Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home
1995 American film
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (also known as Free Willy 2) is a 1995 American family film directed by Dwight H. Little from a screenplay by Karen Janszen, Corey Blechman and John Mattson. It is the sequel to the 1993 film Free Willy and second installment in the Free Willy film series distributed by Warner Bros. under their Warner Bros. Family Entertainment label. Jason James Richter, Jayne Atkinson, August Schellenberg, Michael Madsen and Mykelti Williamson reprise their roles from the first film. New cast members include Jon Tenney and Elizabeth Peña.
Corey Blechman
John Mattson
by Keith Walker
Jennie Lew Tugend
| Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Dwight H. Little |
| Written by | Karen Janszen Corey Blechman John Mattson |
| Based on | Characters by Keith Walker |
| Produced by | Lauren Shuler Donner Jennie Lew Tugend |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | László Kovács |
| Edited by | Robert Brown Dallas Puett |
| Music by | Basil Poledouris |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 98 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $31 million[1] |
| Box office | $68 million[2] |
Set two years after Jesse freed his orca friend Willy, who is now reunited with his family which includes sister Luna, brother Littlespot and mother Catspaw, the plot follows Jesse in a race against time after an oil spill separated Willy and his siblings from their mother and it is up to him to get them back home before the oil traps them in the cove for good.
Filming took place between April and August 1994. The film opened on July 19, 1995. It received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $68 million worldwide. A third film, Free Willy 3: The Rescue, was released in 1997.
Plot
It has been two years since Jesse freed Willy and got him back home to his pod. The Greenwoods are planning a trip to the San Juan Islands to visit Randolph's new job while camping at Camp Nor' Wester. Before they leave, Dwight arrives with news that Jesse's mother was found dead in New York City and left behind another son. This devastates Jesse after many attempts at finding her, but comes to terms with it, after talking his feelings out with Glen. Jesse's half-brother Elvis is morose, overly talkative and mischievous. He is also prone to telling lies and easily gets on Jesse's nerves. To make matters worse for Jesse, Elvis is invited along on their trip, so that they can get to know each other. At the environmental institute, Jesse reunites with Randolph, receives a pendant resembling Nastilane riding an orca, becomes smitten with his goddaughter, Nadine, and is introduced to Willy's family during a day of whale watching. He tracks and later reunites with Willy.
As the Greenwoods continue to enjoy their camping trip, Liberian oil tanker, the Dakar, runs aground on Lawson Reef and spills oil due to an engine malfunction, trapping Willy and his siblings Luna and Littlespot at the campsite. Luna gets oil in her lungs and beaches herself. Jesse and the adults get her back in the water but need further assistance. Benbrook Oil CEO John Milner announces a plan to move the whales into captivity until further notice. Jesse challenges this, making him promise to do whatever he can to get them back to their mother, Catspaw, or else he'll be blamed for Luna's death. Luna's condition worsens after Kate Haley treats her. Jesse and Randolph use an old Indian remedy that helps her recover.
At a donut shop, Elvis, who ran away yesterday after Jesse, Glen and Annie denied help which in-turn caused Annie to accidentally break her promise in allowing him to contribute more, overhears John and Wilcox's real plan to sell the whales and lock them up. With the oil spill reaching dangerous proximity to the cove, Benbrook Oil and the whalers boom it off despite Jesse, Randolph, and Nadine's objections and begin extracting the whales. Elvis rushes back to camp to warn Jesse and Nadine. They confront John, and he and his assistant are knocked into the water for breaking his promise. Willy rescues Littlespot from the extraction. Jesse hijacks the Little Dipper, to lead the whales to safety. On Jesse's signal, Willy breaks the boom and leads his siblings away. The Dakar explodes due to fuel vapors igniting after engineers try to start the generator, resulting in the crude oil catching fire.
Randolph picks up Glen and Annie, who located Elvis while returning from their unsuccessful search for him, and they follow the kids' path as Randolph sends a distress call. The whales swim under the flaming oil to safety, but the kids fall into danger when they head into another cove. The fogginess from the smoke causes Jesse to hit a rock, and the Little Dipper begins to sink while the flames seal off the cove. A search and rescue helicopter locates them, pulling Elvis and Nadine to safety, but Jesse slips out of the harness and the helicopter is forced to leave him behind due to smoke choking the engine. Jesse nearly drowns, but Willy returns for his friend and carries him safely under the fire in time for the adults to retrieve Jesse. Though Jesse is curious as to why Willy hasn't left, Randolph reveals the signal must be performed. Jesse does it and he, Glen, and Annie say goodbye to Willy.
Shortly after the Coastal Marine Patrol deliver Elvis and Nadine, Elvis gives Jesse a taped old photograph of Jesse and their mother. He reveals that she talked about Jesse all the time and felt bad about abandoning him. Jesse thanks him and is able to make peace with what happened with his mom. Glen approves Annie's proposal of adopting Elvis. When asked by Elvis how he knows the whales' whereabouts, Jesse clutches his necklace and replies, "I know". He then recites Nastilane's Haida prayer as Willy, Luna and Littlespot reunite with Catspaw.
Cast
.jpg)
(Kate Haley)
.jpg)
(John Milner)
- Jason James Richter as Jesse
- Francis Capra as Elvis
- Mary Kate Schellhardt as Nadine
- August Schellenberg as Randolph Johnson
- Michael Madsen as Glen Greenwood
- Jayne Atkinson as Annie Greenwood
- Mykelti Williamson as Dwight Mercer
- Elizabeth Peña as Dr. Kate Haley
- Jon Tenney as John Milner
- Paul Tuerpe as Milner's assistant
- M. Emmet Walsh as Wilcox
- John Considine as Commander Blake
- Steve Kahan as Captain Nilson
- Neal Matarazzo as Helmsman Kelly
- Al Sapienza as Engineer
- Basil Wallace as Reporter
- Marguerite Moreau as Julie
- Scott Stuber as a policeman
- Joan Lunden as herself
Production
In November 1993, producer Lauren Shuler Donner and her husband and co-executive producer Richard Donner were pursuing active development of a sequel to Free Willy following the breakout success of the first film, but unlike the first film, the orca was fully animatronic.[3] Jason James Richter returned to reprise his role as Jesse after renegotiating the original sequel option from the first film from $150,000 to $1.5 million with an option for a third sequel.[4] The LA84 Foundation/John C. Argue Swim Stadium was used to film the majority of the underwater scenes with the mini whale animatronics.
Reception
Free Willy 2 grossed $30 million in the United States and Canada[5] and $68 million worldwide[2] on a $31 million budget.
The film received mixed reviews from critics.[6][7][8][9][10] On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 50% of 26 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.9/10. The website's consensus reads: "Good-natured yet utterly unsurprising, Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home will strike all but the youngest of viewers as a poorly orca-strated sequel."[11] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale.[12]
Soundtrack
| Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by various artists | |
| Released | 1995 |
| Length | 39:15 |
| Label | |
| Producer | various |
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Childhood (Theme from Free Willy 2)" | Michael Jackson | Michael Jackson | 4:27 |
| 2. | "Forever Young" | Bob Dylan | Rebbie Jackson | 4:24 |
| 3. | "Sometimes Dancin'" (feat. Spragga Benz) | Brownstone | 5:47 | |
| 4. | "What Will It Take" | Taryll Jackson | 3T | 5:17 |
| 5. | "I'll Say Goodbye for the Two of Us" | Diane Warren | Exposé | 4:47 |
| 6. | "Forever Young" | Bob Dylan | Pretenders | 5:03 |
| 7. | "Lou's Blues" | Nathan Cavaleri | Nathan Cavaleri Band | 3:14 |
| 8. | "Main Titles" | Basil Poledouris | 3:30 | |
| 9. | "Whale Swim" | Basil Poledouris | 3:18 | |
| 10. | "Reunion" | Basil Poledouris | 3:38 | |
| 12. | "Childhood (Theme from Free Willy 2)" (Instrumental) | Michael Jackson | Michael Jackson | 4:27 |
