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Benji the Hunted

Play trailer Poster for Benji the Hunted G Released Jun 4, 1987 1h 28m Kids & Family Adventure Play Trailer Watchlist
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55% Tomatometer 11 Reviews 61% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
When a shipwreck separates the courageous dog Benji from his trainer (Frank Inn), the crafty canine must brave the dangers of an island wilderness alone. As Benji avoids winding up the meal of bears and wolves, the resourceful mutt comes across four cougar cubs left orphaned by a hunter (Red Steagall) who shot their mother. Unwilling to see the cubs exposed to the perilous environment, Benji puts himself in harm's way to protect the feline infants while searching for a safe haven.
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Benji the Hunted

Critics Reviews

View All (11) Critics Reviews
Ángel Luis Inurria El Pais (Spain) Joe Camp knows how to take advantage of the camera. [Full Review in Spanish] Mar 31, 2020 Full Review Richard Freedman Newhouse News Service It's perfect for snoozing to if Benji's soundless adventures begin to pall, as they may for post-nine-year-olds. Rated: 2.5/4 Nov 5, 2019 Full Review Austin Kennedy Sin Magazine I liked individual moments and could have been good as a whole if Camp was also concerned with the human cast giving good performances, and if the movie had an appropriate score. Rated: 2.5/4 May 17, 2012 Full Review Charles Cassady Common Sense Media Benji shines in another simple but engrossing dog tale. Rated: 4/5 Oct 14, 2010 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 2/5 Aug 12, 2005 Full Review Andy Klein Los Angeles CityBeat Rated: 5/5 Sep 2, 2004 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (147) audience reviews
Student: Jake M Benji the Hunted is very great. Benji does the exact right things for the cougar cubs to help find their mother mountain lion. Benji then tries to escape from the wolf and lured the wolf of the cliff by hiding and it is unknown what happened to the wolf. Benji will do anything for the cougar cubs to survive throughout their birth. Benji did an amazing job taking care of the cubs when the mountain lion was doing something unknown. This movie was a success, marking Benji’s final theatrical appearance in his original self, making Mulberry Square close its doors due to Benji’s death and tragedy. I feel sorry about the real beloved Benji. Benji was a successful Oscar nominated dog. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/28/24 Full Review Dale R For a movie with very little dialogue, this one does a good job of conveying a story. Benji gets stranded in the woods and adopts four orphaned cougar cubs. This is the only film in the Benji series that was produced by Disney. All the animals in the movie are well trained and used effectively, with the help of the cinematography and score, to show what Benji is thinking and feeling. A good movie, but not something I would watch on repeat. My only real complaint was I felt the score was a little to eighties instead of a timeless one. A movie worth checking out. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 07/07/24 Full Review Audience Member It's another dog movie starring a pooch I've never heard of but apparently he's along the famous ranks of Lassie and Shiloh He made his first debut in 1974 then was recently rebooted in 2018 on Netflix so clearly he still is very popular Released 35 years ago and directed by Joe Camp Benji is on a whole new adventure On a fishing trip Benji gets lost at sea while filming a tv production He winds up in the Oregon wilderness and has to learn to survive Not only does he have to avoid predators like mountain lions, bears, wolves, and hawks but he also has to protect a group of cougar kittens Even a hunter who lives in the woods proves to be bothersome Can Benji protect these baby animals by himself or can he find another suitable mother for them? The film kicks off right away with Benji in the woods without showing the catastrophic being thrown overboard bits The authorities are desperately trying to find him too The filmmakers make great effort to shoot the dog's perspective from the ground up seeing from Benji's point of view There's also a lot of scenes where no one is talking but that is credit to the film instead relying on non verbalization to see how expressive Benji is We understand his situation surviving on his own but being a protector to these kittens It's easy to sense the fear, isolation, and confusion And there's no voiceover narration since we the audience can figure out what's going on Some casual viewers might get sick of seeing non stop animal footage from start to finish but the amazing Oregon scenery, innocent family vibe, and a touching furry lead make this outing of Benji a rewarding watch The ending alone is worth it A very simple but engrossing dog tale of heroism, courage, compassion, and determination Rated 4 out of 5 stars 07/05/22 Full Review Audience Member It's another dog movie starring a pooch I've never heard of but apparently he's along the famous ranks of Lassie and Shiloh He made his first debut in 1974 then was recently rebooted in 2018 on Netflix so clearly he still is very popular Released 35 years ago and directed by Joe Camp Benji is on a whole new adventure On a fishing trip Benji gets lost at sea while filming a tv production He winds up in the Oregon wilderness and has to learn to survive Not only does he have to avoid predators like mountain lions, bears, wolves, and hawks but he also has to protect a group of cougar kittens Even a hunter who lives in the woods proves to be bothersome Can Benji protect these baby animals by himself or can he find another suitable mother for them? The film kicks off right away with Benji in the woods without showing the catastrophic being thrown overboard bits The authorities are desperately trying to find him too The filmmakers make great effort to shoot the dog's perspective from the ground up seeing from Benji's point of view There's also a lot of scenes where no one is talking but that is credit to the film instead relying on non verbalization to see how expressive Benji is We understand his situation surviving on his own but being a protector to these kittens It's easy to sense the fear, isolation, and confusion And there's no voiceover narration since we the audience can figure out what's going on Some casual viewers might get sick of seeing non stop animal footage from start to finish but the amazing Oregon scenery, innocent family vibe, and a touching furry lead make this outing of Benji a rewarding watch The ending alone is worth it A very simple but engrossing dog tale of heroism, courage, compassion, and determination Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Audience Member For a movie with very little dialogue, this one does a good job of conveying a story. Benji gets stranded in the woods and adopts four orphaned cougar cubs. This is the only film in the Benji series that was produced by Disney. All the animals in the movie are well trained and used effectively, with the help of the cinematography and score, to show what Benji is thinking and feeling. A good movie, but not something I would watch on repeat. My only real complaint was I felt the score was a little to eighties instead of a timeless one. A movie worth checking out. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/15/23 Full Review christopher c. m This was before everything nonhuman was computer generated. So Benji talking was not possible yet, and I except that. But they could have done like an "Oh Heavenly Dog" where a human actor would do his thinking or maybe subtitles. Considering 90 % of the movie is just the animals, it's hard to keep track of what the heck is going on. Which hurts the pacing. It's not bad, the ending is a tad anticlimactic but it's still pretty good. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Benji the Hunted

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis When a shipwreck separates the courageous dog Benji from his trainer (Frank Inn), the crafty canine must brave the dangers of an island wilderness alone. As Benji avoids winding up the meal of bears and wolves, the resourceful mutt comes across four cougar cubs left orphaned by a hunter (Red Steagall) who shot their mother. Unwilling to see the cubs exposed to the perilous environment, Benji puts himself in harm's way to protect the feline infants while searching for a safe haven.
Director
Joe Camp
Producer
Ben Vaughn
Screenwriter
Joe Camp
Production Co
Embark Productions, Silver Screen Partners III, Walt Disney Pictures
Rating
G
Genre
Kids & Family, Adventure
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jun 4, 1987, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 1, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA)
$22.0M
Runtime
1h 28m
Sound Mix
Surround
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