gilligan1965 Why do adults come onto IMDb and crucify children's movies with their sickening reviews as if they're stupidly comparing these children's movies with adult movies?Oh, yes...it's because they're "STUPID!!"This is a children's movie about a sweet little dog...but, dingleberries title their stupid and negative reviews with:"Arf! Arf! Benji Is Strictly For The Fire Hydrant;""Best Viewed Under Sedation;""Pretty dreadful--but kids might like it;""BENJI is Bad;""Benji (The Movie) Bites Big-Time."These movie reviews were written by brain-dead adults who're never slowed-down by thinking; and/or, not remembering (not knowing) that this movie is for "children!" One clown even mentioned "kids might like it"...but, was too stupid to realize what he was writing, or, writing about...A KID"S MOVIE!Why are these adults even here reviewing this movie!?!? They mustn't have children of their own...or, they must be sedated; making love to a fire hydrant; and/or, making stupid statements like 'kids might like it!?!?' No kidding...REALLY!?!? As I wrote, they're likely sickos who have no children!?!? Who'd reproduce with a moron who hates "Benji?"It's a kid's movie, you DOPES!Maybe these adults' lives are so boring that they have nothing better to do than tear-up a good kid's movie!?!?"Pretty dreadful--but kids might like it" says it all for the kinds of pathetic adults who see the world through psycho-vision and never once stop to see anything or anyone at all...especially, children!Lovely adults writing sweet reviews on a children's movie..."NOT!" These reviewers are the fate of America...PROBABLY...but, I hope not! :(I saw this movie as a child, and, I showed it to my child, and...we agree! "Benji" is a great movie! :)

catherine yronwode In looking over previously posted reviews, it is obvious to me that people either love this film or hate it. I happen to love it. I consider it to be not only the best dog movie ever made, but also among my 10 most favourite movies of all time (yes, including Casablanca, The Thin Man, Gun Crazy, Chinatown, etc.). What makes this movie so wonderful is Higgins, the dog (under the direction of his trainer, Frank Inn). Higgins was so far beyond other dog actors that it is impossible to explain to folks who don't own dogs or train dogs. Not only is he cute and photogenic, expressive and believable, he did all his own stunts -- and he was 14 years old when he made this film!!!Folks who review this movie tend to mention the kid actors, or the creaky kidnapping plot -- but, you know, that's not the point. If you wanted to look at it that way, you could also mention the wonderful interactions between Higgins and Edgar Buchanan, an actor he had worked with for many years on the TV series "Petticoat Junction." Those scenes have a delightful sense of improvisation and charm that easily offset the whiny kid scenes. But the movie is not really about those kidnapped kids at all. It is about a small dog, his daily routines, and how, when those routines are broken, he must rise above his simple life and accomplish a great deed. In a way, the film that "Benji" most closely resembles is Buster Keaton's magnificent silent classic, "The General." The slow, repetitious set-up of Keaton with his train and Higgins with his rounds about town, the focused realism, the slightly down-at-the-heels outsiderness of the hero, the hint of love about to blossom if only the hero can provide for his beloved, the insistently lengthy attention paid to the immediacy of ultra-mundane cause and effect -- these are the same in both films. The openings have a documentary quality to them -- until, without warning, all hell breaks loose and the plot comes crashing in. Keaton's train is stolen! Kidnappers come to Benji's home! Then, in both films, we see an under-dog, so to speak, rise to the challenge of events and, working with only the slenderest of means and very little advance planning, counter one villainous turn after another, all the while attempting to right the wrongs that have been committed. The manner in which the heroes devise solutions to the problems they face, both in "The General" and in "Benji," flow logically from the daily routines we saw them perform in the documentary-like first halves of the films, so they seem believable. We gain confidence alongside the heroes, see the sense in what they are doing, cheer for them to triumph, watch them rise to the verge of success -- and then a huge blow falls, a colossal set-back occurs, and we feel despair -- they'll never make it now, too much time and too much ground have been lost! But again, they apply themselves to the task, and now we hope against hope that they will be able to pull it off in time ... except that most people watching The General experience jaw-dropping amazement at the stunts and most people watching Benji really have no idea how great Higgins' stunt-work really is, and spend the last third of the movie in tears because Benji is such a small dog, and he's so dang CUTE, and ... awwww. I've watched "The General" at least 10 times and never cried once. I've watched "Benji" 10 times and cried every time. I cried just know, merely writing about it. But "Benji" is not just a cute dog movie, any more than "The General" is just a Buster Keaton comedy. Like the best of Keaton's work, it is a heroic movie, and a love story, and a story of physical action and bravery. I just love this movie, that's all.

jotix100 Every decade, or so it seems, Hollywood likes to build films around a cute dog. The early seventies was the era for "Benji", whose real name was Higgins, an attractive and photogenic dog that had already had a recurring role in "Petticoat Junction", the successful sitcom of the sixties. Edgar Buchanan, one of the stars from that show is on hand to act with an old pal again.Joe Camp, the director and screen writer, targeted this film toward a young audience of children under ten. Higgins and his trainer, Frank Inn, do wonders for the film. "Benji" shows a dog that has a natural intelligence and responds well to whatever it was asked to do. The film will delight young children.Some other faces in the movie are Frances Bavier, Deborah Walley, Patsy Garrett and others. Although the movie is predictable, let's not forget it was targeted for a young audience that will probably appreciate it more than the grown ups.

JasparLamarCrabb The dog can act...unfortunately nobody else in the cast of this silly and oddly plotted children's film can. A stray yet very clever dog insinuates himself into the lives of two motherless children, much to the chagrin of their bitter and cold-hearted father. In what can only be described as Dickensian, the evil widower forbids his children --- who may or may not be mentally challenged --- from playing with Benji. Neither the children nor Benji obeys. Soon the children are kidnapped and Benji has to help the police find them. It's only then that the old man realizes that Benji is good, not bad.Tom Lester, whose only previous acting experience appears to have been playing the dim-witted Eb on GREEN ACRES plays one of the kidnappers. So does the regrettably over-utilized Deborah Walley. Walley's previous screen triumphs include BEACH BLANKET BINGO and the woeful IT'S A BIKINI WORLD. She also played both Gidget and Tammy in the past and here attempts to obliterate her good-girl reputation by playing it bad! STAY away from BENJI...he's a dog and this movie is a dog!