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What’s the Story?

Reviewed by Elliot Panek

Told largely from the dog's point of view, BENJI is the story of a stray dog and the two children who adopt him. Cindy and Paul want to keep Benji, but their stern father (Peter Breck) won't let them. The first part of the movie follows Benji as he associates with locals, hides out in an abandoned house, and falls in love with a pooch named Tiffany. The movie takes a darker turn when Cindy and Paul are kidnapped. When Benji discovers that the kids are being held in the abandoned house, he reports back to the police, and eventually helps them track down the kidnappers.

Is It Any Good?

3

While this movie is billed as a family film, the kidnapping scenes may be troubling to young viewers. The reluctant kidnappers, who do not treat the children cruelly, are depicted in a frighteningly realistic manner. As long as parents make sure young children understand which aspects of this film are realistic and which are not (namely the super-intelligent behavior of Benji), this movie is okay for kids 6 and up.

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