Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home

Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Dwight Little
Written by	Karen Janszen Corey Blechman John Mattson
Based on	Characters by Keith A. Walker
Produced by	Lauren Shuler Donner Jennie Lew Tugend
Starring	Jason James Richter August Schellenberg Jayne Atkinson Jon Tenney Elizabeth Peña Michael Madsen
Cinematography	László Kovács
Edited by	Robert Brown Dallas Puett
Music by	Basil Poledouris
Production companies	Le Studio Canal+ Regency Enterprises Alcor Films Shuler-Donner/Donner
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date	July 19, 1995 (1995-07-19)
Running time	98 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$31 million[1]
Box office	$68 million[2]

Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (also known as Free Willy 2) is a 1995 American family adventure drama film directed by Dwight Little from a screenplay by Karen Janszen, Corey Blechman and John Mattson. It is the sequel to the 1993 film Free Willy and second installment in the Free Willy film series distributed by Warner Bros. under their Warner Bros. Family Entertainment label. Jason James Richter, Jayne Atkinson, August Schellenberg, Michael Madsen and Mykelti Williamson reprise their roles from the first film. New cast members include Jon Tenney and Elizabeth Peña. Unlike the previous film where Keiko played Willy, a robotic double created by Edge Innovations was used to play the eponymous whale while the Free Willy Keiko Foundation devised a plan to bring Keiko to the Oregon Coast Aquarium where he would be rehabilitated from poor health. However, Keiko did make an uncredited appearance, reprising his role as Willy through an archival clip shown in the movie.

Set two years after Jesse freed his orca friend Willy who is now reunited with his family which includes sister Luna, brother Littlespot and mother Catspaw, the plot follows Jesse in a race against time after an oil spill separated Willy and his siblings from their mother and it's up to him to get them back home before the oil traps them in the cove for good.

Filming commenced in Astoria, Oregon and the San Juan Islands between April and August 1994 with additional filming taking place in California. The film opened on July 19, 1995 to mixed reviews from critics. Despite underperforming at the box office, a third film Free Willy 3: The Rescue was subsequently released in 1997.