Ay Dingo!: The Movie

*This article is about the 2018 film. For the comics, see Ay Dingo! (comic books). For other uses, see Dingo (disambiguation)*

*Ay, Dingo!: The Movie* is a 2018 3D Marcanese-American/Mexican/Puerto Rican computer-animated science fiction romantic comedy film made by Palenton Films & Anaya Animation and distributed by Lionsgate Films and 20th Century Fox. The eleventh feature film from Palenton, based on the comics of the same name by Pepo; it was directed by Alex Orrelle and Eduardo Schuldt and stars the voices of Omar Chaparro, Yanet Garcia, Mauricio Lopez, Christian De La Fuente, Rob Schneider, Coco Legrand, Adrian Uribe, Pancho Velasco-Gomez, and Marc Anthony. On this film, Dingo and his cousin Glob must save Earth and their loved ones from the evil mastermind Lester, who's plotting to take over the world with aliens.

*Ay Dingo!* was released to theaters August 3, 2018 and recieved mostly positive reviews from critics, who commended its animation, voice acting, characters, humor, soundtrack, faithfulness to the source material and emotional depth; but criticized its plot. The film was also a box office hit, being the highest-grossing film from Palenton and the fourth highest-grossing animated film of 2018. A sequel, simply titled *Dingo 2,* was released on January 10, 2020. However, Anaya Animation wasn't involved in the sequel. *Ay Dingo!: The Movie* came to home video November 9, 2018 by Lionsgate Home Entertainment.

## Ay Dingo!: The Movie

### Starring

Omar ChaparroYanet Garcia

Mauricio Lopez

Christian De La Fuente

Rob Schneider

Coco Legrand

Adrian Uribe

Pancho Velasco-Gomez

Marc Anthony

### Release date

August 3, 2018 (United States)July 13, 2018 (Mexico & Puerto Rico)

## Plot

At the Space Observatory, Dingo was ready to be launched to space as first-time astronaut; but when things go wrong...his owner Alberto puts him to sleep & sends him away to Acapulco from his homeland of San Juan, Puerto Rico. He wakes up and serves a cup of tea while riding his skateboard, and falls to a clothes' line. Rocky makes fun of him and a desperate Dingo gets out of it, smashes a billboard, and falls down a garbage can instead. He meets Glob, who leads him to the street. Over there, he sees a pretty girl and suddenly gets called by his new guardian Dona Chucha. Dingo & Glob help her get to the other side, and they go home from there (where his friends Bruno, Tito, and Willy are preparing a feast for Dona Chucha). Litzy comes as well, and Dingo proposes to her, to Dona Chucha's embarrassment. Dingo attends a boxing event against Rocky (who also wants to marry Litzy), but poor Dingo cowardly runs around in circles. The next day, they arrive at the Estadio Akron to see a match of the *Chivas* (Goats) and *America (*Eagles) soccer teams. Seeing that the *Chivas* were losing because of Rocky, Dingo plays for them, to Litzy's delight. The *Chivas* win the tournament, and Dingo & friends go back home to celebrate...but suddenly, a mysterious spaceship takes up Dona Chucha and a tall hologram of Lester appears over the city. Lester threatens them by saying that he would send an alien invasion. Tito tries to roast him, but Lester gloatingly captures Dona Chucha, and the townsfolk felt worried about Lester's plans.

Dingo, realizing that Dona Chucha was gone, takes Glob to find her on space. They travel by plane to the Johnson Space Center at Houston, and ask the space crew for takeoff. They blast off to the Moon, but can't find her. Meanwhile, Litzy & the others were watching the news and saw that Lester's aliens were barricading Mexico City. Dingo & Glob go back to Earth, but they unexpectedly land at the Amazon. They search for her there, but once again don't see her; they head to Egypt, China, Paris, Chichen Itza, and Antarctica but still can't find Chucha. Litzy was anxious and tried to contact Dingo but Rocky, taking full advantage, kidnaps her and Litzy's friends go after her. Lester declares Dona Chucha to be his slave forever in front of the public that's growing more concerned about the invasion. Dingo & Glob arrive at Buenos Aires where they get invited to Tigo's dinner party at The Plaza De Oro. Unfortunately, Dingo gets humiliated after Tigo throws a pie at his face. He then gets angry, but Tigo convinces him to go see Alberto. Over there, Dingo realizes that Alberto abandoned him and then Alberto calls the plaza security. Dingo & Glob escape on a small parachute and plead with Tigo. Ignoring Dingo, Tigo fires it up; and after Dingo & Glob fall down, Tigo gets smacked by a cake in the face. Dingo & Glob get sad and walk with faint. Several minutes later they notice that Litzy got kidnapped, so they go find her. Rocky sends Litzy to Lester's spaceship along with Chucha. They flee from their base, and Dingo recruits his friends to go rescue them. Dingo enters Lester's spaceship and fights him and Rocky, only to get hit by a transparent window. He crashes it with his boxing gloves, turns off the ship's controls, and saves both Litzy & Dona Chucha; leaving Lester's ship collide on his own base. The aliens return to their home planet, and the people were glad that Dingo & his friends saved the day, afterwards Dona Chucha forgives Dingo. Three years later, Dingo & Litzy become a couple and their friends go on a cruise boat to Miami, forcing Dingo to go after them but falls to the Pacific Ocean.

On the mid-credits scene, Lester and Rocky plot revenge and they try to contact the aliens. The aliens didn't listen and danced instead.

## Cast

* Omar Chaparro as Dingo Suavecon, a kind but clumsy and dim-witted Puerto Rican-accented parrot who journeys to stop an alien invasion hosted by Lester. He has a strong love for children and is the film's protagonist.
* Yanet Garcia as Litzy, Dona Chucha's beautiful daughter who's also Dingo's love interest.
* Mauricio Lopez as Paco (aka Glob), Dingo's curious and fruit-loving cousin who joins Dingo on his journey.
* Christian De La Fuente as Ronaldo "Rocky" Cortesano, Dingo's arrogant, good-for-nothing, narcissist, and child-hating rival who also wants Litzy as well.
* Rob Schneider as Lester, Dingo's arch-nemesis and the main antagonist of the film. He wants to take over Earth with an alien invasion and also wants to kidnap Chucha so that she can be his slave.
* Coco Legrand as Dona Chucha, Litzy's mother and Dingo's skeptical guardian; and Bruno, a fat but nice neighbor/friend of Dingo.
* Adrian Uribe as Willy, one of Dingo's neighbors/friends. He is a yellow worm who likes to tell jokes.
* Pancho Velasco-Gomez as Tito, another one of Dingo's neighbors/friends. He's a bipolar *gaucho* from Argentina.
* Marc Anthony as Senor Geraldo, a musician who's also a good friend of Dingo's.
* Carlos Vives as Tigo, host of La Plaza De Oro and Dingo's other dim-witted rival.
* Rodolfo Pierre as Alberto, Dingo's former irresponsible owner.

## Production

### Development

After the success of *Gansito,* Palenton wanted to make a film based on the comics by Pepo. Palenton decided to develop *Ay Dingo!* on 2017. Alex Orrelle & Eduardo Schuldt would direct the film, Abraham Vurbrand & Sara Cervantez would handle production, and the screenplay would be done by Antonio Uvalde, with a story by Bruno Lara. The film was later confirmed that it would blend in the science fiction genre with the *Dingo* comics' traditional romcom, centering on Dingo saving Earth (and his loved ones, even Litzy) from a swarm of aliens. Production officially began on October 2017, with animation handled by Anaya Animation and story done by Palenton. It was rumored that Columbia Pictures would distribute the film, but distribution went to Lionsgate and 20th Century Fox since Sony was working on *Los Beibis* and *Joaquin & Emiliano: The Movie.* To speed up the pacing, Palenton hired 130 animators; and on May 2018, the animation for the film was completed. Anaya Animation moved on to work with Actors 3D to complete *Joaquin & Emiliano: The Movie.* Everything else of the film was completed as of July 2018, with a budget of $69 million. Palenton promised that if *Ay Dingo!* was a box office hit, the studio will expand it to a franchise.

### Casting

Omar Chaparro was chosen to voice Dingo. Jessica Cediel was to voice Litzy, but then she left and Yanet Garcia took the role instead. Eugenio Derbez was going to voice Tito; but due to a lawsuit against the Mexican president, he was replaced by Marcanese actor Pancho Velasco-Gomez. Mauricio Lopez, Coco Legrand, Christian De La Fuente, Lionsgate regular Rob Schneider, Adrian Uribe, Carlos Vives, Rodolfo Pierre, and salsa legend Marc Anthony joined the cast for the other characters.

### Marketing

Burger King promoted the film with 6 kids' meal toys featuring Dingo, Litzy, Glob, Lester, Willy, and Bruno. Fiesta supported the film by promoting 7 advertisements starring Dingo & Glob. Bimbo-Marinela promoted *Ay Dingo!: The Movie* on their sweets, especially Dingo's favorite Gansitos. Among others are: Coca-Cola's Fresca, La Michoacana, Barri, Kellogg's, Nissan, the Chivas soccer team, etc.

## Soundtrack

The soundtrack for the film was released on July 26, 2018 by Columbia Records in the United States and Sony Music Latin internationally.

## Release

*Ay Dingo!: The Movie* was first released on July 13, 2018 at the AMC Willowbrook 24 theater in Houston, Texas (at that same day, the movie was released on Mexico and Puerto Rico). The film came to theaters August 3, 2018 in the United States and other countries. *Ay Dingo!: The Movie* was released on home video November 9, 2018 by Lionsgate.

## Reception

### Box Office

*Ay Dingo!: The Movie* was a box office success. The film was released along with *Christopher Robin, The Darkest Minds,* and *The Spy Who Dumped Me.* Finishing 2nd at the box office, *Ay Dingo!: The Movie* grossed a worldwide total of $843 million over a $69 million budget. The film became the highest-grossing film from Palenton, as well as the fourth highest-grossing Marcanese animated film of 2018 (only behind *Joaquin & Emiliano: The Movie, Ninja Turtles 3,* and *Los Beibis*)

### Critical Reception

*Ay Dingo!: The Movie* was met with positive reviews from critics, who praised its cartoony animation, soundtrack, humor, characters, voice acting, faithfulness to the source material, and emotional depth; but criticized its plot. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a "Certified Fresh" rating of 98% based on 62 reviews, with an average rating of 9.3/10. The critical consensus reads, "As good as the comics are, *Ay Dingo!: The Movie* is a hysterical (and heartwarming) 'boing!' to...not just fans, but everyone else as well." On Metacritic, the film got a weighted average score of 92, indicating "universal acclaim." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A+" on a A+ to F scale, being one of two Palenton films to gain that score (the other being *El Hijo Del Charro*).

Andrew Pulver of *The Guardian* admired the film's slapstick and faithfulness to the source material, "*Dingo* is technically a love letter to the comics...it retains that same spirit and craziness that made the comics so good in the first place..." Roger Ebert from the *Chicago Sun-Times* gave the film a "Two Thumbs Up" and acclaimed its characters, humor, animation, and emotional depth, "What I like most about *Dingo* is its comedy and how sweet those emotional moments are. I also like the cartoony animation and fun characters, they add up to what I call 'a delightful sensation of its own'." Lisa Pagett of *Movies & More* gave the film 4.5 out of 5 stars in her review, "This movie is good time fun. Yes, it's both goofy and silly, but that's what makes it such a better film to watch in 2018." Peter Travers of *Rolling Stone* gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, "While (maybe) not the best animated comedy of 2018, it's a huge improvement over Lionsgate's 2015 abomination *Dorm And The Invincibles*." Andre Sanz of the *Gulfton Chronicle* gave the film 5 stars, "I love this film. It's well executed; with great animation and lovable characters, hilarious jokes, excellent voice-acting...and please bring a tissue or two for the tear-jerkers." Ann Hornaday of *The Washington Post* gave the film 4.5 out of 5 stars, "While it tends to be a bit weird at times, *Dingo* makes it for its humor and emotional depth (and almost everything else)." Justin Chang from *The Los Angeles Times* gave the film 5 stars, "I found it amusing and easy to please anyone. It's an amazing comical 'boing!' for the ages" Cary Darling from the *Houston Chronicle* gave the film 5 stars, "This Mexican-Puerto Rican treat is an eye-pleaser. It's as good as reading the comics with a cup of sweet pink lemonade." Alonso Duralde of *The Wrap* gave the film 4.5 out of 5 stars, "Funny and heartwarming at the same time, *Dingo* does it again...but this time, on the big screen." Pete Vonder Haar of the *Houston Press* gave the film 4.5 out of 5 stars, "This is the best film from Palenton. It's got the wit and charm of the comics, blended together with splendid animation and so much love & care to it on the silver screen formula."

However, *Ay Dingo!* was criticized by its plot. Claudia Paig of *USA Today* pointed out that, "*Dingo* has everything good from the comics...it's just that the plot could've been better if it weren't for the abstract romcom/sci-fi combination like *Lego's.*" Owen Glieberman from *Entertainment Weekly* gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, "The film's good with its humor and heart, but that might not help the somewhat nonsensical plot."

## Accolades

*Ay Dingo!: The Movie* was nominated at the 91st Academy Awards and won Best Animated Feature, dethroning *Joaquin & Emiliano: The Movie, Ninja Turtles 3. Doctor Quack,* and *Mario & Luigi: Dark Mansion.* The film also won the Golden Globe Award For Best Animated Feature Film; but lost to *Joaquin & Emiliano: The Movie* at the Annie Awards. A YouTube video starring Dingo & Glob, Joaquin & Emiliano, Michelangelo & Donnie, Doctor Quack & Snails, and Mario & Luigi at the Academy Awards was launched on February 24, 2019.

## Expanded Franchise

### Sequels

A sequel, simply titled *Dingo 2,* was released theatrically on January 10, 2020; but without involvement from Anaya Animation. Just like its predecessor, the sequel recieved positive reviews and was a box office hit, grossing higher than its predecessor. Two more sequels are planned for a release in 2021 and 2024, respectively.

### Television series

A television show focusing on Glob, titled *El Show De Glob* in Mexico/Latin America and *Glob's World* in the United States premiered on February 10, 2020 on The Anaya Channel, Cartoon Network, and Telemundo each weekend. The show was meant to commemorate the sequel's one-month anniversary.

### Video Games

Several video games based on Dingo and his friends were released by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 4 and PSP. Other companies released them on the Nintendo Switch, Gamebox Pro, Playcom Portable System, Playcom Mega 4, among others.