[2] It premiered on September 9 at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival, and received a limited release in the United States on March 1, 2019.

[4] In December 2018, the TIFF named the film to its annual year-end Canada's Top Ten list.

When this doesn't work, he drunkenly confronts Franky outside a convenience store and berates him, beating him up before running away.

Franky slowly begins to piece his life back together with the support of Mouse and rejoins the swimming team.

The website's consensus reads, "Giant Little Ones puts a complex and refreshingly nuanced spin on the traditional coming of age drama, further elevated by the admirable efforts of a talented cast.

"[9] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 67 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

[11] He wrote that the film "feels like something of an antidote to last year's gay teen rom-com Love, Simon, which felt like it barely scratched the surface of what its characters were going through.