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Benji Off the Leash
EMAILPRINTMulberry Square Releasing
Mixed or average reviews
Based on 17 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 5 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Drama | Family/Kids
Written by: Joe Camp
Directed by: Joe Camp
Release Date:
Theatrical: August 20, 2004
DVD: December 28, 2004
Running Time: 97 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: PG for thematic elements and some mild language
Starring Nate Bynum, Lincoln Hoppe, Chris Kendrick, Randall Newsome, Duane Stephens, Christy Summerhays, Nick Whitaker, and Scott Wilkinson
A band of unlikely comrades, brought together by the least likely of the bunch, for a common, courageous purpose. Things will change. Lives will be saved. Because Benji is off the leash! (Mulberry Square Productions)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site Official Benji Website
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
Not one of the great dog movies, but it's a good one, abandoning wall-to-wall cuteness for a drama about a homeless puppy.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Dave Kehr
After a summer of computer-generated blockbusters, the amiably low-tech Benji: Off the Leash! seems like a breath of fresh air.
Read Full Review >USA Today Claudia Puig
Falls flat, enlivened only by the performances of its two charismatic lead dogs. The story is heavy-handed, and the human performances are, at their worst, caricatured.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Donna Peremes
The overall unevenness of tone is the movie's biggest flaw, but the slo-mo scenes of doggie derring-do are quite funny.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
It's sweet-natured, soothing and there's a behind-the-scenes/blooper reel at the end that will reassure anyone worried about the animals' treatment during filming.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Keith Phipps
It's clumsy, but also strangely refreshing. To children raised on "Spy Kids" and "SpongeBob SquarePants," it may look as primitive as a daguerreotype, but never underestimate the persuasive powers of a cute animal.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly Robert Abele
Yes, Joe Camp has gone meta. It's hard to not feel a measure of warmth for the determined optimism of his enterprise, especially since he hasn't lost the touch for cute dog antics.
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt
Benji is back, which is good news for youngsters and pet-loving families. Film lovers perhaps should steer clear, however, as hokey melodrama and sloppy comedy fill the gaps between neat dog tricks.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kevin Crust
Unfortunately, the new film does not live up to the low-key charm of the original. It's essentially a long-form public service announcement extolling the virtues of animal adoption and decrying the scourge of unfettered dog breeding.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Catherine Foster
Has a raggy charm, like the dogs, and a solid moral ending. For a late-summer children's film, it does the job.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman
All the Benji productions have had a high corn content, but in this one, even the corn is cheap.
Read Full Review >Variety Joe Leydon
A mildly pleasant, aggressively retro kidpic that should please undemanding moppets without unduly boring their parents.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer Jane Horwitz
Love of dogs is key, because the amateurish acting, writing and production values in this independently made film feel more like the stuff of home movies than Hollywood.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Nick Barbaro
The sentiment is saccharin; the plot is … well, let's be generous and say unambitious.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Ed Halter
This unwarranted iteration of the '70s shaggy-dog tale pales in entertainment value compared to its website, which features a rant from the mutt's creator, Joe Camp.
Read Full Review >New York Post Lou Lumenick
Disco may still be dead, but Benji: Off the Leash! resurrects another dubious artifact of the '70s - the crudely made family films starring that lovable mutt.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Carla Meyer
A dreary, distasteful exercise, "Off the Leash'' favors dogs over humans, framing canine high jinks with an ugly story of domestic abuse.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 3.6 (out of 10) based on 5 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Jay H. gave it a5:
Typical Benji family film, overly sentimental with acting below par. Of course the animals are adorable and do cute things. Light entertainment, not very memorable.
Mark B. gave it a3:
Joe Camp: Off The Deep End or Off His Rocker...you decide. I missed this in theaters (as, apparently, everyone else did, too)...but my very pleasant memories of the independent family filmmaker's charming 1974 original led me to rent out the DVD...only to watch Camp perform complete doggie-doo all over them. This is a remarkably convoluted, ineptly filmed, surprisingly unpleasant mess that focuses more on the villain, a dog breeder who abuses his wife and kid about as much as he does his animals, than on the lead canine and his pal, a shaggier pooch with the admittedly unforgettable monicker of Lizard Tongue. Far too intense (read: unsuitably nasty) to let your kids watch, not only because of the aforementioned puppy abuse (why is it that even GOOD dog films such as My Dog Skip, Shiloh and the original Lassie Come Home feel compelled to feature scenes of dogs being kicked around?), but also because of repeated shots of a sick female dog sweating, oozing pus, etc., this tries unsuccessfully for comic relief with a pair of cloddish, stumblebum dogcatchers right out of the straight-to-video Air Bud flicks. (At least, unlike the Air Buds, this doesn't waste the talents of Cynthia Stevenson in the thankless mom role, but I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not.) I'll give it a 3, which is one or two more points than it truly deserves, only because its subject, the cruelty of mass puppy breeding, is such a valid one...and, to be completely fair, my cat, who sat and watched the whole thing with me, would probably rate it higher, if only because he figured out early on that the dogs were on the other side of the TV screen and wouldn't be jumping out to attack him.
Peppermint Pappy gave it a 10:
An incredible, nay, life changing movie extravaganza! After all the dissapointing movies this summer, like Spiderman 2, The Bourne Spy 2, And Harry Potter 3, here comes one movie, near the end of the summer, that makes it feel like the real "dog days" of summer are here! But in a good way! This movie is full of great fun and excitement! Who can forget the wacky and zany jet ski scene? I can't! One of the most talked about sequels, and it truly rocks! Kids and adults alike will laugh and giggle along with benji in this touching soon-to-be-classic! Go see it NOW!!!!!
