I don’t know precisely when I first watched Free Willy. But I do remember that the film was central to a childhood obsession with whales – orcas, specifically – that followed me well into adulthood.

After helping Free Willy taste freedom, Dave Phillips is working to give two other orcas a life outside captivity, Phillips, a director of the International Marine Mammal Project at Earth Island ...

Most people who grew up in the 1990s remember Free Willy, the feel-good movie that convinced millions that a whale could gain freedom from captivity if only given the chance. For a generation, it ...