Review - Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995)

        Hey guys, Chuck here. Back in November, I talked about the '90s family classic Free Willy, and how the led to a grassroots movement by fans, specifically children, to convince marine wildlife experts to put the film's animal star, an Orca named Keiko, on the path to freedom. Well, while the Free Willy-Keiko Foundation worked tirelessly on the ambitious project, Warner Bros. capitalized on the success of the film by producing sequels, which certainly helped keep the public aware of the ongoing efforts to rehabilitate and eventually free Keiko. 

        The first of these sequels was the 1995 film Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home, which would be directed by Dwight H. Little, and would see the return of cast members Jason James Richter, August Schellenberg, Michael Madsen, Jayne Atkinson, and Mykelti Williamson. New cast members for this movie would include Francis Capra, Mary Kate Schellhardt, Elizabeth Peña, Jon Tenney, and M. Emmett Walsh. 

      Picking up a few years after the events of the first film, Free Willy 2 sees Willy, now much bigger and healthier than when he was in captivity, happily reunited with his family, "J Pod," around the San Juan Islands. It's here where we also see Willy's previous caretaker, Randolph, has a new job with an environmental institute, and is monitoring J Pod while aboard his boat, the Natselane, with assistance from his goddaughter Nadine. 

      Jesse, meanwhile, has fully integrated into life with Glen and Annie Greenwood, and the three are planning a camping trip at Camp Nor'wester at the San Juan Islands. However, Jesse's case worker, Dwight, arrives with unfortunate news: Jesse's mother was found deceased in New York City. However, she left behind another son, Jesse's half-brother Elvis. Jesse storms off, upset and devastated at learning his mother is dead, but talks his feelings out with Glen. Elvis, it turns out, is morose, talkative, and incredibly annoying. So, Jesse, Glen, Annie, and Elvis all go together on the camping trip to the San Juan Islands. 

       At the campground, Jesse reunites with Randolph, who drives him down to the Natselane, where he meets Nadine. And, it's obvious from the get-go that Jesse is absolutely smitten with Nadine. But, anyway, while out on the boat, Randolph, Jesse, and Nadine witness J Pod, and it's here where Jesse is pointed out to Willy's mother Catspaw, and Willy's siblings Luna and Littlespot. As the days go on, Jesse spends more time with Willy and the other Orcas, grows close to Nadine, and even Elvis forms a playful bond with Littlespot. 

      Unfortunately, things get bad when a Liberian oil tanker, the Dakar, runs aground on Lawson Reef spilling gallons of crude oil into the water. And, worse of all, Luna finds herself beached, with oil in her lungs. Jesse, Glen, Annie, Randolph, and Nadine work together to get Luna back into the water, while onlookers witness the situation. Several individuals are called in to overlook the situation, including Benbrook Oil CEO John Milner, and marine mammal veterinary expert Dr. Kate Haley. Unfortunately, Willy's distrust of doctors prevents Kate and her team from being able to provide treatment for Luna, and Willy and Littlespot surround their sister, keeping the doctors away. Kate pleads with Jesse to help, as he's the only one Willy trusts. Jesse agrees to this, but asks Milner to promise that he'll do everything he can to return Willy, Luna, and Littlespot to J Pod. 

       So, Jesse reaches out to Willy, and is able to draw him away from Luna, allowing Kate and her team to administer the treatment. Unfortunately, the next day, it seems to be doing no good, and Randolph and Jesse go on a different journey to create a natural treatment using old Haida remedies. This treatment, luckily, does work, and Luna gets much better. Unfortunately, Elvis, upset that no one will let him help, runs off, and ends up in a donut shop, where he overhears a conversation between Milner and a whaler named Wilcox. Their plan? Take the three Orcas and sell them off for entertainment purposes. How? Well, because the oil from the Dakar is getting too close to the cove, Benbrook Oil and the whalers boom the cove off, despite objections from Jesse, Nadine, and Randolph. But, once the truth gets out, Jesse knocks Milner into the water, and he, Elvis, and Nadine take the Greenwoods' boat, the Little Dipper, to help the Orcas to get away from the whalers. 

      Things get worse when the Dakar explodes after fuel.vapors ignited, and the oil catches fire. And, while the Orcas are able to swim safely under the flames, Jesse and the others aren't so lucky, and the boat runs aground and is slowly sinking. A rescue helicopter arrives, and both Elvis and Nadine are rescued. Jesse, unfortunately, doesn't make it up to the helicopter, and it is forced to take off as the smoke from the fire is wreaking havoc with the engines. But, Jesse is saved when Willy arrives and swims him under the flames to safety, and reunites him with Glen and Annie, who were with Randolph aboard the Natselane. Elvis and Nadine are also reunited with their loved ones, and Elvis gives Jesse a photo of their mother, revealing she always talked about him and regretted leaving him behind. The movie ends with Jesse reciting the Haida prayer, and Willy, Luna, and Littlespot happily reunited with Catspaw and the rest of J Pod. 

       As a kid, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. I liked how the movie saw Willy with other Orcas in their natural habitat, and how the movie showed that Jesse and Willy still had a special bond after so many years. Also, seeing a focus on additional Orcas like Luna and Littlespot was really neat. The setting of the San Juan Islands was also nice, as it gives a change of environment by comparison to an amusement park the way we had in the original movie. And, obviously, because of the work needed to rehabilitate Keiko for his eventual release back into the wild, a full-scale animatronic double was used to portray Willy in this movie, although it's unclear if the other Orcas were all real or not. 

       The returning cast were all excellent. Jason James Richter and August Schellenberg as Jesse and Randolph were fantastic, while it was nice to see the returns of Michael Madsen and Jayne Atkinson as Glen and Annie. Mary Kate Schellhardt as Nadine was certainly a smart addition, as it makes sense for Jesse to have a romantic interest in this movie. And, while Francis Capra as Elvis could get a bit grading at times, it was fine as far as kid acting goes in these kinds of movies. 

       The plot of this movie, involving keeping Willy and his siblings safe from an approaching oil spill brought on by an oil tanker running aground, is certainly different by comparison to the first one, and the main antagonists of Jon Tenney as Milner and M. Emmett Walsh as Wilcox are, for the most part, not nearly as vile or intolerable as the likes of Dial and Wade in the first movie. In fact, Milner is introduced as someone who appears to have the best interest of the Orcas at heart, but his true colors ultimately show up in the end once Wilcox gets involved. 

        Overall, while not nearly as iconic as the original film, I still think that Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home is a worthwhile follow-up to a family classic. And, I definitely recommend checking this one out. Now, it's probably going to be around August when I take a look at the next film in the series, Free Willy 3: The Rescue, so stay tuned for that in the future. 

       Alright guys, this is Chuck signing off, and I'll see you in the next review.