Benji: Off the Leash is an okay family-centric addition to the long-running series that began in 1977 with a reboot having been released in 2018 from Blumhouse. Again, it’s solid enough though the style of humor was never my thing.
Benji: Off the Leash!
(2004)
Genre(s): Family, Comedy, Adventure
Mill Creek Entertainment | PG – 100 min. – $19.98 | November 5, 2018
Date Published: 12/04/2018 | Author: The Movieman
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Mill Creek Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
THE MOVIE — 2.75/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: Young Colby (NICK WHITAKER) rescues a puppy from his abusive dog-breeding stepfather, Hatchett (CHRIS KENDRICK). Under Colby’s care, the canine grows up to be handsome Benji, the mongrel hero. Benji soon teams up with Lizard Tongue, a local stray, to rescue his mother before she dies of overbreeding. As Benji and his friend try to get his mother away from Hatchett, they must avoid animal-control officers Sheldon (DUANE STEPHENS) and Livingston (RANDALL NEWSOME). Quick Hit Review: Admittedly, despite being a pet lover (both cats and dogs), the Benji franchise has never been a favorite of mine. As I said in my Critters review, I’m not the fondest of slapstick comedy and here you have a family-oriented film, meaning you’re not going to get any risqué humor, this one never really made me laugh very much, though it was certainly a watchable movie, and one you can view with your entire family, though I suspect teens might find it a bit too hokey… |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.25/5 |
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This release comes with a matted slip cover and a code to redeem the Digital copy from Mill Creek’s site. Features include an Audio Commentary with Producer/Writer/Director Joe Camp, Producer Margaret Loesch, Composer Anthony Di Lorenzo and Editor Dava Whisenant; a Trailer (2:00) and Behind the Scenes Featurette (3:28) which is only on the DVD for some reason. |
VIDEO – 4.0/5 |
| Benji: Off the Leash debuts on Blu-ray which, like the previous installments from Mill Creek, received a new HD transfer and restoration and it indeed the 1080p, 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio looks very good. Colors are vibrant in keeping with the light-hearted family-centric story and outside of a few minor specs, the picture is fairly clean. |
AUDIO – 3.75/5 |
| The disc comes with a nice sounding DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which isn’t anything mind blowing (or ear blowing anyway), as the bulk of the movie is either Benji and friends barking or the humans and their babbling dialogue. There is a measure of depth I suppose for a couple scenes but otherwise it’s a pretty centrally located track with some minor audio for the score using the rear channels. |
OVERALL – 3.0/5 |
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Overall, Benji: Off the Leash is an okay family-centric addition to the long-running series that began in 1977 with a reboot having been released in 2018 from Blumhouse. Again, it’s solid enough though the style of humor was never my thing. The Blu-ray release from Mill Creek offers good video and audio transfers and a so-so selection of bonus features. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.