The little dog that could
Joe Camp risked everything to bring Benji back
By Stephanie Snipes
CNN
ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- It's been 30 years since moviegoers first saw "Benji" -- and 15 since "Benji" creator Joe Camp put the franchise on hold.
It hasn't been easy getting it going again. A new film, "Benji: Off the Leash," opens Friday.
"Benji," of course, was one of the surprise hits of 1974. In a movie world dominated, at the time, with disaster movies, noirish tales and "The Exorcist," the story of the little dog that saves two kidnapped children grossed $40 million in the U.S. on a $500,000 budget.
The film spawned two sequels: 1977's "For the Love of Benji" and 1987's "Benji: The Hunted." (Yes, he also starred opposite Chevy Chase in "Oh, Heavenly Dog!", but Joe Camp doesn't consider that a "Benji" movie.)
Between films the brown-eyed pup (since 1974 there have actually been four dogs) starred in four prime-time television specials and traveled the world promoting his films.
Then, in 1989, "Benji" disappeared.
It was that year that Camp's wife, Carolyn, suffered a major stroke and underwent brain surgery. During her four-month hospital stay, Camp made a promise that, if she got better, he would devote all of his time to her and their relationship. Miraculously, after a year and a half of grueling physical therapy, Carolyn made an almost complete recovery.
And Camp fulfilled his promise. He put the "Benji" rights into a partnership with a small production company with the agreement that it would be responsible for gathering funds. When it came time to film Camp would come on board to direct.
To his disappointment, the partnership soured quickly.
Nine years later, after Carolyn died of sudden cardiac arrest -- a condition unrelated to her previous stroke -- Camp set about making things right. It took almost every penny he had.
"The first order of business was getting the rights cleaned up. So, we went through expedited arbitration ... Four and a half years, and my entire retirement [fund] later, we got all the rights back clean and clear," said Camp.
The perfect pooch
 Benji engages in some derring-do in "Benji: Off the Leash." |  |
Camp, who came up with the idea for a live-action dog film after seeing clips of "Lady and the Tramp," spent the better part of his adult life developing the franchise. His goal was to create family entertainment without the language and violence of big name Hollywood films.
With his beloved creation back in his control, Camp set about developing another feature film. The first order of business was to scour animal shelters across the country for a new Benji.
"The first Benji came out of a shelter and, without a whole lot of mission and passion attached -- just that it was a neat thing -- caused over a million adoptions. And so we said 'If we go back at it with a little fervor, we ought to be able to do a lot better than that and help a lot of these homeless animals,' " said Camp.
After four months, they found the perfect pooch in Gulfport, Mississippi. The next step was finding financial backing.
"We spent about a year negotiating with Hollywood. Wound up negotiating real seriously with three studios -- a big one, a medium one and a small one. Every one of them came down to the same thing, control," said Camp. "[They were] willing to throw money at us, willing to do a 'Benji' movie, but in return wanted complete and total control and the right to put in the jokes and the language and the violence and whatever else.
"And I said, 'No, can't do it.' "
Camp was eventually able to independently generate the money he needed to create "Off the Leash."
Family first
Making family-friendly entertainment is important to Camp. In his eyes, Hollywood is unable to produce a film with wholesome morals that meets the entertainment desires of the modern-day family.
"Hollywood claims that they do not create society, they reflect society, and that's ludicrous," he said. "The analogy I use is when you pour liquid through a colander it doesn't hold it, but if that liquid is acid it will eventually eat it away. And that's what they are doing to the families of America. Slowly but surely eating away at the fiber of it all."
Camp, who has remarried and has three stepchildren, lives his life by the principles he strives to protect. Which means watching movies such as "Mr. Holland's Opus" and "Chocolat" -- and no TV. He adds his kids are voracious readers.
While some find this type of parenting overly protective, Camp says it's absolutely necessary.
"By lowering that bar and making kids believe that it's OK to do or say anything you want to at any given time gives no balance whatsoever," said Camp. "There's no longer any right or wrong."
