My feelings about Free Willy are likely tied to my age when it was released. I generally enjoy films intended for families; when well-made, they can be enjoyable and heartwarming. Even now, I understand why someone who watched it as a child might still find it appealing. However, I was thirteen when the film appeared, and it doesn't reach the heights of movies like E.T., The Goonies, Radio Flyer, or even Sandlot. It feels overly sentimental, excessively sincere, and somewhat immature, missing the excitement and sense of discovery that you find in films such as Flight of the Navigator and The Explorers. Essentially, for a movie geared toward families, it leans too heavily on appealing to children and doesn't quite work for older viewers; its quality declines with age. I suspect anyone over ten might dismiss it because there isn’t much substance for more mature audiences. Conversely, those younger than ten likely consider it a nostalgic favorite. It’s an example of a family film that seems to have overlooked the importance of being entertaining for everyone, which contributes to its age-related limitations.

Source on TMDB