

Free Willy
How far would you go for a friend?
When maladjusted orphan Jesse vandalizes a theme park, he is placed with foster parents and must work at the park to make amends. There he meets Willy, a young Orca whale who has been separated from his family. Sensing kinship, they form a bond and, with the help of kindly whale trainer Rae Lindley, develop a routine of tricks. However, greedy park owner Dial soon catches wind of the duo and makes plans to profit from them.
TMDB
6.2/10
2,067 votes
IMDb
Not rated yet
View on IMDb
- Status
- Released
- Budget
- $20M
- Box office
- $153.7M
- Language
- English
- whale
- social worker
- freedom
- social work
- portland, oregon
- human animal relationship
- best friend
- orphan
- killer whale
- amusement park
- aftercreditsstinger
- animal human friendship
Top billed cast











Behind the camera
Director
Writers
Music
Produced in
United States of America, France
Where to watch
All optionsAvailability for India. Provided by JustWatch through the TMDB API.
Gallery












Videos
Release dates
United StatesUS
- TheatricalPG16 Jul 1993
United KingdomGB
- TheatricalU11 Feb 1994
- PhysicalUDVD27 Sept 1999
AustraliaAU
- TheatricalG26 Dec 1993
CanadaCA
- TheatricalG16 Jul 1993
BrazilBR
- TheatricalL24 Sept 1993
CzechiaCZ
- TheatricalU24 Feb 1994
DenmarkDK
- TheatricalA4 Feb 1994
FranceFR
- TheatricalU9 Feb 1994
- PhysicalVHS5 Sept 1995
- PhysicalDVD6 Oct 1999
- Digital / OTTVOD30 Nov 2011
- Digital / OTT10Netflix1 Dec 2021
GermanyDE
- Theatrical010 Feb 1994
GreeceGR
- TheatricalG19 Oct 1999
IrelandIE
- TheatricalPG25 Mar 1994
NetherlandsNL
- Theatrical617 Feb 1994
- TV6Net 531 Dec 2002
- Physical6DVD18 Apr 2007
Frequently asked questions
Free Willy was released on 16 July 1993.
Audience reviews
3- F7/10
Filipe Manuel Neto
12/25/2022
**Despite being predictable and loaded with clichés, it is a film that marked a generation, alerted many consciences to very serious issues, and is still very beautiful thirty years later.** This is certainly one of the films that made an impression on people during the 90's, and that maintained its popularity and sympathy for many years. Today I think it has been forgotten, and in part I feel sorry for it. Howeve…
- G1/10
GenerationofSwine
1/11/2023
I guess Free Willy depends on how old you were in 1993. For the most part, I really like Family Friendly, if they are done right they can be entertaining and uplifting. And, the kid in me can still see how people would love it, and still love it, if they saw it as a little kid. But I was 13 when Free Willy came out, and, honestly, it's not E.T., it's not The Goonies, it's not even Radio Flyer let alone Sandlot.…
- D4/10
daniel_carr
2/23/2026
The song by Michael Jackson was epic and I saw clips from this movie in there and it motivated me to watch this movie. But I must say I wasn't impressed. It was a feel good movie for sure, but I must say I enjoyed Dolphin Tale more. The story was slow and action sequences seemed a little far fetched like seriously breaking a 3,000kg animal out of jail!
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