Benji, the movie star, is lost at sea after a boating accident. Managing to swim to shore, he finds himself in the unknown wilderness. As helicopters fly overhead trying to locate the famous dog, Benji declares himself guardian of four orphaned mountain lion cubs. Not considering his chance for rescue (or worrying about his own safety), Benji sets out to find another mountain lion who will raise the cubs as her own.
This movie is just terrible! I've never seen a more depressing children's movie! First of all, you see a mother mountain lion get blown away by a hunter. Poor Benji tries to help the injured cat (quite a feat for a dog), but the hunter claims his prize anyway. Then, Benji finds the cubs, and drags them all over the forest looking for a new mom for them. That's nice and all, but he runs into the new mom numerous times. Does he give her the cubs? No. Not until the very end.
I understand that Benji wants to help the cubs, but I couldn't understand why he'd give up being rescued to do so. One time, he even hides under some brush when the helicopter is near. He was probably thinking, "Oh, I don't want to leave these babies alone to fend for themselves," but he wasn't much help when a hawk came a snatched up one of the cubs!
The wolf that chases Benji throughout the movie was scary, but did he really deserve to fall off a cliff? He was only following his instinct to look for food. Did Benji have to trick him, and make him fall to his death? Once again, something that's not right for a children's movie.
I'm sure that if Benji had been rescued while he was still in charge of the cubs, he could have explained to his trainer about their situation. Hey, Benji's a big star, with Hollywood connections. I'm sure his trainer would've helped Benji find a new family for the cats. There's nothing worse than an actor who doesn't get his way.
Stars: Benji, Red Steagall, Mike Francis
Director: Joe Camp
MPAA Rating: G
Why You'll Know It's From the 80's: Nothing. (The forest is timeless)
Dog Appeal: Benji, of course!
Daisy's Rating:
Back to Animal Stars or Drama or For the Kids or The Straight Poop
