Free Willy 3: The Rescue

Synopsis of Movie

Boy and whale took on a few adult responsibilities in the third installment of the popular Free Willy series. Jason James Richter returned as Jesse (now seventeen) and August Schellenberg reprised his role as Jesse’s older Native American chum Randolph Johnson.

Jesse and Randolph work on an oceanographic research vessel, an expedition headed by spunky marine biologist Drew. The crew finds Willy in the waters off the Northwest U.S. coast. The friendly orca is going to be a daddy, courtesy of new mate Nicky, but the whales’ lives are threatened by a boatload of illegal whale hunters.

Jesse infiltrates the whalers’ boat, befriending ten-year-old Max, son of old-time whaler John Wesley. Jesse convinces the young tough that whales are worth saving, but it falls on Max’s young shoulders to convince his father to stop the slaughter.

Maintaining the ecological themes of the first two films, Free Willy 3 failed to find the widespread success those films had enjoyed. Arriving with little fanfare at the end of a crowded summer, the movie was lost at sea, hoping to find safer harbor on home video.

Movie Release History

1993 - Free Willy
1995 - Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home
1997 - Free Willy 3: The Rescue

Movie Sub Categories

live-action
drama

Movie Studio

Warner Bros.

Cast

Jesse Jason James Richter
Randolph Johnson August Schellenberg
Drew Halbert Annie Corley
Max Wesley Vincent Berry
John Patrick Kilpatrick
Kron Ian Tracey
Sanderson Peter LaCroix
Capt. Drake Matthew Walker
Dineen Stephen E. Miller
Mary Tasha Simms
Unknown Rick Burgess
Unknown Roman Danylo
Unknown Michael Dobson

Other Movie Links