Free Willy 1-4 - Simon Wincer [DVD]

Free Willy
Jesse, a homeless orphan who spends his days evading the police, finally gets caught spray painting a whale tank at a local park. Because he distrusts adults intensely, Jesse's not too happy when authorities place him in a foster home and sentence him to clean up the tank he vandalized. Unexpectedly, Willy, the whale who inhabits the tank, takes a liking to Jesse, and the animal and child develop a bond--a bond that also helps Jesse open up to the adults in his life, including his new parents and the whale's caretakers. But then Jesse learns that Dial, who owns the park, only wants to keep Willy if he can be trained to perform for an audience. Can the boy find a way to save his beloved whale before Dial plays some dirty tricks of his own.

Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home
In this sequel, Willy has rejoined his whale family, or pod, and is living in the pacific northwest seas. Jesse and Willy meet again when an oceanic disaster separates Willy, his brother and sister from the rest of their pod.

Free Willy 3: The Rescue
The best of the three movies about a boy and his killer whale. Beautifully photographed, it's worth watching just for the heavenly British Columbian scenery and underwater photography. Jason James Richter, the little boy from the previous Free Willy flicks, is given a credible role as a research assistant trying to understand why whale populations are decreasing. His story parallels that of the son of an illegal whaler who knows his father is involved in criminal activity and is particularly disturbed by the moral ramifications.

Free Willy - Escape from Pirate's Cove
Bindi Irwin (daughter of late Crocodile Hunter star Steve Irwin) makes her feature film debut in this heart-warming tale of a little girl who befriends a stranded baby orca. Nature-loving Australian Kirra (Irwin) is spending the summer with her grandfather (Beau Bridges) in South Africa when she makes a remarkable discovery. Swimming in a small lagoon next to her grandfather's dilapidated ocean-side amusement park is a baby orca that seems to have lost its way. Determined to help her new friend get back to his pod, Kirra names the orca Willy and makes it her mission to reunite him with his family. Meanwhile, her grandfather's nemesis - the owner of a popular theme park - has his own plans for Willy. Should Kirra fail to get the wandering killer whale back in the ocean quickly, he'll be put on display instead of set free. But Kirra isn't about to let her new friend down, and before this trip is over she'll truly understand what it means to fight with all you've got for what you really believe in.