Rating:
Score: 7/10
Grade: B-
Family-Friendliness Scale: Level 3 (OK)
Kids ages 8+
So, your friend is an orca?? And how often do you see him? Not very.
This sequel to Free Willy continues the adventures of Jesse, now a teenager and focuses his attention on girls. But when he hears that his real mother passed away and that she left a half-brother for him, it drives Jesse crazy. The boy, named Elvis, comes to stay with them for two weeks, and the family decides to take a camping trip together and visit Randolph. Jesse goes to help Randolph, only to set his sights on his god-daughter Nadine. Also, Randolph had successfully tracked down Willy, and Jesse gets super excited to see him again. But when an oil tanker crashes spilling crude oil and Willy's sister Luna gets sick from inhaling the oil, it brings a lot of international attention.
Positive Notes
Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home has its' fun moments. It has a thrilling story that results in good things to come. There are solid examples on family bonding, self-sacrifice and people setting aside personal differences to help save Willy, his sister Luna, and his brother Littlespot. While the educational bits on whales aren't nearly as relevant, there are still some learning points about how whales hunt in packs. There are some funny parts with the whales as they pull pranks on the humans.
The underwater and ocean scenery is beautiful through nice camera shots.
Negative Notes
Language is far more of an issue here than it was in the first Free Willy. The d-word is used twice by an 8-year old. The subtitles reveal Jesus' name being misused once. We hear several misuses of God's name, Elvis thinks that its' okay to "kiss butts" (though Annie corrects him for it), and Jesse nearly spits out profanity by saying "this is a bunch of bull!" There's also some mixed theology involving Indian spirituality in a few scenes.
We see quite a bit of danger, including an oil tanker scene that involves camera-jostling, and kids getting trapped when fire breaks out. A few characters lie, deceive, and are arrogant and selfish, especially Elvis. Jesse has a crush on Nadine, and while they only kiss once, an apparent lie by Elvis causes Glen to talk about the dangers of romance to Jesse (though on a positive note, he doesn't know what he's talking about).
Conclusion
The first Free Willy movie was a fun, heartwarming and inspirational family tale. It was the beginning of inspirational animal stories, some true and some fictitious. Would we see the same in the sequel?
Apparently not. While we still get a nice story with loads of fun and awe-inspiring moments, it appears that the film series is heading in a grown-up direction. There's a smattering of language and a few mildly upsetting topics. Elvis is literally a brat, acting disrespectful, rebellious and does things a kid his age wouldn't normally be allowed to do.
Altogether, this sequel is not appropriate for younger children. So even though this is still better than your average whale-of-a-tale, it seems like the family-friendliness aspect is sinking below the surface.
