Free Willy 3: The Rescue [P&S] [With Book]

Someone or something is depleting the Northwest orca population of which the former captive killer-whale Willy is a member. To solve the mystery, marine biologist Drew (Annie Corley), the wise Randolph (August Schellenberg, reprising his role as a whale expert and mentor from the first "Free Willy") and young adult Jessie (Jason James Richter) embark upon their research vessel armed with high-tech whale tags to monitor their ocean-going friends. Meanwhile 10-year-old Max (Vincent Berry) goes out on his first commercial fishing trip with his father (Patrick Kilpatrick) and discovers that instead of hunting salmon or other Northwest indigenous fish, his dad and crew are out for orca meat which they will sell on the international black market for $200 per pound. Max is confused. He is at once appalled by the slaughter and yet feels loyal to his dad, who is trying to maintain the family whaling tradition while putting food on the table. Max meets Jessie, and in secret the older boy explains the grim facts of whale hunting and its devastating effects. He also tells Max that his father is wrong about whales being stupid. Using Willy and his mate Nicky (who gives birth during the story) as examples, Jesse shows how killer whales are intelligent, caring creatures. When Max is washed overboard, it is Willy who saves him, inspiring Max to do the same for Willy and his family. This third entry in the popular eco-conscious family series is a notch above the second, Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home, in that it focuses less on unrealistic whale/ boy antics and more on the serious issue of whale preservation. But for a few shots of live wild whales, Willy and his cetacean cohorts are comprised of animatronics and computer-generated images. The original live Willy, Keiko, is, as of this writing, alive and well at an Oregon facility where he is being prepared for release back in the North Atlantic where he was born.