Free Willy 3: The Rescue (1997)

Director:

Sam Pillsbury

Writers (WGA):

Keith Walker (characters)
John Mattson (written by)

Release Date:

8 August 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Family | Adventure | Drama

Tagline:

A new friend. A new threat. A new adventure that will capture your heart.

Plot:

Willy the whale is back, this time threatened by illegal whalers making money off sushi. Jesse, now 16...

Plot Keywords:

Whaler | Friend | Friendship | Best Friend | Animal Birth

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Jason James Richter	...	Jesse
August Schellenberg	...	Randolph Johnson
Annie Corley	...	Drew Halbert
Vincent Berry	...	Max Wesley
Patrick Kilpatrick	...	John Wesley
Tasha Simms	...	Mary Wesley
Peter LaCroix	...	Sanderson (as Peter Lacroix)
Stephen E. Miller	...	Dineen
Ian Tracey	...	Kron
Matthew Walker	...	Captain Drake
Roger R. Cross	...	1st Mate Stevens
Rick Burgess	...	Smiley
Roman Danylo	...	Pizza Kid

MPAA:

Rated PG for thematic elements involving whale hunting, and for brief mild language.

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:L | South Korea:All | USA:PG (certificate #35154) | Philippines:G | Australia:PG | Germany:o.Al. (w) | UK:U | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Howe Sound, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Keiko's final film.

Quotes:

Max: Why do you care, anyway?
Jesse: If one of your friends was in trouble, wouldn't you try to help him?
Max: If I could.
Jesse: My friends are whales.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Gray Matters (2006)

Good ending for the best family friendly trilogy ever

I liked two previous Free Willy movies when original was completely a perfect masterpiece while the first sequel was also pretty good. . Now, I watched the third movie and I found it excellent, almost as great as the original, though the first Free Willy movie is without a doubt the best in the trilogy. In this movie our main hero Jesse is now 16 and he begins to work with his old friend Randolph on a scientific researching ship. This summer new danger threatens his relations with giant whale Willy - illegal whalers. Jesse meets young boy, who is son of the captain of whaler's ship and he tries to convince him that whales are living creatures and not just a food for expensive restaurants. The relations and dialogs between captain of whaler's ship and his son Max (played by two newcomers Patrick Kilpatrick and Vincent Berry) and dialogs between them are the strongest parts of the movie. Acting is still pretty good and young Vincent Berry who was much better than slightly annoying Fransis Capra is the second movie created an excellent and memorable performance as Max, young and innocent kid, who learns that his father is involved in illegal fishing. Jason James Richter one more time (to my great sadness the last time) showed his acting abilities with strong performance as almost grown-up Jesse. Free Willy 3 is beautifully shot movie with gorgeous cinematography which is as good as in first movie but here we can entire ocean instead of small pool. With such a good cinematography, great scenery, well written and poignant story and good soundtrack the last Free Willy 3 is an excellent example how good can be a family movie. Sweet and innocent, bright and entertained and that's the most important to me without any sign of vulgarity and typical rude humor it easily became to all-time family classic. Anyone must realize that whales (and others animals) can be more human than people.

My rating 9,5 out of 10. The movie is dedicated to memory of Keith A.Walker (the man who brought two great characters Willy and Jesse into our life). IMDb is a great source for any movie lover but some ratings can be exceptionally misleading.