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Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home

Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home

Family · Adventure · Drama · 1995

Jesse becomes reunited with Willy three years after the whale's jump to freedom as the teenager tries to rescue the killer whale and other orcas from an oil spill.

Movie details

Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home

“The adventure is back. The fun is back. Willy's back. And this time he's brought his whole family to meet an old friend ... and take on a new challenge.”

1995 Family · Adventure · Drama 1h 35m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

5.9 / 10

Community rating

Jesse becomes reunited with Willy three years after the whale's jump to freedom as the teenager tries to rescue the killer whale and other orcas from an oil spill.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Willy the whale is back, this time threatened by illegal whalers making money off sushi. Jesse, now 16, has taken a job on an orca-researching ship, along with old friend Randolph and a sarcastic scientist, Drew. On the whaler's ship is captain John Wesley and his son, Max, who isn't really pleased about his father's job, but doesn't have the gut to say so. Along the way, Willy reunites with Jesse.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Dwight H. Little

Written by

Karen Janszen · Corey Blechman · John Mattson

Jason James Richter

Jason James Richter

Jesse

Michael Madsen

Michael Madsen

Glen Greenwood

Jayne Atkinson

Jayne Atkinson

Annie Greenwood

August Schellenberg

August Schellenberg

Randolph Johnson

Mary Kate Schellhardt

Mary Kate Schellhardt

Nadine

Francis Capra

Francis Capra

Elvis

Mykelti Williamson

Mykelti Williamson

Dwight Mercer

Court is in session

Put Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.