Parents' Guide to

Benji the Hunted

By Charles Cassady Jr., Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 6+

Benji shines in another simple but engrossing dog tale.

Movie G 1987 89 minutes
Benji the Hunted Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 8+

Based on 2 parent reviews

ArchKeystone
ArchKeystone Parent of 6-year-old
July 25, 2020
age 9+

Predators in nature, 1 cute dog

Every alpha predator you can imagine threaten Benji in the mountain forests of Washington State. With little dialogue and way too much of an intrumental music track, you are left to read Benji's eyes for clues as to what is happening in the action, #CallTheDogWhisperer. Call it a nature documentary if you want to see animals hunting other animals with beautiful backdrops.

This title has:

Too much violence
applebutter
applebutter Adult
December 7, 2012
age 6+

Benji the Hunted

This is a Benji movie, so most of us know what to expect. Some warnings, though: (Spoilers) Benji is in CONSTANT peril in this movie.The wilderness is a scary place, but this movie is more like one animal after another wanting to eat Benji. Be aware little kids may not be able to handle this. Also, one of the kittens is taken by a raptor near the end of the movie. Since Benji has spent the entire movie trying to defend the cute kittens, this may be upsetting. I personally found it needlessly cruel for a children's movie. On the other hand, the movie has beautiful scenery. The eat-or-be-eaten view of nature is much more realistic than other movies for kids in which predators and prey often get along in sappy sweet storylines.

This title has:

Educational value
Great messages
Great role models
Too much violence
See all 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Benji, the expressive mutt of a series of hit family films, here plays himself -- the movie-superstar dog owned and trained by Frank Inns (a Santa Claus lookalike, by the way). As BENJI THE HUNTED opens, a heartbroken Inns is interviewed saying that when he and Benji were caught in a storm while fishing together off the Washington state coast, Benji was swept overboard and is now the object of a frantic search. Action switches to Benji's POV for the remainder: The small-but-big-hearted dog comes ashore at a forested region, where he witnesses a majestic cougar shot dead by a hunter. Next Benji finds the den of cute, orphaned little cougar cubs. Benji tries to feed, protect, and shelter the feline furballs, despite the same hunter now after Benji (for the reward money) and additional threats from a menacing wolf, a hungry eagle, and a blustery bear. While later, similar films blended smarty-pants actor voiceovers with slick CGI to create humanlike characters audiences could "relate to," animals here stay completely non-verbal.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (2):
Kids say (1):

This is a simple, tearjerkingly manipulative and yet shamelessly entertaining cross-species adventure. Benji the Hunted has Disney's ace production values and an entire ensemble of trained wilderness critters "acting" opposite the expressive Benji. Although dated, it should hold kindergarten-and-up viewers especially transfixed -- even cynical grownup critics said that little Benji could out-act many homo sapiens.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about Benji's adoption of the cougar cubs and putting their safety ahead of his own. How would this story have been different with a human hero? Would it have been as good?

  • Discuss how the plot unreels nearly without dialogue or people (not even celebrity talking-animal voiceovers!). Ask young viewers if they had trouble comprehending the movie, or if they liked it better that way. Maybe Benji the Hunted can be a gateway to showing kids old silent-era films, which also relied on mime and unspoken communication.

  • Parents and kids who are nature-savvy might pick apart the oh-please moments and inaccuracies, from the big ones (a cougar would be likely to make a meal out of Benji on sight, sorry) to the more esoteric ones (an owl, in reality a silent flier, here makes enough noise for a 747).

  • Parents and kids who are nature-savvy might pick apart the oh-please moments and inaccuracies, from the big ones (a cougar would be likely to make a meal out of Benji on sight, sorry) to the more esoteric ones (an owl, in reality a silent flier, here makes enough noise for a 747).

Movie Details

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