Ay Dingo!: The Movie

*Ay Dingo!: The Movie* (known in the United States and Canada as *Space Parrot*) 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. In 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 received 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. *Ay Dingo!: The Movie* was released to home video November 9, 2018 by Lionsgate Home Entertainment.

## Why It Rocks

1. Impressively great animation that resembles the comics perfectly, with smooth fluid yet cartoony movements and backgrounds that seem like they just got pulled off the comics.
2. This film is essentially a love letter to its source material, mixing in elements of romantic comedy with other genres such as science fiction and adventure. The film also stays true to its Latino heritage while also giving American audiences lots of subtle gags about American culture and vast pop culture references, such as the ones for *Titanic* and *Indiana Jones.*
3. The introduction of the film was hilarious and well done. Also, the soccer opening scene after that is very well done.
4. Great voice acting from a Latino ensemble cast, especially from Omar Chaparro as Dingo and Christian De La Fuente as Rocky.
5. Hysterically humorous comedy that stays true to the comics' signature brand of humor, especially the jokes with Dingo and Glob such as the one where they contact Lester for free pizza and when they tour around the world in search of Dona Chucha. Also, the scenes with Lester are worth several laughs.
6. The characters are still lovable in this film (except for a few, see BQ #2); their designs resemble their comic book counterparts and their movements are very expressive just like the *Marco* characters. Perhaps the most lovable character here is Glob, since his crazy obsession for fruits and Gansitos make him great along with his good-natured personality.
7. **Proper character developments:** Dingo at first becomes self-centered when he contacts Lester by accident for the latter to take Dona Chucha away via space shuttle, but later he rescues Dona Chucha since his friends got worried about her. The same goes for Dona Chucha, who rejected Dingo's proposal with Litzy for being a parrot, only for her to accept him as a human being despite her hatred for Dingo in the beginning.
8. The emotional moments are perfectly well done either being heartwarmingly sweet, such as the scene where Dingo & Glob share watermelon with the other birds, or just downright sad, such as the scene where Dingo gets depressed after hearing on the phone that Litzy's breaking up with him; and it's also very cute to see Dingo & Litzy's lovely relationship.
9. Just like *Marco 3,* the film handles ethnic diversity the right way and not just used for stereotyping, and also handles serious issues like divorce, homelessness, the consequences of drinking, domestic abuse, broken relationships, etc.
10. Excellent and catchy Latino soundtrack from legendary Puerto Rican musician Marc Anthony (who also voices Senor Geraldo for this film), with great choice songs like "Vivir Contigo", "Vivir Mi Vida", and "Todo Cambio"
11. Amazing climax with Dingo facing off Lester at his space shuttle while saving Dona Chucha. The other action scenes here are very good thanks to the film's use of classic comical slapstick like those of the *Marco* films, especially the scene when Dingo & Glob face off skeleton birds once they've entered Chichen Itza.
12. It has valuable lessons about family, caring about others, optimism, love being stronger than anything, and care for the elderly.
13. Lester is an funny and entertaining villain in this film; it's also entertaining to see his interactions with Dona Chucha and the aliens.
14. The post-credits scene is really hilarious, with Lester & Rocky trying to contact the aliens via phone despite them becoming enemies after losing to Dingo & his friends.
15. The film not only throws in subtle references that only the truest *Dingo* fans would understand, but also appeals to people who hadn't read the *Dingo* comics before while also introducing them through this film.
16. Both the English and Spanish dubs for the film are very well done, with the latter dub being funnier.

## Bad Qualities

1. The plot can get rather convoluted if strange at times, since it's about Dingo rescuing his guardian Dona Chucha while also saving Earth from an alien invasion led by Lester. *Seems strange enough?*
2. A few characters are unlikable: such as Alberto, who is Dingo's irresponsible and indifferent owner; Tigo, who constantly makes fun of Dingo even if they used to be friends; and Rocky, Dingo's child-hating, good-for-nothing if arrogant rival who also mistreats Dingo for being different and makes himself superior to him although he's not.
3. A few rather mean-spirited moments involving Dona Chucha wanting to get rid of Dingo and the latter breaking up with his girlfriend near the third act.
4. Despite the film being aimed at families, there are some instances where it gets too much for a PG rating, such as the part where Rocky tries to abuse Litzy, when Dingo & Glob get disguised as women in order to enter the airport, and when Dingo & Willy get offered two huge jars of tequila despite the former refusing to drink his.