Parents' Guide to

Man's First Friend

By Joly Herman, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 8+

Majestic look at human-dog relations has intense moments.

TV Max Educational 2021
Man's First Friend Poster Image

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Sweeping shots of faraway lands lend a grandeur to this documentary-style show about the human-canine connection. Man's First Friend takes an anthropological stroll back to the imagined beginning of the first relationship across species. Some of the dramatizations are a little heavy-handed, but the point is well made: Human evolution owes a lot to canines. During the rise of ancient civilizations, dogs guarded our grain stores from Egypt to Central America. Today in our tech-heavy lives, they help us be more, well, human.

Adults and kids alike will be enthralled by the rich visual storytelling. While some visuals of animals and humans in peril might be intense for sensitive viewers, the takeaways will leave viewers appreciating their domesticated pets, whose history, it ends up, is integral to our own.

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