Free Willy is an actual whale of a story. Oops. I meant to say a story of a whale, although both are true. Filled with legends and stories from the Haida Native Americans, this movie will charm and capture the hearts of your entire family.

Jesse (Jason James Richter) is a ward of the state and has been running with the wrong crowd. He and his best friend, Perry (Michael Bacall), do a bit of graffiti in the aquarium at Northwest Adventure Park, but 12-year-old Jesse gets busted. For punishment, he is forced to clean up all the paint. His youth supervisor, Dwight (Mykelti Williamson), points out that he is getting off lucky.

At the same time, Jesse goes to live with new foster parents. Glen (Michael Madsen) is an auto mechanic who owns a small shop. Anne (Jayne Atkinson) is a schoolteacher and journalist. Although the Glenwoods are trying to be as nice as possible, Jesse wants to believe that his mom will someday come back for him. He is openly hostile and bitter.

At the aquarium Jesse meets an orca with whom he has much in common. The killer whale, Willie, was too old and big to be captured and has not responded to training from Rae (Lori Petty). He is moody and temperamental until Jessie brings a harmonica into his life.

Much to the amazement of Jesse's supervisor, Randolph (August Schellenberg), Willie responds to Jesse's cues and learns to perform all the tricks. They schedule a show featuring Willie, but he refuses to perform and the park owner decides it is time to collect the million dollars in life insurance on Willie.

Jesse and Randolph have to figure out how to free Willie before the water drains out of his holding tank. The problem is that his owner does not want him saved.

If you have not seen Free Willie, you should find a copy today. This movie was a sleeper that took the box office, and the movie industry, by storm. It was supposed to be a children's film. Nobody anticipated that people of all ages would not only go to the theatre once, but would return several times, bringing family and friends. Nobody thought it would become the hot "date" movie of the day.

This is an extremely well-written piece. The strong Native American cultural aspect makes it stand out from most of the films along this line. Orca had some Native American folklore and culture, but not as much. The character development is tremendous, with exceptional depth and dimension. There are no slow points. The story progresses smoothly to the end.

Every actor put their heart and emotions into their role. You feel these characters. I truly believe that every viewer can readily identify with at least one of these characters. Perhaps that explains the movie's universal appeal.

Free Willy is an exceptionally high quality movie all the way around. if you do not own a copy, you are missing out.