tanker
An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a merchant ship designed for the bulk transport of oil. There are two basic types of oil tankers: the crude tanker and the product tanker. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crude oil from its point of extraction to refineries...
runs aground and spills oil
Oil spill
An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially marine areas, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is mostly used to describe marine oil spills, where oil is released into the ocean or coastal waters...
into the ocean, trapping the three young whales in a small cove. When word gets out that the whales are trapped and Luna is dying from the oil in her lungs, the president of the oil company
Petroleum industry
The petroleum industry includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transporting , and marketing petroleum products. The largest volume products of the industry are fuel oil and gasoline...
(Jon Tenney) arrives and announces a great plan to move the whales into captivity where they can recover from their injuries. His real plan, however, is to sell the whales to marine mammal park
Marine mammal park
A marine mammal park is a commercial theme park or aquarium where marine mammals such as dolphins, beluga whales and sea lions are kept within water tanks and displayed to the public in special shows. A marine mammal park is more elaborate than a dolphinarium, because it also features other marine...
s and have them perform in shows.
Jesse, Nadine and Elvis get the whales away from the cove by stealing the boat belonging to Glen, Jesse's adopted father, and leading them out of the cove to safety, but then they are not able to save themselves when the tanker explodes and the crude oil in the water catches fire. Their boat hits a rock and starts to sink, while Glen, Annie, and Randolph set out to find them in Randolph's boat and radio for help. Nadine and Elvis are lifted into a rescue helicopter summoned by Randolph's distress signal
Distress signal
A distress signal is an internationally recognized means for obtaining help. Distress signals take the form of or are commonly made by using radio signals, displaying a visually detected item or illumination, or making an audible sound, from a distance....
s, but Jesse slips out of the harness when reaching for the rescuer's hand and crashes into the water below. Nadine and Elvis scream for Jesse and beg the helicopter to go back down, but the thick black smoke billowing up from the flaming oil begins to choke the chopper's engine, forcing the pilot to fly the chopper away. Jesse surfaces as the chopper leaves, but is unable to stay above water. He goes back underwater and sees Willy swimming towards him. Jesse grabs onto Willy's dorsal fin and Willy brings Jesse back up to the surface. Although they are trapped in the middle of the flames, Willy dives deep and is able to swim underneath, taking Jesse with him.
Once they surface, they come upon Randolph's boat. Glen and Annie pull Jesse aboard and they thank Willy for saving his life. Willy does not want to leave, but Jesse tells him he's okay so he can go. Willy still does not budge and Jesse looks to Randolph for help who gives him a signal. Jesse understands what it means and pets Willy one last time before giving him a signal to swim away. Willy does and is later reunited with his family again. Later, the rescue workers bring Nadine and Elvis to the boat where they are happy to see Jesse alive. Jesse acknowledges Nadine and then Elvis, who hands him a battered, folded up picture of Jesse and his mother. Jesse is stunned, and Elvis tells him that he had ripped up the picture out of anger, but then later had taped it back together for Jesse. Elvis starts to cry as he tells Jesse that their mother always felt bad about abandoning Jesse, something Jesse never knew. He thanks Elvis for the picture and for finally allowing him to put the past behind him, and hugs Elvis.
When they part, Elvis asks where Willy, Little Spot, and Luna are, and Jesse tells him that they are reunited with their mother again. Elvis asks him how he knows that and Jesse grasps the orca necklace Randolph gave him and tells him that he knows. Jesse, embracing the mission of Natsilane, then starts whispering the prayer Randolph taught him two years before as the screen fades in on Willy and his family swimming and jumping in the sea.
Cast
- Jason James RichterJason James RichterJason James Richter is an American actor.At the age of three, he and his family moved to Hawaii, where a Japanese casting agency discovered him and signed him up for three TV spots...
as Jesse - Francis CapraFrancis CapraFrancis Capra is an American actor. Some of his best known roles are a young Calogero Anello in A Bronx Tale, Max Connor in Kazaam, and Eli "Weevil" Navarro in the TV series Veronica Mars.-Personal life:...
as Elvis - August SchellenbergAugust SchellenbergAugust Schellenberg is a Canadian actor. His ethnicity is Mohawk and Swiss-German. He was trained at the National Theatre School of Canada.His first film was Rip-Off in 1971. In 1981, he did voices for the animated film Heavy Metal...
as Randolph - Mary Kate SchellhardtMary Kate SchellhardtMary Kate Schellhardt is an American actress. She is known for her role as Ellen in What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Nadine in Free Willy 2, and Jim and Marilyn Lovell's eldest daughter Barbara in Apollo 13. Other films in which she has appeared include Mr. Blue Sky, The Great Mom Swap and 9-9-09...
as Nadine - Michael MadsenMichael MadsenMichael Søren Madsen is an American actor, poet, and photographer. He has appeared in more than 150 films, most of them small independent films, though he has starred in central roles in such films as Reservoir Dogs, Free Willy, Donnie Brasco, and Kill Bill, in addition to a supporting role in Sin...
as Glenn Greenwood - Jayne AtkinsonJayne AtkinsonJayne Atkinson is an English-born American film, theatre and television actress. She is perhaps best known for the role of Karen Hayes on 24 as well as her Tony Award-nominated roles in The Rainmaker and Enchanted April...
as Annie Greenwood - Jon Tenney as John Milner
- Mykelti WilliamsonMykelti WilliamsonMichael T. "Mykelti" Williamson is an American actor best known for his role as Benjamin Buford Blue in the 1994 film Forrest Gump, as Detective Bobby "Fearless" Smith in the critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful crime drama Boomtown, and recently for appearing as the head of CTU for...
as Dwight - Elizabeth PeñaElizabeth PeñaElizabeth Peña is an American actress and the daughter of a theater-company co-founder, who has also compiled experience as a television director in her own right.-Early life:...
as Kate Haley - Paul Tuerpe as Milner's assistant
- M. Emmet WalshM. Emmet WalshMichael Emmet Walsh is an American actor who has appeared in over 100 film and television productions.-Life and career:Walsh was born in Ogdensburg, New York, the son of Agnes Kathrine and Harry Maurice Walsh, Sr., a customs agent...
as Bill Wilcox - John ConsidineJohn ConsidineThis article is about the writer and actor. For his grandfather, the vaudeville pioneer, see John Considine . For the former Florida state representative, see John J...
as Commander Blake - Steve KahanSteve KahanSteve Kahan is an American character actor who has appeared many films, his best known film role is in the Lethal Weapon film franchise as Capt. Ed Murphy. Kahan's cousin is director Richard Donner, who has cast Kahan in many of his films...
as Captain Nilson - Neal Matarazzo as Helmsman Kelly
Reception
Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home received mostly negative reviews, and currently holds a score of 31% on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, based on 13 reviews.
Music
- Michael JacksonMichael JacksonMichael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
continued his affiliation with the Free Willy franchise, producing and performing the song "ChildhoodScream/Childhood"Scream"/"Childhood" is the lead single from Michael Jackson's ninth studio album, HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I where "Scream" is the first song and "Childhood" is the tenth song on the second disc of the album HIStory Continues. The A-side, "Scream", is a duet with his younger sister...
" for this movie. - The PretendersThe PretendersThe Pretenders are an English rock band formed in Hereford, England in March 1978. The original band consisted of initiator and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde , James Honeyman-Scott , Pete Farndon , and Martin Chambers...
performed "Forever YoungForever Young (Bob Dylan song)"Forever Young" is a song by Bob Dylan. The song first appeared on Dylan's 1974 album Planet Waves.- Analysis :In the notes for the 2007 album titled DYLAN, Bill Flanagan had the following to say about "Forever Young":...
", heard at the end of the movie when the orcas finally are released in the ocean.