Quill: The Life of a Guide Dog

2012 | Drama, Animal, Dog, Foreign Language

Synopsis

As a Labrador puppy, Quill is sent to live with a couple, Isamu and Mitsuko Nii, who work as volunteers, training guide dogs (seeing eye dogs). When he grows to an adult dog, he is taken to a guide dog school, by a friendly, yet firm trainer Satoru Tawada. Although Quill is a little slower than the other dogs at the school, he seems to have an unusual 'empathy' and remarkable patience with his trainers. Tawade decides that Quill would be the ideal guide dog for Mitsuru Watanabe, but Wanatabe, a lonely and ill-tempered middle aged man, isn't as enthusiastic - he would "would rather sleep than be dragged around by a dog.". From here, the story is narrated by Wanatabe's daughter, Mitsuko, and slowly, Wantanbe is rehabilitated, venturing into the outside world, and learning, not only to trust other humans, but the animal at his side who guides him.

Scores

Overall Score
39.0
Popularity Percentile (Year)
28.2%
Box Office Percentile (Year)
29.4%
Review Aggregate
80.1

Critic Consensus

80.0% Fresh • 20 critic reviews

Critic reception is largely positive, with 80% of 20 logged reviews marked Fresh. Across reviews, critics repeatedly emphasize lighthearted, family-friendly, realistic. Most critics frame the film as an effective delivery of its core style and intent.

lightheartedfamily-friendlyrealisticemotionalstylizedcharacter-driven

Cast

CastYearReported SalaryInflation AdjustedNotes
Kaoru Kobayashi2012$1,000$1,000(est)
Kippei Shiina2012$0$1,000(est)
Yukika Sakuratani2012$0$0(est)
Teruyuki Kagawa2012$0$0(est)
Shinobu Terajima2012$0$0(est)

Aggregated Reviews

Rotten Tomatoes critic score80.0
RT critic review count20
Rotten Tomatoes audience score81.0
RT audience rating count2,500
IMDb rating7.9
IMDb votes19

Box Office ?

CategoryYearReportedInflation Adjusted
Domestic2012$15,674$21,415
International2012$46,000$62,849
Worldwide2012$61,674$84,265

Earnings / Profitability

Estimated net revenues and net expenses for films based on reported and estimated numbers. This income statement should be considered most viable for the first 24 months after the inital movie's release (ie after most lucrative pay windows).
CategoryYearReportedInflation Adjusted
Revenues
Theatrical Net Revenue2012$26,237$35,847
Digital Rentals ?2012$616,000$841,634
Digital Purchases ?2012$277,000$378,462
Physical Rentals ?2012$977,000$1,334,865
Physical Purchases ?2012$2,413,000$3,296,856
TV & Streaming Revenue2012$75,000$102,472
Total Revenues2012$4,384,237$5,990,136
Expenses
Budget ?2012$250,000 (est)$341,572 (est)
Print & Advertising (P&A) ?2012$80,000 (est)$109,303 (est)
Participations2012$175,000$239,101
Residuals ?2012$279,000$381,195
Interest & Overhead2012$50,000$68,314
Total Expenses2012$834,000$1,139,485
Movie Net Profit or Loss2012$3,550,237$4,850,650

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