‘Benji’ on Netflix: The Adorable Dog Is The Best Actor In This Movie – And These Gifs Prove It

The 2018 remake of Benji, the 1974 film about a precocious and precious pup, is fairly predictable family fun. Children bond with a dog, he helps them through trouble, it’s all very cute. The 2018 version, now on Netflix, was written and directed by Brandon Camp, whose father Joe Camp created the original film, and there are nice nods to it, but with modern updates.

The 2018 Benji finds our adorable scruffy pup encountering New Orleans kids Carter (Gabriel Bateman) and Frankie (Darby Camp) and forming an immediate bond. Carter drops strawberries, Hansel and Gretel style, luring Benji to follow him home, and a friendship is born over fruit. The kids attempt to keep the dog a secret from their disapproving mom Whitney (Kiele Sanchez) which of course doesn’t last very long. You can’t hide that cuteness! But when the children are kidnapped during a robbery at a pawn shop, where they’ve been trying to recover their father’s watch, it’s up to Benji to help Whitney and the police locate the missing children. That might sound a tad farfetched, but honestly, there’s nothing this dog can’t do.

The canine actor portraying Benji is the most talented dog alive. Really. From the stunts to the emotional scenes this dog can pull off, you’ll find yourself impressed every adorable step of the way. It’s not that the human actors are bad, but with a story that never quite catapults you into full sob mode or uncontrollable LOLs, it’s simply all about the dog. Benji is a dog with better navigation than any app that’s been created, he can outrun and outsmart the bigger, scarier dogs, and really, his only fault here is that he’s got a taste for strawberries (and who doesn’t?). Benji is undeniably adorable, but that’s not the only thing he’s got going for him.

And now, a series of GIFs displaying this dog’s many talents:

Benji is an expert hitchhiker

He’s able to find his own meals

He’s had one of the best boy-dog on-screen meet-cutes in cinema history

Benji can not only create his own system of stairs, he can push a dumpster into place to finalize it all

BENJI CAN OPEN DOORS WITH A KEY

Here he is running for his life in the middle of a scheme to fool this other dumb dog

Benji can even fall in love!

There’s nothing this dog isn’t capable of doing, and that includes entertaining you and your family for an hour and twenty-seven minutes this weekend. Good boy, Benji!

Where to watch Benji