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Benji: Off the Leash!

Play trailer Poster for Benji: Off the Leash! PG Released Mar 26, 2004 1h 39m Kids & Family Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
33% Tomatometer 42 Reviews 52% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Young Colby (Nick Whitaker) rescues a puppy from his abusive dog-breeding stepfather, Hatchett (Chris Kendrick). Under Colby's care, the canine grows up to be handsome Benji, the mongrel hero. Benji soon teams up with Lizard Tongue, a local stray, to rescue his mother before she dies of overbreeding. As Benji and his friend try to get his mother away from Hatchett, they must avoid animal-control officers Sheldon (Duane Stephens) and Livingston (Randall Newsome).
Benji: Off the Leash!

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Benji: Off the Leash! features an adorable dog and a solid message about how to treat animals, but is too dull and amateurish a viewing experience to recommend for all but the youngest viewers.

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Critics Reviews

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Nell Minow Common Sense Media Charming movie featuring an adorable dog. Rated: 3/5 Oct 14, 2010 Full Review Nick Barbaro Austin Chronicle Rated: 2/5 Aug 29, 2004 Full Review Joe Leydon Variety A mildly pleasant, aggressively retro kidpic that should please undemanding moppets without unduly boring their parents. Aug 23, 2004 Full Review Jim Lane Sacramento News & Review Rated: 2/5 Aug 7, 2008 Full Review Mary Lasse Christianity Today Lacks creativity. The first Benji was original, and each new sequel needs to be a new creation. Instead, we get the same Benji formula. Rated: 2.5/4 Nov 1, 2006 Full Review David Cornelius eFilmCritic.com Horrible, loathsome, incompetent, wretched. The worst movie of the year? Undoubtedly. Rated: 1/5 Dec 26, 2004 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member Man, I haven't seen this movie since it came out in theaters back in 2004, and I hardly remembered much from it, but when I looked back on it, It's not too bad. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review Audience Member benji is the name of the dog and I'm a dog lover and a dog movie watcher Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/19/23 Full Review Audience Member a moronic storyline full of moronic actors, with moronic dialogue and a whole heap of moronic plot happenings. it's hard to see why anyone bothered, pretty much everything about this film was low-key and droll. it's impressive what they managed to train the dogs to do, but it can't really distract the audience of what a boring film it is. the best thing about it is the nice, jazzy tune that plays along with the end credits. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 02/18/23 Full Review Audience Member It's amazing how dogs can be good actors :) Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/16/23 Full Review Audience Member Cute and funny just like good family movies should be. Reminds of all the Benji movies I watched and enjoyed when I was a kid. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Audience Member Really bad acting. It was kind of annoying to watch. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 01/12/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Benji: Off the Leash!

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Cast & Crew

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Joe Camp

Director

Nick Whitaker

Colby

Nate Bynum

Sheriff Ozzie

Chris Kendrick

Hatchett

Randall Newsome

Livingston

Dane Stevens

Sheldon

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Benji: Off the Leash!

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Movie Info

Synopsis Young Colby (Nick Whitaker) rescues a puppy from his abusive dog-breeding stepfather, Hatchett (Chris Kendrick). Under Colby's care, the canine grows up to be handsome Benji, the mongrel hero. Benji soon teams up with Lizard Tongue, a local stray, to rescue his mother before she dies of overbreeding. As Benji and his friend try to get his mother away from Hatchett, they must avoid animal-control officers Sheldon (Duane Stephens) and Livingston (Randall Newsome).
Director
Joe Camp
Producer
Joe Camp, Margaret Loesch
Screenwriter
Joe Camp
Distributor
Benji Returns Distribution LLC
Production Co
Myriad Pictures, Benji Returns, Mulberry Square Productions
Rating
PG (Some Mild Language|Thematic Elements)
Genre
Kids & Family, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 26, 2004, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 6, 2018
Box Office (Gross USA)
$3.8M
Runtime
1h 39m