Review of Free Willy: Escape from Pirate's Cove

Bindi Irwin was really good in this. she wasn't half bad as a actress. she handled a crying scene well, something actors will tell you is often demanding, and i liked her song at the end of the film. i've always liked Bindi Irwin and thought she had a interesting career. her father was a fine man and his death was a real loss. i'm not sure that Bindi will ever be able to fill her father's shoes (he was larger than life), but maybe she will grow up to be a important animal rights activist or something like that.

this movie was a lot better than i thought it was going to be. i mostly watched it for a brain dead junk experience, but found i rather liked it. it wasn't as maudlin or as syrupy as my suspicions were for it, and i was really impressed by Bindi Irwin's engaging performance. i also really enjoyed it's message of child empowerment (although a lot of these kind of movies convey that message), and thought it's environmental messages to be just great. i was even amused at the jabs the film took at government officials and authority.

the only thing i felt that kept this nice little film back was too much reliance on animatronic animals and CGI FX. when i sit down to watch a film about nature, i wanna see real animals. the only time that fakes ever really worked was in 'Jaws' and 'Greystoke'.

all in all this was a great film for kids and will teach them the power of voice. lets just hope the little nippers don't get too mouthy.