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Delgo

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For the town, see Delgo, Sudan.
Delgo
Promotional movie poster for the film
Directed byMarc F. Adler
Jason Maurer
Written byMarc F. Adler
Scott Biear
Patrick J. Cowan
Carl Dream
Jennifer A. Jones
Produced byMarc F. Adler
StarringFreddie Prinze, Jr.
Jennifer Love Hewitt
Anne Bancroft
Chris Kattan
Val Kilmer
Malcolm McDowell
Louis Gossett, Jr.
Michael Clarke Duncan
Eric Idle
Kelly Ripa
Burt Reynolds
Narrated bySally Kellerman
CinematographyHerb Kossover
Edited byMultiple editors
Music byGeoff Zanelli
Distributed byFreestyle Releasing
Alliance Films (Canada)
Release date
December 12, 2008
Running time
94 min.
Country United States
LanguageEnglish
BudgetUS$40 million[1]

Delgo is a computer-animated fantasy film released on December 12, 2008, by Freestyle Releasing. This is the first film from Atlanta, Georgia's Fathom Studios, a division of Macquarium Intelligent Communications,[2] which began the project in 1999. It holds the record for worst wide release opening ever with total earnings of $511,920. [3].

Plot

A teenaged boy, Delgo (voice of Freddie Prinze Jr.), of the terrestrial Lokni people on the alien planet Jhamora, and Princess Kyla (voice of Jennifer Love Hewitt), of the winged Nohrin occupiers, fall in love and save both societies from would-be conqueror Sedessa (voice of Anne Bancroft), exiled sister of the Nohrin King Zahn (voice of Louis Gossett, Jr.).

Cast and characters

Production

Fathom Studios began development on Delgo in 1999; animation work began in 2001.[1] The movie was produced by Fathom in conjunction with Electric Eye Entertainment Corporation.[citation needed]

During the movie's production, Jennifer A. Jones and producer, co-director and co-writer Marc F. Adler created a viral marketing campaign. In 2001, they created a teaser stating, "From a Studio Nowhere Near Hollywood ... From People You've Never Heard of ... Comes a Myth for the New Millennium ... Delgo". The teaser was placed on five message boards and soon spread to many more.[citation needed]

Next, they launched the Digital Dailies[4] on the movie's official website, which allowed fans to follow the production as it happened. Animators would post their work daily on the message board system and fans could see the directors' and producers' input as well as subsequent changes to the scenes.[5]

Anne Bancroft, the voice of villain Sedessa, died in 2005, before production finished. On the film's end credits, the movie is dedicated to her.

Distribution

Distributor-for-hire[1] Freestyle Releasing is distributing the film in 2,000 theaters — 1,500 in the U.S. and 500 in Canada.[1] Around 2004, world sales were handled through Key Creatives.[2]

Awards

Delgo received the "Best Feature Film" award at 2008's Anima Mundi.[citation needed]

Freestyle Releasing has submitted Delgo as its entry for Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards.[6]

Reception

As of December 17, 2008, Delgo has received mainly negative reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes reported that 16% of critics gave positive reviews based on 32 reviews. [7] On Metacritic, the film has a 24/100 approval rating based on 9 reviews. [8]

Most critics panned the film for its similarity to other fantasy films and having poor animation. Adam Markovitz of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a D- and compared the film to Star Wars by stating in his review, "Why does the teen hero [Delgo] have Jedi-like powers?" [9] Susan Walker of The Star gave the film two stars out four and claimed the film was a "cheap thriller where the wisecracks always fall flat and the author couldn't be bothered to invent a new plot, so he just patches together some old ones." [10] Tom Keogh gave the film a fair review awarding it with 2 1/2 stars. Keogh praised Anne Bancroft's "excellent voice work" and noted the film was a "busy but decent animated fable that feels like a "Star Wars" or "Lord of the Rings" spinoff." [11]

On its opening weekend, the film opened poorly at #18 with $511,920 breaking the record for the lowest opening weekend in wide release. [12] [13]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Thielman, Sam (2008-10-24). "Fathom drawn to animated 'Delgo'". Variety. Reed Business Information. Retrieved 2008-11-19. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |profit:= ignored (help)
  2. ^ a b Dunkley, Cathy (2004-06-15). "'Delgo' gets Creatives rep". Variety. Reed Business Information. Retrieved 2008-11-19.
  3. ^ "Animated 'Delgo' Has Worst Wide Release Opening Ever". Yahoo! Movies. 2008-12-15. Retrieved 2008-12-17.
  4. ^ Delgo.com: Digital Dailies
  5. ^ Ain't It Cool News
  6. ^ Oscars.com press release, Aug. 11, 2008
  7. ^ "Delgo Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
  8. ^ Template:Http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/delgo
  9. ^ "Delgo". Entertainment Weekly. 2008-12-10. Retrieved 2008-12-17. {{cite web}}: Text "Entertainment Weekly" ignored (help); Text "Movie Review" ignored (help)
  10. ^ "Delgo: An exercise in plot recycling". The Star Magazine. 2008-12-12. Retrieved 2008-12-17.
  11. ^ "Delgo": animated fable falls short of mythic status". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2008-12-17.
  12. ^ "Weekend Box Office Results from December 12-14, 2008". Box Office Mojo. 2008-12-14. Retrieved 2008-12-17.
  13. ^ "Jennifer Love Hewitt, Freddie Prinze Jr. Face Bomb-Making Charges For 'Delgo'". Defamer. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
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