Script Reviews:

A Still, Small Paw is a powerful and harrowing script with strong heroes and a startling high concept. The premise is shocking, tragic, and outrageous. We need someone to resist this evil law and save the dogs from the gruesome fate of ending up in "the largest single grave ever dug in the history of the entire world." Hank is only a child, but he is resilient and brave, and he knows what is right, even if the world doesn't. Hank Sr. is in an interesting position, which the script appreciates. He knows what's right too, but he is also all too aware of the consequences he could end up facing if he dares to take a stand. The tone is enrapturing throughout. While we do want more context and background on the people who made society into this, the script knows how to keep us in the moment. It is always tense and uncertain, as if the doors might be broken down at any moment, and those consequences faced.

— from The Black List, script review, Mar 3, 2025

This script offers strong world-building, a unique and compelling central premise, and a well-drawn family unit at the heart of the show. Set in rural Oklahoma after the passing of a controversial new law, the script does a great job establishing its small-town setting with authenticity and specificity, utilizing key background details—fashion, dialect, locations—to bring the film’s backdrop to life. The Half house on Hank's birthday feels vibrant and well-drawn, and the ominous intrusion of the new law at the end feels harrowing and tense; this juxtaposition of wholesome and distressing makes for an interesting foundation. Relatedly, another strength here is the central premise, which provides plenty of conflict as well as incisive social commentary. In addition to bringing a catchy, unique narrative hook, the script hints at the political attitudes that drove this law to be passed—all the talk of "Alphas," for example—raise compelling questions about today's culture, making the project feel relevant and buzzy. Also working well here is the story's family dynamic, which feels lived-in and true to life. In particular, the relationship between Hank Sr. and Hank is both layered and endearing.

— from The Black List, script review, Feb 16, 2025

As allegory, this project is a surprisingly gentle yet frightening exercise in compassion and bravery in the face of insanity. The Half family make for great protagonists for this kind of story, as the allegorical dilemmas genuinely challenge them. The story leaves space for them to be tempted to make the awful but simple choice their society demands of them and manages to more gradually tease out the factors in their lives and relationships that will give them the courage to stand up instead. As a contained story, this project is brimming with a sweet sadness that is genuinely moving in its final moments. This is perhaps so successful due to the script's strong sense of the family's voice, with each member taking on their own unique tone in the dialogue that still manages to overlap just enough in their turns of phrase or slang that one can immediately identify their closeness.

— from The Black List, script review, Feb 17, 2025

This impressively big-hearted draft has crafted a genuinely endearing protagonist in Hank/Holland. There is much to admire in his balance of vulnerability and resourcefulness, and bits of business like the key smoothing are particularly inventive. The central premise is bold and metaphorically loaded, offering many possibilities for shaping and exploration. The notion of a toxic "alpha" ideology powering a campaign against "weakness" is also distressingly timely. Tempering the more serious/earnest aspects is a fun sense of humor -- lines like "I don't wanna call Hank" earn good laughs. The "howling" metaphor is promising, and there is no denying the power and vitality of the script's thematic focus on acceptance, resistance, and courage.

— from The Black List, script review, Mar 3, 2025

Tonally, the script walks a tight rope between the coming-of-age genre and the political drama genre while wrapped in a cloak of family films. That's an interesting combination, made all the more interesting by the flashing red light that serves as the main premise, namely that authoritarian law demanding the wholesale slaughter of small dogs in service of the "Alpha." What it lacks in subtlety, it makes up for in pure boldness and blunt messaging. Anyone paying attention in recent years has heard the extolling of the "Alpha" in society. … There's a deeper undercurrent of social commentary that frequently bubbles over, especially when it's stated that the weak must be quelled to protect the strong, which is again an all too familiar mantra of self-described Alphas. The setting helps tell this story, especially when push comes to shove regarding the concept of personal freedom and the tipping point between acquiescing to the power of the state and fighting for what's right. The key characters are largely sympathetic and despite some of the darkness, there's a lot of comedy found throughout as well.

— from The Black List, script review, Mar 5, 2025