'Free Willy' director says they 'literally built a rocket launcher' to pull off the titular whale's leap to freedom
The jump scene in "Free Willy" was accomplished by strapping an animatronic whale to a rocket launcher.
Director Simon Wincer recalled the process in a new interview with The Guardian.
Lori Petty, who starred in the movie, also called that scene a "highlight."
The director of "Free Willy" reflected on the movie's most iconic scene and discussed the mechanics behind Willy's big jump.
In an interview with The Guardian's Simon Bland ahead of the movie's 30th anniversary this July, Simon Wincer discussed filming the beloved 1993 classic and how child actor Jason Richter really did form a bond with Keiko, the orca whale who played Willy.
Wincer said he knew that the success of the movie would hinge on one scene: Willy's jump, which happens at the climax when he escapes to the ocean.
Of course, CGI wasn't quite where it is today three decades ago, so Wincer and his team had to get creative and bring out the big guns.
Or more accurately, the rocket launchers.
"We had so many meetings about how the hell we were going to do it," Wincer told The Guardian. "It was the early days of CGI so we shot at high tide in a small harbour – and literally built a rocket launcher with an animatronic whale on it."
Then, the director said, the animatronic animal "would fly out of the water and come to a stop" before CGI took over and finished off the scene. The climactic leap was a true feat of practical effects, but it really came together in post-production, according to Wincer.
"Like any pivotal movie moment, it was sound, emotion, and picture coming together to lift you to your feet," he told The Guardian.
Lori Petty, who played trainer Rae Lindley in the movie and was also interviewed by The Guardian for its story, agreed that the jump scene was the "highlight" of the movie, which also brought wider attention to the plight of whales in captivity and inspired kids to donate their own money to free them.
"It was beautiful," she said.
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