For Keiko to survive in the ocean, he had to relearn to be a wild whale. The challenge ahead was, as it turned out, daunting. Piles of money were raised from children collecting their nickels and dimes, Warner Brothers, the Humane Society and from the cellphone billionaire Craig McCaw to build a $7.3 million rehab tank at the Oregon Coast Aquarium, which was four times the size of the Mexican marine park. He was seriously underweight, and he developed lesions from a skin virus.”Ī veterinarian who examined Keiko estimated that if kept in the Mexican marine park, he would probably die within a few months.įrom there the Retro video takes you on a tour of events that can be summed up as, only in America.

Keiko was a pup when captured off the coast of Iceland in the late 1970s and trained to join a long line of trick whales that performed at marine parks, in his case, one that was in Mexico.Īfter the film became a “heartwarming,” “truly inspiring” “unforgettable,” “smash hit” that “kids and adults alike” would be “talking about for years,” the news media discovered that the real whale was not free and was leading a pretty miserable life.Īs the video notes: “Forced to swim in endless circle, his dorsal fin drooped. Keiko the killer whale was a movie star, the real-life whale featured in the 1993 film “Free Willy.” It’s the story of a good-hearted boy and his whale and the brave humans who returned him (Willy, that is) to the ocean and freedom. In this case we are talking about the man-made peril that comes from confining a wild killer whale in a theme park and the economic peril of trying to recreate through nurture what, it turns out, can often be taught only through nature. If there is a lesson in this week’s Retro Report video about a famous whale, it’s mess with nature at your own peril.

The making of free willy 2