Synopsis: The fun and adventure are back! Fans of the Free Willy series will cheer this exciting family film about a baby orca who needs a friend and a girl who finds the courage to help him. After young Kirra (Bindi Irwin) leaves her Australian home to summer with her grandfather (Beau Bridges) in South Africa, she soon discovers a baby orca stranded in the lagoon near her grandfather’s rundown seaside amusement park. She names the lonely whale Willy--and embarks on a great quest to lead the little guy back to his anxious pod before her grandfather's greedy rival turns Willy into a captive, moneymaking attraction at his slick theme park. A little girl, a little orca and big, big fun and adventure!

Review: The Free Willy series really helped to define the ecologically conscious attitude of the 1990s.  This new re-launch of the previously popular franchise stars Bindi Irwin as Kirra.  You may recognize Bindi as the daughter of the late, great Steve Irwin.  We really loved Steve and all of the work he did for animals.  He is greatly missed.  It seems that his daughter has his passions, as she takes on a role in this fun kids film about animal captivity.

This is the 4th movie in the Free Willy franchise, and its been awhile since we've seen one of these released.  Its nice to see a resurgance in animal conservation interest.    Its been 13 years since we saw one of these films.  None of the original cast are featured in this film, but it has the similar premise of a captured whale that needs to be freed into the wild.  Bindi turns out to be a very talented young lady and has a great performance. 

This is a GREAT film for kids.  We highly recommend it, as family entertainment is hard to come by.

Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars