The Queen's Corgi

The Queen's Corgi
The Queen's Corgi
	Teaser poster
Directed by	Ben Stassen; Vincent Kesteloot;
Written by	John R. Smith; Rob Sprackling;
Produced by	Ben Stassen
Starring	Jack Whitehall; Ray Winstone; Sheridan Smith; Matt Lucas; Tom Courtenay; Julie Walters;
Edited by	Vincent Kesteloot
Music by	Ramin Djawadi
Production; companies	nWave Pictures; Belga Productions;
Distributed by	Belga Films
Release dates	16 January 2019 (L'Alpe d'Huez); 3 April 2019 (Belgium);
Running time	85 minutes
Country	Belgium
Language	English
Budget	$20 million
Box office	$31.4 million

The Queen's Corgi is a 2019 English-language Belgian animated comedy film produced by nWave Pictures. The film was directed by Ben Stassen and Vincent Kesteloot and written by John R. Smith and Rob Sprackling. Inspired by Queen Elizabeth II and her pet corgis, the story follows a corgi named Rex, who gets lost and tries to find his way home.

The film was theatrically released in Belgium on 3 April 2019. It was panned by critics such as The Independent, which stated the film was "deeply unpleasant and in no way suitable for children."^[3] The film grossed $31.4 million worldwide against a budget of $20 million.

Plot

Rex is the Queen's favourite corgi and lives a life of luxury with three other corgi companions in Buckingham Palace. On a visit made by President Donald Trump with his wife Melania Trump and their own dog Mitzi, the Queen suggests that perhaps one of her own corgis might prove to be a suitable mate for Mitzi, who chooses Rex, who is not pleased at all at the prospect of becoming mates with Mitzi. After Rex evades her multiple times, Mitzi eventually chases him into the dining hall where he accidentally bites the president, deeply angering the Queen.

Rex, feeling ashamed of embarrassing the Queen, is consoled by Charlie, another of the Queen's corgis who is secretly jealous of Rex's position. Luring him outside the palace with the false promise that the Pope in the Vatican is looking for dogs, Charlie disposes Rex's collar and leads him to a stream with the intention of drowning him.

Rex is then saved by a man who takes him to a dog shelter. There, Rex's mannerisms at first alienate him from the other dogs, but after some time he soon makes friends and also falls in love with a young Saluki named Wanda, a fellow inmate. Initially wary of Rex, she soon also develops feelings for him. This raises the ire of Tyson, a former fighting dog, who also has feelings for Wanda and runs the kennel. Rex eventually convinces the other dogs to join forces against Tyson and together they defeat him.

Alongside his new friends and Wanda, Rex returns to the palace; however, the guards do not recognise him and throw him out of the palace as Charlie has convinced the Queen that Rex was killed by foxes. Still, with the help of his friends, Rex sneaks inside the palace where everybody tries to prevent Charlie from becoming top dog. However, Charlie traps Rex and Wanda inside a room and sets it on fire. With help from Rex, Wanda escapes the fire and rallies her friends in time to save Rex from the burning rubble.

The Queen, alerted by the ruckus, is overjoyed when she finds Rex alive and well and is about to return the honour of being the Top Dog to him. However, Rex refuses as he values his love for Wanda more than his position of Top Dog. Thus, he leaves the position to Charlie, who, as a result of becoming Top Dog, is forced to marry Mitzi and move to America while Rex continues to live at the palace with his new friends.

Cast

Character	Voice actor
Character	United Kingdom	United States
Rex	Jack Whitehall	Leo Barakat
Queen Elizabeth II	Julie Walters	Mari Devon (credited as Jane Alan)
Wanda	Sheridan Smith	Jo Wyatt
Tyson	Ray Winstone	Joey Camen
Charlie	Matt Lucas	Dino Andrade
Prince Philip	Tom Courtenay	Paul Gregory
Nelson	Anthony Skordi^{[citation needed]}	Anthony Skordi
Lady Margaret	Debra Stephenson	Lin Gallagher
Jack	Iain McKee	Rusty Shackleford
Al Sation	Steven Kynman	Joey Camen
Bernard St. Bernard	Jon Culshaw	Jamie Arlen Scott
Chihuahua	Rasmus Hardiker	Joey Camen
Chief	Colin McFarlane	Rick Zieff (credited as Danny Katiana)
Sanjay	Kulvinder Ghir	Joey Camen
Ginger	Rasmus Hardiker	Lani Minella
Polux	Steven Kynman	Dino Andrade
Patmore	Nina Wadia	Lin Gallagher
The Royal Guards	David A. Alano Daniel Wolfe^{[citation needed]}	David A. Alano Daniel Wolfe
Mitzi	Sarah Hadland	Madison Brown
Melania Trump	Debra Stephenson	Millie Mup
President Donald Trump	Jon Culshaw	Kirk Thornton (credited as Ron Allen)
Little Girl	Twinkle Jaiswal	Nicole Sherman

Production

Belgian company nWave Pictures produced and animated the film, with the distribution company Charades acquiring worldwide rights to it.^{[citation needed]}

The film cost around $20 million to make.^[1]

Music

Ramin Djawadi, who scored Ben Stassen's previous films, such as Robinson Crusoe, The House of Magic and Fly Me to the Moon, returned to score the film. This is the seventh collaboration between Stassen and Djawadi.

Release

This film was released on 3 April 2019 in France and Belgium. It was also released in 2020 in other countries around the world, including China, the United Kingdom, Latin America, the United States and Russia.^[4]

Reception

The film was panned by critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports a rare approval rating of 0% based on 20 reviews, with an average rating of 3.6/10.^[5]

References

^ ^a ^b Keslassy, Elsa (11 June 2018). "Lionsgate U.K. brings 'The Queen's Corgi' Back Home". Variety. Archived from the original on 13 June 2021. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
^ "The Queen's Corgi (2019)". The Numbers. Archived from the original on 13 June 2021. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
^ "The Queen's Corgi review: Deeply unpleasant and in no way suitable for children". The Independent. 4 July 2019. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
^ Keslassy, Elsa (12 February 2018). "Charades pre sells 'The Queen's Corgi' to key territories". Variety. Archived from the original on 25 March 2019. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
^ "The Queen's Corgi". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Archived from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2024.

External links

[variety-1] Keslassy, Elsa (11 June 2018). "Lionsgate U.K. brings 'The Queen's Corgi' Back Home". Variety. Archived from the original on 13 June 2021. Retrieved 20 June 2018.

[2] "The Queen's Corgi (2019)". The Numbers. Archived from the original on 13 June 2021. Retrieved 15 June 2019.

[3] "The Queen's Corgi review: Deeply unpleasant and in no way suitable for children". The Independent. 4 July 2019. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 14 August 2021.

[4] Keslassy, Elsa (12 February 2018). "Charades pre sells 'The Queen's Corgi' to key territories". Variety. Archived from the original on 25 March 2019. Retrieved 20 June 2018.

[5] "The Queen's Corgi". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Archived from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2024.

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v t e nWave Pictures
Feature films	Fly Me to the Moon (2008) A Turtle's Tale: Sammy's Adventures (2010) A Turtle's Tale 2: Sammy's Escape from Paradise (2012) The House of Magic (2013) Robinson Crusoe (2016) The Son of Bigfoot (2017) The Queen's Corgi (2019) Bigfoot Family (2020) Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness (2022) The Inseparables (2023)
Television series	Sammy & Co. Presto! School of Magic

v t e Films directed by Ben Stassen
Films	Fly Me to the Moon (2008) A Turtle's Tale: Sammy's Adventures (2010) A Turtle's Tale 2: Sammy's Escape from Paradise (2012, with Vincent Kesteloot) The House of Magic (2013, with Jeremy Degruson) Robinson Crusoe (2016, with Kesteloot) The Son of Bigfoot (2017, with Degruson) The Queen's Corgi (2019, with Kesteloot)
Short films	Thrill Ride: The Science of Fun (1997) Alien Adventure (1999) Encounter in the Third Dimension (1999) Haunted Castle (2001) SOS Planet (2002) Misadventures in 3D (2003) Haunted House (2004) Wild Safari 3D (2005) African Adventure: Safari in the Okavango (2007) Pirate Story (2011)