The Movie
This fourth film in the wayward orca franchise drops the numbering but picks up a crossover star, namely young Bindi Irwin, whose popular nature TV series The Jungle Girl is already a hit with the 'tween set. In Free Willy: Escape from Pirate's Cove she plays Kirra, forced to live with her grandfather (Beau Bridges) in South Africa when her dad is injured. Gramps lives at his super-cheesy, run-down beachfront theme park, and one night during a violent storm, an orca calf is washed into his lagoon. Kirra assumes care of the killer whale, naming him Willy and determined to teach him what he needs to know to return to the wild, but a nasty rival aims to acquire Willy for himself, by any means necessary.
Not content to tell the story of a kid and her best-friend whale, the makers of Pirate's Cove throw in a pet penguin and a visit to a nature reserve, giving Bindi the chance to do what her fans expect. She isn't given much of anything to say or do throughout most of Act One, but eventually we learn that she can act, ably doing her part to help carry this simple tale to its predictable conclusion.
The Picture
The 1.78:1 VC-1 high-definition master displays the warmth of its 35mm film origins, but is slightly soft, without abundant detail. There's some general noise, and a little film grain, but nothing terrible here, and nothing really spectacular either; just the occasional well-focused close-up. Many of the shots of Willy & Co. are computer-generated, well-executed and likely to fool young eyes.
The Sound
I was surprised by the quantity of rear-channel effects in the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 channel mix, from the lapping of waves to the sounds of a bustling airport. There's quite a bit of music in this soundtrack, well-recorded and deftly mixed for multichannel presentation. The big storm shows generous surround and bass activity, thunder and all. Underwater, Willy's energetic swimming receives the appropriate directionality, and his "echolocation" ability in particular is a neat sonic trick.
The Extras
Included are a handful of brief segments featuring and/or hosted by Bindi. "On the Set of Free Willy: Greetings from South Africa" (seven-and-a-half minutes) is a traditional "making of" while "Meet My Wild Co-Stars" (three minutes) highlights the animal actors and "Bindi's First Movie Video Diary" (four-and-a-half minutes) reveals the production from her unique perspective. Two deleted scenes total two minutes, while one-and-a-half minutes of outtakes share alternate approaches and bloopers from the second deleted scene. All of these are in HD.
Exclusive to Blu-ray is an optional on-screen fact track with tidbits about the movie, orcas and more. Disc Two is a combo DVD containing the movie in standard definition (no extras) plus a Digital Copy for iTunes and Windows Media.
Final Thoughts
With three of these movies already under their whaleskin belt, Warner was wise to take this latest installment in a new direction. Escape from Pirate's Cove might be a bit drippy for Mom and Dad, but it's a safe bet for the kids.
Product Details
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