Orca Girls

The movie of the week this week is Free Willy. The girls have loved Orcas (if you try to call them Killer Whales, they will correct you) ever since we went to Sea World in San Diego and they saw the Shamu show. I just noticed Free Willy on the Netflix instant play list, so I put it on to distract the girls the other day. The opening shots, of Orca pods swimming in the open ocean, sent the girls into crazed squeals.

We’ve watched it about five times now. By “watched it,” I mean they tune in for the scenes devoted solely to the wild Orca pods or poor captive Willy, watching him leap out of the water and come down with a big splash, then they tune out for all of those pesky talking scenes that only showcase the human actors. As a fan of Michael Madsen, I don’t really mind having it playing quietly in the background. As a fan of anything that gets my girls to play together nicely, I’ve been pleased with the play sessions this movie’s inspired.

The girls have been spending hours “swimming” around the living room together, doing leaps and pirouettes Orca-style, speaking in Orca, and even eating Orca style. You see, Willy swims up to the little boy in the movie, holding his big mouth open for a fish, then another, then another. Last night, as I did the laundry, the little one “swam” up to her older sister, and (apparently) asked for some “fish” (pizza) in Orca-ese. So big sister obliged. I think it was the best meal my 2-year-old’s eaten in weeks. Big sis just kept popping bites of pizza into her mouth, and little sis would “swim” away, perform another Orca trick, then “swim” back for another reward. So, I’ll be scrolling through the Netflix queue now, looking for other fun movies that feature a good eater.