From rags to riches, sorta
Delgo is an interesting film. On one side of the coin you can say that it’s refreshing to see creativity and a different world established in this movie. It could be compared to something that Jim Henson would have done; a chance that he would have taken. You have an anti-hero who evolves in the face of adversity to become the voice of reason. Delgo, our main character, turns from a naive teenager to someone who is going to unite multiple races to ensure everyone’s survival. In comparison to Jim Henson’s Dark Crystal it’s certainly on par. You have that exact same plot line and you have all the creative elements that make up a different world that someone has sat down and imagined. If you think creating a world from scratch is easy, you’re completely off your rocker. On the creative side of things, Delgo excels beyond what is asked and brings some strong personalities to some characters that a company like Disney would have made shallow. The fact that Marc Adler and Jason Maurer (directors) could take such an overused storyline and turn it into something magical for kids/family is enough to appreciate.
Now with that said, the biggest problem with Delgo is that it looks like it is a decade too late on visuals. I know this movie has been in the works for some time and had been set back due to tragedies and what not, but when you compare it to other films of its type (even the Tinkerbell movie) it certainly lags behind. For adults they can see passed this, but for kids they’re wanting visuals and wanting to be entertained. My daughters, who are completely normal kids, have seen many different Pixar, Disney and Dreamwork animated films and found this one boring. They aren’t old enough to appreciate the creativity that went into it or the solid storyline and acting, they just want to watch something that looks nice. Compared to everything else, Delgo just looks a bit dated. Regretfully, looking dated in animation is almost a death sentence for success.
As for the acting, you have a slew of popular voices contributing. Delgo is played by Freddy Prinze, Jr., who does a great job as the leading actor. He really does bring that teenage persona and he should because he’s darn good at it; he’s been in what seems like 20 different teen movies. You also have the late, great Anne Bancroft and Val Kilmer. Those three combined with other supporting voices that are pretty talent equal out to a good cast.
The film is really imaginative and I give it the upmost compliments for what it brought, but the aging look to the animation simply makes it look like something that was hurried and packaged with a toy. Had the animation compared to what we have now in 2009 or if it had been done through one of the big three studios then there is a great chance I wouldn’t even be mentioning this.
As for the DVD itself, here are the features it comes packed with:
• Audio Commentary with Directors
• Featurettes
o Behind-the-Scenes
o Sounds of Delgo
o Meet the Characters
o See the Creatures
• Award-winning animated short: Chroma Chameleon
• Deleted Scenes (additional 14 minutes of footage)
Fox certainly gave some love to Delgo and it shows through the features. Really solid features that deserve your attention.