The Irony of Free Willy...Very upsetting.

[SonnyHoney]

Tonight We watched Free willy, I haven't seen it in at least 25 years!

My DD (11) was asking if they used a real whale in captivity to make a film about a whale in captivity.
I know this sounds absolutely ridiculous, But I always thought it was robotic and clever camera scenes.

So we googled it and they actually used a real life whale named Keiko in captivity.

Keiko was captured in 1979 when he was 2 years old. He was sold many times
There was major outcry after the film, and he was released back into the wild but died a few years later pneumonia after not being able to join a pod.

Just how awful is that.

I've never watched the film because I don't enjoy tv shows/films that use wild animals (I hated the early episodes of Friends when Ross had a pet monkey) but I do remember the campaign to release Keiko. It's a very sad story.

Watch the documentary Blackfish OP.

I’d recommend the This American Life podcast series about Keiko. It’s so sad but very interesting

This⬆️
None of these animals should ever be held captive.

Came on to say exactly this too.

I remember people talking about Keiko around the time of the film. It’s sad that nothing much has changed since then and we are still using animals as entertainment.

This was very well known at the time.
There are orcas held in captivity now that have families actively looking for them, they have known song patterns that are recognisable to each individual.

I was a child, So I didn't know.
That's heart-breaking, People are so evil. I wish those who have imposed this on those beautiful beings have a life of suffering.