"Let's Free Willy!"

As soon as my dad and brother saw a preview for this movie at the movie theater, they knew I would love it. My brother eagerly told me about it when he returned home. So I was eager to see it, and I got my chance when Mom took me school shopping that August. After a morning of shopping and lunch at Chuck E. Cheese's, we settled in for one of my all-time favorite sappy movies.

Yes, I'll call it sappy. Free Willy has almost an E.T. feel to it, with a boy and a very non-human creature bonding and eventually the strength of that bond being tested when the creature's life is endangered. Free Willy begins with Jesse, a troublemaker who's spent his childhood in and out of foster homes, tearing up the town with a gang of friends. They eventually wind up at a run-down aquarium and proceed to decorate it with spray paint, until they are interrupted by authorities. Jesse is left holding the bag, and as punishment he must scrub off all the paint.

Meanwhile, he has been placed in a foster home with a couple who very much want to be a part of his life. They are eager to learn his interests and accommodate him, but Jesse takes a long time to warm up to them. And despite the statements of his kind-hearted but tough social worker, Jesse still believes that his mother is returning for him.

Jesse's life takes a turn for the better, however, when he encounters Willy, an orca who is the star attraction at the aquarium. The whale and the boy seem to understand one another, and Jesse is thrilled when Willy responds to the music of his harmonica and imitates his motions. All too soon his work at the aquarium is finished, and Jesse sneaks back at night to bid farewell to his friend. A slippery floor and panic at hearing footsteps lead Jesse to plunge into the tank, and miraculously, Willy comes to the rescue. Their bond is sealed, and Jesse's boss offers him a job working with Willy.

The plot thickens as Jesse learns that the park isn't making any money, and it will close down if they don't bring in some revenue soon. With the help of another whale trainer, Jesse is in a race against time to get Willy to deliver. And if Willy decides not to cooperate, the consequences will be far more dire than any of them could have imagined.

Free Willy is a fantastic movie about love. Love between two beings whom society has declared outcast, and how that love brings each of them home at last. The eventual conclusion is harrowing, bittersweet, and ultimately joyful, culminating in Michael Jackson's exuberant single, Will You Be There? All in all, a beautiful and heartwarming family film to be enjoyed by people of all ages.