When it comes to famous movie dogs, Benji is fairly high up on the list for reasons I don't quite understand. He didn't have any specific skills, like the child-rescuing Lassie or the cop Rin Tin Tin, but he was cute and scruffy and lord knows he's had a long film career, starting with 1974's Benji and going all the way up to 2004's Benji: Off The Leash. That last film wasn't exactly a hit but Benji is still a recognizable name, at least to people who were children in the 80s and now have children of their own to expose to their favorite movie dog.
I think you can see where this is going. Variety reports that Walden Media is planning a big Benji reboot with Brandon Camp, son of the character's creator Joe Camp Jr. and a filmmaker in his own right, having directed and co-written the romance Love Happens. Camp told Variety he's been thinking about rebooting Benji for years, but only now are we creatively bankrupt enough to go for it, with plenty of other old pop culture icons like the Smurfs and Yogi Bear getting their own chance at revival.
They'll be searching pounds across the country to find the right mutt for the job, so stage parents of animals hoping to turn your labradoodle into a star, hold your horses until the next Marley and Me knockoff rolls around.
