Daniel Alarcón

The bad whale is Willie, captured and separated from his pod, stuck in a small pool in a ramshackle aquarium. The park staff find him stubborn, hard to train. He has three black spots on the underside of his jaw. His dorsal fin droops to one side, a killer whale's version of an emo haircut. Jesse decides he has to save Willie's life, get him back to the ocean, back to his family.

The bad whale is Willie, captured and separated from his pod, stuck in a small pool in a ramshackle aquarium. The park staff find him stubborn, hard to train. He has three black spots on the underside of his jaw. His dorsal fin droops to one side, a killer whale's version of an emo haircut. Jesse decides he has to save Willie's life, get him back to the ocean, back to his family.

And somehow, against all kinds of obstacles, he does. The movie poster is what most people remember. It's the image that was absorbed into the culture, a still from the film's climax. Willie in mid-flight against an orange sunset jumping over a breakwater. The ocean beckons. The boy stands just below Willie beneath an arc of sea spray, a triumphant arm pointing to the sky.

And somehow, against all kinds of obstacles, he does. The movie poster is what most people remember. It's the image that was absorbed into the culture, a still from the film's climax. Willie in mid-flight against an orange sunset jumping over a breakwater. The ocean beckons. The boy stands just below Willie beneath an arc of sea spray, a triumphant arm pointing to the sky.

The tagline reads, how far would you go for a friend? When it came to who would play Willie, it wasn't like Warner Brothers had a ton of killer whales to choose from. A producer on the film told us her team approached a few different marine parks, but people weren't excited about the message of the movie and wanted changes to the script.

The tagline reads, how far would you go for a friend? When it came to who would play Willie, it wasn't like Warner Brothers had a ton of killer whales to choose from. A producer on the film told us her team approached a few different marine parks, but people weren't excited about the message of the movie and wanted changes to the script.

Finally, they landed on Reino Aventura, who signed off, as we mentioned, without even reading it. And Keiko, it turns out, was perfect for the part. See, for the film to work, the producers needed something very specific, a kind of sad-looking whale living in less-than-ideal conditions. They needed a whale kids would feel sorry for, a whale children would want to save.

Finally, they landed on Reino Aventura, who signed off, as we mentioned, without even reading it. And Keiko, it turns out, was perfect for the part. See, for the film to work, the producers needed something very specific, a kind of sad-looking whale living in less-than-ideal conditions. They needed a whale kids would feel sorry for, a whale children would want to save.

And the fact is, while Keiko might have been happy, he wasn't actually that healthy. He was a couple thousand pounds underweight. Not because he was underfed, but probably because the warm water affected his appetite. He had a skin rash too, something called papillomavirus, which looked bad, even though the veterinarian at Reino Aventura said it wasn't that serious.

And the fact is, while Keiko might have been happy, he wasn't actually that healthy. He was a couple thousand pounds underweight. Not because he was underfed, but probably because the warm water affected his appetite. He had a skin rash too, something called papillomavirus, which looked bad, even though the veterinarian at Reino Aventura said it wasn't that serious.

But most striking of all was his tank. It was small, disturbingly small. One of the film's producers joked it was smaller than some swimming pools in Beverly Hills. The water he swam in wasn't even seawater, just fresh water with salt added. Renata says they checked the salt levels frequently and they weren't under any illusions that Keiko's living conditions were ideal.

But most striking of all was his tank. It was small, disturbingly small. One of the film's producers joked it was smaller than some swimming pools in Beverly Hills. The water he swam in wasn't even seawater, just fresh water with salt added. Renata says they checked the salt levels frequently and they weren't under any illusions that Keiko's living conditions were ideal.

She told me Reino Aventura looked into building a larger pool, but just couldn't make it work financially. So strip away for a moment almost everything I've told you. Forget the love and the games and the trainers and the fans and see instead what the camera sees. Keiko, a smaller than average killer whale with a droopy dorsal fin, swimming alone in a tiny, shallow pool.

She told me Reino Aventura looked into building a larger pool, but just couldn't make it work financially. So strip away for a moment almost everything I've told you. Forget the love and the games and the trainers and the fans and see instead what the camera sees. Keiko, a smaller than average killer whale with a droopy dorsal fin, swimming alone in a tiny, shallow pool.

He was exactly what the movie required. Free Willy was released on July 16th, 1993, and the reviews were positive, at least until journalists started asking what was up with the star of the movie, and news reports about Keiko's subpar living conditions and health began spreading.

He was exactly what the movie required. Free Willy was released on July 16th, 1993, and the reviews were positive, at least until journalists started asking what was up with the star of the movie, and news reports about Keiko's subpar living conditions and health began spreading.

In Mexico, Reino Aventura and the staff were suddenly having to defend themselves in ways they hadn't before, trying to convince crusading celebrities and animal rights activists that they did indeed care about Keiko's well-being.

In Mexico, Reino Aventura and the staff were suddenly having to defend themselves in ways they hadn't before, trying to convince crusading celebrities and animal rights activists that they did indeed care about Keiko's well-being.

When Life magazine published an article describing Keiko's tank as a cesspool, Reino Aventura's director, Oscar Porter, sent a letter claiming the magazine had gotten it all wrong, that Keiko's water was, quote, "...clean and clear." Back in Hollywood, Warner Brothers was getting hammered too. Bags and bags of mail from kids arrived at the offices, all demanding the same thing. Free Willy.

When Life magazine published an article describing Keiko's tank as a cesspool, Reino Aventura's director, Oscar Porter, sent a letter claiming the magazine had gotten it all wrong, that Keiko's water was, quote, "...clean and clear." Back in Hollywood, Warner Brothers was getting hammered too. Bags and bags of mail from kids arrived at the offices, all demanding the same thing. Free Willy.