Free Willy

Free Willy

Jesse

Rae Lindley

Annie Greenwood

Randolph Johnson

Glen Greenwood

Dial

Wade

Dwight Mercer

Perry

Vector

Passerby #1

Passerby #2

Passerby #3

Waiter

Fish Thrower

Fish Thrower

Fish Thrower

Willis Van Dusen

Brody

Homeless Man

Homeless Man

Announcer

Amusement Park Attendant (uncredited)

Willy

(uncredited)

Keiko, the killer whale used in the film, died on Friday 12 December 2003 after the sudden onset of pneumonia in the Taknes Fjord in Norway. The whale was 27 years old.

After the movie was released, it brought the living conditions of the star orca, Keiko (Willy) to the world's attention. His tank was too small, with too-warm chlorinated artificial salt water. Keiko suffered from a weakened immune system and a skin condition around his pectoral fins. There was a monumental effort to release Keiko. A custom tank was built in the Oregon Coast Aquarium and in 1996, the whale was flown from Mexico to Oregon. He recovered well, and was moved to a sea pen in 1998. In 2002, Keiko was released into the wild after spending 22 years in captivity.

After the release of the film, millions of moviegoers called the number shown at the end of the movie where $20 million was donated for the Save the Whales Foundation.

When Randolph asked Jesse if he had ever looked into Willy's eyes, he said, about orcas, "Those eyes discovered the stars long before man was even a whisper on this Earth", but later when telling Jesse the Haida story about Natselane, he said "Natselane was a Haida who lived long before there were orca whales".

When Jesse is with Willy he has long hair and when he is not with the whale he has visibly shorter hair.

When Randolph is using the crane to lift Willy out of the tank you can see the reflection of a man in the crane window.

Jesse: I love you, Willy.

Rae: You like whales?

Mr. Dial: [to Wade] The Willy Show! It'll make money. That, my friend, is what we're all about!