Story
The Queen of England (voice of Julie Walters) receives a corgi puppy as a present from Prince Philip (Tom Courtenay). She names the puppy Rex (Jack Whitehall). Rex soon becomes her favourite, which greatly annoys the older dogs, Nelson (Anthony Skordi), Margaret (Lin Gallagher) and Charlie (Matt Lucas). Rex quickly rises to become top dog but falls from favour when, at a state dinner for the visiting US President, he bites Donald Trump (Jon Culshaw) in the ‘unmentionable place’.
Charlie sees this as his opportunity and suggests to Rex that they run away to live in the Pope’s palace. Rex is unsure about leaving his palatial lifestyle, but Charlie persuades him. Charlie, however, has other plans and pushes Rex off a bridge into the freezing Thames river.
Fortunately, Rex is saved but he ends up in a dog pound. There he meets Wanda (Sheridan Smith), with whom he falls instantly in love but Wanda belongs to Tyson (Ray Winstone), a large pitbull. Tyson runs a fight club, which Rex is coerced into joining.
Rex eventually manages to escape the fight club with the help of Wanda and the other dogs, but he still has a long way to get back to Buckingham Palace.
Themes
Adult themes; bullying; predatory sexual behaviour; treachery and betrayal.
Violence
The Queen’s Corgi has quite a lot of violence. For example:
- Prince Philip throws a slipper at Rex.
- Charlie drags Rex by the scruff of the neck.
- Charlie and Rex cross a busy road, dodging cars. Rex gets hit but isn’t hurt.
- Charlie reveals that he’s jealous of Rex and says that he’s entitled to be the top dog. He pushes Rex off a bridge into the freezing Thames river.
- Tyson growls in a threatening way as he approaches Rex. He picks up Rex by the tail, hits him several times and throws him against the wall.
- Rex has to fight the Boxer in the fight club. At the last minute, Tyson steps in to take the Boxer’s place. The fight is about to start when Rex runs away. He falls through pipes and lands at the gate of a furnace. The Boxer lights the boiler and Tyson is about to put Rex in the fire when Wanda turns the power off.
- Tyson is about to hit Wanda when Rex stands in front of her and takes the punch, which sends him flying. Chief steps up to fight Tyson, and with one punch he knocks out all of Tyson’s teeth.
- Rex finally gets back to the palace with Wanda. When Charlie sees him, he knocks over a cupboard of ornaments, which collapses on top of them. Charlie sets fire to the ornaments and blocks the door. Rex manages to get out from underneath. He can’t find Wanda but eventually pulls her out unconscious. He manages to save Wanda, but he seems to be trapped.
Some of the violence in The Queen’s Corgi is presented for laughs. For example:
- Rex throws objects at the other corgis.
- The dogs often knock over the butler as they rush by.
- The dogs knock over an armoured statue, which causes chaos.
- Trump grabs the Queen by the arm and accidentally pulls her over.
- Mitzy (Melania’s spoilt corgi) aggressively chases Rex even though he isn’t interested in her. He begs the Queen not to leave him with her. Mitzy lassoes Rex by the leg and drags him to her.
- Mitzy chases after Rex, who goes flying over the bannister.
- Rex bites Trump in the ‘unmentionable place’, which causes him to send his soup bowl flying. It spills all over the Queen.
- Rex has to train for the fight club. He’s put in a washing machine, which spins him around. Rex’s face can be seen against the window.
- All Rex’s attempts at fighting end with him on the floor.
Sexual references
The Queen’s Corgi has quite a lot of sexual references. For example:
- The Queen and Prince Philip are shown in bed together reading books. The Prince puts his arm around the Queen and finds Rex in between them.
- Rex begs the Queen not to leave him with Mitzy, who aggressively chases him. Mitzy pulls Rex into her carriage. Mitzy says to Rex, ‘I hope you’re ready for your first kiss’. This is supposed to be funny but is quite disturbing.
- Prince Philip asks Melania what attracted her to Trump. She replies, ‘His big hands don’t hurt’.
- A vet is examining Rex under anaesthetic. Rex suddenly wakes up and tells the vet that she has crossed the line.
- A man dressed in drag comes to the pound to look for a dog. Rex thinks it’s the Queen but then realises that ‘he’s no queen’. Jack says, ‘Not so sure about that, mate’.
- While Wanda sings, all of the male dogs pant after her. Rex says, ‘She’s hot’.
- Wanda flirts with Rex and rubs his back. They rub bodies and dance together.
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
The Queen’s Corgi shows some use of substances. For example:
- Nelson asks Margaret whether she has ‘been at the brandy again’.
- People drink wine at the royal dinner.
Nudity and sexual activity
None noted.
Product placement
The following products are displayed or used in The Queen’s Corgi: Coca-Cola.
Coarse language
The Queen’s Corgi has some coarse language, including ‘blasted’ and ‘damn it’. The movie also has some name-calling like ‘little wimp’, ‘loser’ and ‘old fool’.
Ideas to discuss with your children
The Queen’s Corgi is an animated comedy set in Buckingham Palace. You should be aware that the movie contains adult concepts, disturbing scenes and gender stereotypes, which make it unsuitable for children under 10 years. Older children might find it entertaining but parental guidance is recommended to 13 years.
The main message from this movie is that you can achieve more together than alone.
Values in this movie that you could reinforce with your children include friendship, loyalty and teamwork.
This movie could also give you the chance to talk with your children about questions like these:
- Why is Charlie such a nasty character? Does he get what he deserves?
- When Rex says he isn’t interested in Mitzy, should she have continued to pursue him?