FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SUBJECT: BENJI RETURNS…ON A MISSION!
Biloxi, MS, August 1, 2001 – Joe Camp, who amazed the experts by turning Hollywood rejection into the worldwide phenomenon of Benji, is at it again. After years of struggle, The World’s Most Huggable Hero is back in the hands of those responsible for the floppy-eared mutt’s original success. They’re off on an exciting adventure to introduce Benji to an entire new generatio n of kids and parents, and once again, Camp is personally making sure that Hollywood’s influence does not infect his favorite character.
"Love, hope, and the value of persistence toward a goal are the heart and soul of every Benji story," Camp says. "Benji is not about special effects, crude humor, flash-cuts, screeching sound, and warlike monsters. It’s emotionally involving family entertainment that’s happy, sad, and full of suspense, and has become classic around the world with kids and parents alike for the small and simple reason that it just plain makes you feel good."
More than 71,000,000 people have watched Benji movies in theaters, over 30,000,000 of them adults. All Benji movies have grossed within the top 10% of boxoffice grosses for their year of release, and more than one billion People have watched Benji movies and programs on television. Two of Benji's primetime specials have been nominated for Emmys!
Benji’s return began with forty million folks peering into those big brown eyes on the back cover the March 2001 issue of Reader’s Digest. And the opening of Benji’s own website, BenjiMovies.com, a warm and comfortable destination for fans of all things Benji. Camp encourages parents and teac hers to explore the special department designed just for them, and the projects and strategies found there for maximizing kids’ success in school and life.
August 28, 2001: the new Benji video library will premier, featuring 19 titles in bright colorful packaging, all digitally mastered, many titles in stereo. All titles will be on DVD and VHS and all retail copies are made straight from digital masters. No analog duping. Every film or program looks and sounds better than ever. Camp’s company Mulberry Square Releasing has partnered with Ventura Distribution for the release.
December, 2001: Benji Promise Books will debut, a brand new series of books for kids 3 to 8, each based on a positive character trait like truth… hope…. courage (to say no)… love (how to show it)… and trust. Research with moms defines a huge longing and need for these books. The first five are displayed at BenjiMovies.com.
January, 2002: The Great National Benji Look Alike Contest premieres, a nation-wide, celebrity-driven search for the two dogs that look the most and the least like Benji! Both the winning and losing dog and his or her master will appear in Benji's next movie, get a year of free dog food, and have scholarships for needy children named in their ho nor.
Spring, 2002: Benji Wish Books will be introduced. For maturing readers aged 7-to-12, Benji Wish Books are simple but engaging stories, each teaching a positive character trait, a bridge between picture books and chapter books. Read the first one at BenjiMovies.com.
Christmas, 2002: Benji's newest theatrical film Benji Returns: The Promise of Christmas begins production in late 2001 for a Christmas 2002 release. This will be the first Benji movie since For the Love of Benji to be released by Mulberry Square Releasing, Camp’s distribution company, which was responsible for the resounding success of the original Benji and its sequel.
2003: New Seasonal and Holiday full-length Benji films for Video Release. A series of full-length Benji films, each built around a seasonal or holiday theme, will begin release in 2003.
2004: The Benji Show, Benji's new animated television series premieres, each and every segment built around a positive character trait (like the Promise Books, above), such as Truth... Hope... Sharing... What Goes Around Comes Around... Love is More Than Talk.
Camp is quick to confront any who might say (and some do) that Benji movies are too soft for today’s kids. "Good, emotional storytelling is timeless," Camp says. "I am occasionally asked to speak to school classes, usually in the fourth to sixth grade range; and part of the pact I make with the teacher is to say I'll come if she will show a Benji movie to the class before I speak... because I've learned that when they've seen one of the movies recently, I don't need to prepare a speech. There are questions enough from the kids to last all day. So I have had the opportunity on numerous occasions to watch entire classes of kids glued to these movies, sitting so quietly you could hear a pin drop. For an hour and a half. Totally involved. Totally loving it. Today’s kids!"
"If you doubt this," Camp adds, "go watch a group of kids watching The Princess Diaries."
Where has Benji been? When Camp’s wife and partner, Carolyn, had a major stroke in the late eighties, all rights were placed in a Los Angeles partnership and with a small video distributor so that the couple could spend more time together. Carolyn came back miraculously and she and Joe had nine of the best years of their lives together. But the partnership did not work from the beginning, and after Carolyn suddenly died in 1997 (from unrelated causes), Camp began seeking legal remedies to rescue Benji. It finally ended last November with all rights coming back to him and his production company Mulberry Square Productions.
"This time around," Camp says, "Benji is going to work even harder for the good of kids and animals. The emerging research related to what media exposure is doing to the physiological development of kids’ brains is very scary, never mind what its doing to their sense of values (see the "Risks of TV" article in the Teachers/Parents section of BenjiMovies.com). I believe I owe it to kids and parents to not drop to the lowest common denominator just to sell movies." Camp says. "We never have, and we never will."
