Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (PG, 2001)

In this sequel, a Free Willy cast reunion takes place just offshore, with the marine mammals once again in peril and an extended human family still learning to get along. Jesse (Jason James Richter) is living happily with his foster parents until his troubled biological mom dies and half-brother Elvis becomes part of his family. Then an oil spill threatens the now-free killer whale Willy and his family. As if that's not enough for Jesse to handle, an amusement park owner sets out to capture the whale.

You'd think there wouldn't be much to add to the Free Willy saga after Willy was freed, and you'd be right (unless you count the real-life movement to release Keiko, the captive orca used in these movies). FREE WILLY 2 treads some pretty familiar waters; it's not unlike a "Flipper" episode on steroids, especially in the action-filled climax, when whales and boys confront an ocean that's turned into sheets of flame.

But the first movie wasn't so much about stunts as the surprisingly touching relationship between Jesse and the troubled sea creature (Flipper never had such a bad attitude). There's an attempted substitute here in the emotional subplot of Jesse's jealousy, rivalry and reconciliation with Elvis, his obnoxious sibling. Much of their dramatics takes place in the midst of an environmental inferno. The producers correctly intuited that this brotherly spat alone would leave much of the audience cold.

Studio: Warner Bros.
Director: Dwight H. Little
Cast: Francis Capra, Jason James Richter, Michael Madsen
Genre: Family and Kids
Run time: 96 minutes
Theatrical release: June 5, 2001
DVD release: June 5, 2001
MPAA Rating: PG
MPAA explanation: emotional intensity