Quill: The Life of a Guide Dog (2004)

Quill could be billed as a quasi-documentary about how golden lab guide dogs for the blind are trained in Japan. It is all quite informative, but not very dramatically interesting. For the most part, it is child suitable. There is sadness as the dog Quill is taken from his puppy home to be trained, then taken from there to serve, then taken from there when the owner dies. Quill himself eventually dies of old age in an overblown sequence that goes on and on and on like some sadistic Disney flick determined to make every child cry. I was saying out loud, "for pity sake, tell the vet to put him down". The pathos dissipated for me when one character gave instructions to Quill on what to do when he got to heaven. That was just too silly.

Quill, is a story about a dog's life who seems to born to be a guide dog. The movie shows the process of being a guide dog from a puppy to an adult dog, it has lots of touching moments thats connects with the characters of the story.I had read the book before watching this film, the story really touched me and the movie was a well adapted from the book itself, i cried a lot while i was watching it.The trustworthy bonding between human and dogs are very presented in this film.Overall, it's a very worth watching film whether you read the book or not, but of cause, if you are a dogs lover, i'll say go for it then.. ;)

One day in Tokyo a litter of golden Labrador retrievers were born in the home of a woman named Mito and amongst these puppies was one who had a bird-shaped birthmark on his belly. It is this puppy that will one day be named Quill. For some reason or another, Ms. Mito wants her puppies to become Seeing Eye dogs, however, because their mother is from an unspectacular background, Mr. Tawada, the manager of a school that trains seeing eye dogs refuses to accept Ms. Mito's puppies. However, after days and days of repeatedly calling, Mr. Tawada finally gives in and says that he will take in one of the puppies.After learning of a way to test to see which puppy will be selected, Ms. Mito calls the puppies over to her and only Quill hesitates when called and because of this he is the one who passes the test, because a seeing eye dog most not rush at the slightest provocation. After proving his ability, Quill is sent to the home of Isamu and Mitsuko Nii where he receives his name, lots of love and attention, and the ability to completely trust humans.After spending a year at the Nii's, Quill is sent to Mr. Tawada's school where he begins his training. A bit slower than other dogs, Quill shows remarkable patience and is willing to wait extraordinarily long periods of time when told to do so. Having discovered Quill's patience, Mr. Tawada pairs the dog up with a man named Watanabe Mitsuru, a man who does not want to rely on anyone, human or animal, to aid him with his disability. However, through a few humorous exchanges, man and dog become friends and soon become almost inseparable. Yet, their days ahead are not just full of days walking in the sunshine and visiting shrines.Yes Quill is a movie about the relationship between a dog and his master and yes it does have some ultra saccharine moments, however, it does not fall into the trap of being a complete sap fest. Each stage of Quill's life, at Ms. Mito's home, The Niis' home, with Mr. Tawada, at Mr. Watanabe's home, is handled delicately and the viewer gets to see the time and care used in training these special animals that aid people. Beautifully scored, Quill will touch the hearts of animal lovers the world over and will also make audiences buy boxes of tissues.

This film deserves to be called the "cutest dog film in history"!Quill is an amazing movie! Its not only a true story, and the camera, well done! Maybe also the best Japanese family movie in years, in this part of the world anyway. Its entertaining, educational (brave quill!), good script, and something you would expect Disney to produce! And if you like dogs, its a must! Each time you will see a guide dog in the future, you will think of quill! What I like about the movie, it makes you think about dogs and their role in our society. Many times dogs don't have a specific role, whereas quill has a duty and bears lots of responsibility. He is a "role" model for his fellow dogs, many of which are taken to the hairdresser or dog shrink!