WARNER BROS has released the straight-to-blu-ray release, "FREE WILLY: ESCAPE FROM PIRATE'S COVE." Bindi Irwin, daughter of the late, Steve(Crocodile Hunter)Irwin, stars as Kira, a sweet girl, made to spend her summer at an amusement park run by her grandfather, Gus, when her father is injured and laid up in the hospital.  Gus is not the Norman Rockwell type grandfather. Saddled with debts due to his major gambling addiction, things appear to turn around, following a storm that strands a killer whale in the amusement park pen. Gus sees the opportunity to climb out of debt with new ticket sales for the killer whale attraction, and Kirra feels inspired to train/learn to feel the whale, and  find the rest of his family. Of course, as the predictable script unfolds, Gus chooses to accept a cash offer from a sleezy rival with his own amusement park, setting the stage for Kirra to do everything possible to "Free" the whale and reunite him with his family.

In spite of Bindi's charm, adults will have a hard time finding patience for this unbelievably predictable story. The writer/director doesn't even seem to have the slightest motivation to attempt to surprise anyone involved. Beau Bridges(Gus)and Bindi are actually great together, and this duo would've been great in a more gifted writer/director's hands. Nature lovers should enjoy the wildlife imagery, although the whale shots are mostly a blend of CGI and animatronics, and handled unevenly throughout.

WARNER BROS. has provided a 1.78:1 aspect ratio for this VC-1 1080p blu-ray.  Colors are generally vibrant, and detail is impressive. Blacks aren't deep enough to retain depth in darker scenes, however, and a few scenes fall flat. Overall, it's a decent HD presentation, but far short of reference quality.

WARNER BROS. has provided a DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix.  This uneven mix demonstrates that just because a mix is lossy, doesn't mean it's great. It all depends on the skill with which it's been put together, and the directing abilities of Will Geiger are quite horrible. Sure, sounds of the whales and their environment are effective, but bass is so low-key and surrounds so underutilized, it's just disappointing. Music is well complimented, until ruined by this untalented director's feeling the need for a ridiculous montage.

Some brief deleted scenes and outtakes are offered in HD, along with Bindi's first movie diary and a behind-the-scenes look at the film's production with cast and crew interviews.