Keiko

NEWPORT, Oregon (CNN) -- Visitors to Oregon's Coast Aquarium were getting one last chance Tuesday for an up-close-and-personal look at Keiko, the orca whale made famous by the movie "Free Willy."

On Wednesday, he will begin a controversial, $2 million dollar trip to the Wesman Islands off Iceland, where his handlers hope to eventually return him to the wild.

Keiko will be lifted by a crane, driven by a United Parcel Service truck, and flown in a U.S. Air Force C-17 cargo plane to Iceland. Once there, his new home will be a floating sea water pen the size of football field until he is deemed ready for release.

The move to Iceland comes despite bitter disagreement among experts on whether Keiko can survive on his own after 17 years in captivity.

In this report, CNN's Greg Lefevre notes that previous whale and dolphin releases have had unpredictable and surprising results.

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