Rating: PG
Starring:
Freddie Prinze Jr. as Delgo (voice)
Chris Kattan as Filo (voice)
Jennifer Love Hewitt as Princess Kyla (voice)
Anne Bancroft as Sedessa (voice)
Val Kilmer as Bogardus (voice)
Malcolm McDowell as Raius (voice)
Michael Clarke Duncan as Elder Marley (voice)
Louis Gossett Jr. as King Zahn (voice)
Eric Idle as Spig (voice)
Burt Reynolds as Delgo’s Father (voice)
Kelly Ripa as Kurrin (voice)
Sally Kellerman as Narrator (voice)
Jed Rhein as Ando
Melissa Suzanne McBride as Miss Sutley / Elder Pearo (voice)
Jeffrey Winter as Giddy / Lockni Man (voice)
Special Features:
Audio Commentary from the Directors
Behind the Scenes
Sounds of Delgo
Meet the Characters
Animated Short: Chroma Chamelon
6 Deleted Scenes
Other Info:
Widescreen (1.78:1)
Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound
French and Spanish Subtitles
Running Time: 89 Minutes
The Details:
The following is the official description of the film:
“When a forgotten enemy returns, the fate of the world lies with a spirited princess and an unlikely hero. Take an exciting journey to a spectacular realm of magic, fantasy, romance, and adventure.”
“Delgo” is rated PG for sequences of fantasy action violence.
Mini-Review:
I really wanted to like “Delgo.” I’m a sci-fi fan and an animation fan. I love any movie with an alien setting. I like the fact that “Delgo” was independently made and the development process was shared extensively online. I also like a lot of the cast members. Everything about “Delgo” pointed towards it being something I would love. Unfortunately, I didn’t like it.
“Delgo” has a lot of problems. First of all, the story is nothing new. It’s your standard story of an oppressed people, the hero’s journey, and royalty battling it out for control of a kingdom. You could point to a lot of movies with similar plots. Then the actually storytelling is a bit disjointed. Scenes will jarringly switch from one to the other to the point you’d think something was cut. Finally, there’s the animation. Considering this is an independent film done on a budget, I wouldn’t expect it to be Pixar quality. But I’ve seen better animation on Nickelodeon on my kids’ cartoons. With a better story the lower quality animation would have been forgivable, but here it has nothing to fall back on.
“Delgo” does manage to have a couple of things going for it. It has some pretty impressive production design. While the lead characters are quite dull, the creatures, settings, and environments are all very imaginative. There’s some good stuff, but it’s all in the backgrounds. The action scenes are also pretty good. Whether it’s Delgo getting chased by a creature or the massive battle in the finale, it’s something the movie does well. Unfortunately, those action scenes don’t come all that often.
Kids will enjoy “Delgo,” but there’s not much here for adults. It was a valiant attempt at independent animation, but it just didn’t work.
There are a few bonus features here. You’ll find a commentary with the directors, a brief ‘making of’ featurette with all the voice talent, a gallery of the creatures, and 6 deleted scenes. It’s not a mind blowing array of bonus features, but more than some DVD’s offer.
