Free Willy 3: The Rescue (1997)

44% of critics liked it
(16 reviews)
51% of users liked it
(62,283 ratings)

In the third installment in the Free Willy series, Jesse (Jason James Richter), the once-troubled youth whose life was changed by his friendship with the killer whale Willy, is spending the summer on board a ship assisting a group a whale researchers, including his old friend Randolph (August… More In the third installment in the Free Willy series, Jesse (Jason James Richter), the once-troubled youth whose life was changed by his friendship with the killer whale Willy, is spending the summer on board a ship assisting a group a whale researchers, including his old friend Randolph (August Schellenberg), and Drew (Annie Corley), an oceanographer. Jesse once used a harmonica to communicate with Willy, and when he plays his mouth harp through the ship's underwater sound system, he is able to find his old friend, who is now raising a family of his own. As Jesse, Randolph, and Drew are out to study and assist the whales, a ten-year-old boy named Max (Vincent Berry) is accompanying his father John Wesley (Patrick Kilpatrick) on the fishing boat that John helps to run. Max soon discovers that John and the crew are not fishing for salmon, as he believed, but killer whales, which is illegal, but very profitable, as whale meat fetches $200 a pound on the black market. Jesse meets Max on shore, and when Jesse learns what John and his crew are up to, he tries to teach Max that while his father may not be a bad man, he's doing a very bad thing in killing the whales, who are intelligent, compassionate, and deserve the right to live; Jesse also acts to save Willy and his family from John and his fellow poachers. As in Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home, Free Willy 3: The Rescue used mechanical and animated whales rather than flesh-and-blood aquatic mammals. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Play Trailer

Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 26 min.
Directed By: Sam Pillsbury
Written By: John Mattson
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure, Kids & Family

In Theaters: Aug 8, 1997 Wide
On DVD: Jan 28, 2003
Studio: Warner Home Video

Critic Reviews

Charles Cassady, Common Sense Media
For devoted -- and young -- Willy fans only.
Clint Morris, Moviehole
Not exactly a whale of a time, but worthwhile
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com
I mean really: how many stories could there BE between one boy and one whale?

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

KJ P

The weakest in the series! I did not find much to like about this film!
Bobby H

They had already done captivity and environmental issues , now they focus on the illegality of whale hunting. I think out of the three films this film was the most serious. As a Kid I did not really like it because I was to used to the family-like background of the first two, but… More
They had already done captivity and environmental issues , now they focus on the illegality of whale hunting. I think out of the three films this film was the most serious. As a Kid I did not really like it because I was to used to the family-like background of the first two, but as a recent watcher of this, it's not so bad at all. It really promotes and shows the harms of whaling in a way that our young society may relate too. I only did not like the film quite as equally because it had a lack of characters - no anne, no glenn, not even a mention of Elvis. It strolled away from the original two but it done well at doing so. It's worth a watch for adults and a worth buying for your kids to show the importance of these issues that do not only face whales, but many specices on earth.
Jason S

Still a fun series and almost as good as the first two.
Leigh R

It was okay.
Yinalí R

Classic.
Haley A

I think the whale is free by now.
Sarah B

Awful and unnecessary sequel. Well done for trying and failing to tackle a real and important issue though. An incapability to settle on a tone ruins this film.