Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows Shop News Showtimes

Free Willy 3: The Rescue

Play trailer Poster for Free Willy 3: The Rescue PG Released Aug 8, 1997 1h 26m Kids & Family Adventure Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
44% Tomatometer 16 Reviews 44% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings
In the third "Free Willy" film, Jesse (Jason James Richter) is 16 and employed aboard a research ship along with his old friend and mentor, Randolph (August Schellenberg). After Jesse meets Max (Vincent Berry), the disapproving son of a whaler hoping to catch Willy the orca for his meat, the two team with oceanographer Drew (Annie Corley) to stop the whalers before they can get to Willy and the rest of his pod, and convince them to give up their cruel and illegal practice.
Watch on Fandango at Home Buy Now

Where to Watch

Free Willy 3: The Rescue

Critics Reviews

View All (16) Critics Reviews
Empire Magazine Rated: 2/5 Dec 30, 2006 Full Review Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times There is a majesty to whales that the second Willy movie trivialized. Part three returns to some of the human elements that made the first movie so good. Rated: 3/4 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Russell Smith Austin Chronicle Rated: 3/5 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Charles Cassady Common Sense Media For devoted -- and young -- Willy fans only. Rated: 4/5 Dec 15, 2010 Full Review Susan Granger www.susangranger.com Rated: 2/5 Dec 21, 2005 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 2/5 Sep 24, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (644) audience reviews
StephenPaul C The worst 01 hour: and 26 minutes ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 06/17/23 Full Review Audience Member This one I remembered for being the best. Well it is, sort of. It has it's moment and it's acting is slightly better than the first one but it's still campy as fuck and just feels so much like a 90s movie. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Audience Member This is probably the best one but we're still talking about Free Willy. The cinematography is great and it has the most realistic dialogue but the message is kinda forced. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Audience Member I admit, I was surprised by this installment. It was more down to Earth and was actually a decent story. I remember when this was announced I thought, "Not again" but then I saw it and I was a bit short-sighted. It treats humans as decidedly even, and mixes it in with a good story that's not so heavy-handed this time. Jesse seems and acts real, the science that they produce actually has some merit, and the side story with the boy and his father with a spear gun does have some debate with it. For the most part, all sides are equal. Most of the jokes are sporadic, and us as adults will like it, but I don't think kids will like it as much as the other two. Admitting, it's only an hour and twenty-five minutes and seems that it's not long enough that you are wanting more out of it. It wasn't as successful as a film, and it's vastly underrated. I would definitely put this on the list. Pretty good little movie. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review Audience Member Ok no more please!! Stop making this ok ok!!! Rated 1 out of 5 stars 01/10/18 Full Review Audience Member This movie might have the best plot of the series and has a strong message about hunting. 9.0/10 Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/25/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Free Willy 3: The Rescue

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

Flipper 30% 34% Flipper Watchlist Mighty Joe Young 54% 41% Mighty Joe Young Watchlist White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf 71% 47% White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf Watchlist Tom and Huck 25% 42% Tom and Huck Watchlist White Fang 67% 63% White Fang Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis In the third "Free Willy" film, Jesse (Jason James Richter) is 16 and employed aboard a research ship along with his old friend and mentor, Randolph (August Schellenberg). After Jesse meets Max (Vincent Berry), the disapproving son of a whaler hoping to catch Willy the orca for his meat, the two team with oceanographer Drew (Annie Corley) to stop the whalers before they can get to Willy and the rest of his pod, and convince them to give up their cruel and illegal practice.
Director
Sam Pillsbury
Producer
Jennie Lew Tugend
Screenwriter
Keith Walker, John Mattson
Distributor
Warner Bros.
Production Co
Donner/Schuler-Donner, Regency Enterprises, Warner Brothers
Rating
PG
Genre
Kids & Family, Adventure
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 8, 1997, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Oct 24, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA)
$3.5M
Runtime
1h 26m
Sound Mix
SDDS, Dolby Digital, DTS, Surround
Most Popular at Home Now