SummaryMeet Patriot, Potomac, Primrose, Poppet, and Phil—five spirited puppies who, from the moment they’re born, begin an incredible journey to become guide dogs for the blind. It’s a rigorous two-year process that will take the pups from the care of selfless foster volunteers to specialized trainers to, if they make the cut, a lifelong human companion... Read More
Directed By:Don Hardy, Dana Nachman
Written By:Dana Nachman
Pick of the Litter
Metascore
Generally Favorable
64
User score
Universal Acclaim
8.3
My Score
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Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
76% Positive
13 Reviews
13 Reviews
24% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Sep 7, 2018
90
Devoid of any corniness, sentimentality or condescension, Pick of the Litter is a must for dog lovers, but it will also serve all those needing reminders of how kind, decent and giving humans can be and the role dogs play in our lives.
Sep 13, 2018
75
Every dog in this sweetly earnest movie seems to have a strong sense of responsibility.
Aug 31, 2018
75
An uplifting, sometimes bittersweet journey captured over a two-year period. You will certainly submit to the film’s disarmingly gush-out-loud moments and perhaps even embarrass yourself with a few involuntary squeaks.
Aug 30, 2018
70
In short, Pick of the Litter makes for unexpectedly suspenseful (and perhaps not entirely reputable) viewing.
Aug 30, 2018
65
Subject matter alone makes Pick of the Litter, if not especially memorable, a gently lovable outing.
May 18, 2019
60
The finale is more of a schmaltzy salute to the guide-dog ethos than intimate documentation of the new owners’ stories. The street training sequences, though – shot in swooping knee-high Steadicam – are thrilling; mini kerbside action movies.
May 19, 2019
40
In a tussle between the appeal of the subject and the plodding banality of the approach, the pups are ultimately the losers.
User score
Universal Acclaim
75% Positive
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
25% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
Sep 15, 2018
8
This film has lots of charm, as we follow five puppies from birth through the training period to their final placement. The suspense is something like watching a competition, as we try to figure out which puppy will make it as a guide dog for the blind and which puppy will need to have an alternative career. All the people involved in this process are interviewed, from the people who originally socialize the puppies to the trainers to the eventual recipients. We also get to see the final exams that all dogs must pass in order to become a guide dog. This is generally a tribute to dogs and the people who love them.
Production Company:
- KTF Films
Release Date:Aug 31, 2018
Duration:1 h 21 m
Rating:TV-PG
Tagline:Training begins the moment they're born.
Awards
Cleveland International Film Festival
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations
Seattle International Film Festival
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations
Cinequest San Jose Film Festival
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
