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Yet Keiko's almost decade-long ordeal is indeed ironic, if only because the $12 million (yes, $12 million) spent by the Free Willy Keiko Foundation (including a giant temporary facility for the whale in Newport, Oregon and a $300,000 airlift courtesy of the United States Air Force) makes one wonder how many more whales might have been saved if all this effort had been expended on more than just one movie star. In typical bleeding heart fashion (not in the liberal sense but in the stupid- human-being sense) the public often so fixates on one symbol of a larger cause that the larger cause gets the shaft in the process. I know, I know, Keiko is big and huggable and the camera just loves him, but geesh, what about Shamu?

Of course, none of this would have happened if the makers of Free Willy, a well-meaning movie with a none-too-subtle, anti-whale-captivity theme, hadn't imprisoned poor Keiko and forced him to mug for the camera in the first place. This was before CGI, so all the tricks you see on the screen are more or less real. Keiko is quite the performer, and you can't help but cheer him on in his race to make it back out to the ocean and reunite with his family. But who knew this would turn out to be a sort of surrealist, postmodern neo-documentary a decade after the fact? Alright, alright, so I am being a bit facetious....but isn't it still kinda creepy?

So. how are the actual flicks? The first Free Willy is a fresh, fun movie that I'm embarrassed to admit that I actually paid to see in the theater even though I was well into my 20s at the time. Scruffy street kid Jesse (Jason James Richter) is forced to go live in a foster home (although it is one pretty damn nice foster home at that) and his rebelliousness is almost as bad as his attitude. But he soon warms up to Keiko the Orca Whale, currently trapped in a go-nowhere gig at the local Sea World-esque aquatic park. With the help of a daring park worker (Lori Petty) and his foster parents (including Reservoir Dogs' Michael Madsen!) he risks everything to free Willy and send him home to meet his family. Do you think he'll make it?

After the smash success of the first Free Willy, just about all the principal players returned for the sequel, but like so many follow-ups, the elements are in place but the same magic isn't quite there. Practically stealing the tagline from Jaws The Revenge ("This time it's personal!"), Jesse is now comfortable with his newly-adoptive parents (Madsen actually returned for the sequel) and whadda ya know, he just so happens to "run into" Keiko on a family vacation to the pacific Northwest. (Of course, how you can actually recognize a whale from afar is worth pondering.) Then an evil oil tanker ignites by accident, and the tables are turned: Can Willy now save Jesse from certain doom? Oh, the suspense!

By the time we get to Free Willy 3: The Rescue, most of the cast bailed out except for Richter, and even Keiko himself was off on his real-life adventure home necessitating a whale substitute. Now well into his teens and suffering from the "I'm in puberty and my face looks funny so I'm stuck doing Free Willy sequels" syndrome, Jesse is off working with his mentor (August Schellenberg) tracking whales in remote coastal waters. Yep, here we go again... Jesse "bumps into" Willy and it's off on another rescue adventure, only this time there may be a deep dark secret to uncover. In some ways, the third is a better film than the second, if only because it is a different kind of movie and therefore feels fresher. But all I can say is that you know your franchise is in trouble when even Michael Jackson won't donate another lame theme song.

While the appeal of the first Free Willy movie is a given if you have any youngsters in the house, the sequels are all about the law of diminishing returns. Unless you absolutely love watching whale tricks on the big screen, I'd say just go with the first one and call it a day. Better yet, spend the $40 or whatever you'd pay for the trilogy on DVD and send it to a real-life whale rescue operation. And say hi to Keiko for me.

Video: How Does The Disc Look?

Originally released on DVD a few years back, Free Willy gets the remastered treatment here, while the sequels make their first-ever debuts on the format. Oddly enough, Warner has decided to release only the first two in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen; the third is a full- frame only transfer. Go figure. Unacceptable cropping aside, all three look pretty spiffy. Keiko, you are indeed ready for your closeup.

Given the above-average budgets afforded these pictures and the picturesque locations, all boast very sharp, detailed presentations. I was actually quite surprised at how beautiful all three looked (despite the fact that The Rescue is almost chopped in half). The prints are all just about pristine, with only some slight grain apparent in a few scenes with very low light levels. Colors are excellent, with the many outdoor scenes in Free Willy and The Adventure Home are gorgeous to look at, filled with perfectly saturated colors and wonderful fleshtones. All three are very detailed; contrast and blacks are perfect, with excellent shadow delineation delivering a very three-dimensional image. However, The Rescue appears a little bit soft compared to the other two; occasionally, fine detail suffers, if only by comparison. (The Rescue is also the only one presented on a single-layer disc, not dual- layer.) But that complain aside, none seem to suffer from edge enhancement nor any compression artifacts.

It's a real shame Warner for some reason decided to crop The Rescue. Had it been given a true anamorphic widescreen transfer like the first two, this would have been a perfect trilogy. As is, the first two are excellent.

Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

Also a real surprise are the English Dolby Digital 5.1 surround tracks included for each film. All are quite aggressive and enveloping experiences. While considered a sleeper at the time, the first Free Willy had an ample budget as did the second (only third sounds a little cheap) so dynamic range and the overall sound design are excellent. There are some noticeable discrete effects on the first two films. The more action- oriented sequences during the climax of The Adventure Home rival many new films. Imaging is very good with some heavy low bass that really adds to the experience. While The Rescue is a tad bit more lackluster, it too boasts some very active scenes and a nice use of ambiance. While again the third and final installment has gotten the short stick on DVD, these are still mighty fine mixes.

Each film also includes the exact same audio options: French and Spanish Dolby 2.0 surround options, subtitles in English, French-Quebec and Spanish, and English Closed Captions.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

While not exactly a deluxe Keiko box set, Warner has assembled a few nice supplements, at least for the first flick. Strangely, there is no Free Willy 3-pack available; each is sold separately, and by the time we get to The Rescue, the extras are few and far between indeed.

Let's start with the extras that are the same on each disc. All feature widescreen theatrical trailers for each flick, plus some additional promos for other Warner family fare. Fans curiously about the life of a killer whale should check out the interactive fact maps on each disc, which offer various factoids on Orcas. But although given different titles - "A Whale's Tale," "Orca Wonders" and "Orcas Up Close" - and graphics, each "interactive map" seems to sport the same info. Click on one of seven points on the image, and a new set of whale facts pops up. Simple, but nice and educational for the kids.

Up next on the first Free Willy we have A Conversation with Bob Talbot, a nice little 5-minute chat with the renowned wildlife cinematographer. This guy seems a little too into whales, if you know what I mean, and this featurette is totally geared for the kids. Simplistic and offering just a the briefest of looks at the life of a whale cinematographer, I could have used more. Next up is a real treat for fans of whale porn, Whale Ballet. This is just a 2-minute montage of clips from the movie (at least presented in anamorphic widescreen) set to an excerpt from Basil Poledouris's score. Couldn't they have just put this on the animated menus instead?

Next we have more kid stuff, the interactive game Escape The Nets. All you have to do is click the proper remote direction to guide Willy to various blue dots. I'd imagine this would be pretty dull, even for kids. Rounding it out is something that really shouldn't be seen by kids, that annoying Michael Jackson music video for "Will You Be There?", complete with backup singers with weird big blue things on their heads. Don't ask me to explain it...

The only other extras included on any of the other discs is yet another Jackson offense, the faux music video for "Childhood" (just a bunch of film clips set to the tune) and the 7-minute making-of featurette. This one was produced before the film even came out, and features the usual EPK interviews on the set with the main cast, producer Lauren-Shuller Donner and director Dwight (Halloween 4) Little. Strictly formula.

DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the disc in your PC?

Only the first film receives any sort of ROM extras (the sequels don't even have a custom interface) and the actual exclusives are slim. Included are two interactive games, "Reef Maze Challenge" and "Willy's Aquatic Show Games." Both are cute, with the "Reef Maze Challenge" basically a more snazzy version of the DVD-Video-based "Escape the Nets." These games require shockwave to run, so make sure you have it installed or have a web connection to download the required software. Also embedded in the custom interface are the usual array of Warner weblinks including access to the WB KIDS destination.

Parting Thoughts