Chilton Foliat School cancels controversial film screening after parents' uproar

A PRIMARY school has cancelled the planned screening of a film after some parents branded it disgusting.

Chilton Foliat Church of England Primary School was to have shown the animated feature, The Queen's Corgi – which has a PG (parental guidance) rating – to pupils on Friday, May 27.

But it was pulled at the last minute after some parents fiercely objected, claiming it contained scenes of "sexual assault, attempted murder, fight clubs, exotic dancers, cocaine addiction, domestic violence and a proposal of suicide."

The computer animated comedy tells the story of a corgi named Rex, who gets lost and tries to find his way home.

It did not meet with critical acclaim upon its 2019 release.

One national newspaper review described it as "deeply unpleasant and in no way suitable for children."

And Screen Daily noted "plenty of tasteless moments that are often wildly inappropriate for its intended audience."

One parent said the film stood "in absolute opposition of the values I teach my children around equality, consideration and love – values which I was led to believe the school promotes."

An email sent in response to parents who expressed concern stated: "(The film) had been highly recommended to us by two other local primary schools and we had, of course, watched the trailer and read the PG rating."

And one mother told this newspaper: "I'd already taken my children to see it.

"There were a few adult jokes, but they would have gone over youngsters' heads."

However, the screening was cancelled at the last minute.

Headteacher Katie Turner said: "We had a number of activities to celebrate the Jubilee planned at our school which everyone was looking forward to.

"We always notify parents in advance if, on the rare occasion, we are planning to screen any PG rated film, so that they have the option to withdraw their child should they wish.

"As always, we listen carefully to our parent concerns and, because we had a few parents who didn’t wish their children to see the film, we took the decision not to show it and planned other activities instead."