Delgo (film)
Encyclopedia
Delgo is a 2008 computer-animated
fantasy film
. The film was produced by Fathom Studios, a division of Macquarium Intelligent Communications, which began development of the project in 1999.
Despite winning the Best Feature award at Anima Mundi
, the film's box office was one of the lowest grossing wide releases in recent history. Delgo grossed just $915,840 in theatres against an estimated budget of $40,000,000, according to box office tracking site The Numbers. The film was released independently with a large screen count (over 2,000 screens) and a small marketing budget. The lack of marketing and poor timing of the release are both cited as reasons for the disastrous theatrical run. 20th Century Fox
acquired the film rights for international and DVD distribution and Cartoon Network
purchased the U.S. television rights. Delgo was Anne Bancroft
's final film, and it is dedicated to her.
), believe in the superiority of their own race and try to take land away form the Lokni. Delgo (Freddie Prinze Jr.)'s parents are killed in the resulting conflict. Nohrin King Zahn (Louis Gossett Jr.
) is horrified by the war and admonishes Sedessa, who then poisons the Queen and almost kills Zahn as well. She is subsequently banished, and her wings are clipped off.
Delgo, meanwhile, is raised by Elder Marley (Michael Clarke Duncan
), who tries to teach him how to use the power of the stones. Once Delgo grows up, however, he gives in to his desire for revenge against the Nohrin as a whole. But then he meets Princess Kyla (Jennifer Love Hewitt
) of the Nohrin and develops a tentative friendship with her. When she is kidnapped by General Raius (Malcolm McDowell
), who is actually working for Sedessa, Delgo and his friend Filo (Chris Kattan
) are blamed and arrested.
In the Nohrin Prison, Delgo meets General Bogardus (Val Kilmer
), who was forced to illegally gamble with his weapons by Raius, because Bogardus opposed an all out war with the Lokni. Delgo, Filo, and Bogardus escape into some underground caverns and eventually reach Sedessa's stronghold and rescue Kyla. Together they hurry back to try to stop the war from taking place. They are too late, for the war has already begun. Bogardus meanwhile fights and defeats Raius, but is soon after mortally injured. Just as Bogardus dies, Delgo realizes that he was the Nohrin soldier who spared his life many years ago during the first war between the Nohrin and the Lokni.
Meanwhile, Sedessa's army of monsters join in the battle. Kyla convinces the Nohrin generals to direct their troops to stop fighting the Lokni and instead pick them up and fly them away from the battlefield. Filo then directs an entire stampede of large animals onto the battlefield, sending Sedessa's minions fleeing for their lives. Delgo goes off to face Sedessa and find King Zahn, whom she has taken prisoner. He finally manages to master the stone magic, and defeats Sedessa. He also puts the past behind him by saving her rather than letting her fall to her death.
However, Sedessa then attacks Kyla, who has come to Delgo's aid. The two struggle and Sedessa finally falls, her artificial wings being of no use. Later, during the celebrations, it turns out Raius wasn't dead, and he makes one last attempt to end Delgo. He is subdued by a Nohrin, but not before he throws his spear at Delgo. Then, out of nowhere, the spear breaks in mid-air. Everyone turns to look at Filo, who has finally mastered his slingshot. Later, Delgo and Kyla's friendship blossoms into romance when they finally kiss.
In a 2001 interview, Marc Adler said that the film sets itself apart from other recent computer-animated films because it is not a comedy and also because it is "a very human story told in a non-human world". Maurer said that "the inspiration for the story really came from all of unrest we have in society today, prejudice, discrimination, hate crimes, violence - all of those terrible things. We wanted to tell a story where our heroes overcame these things personally and facilitated change among entire peoples."
During production, Fathom Studios created a viral marketing
campaign. In 2001, seven years in advance of the film's eventual release date, 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.
Next, they launched the Digital Dailies 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. Although, according to Adler, the original intent of the dailies was to allow the crew to "be able to offer commentary to other staff members who do not work the same hours", he also said that offering a learning experience to the public was an important reason for their creation. "By granting public access to our film as a work-in-process we are helping to educate students, burgeoning animators, and film enthusiasts about the procedures involved in the making of a computer animated movie." Adler said that the they were "contacted by professors from the many universities who use the Digital Dailies in their classrooms". The dailies "were receiving a half-million hits a month", and some of the crew members started to get offers from Hollywood studios (At one point Adler started hiding the identities of the crew with fancy aliases). Adler recruited main crew members locally from "Savannah College of Art and Design, Georgia Tech and smaller digital outfits". Students from the drama department of North Atlanta High School acted out some of the scenes to create reference material for the animators.
Adler said that their team created eight main characters, at least twenty "secondary characters", "twenty-two creatures, thirty plants, and fifty-six sets", as well as numerous background characters. According to Warren Grubb, Fathom's head animation director, one of the challenges with modeling the background elements was that "We couldn't even use most of the off-the-shelf systems at the time in creating the background assets because they were based on Earthly vegetation."
The filmmakers put together kits with artwork and actual replicas of the stones used in the film to send to the actors, rather than just an offer letter. Once the cast had signed on, the filmmakers had to travel to where the actors were with all their equipment rather than have the actors come to them to record their voices. Anne Bancroft
, the voice of villain Sedessa, died in 2005, before production finished. On the film's end credits, the film is dedicated to her. Additionally, John Vernon
, the voice of Judge Nohrin, died in 2005, making this his final film.
The directors acknowledge the influence of artist Roger Dean
, specifically his album covers for Yes
and Asia
, on their backgrounds.
distributed the film in 2,160 screens in the United States.
Fox has non-theatrical rights for the world with the exception of U.S. television (not including PPV
and VOD). Cartoon Network has basic cable rights.
The DVD
was released in the U.S. on August 4, 2009. A Blu-ray
was released on October 5, 2010. The DVD extras include audio commentary
from the directors, featurettes, six deleted scene
s, and the short "Chroma Chameleon".
s, including the three largest animation festivals in the world: SICAF (Korea), Annecy
(France), and Anima Mundi
(Brazil). Delgo received the "Best Feature Film" award at 2008's Anima Mundi.
, this averages to approximately 2 viewers per screening. Delgo also holds the record for being the lowest-grossing computer-animated film of all time with just over $915,000 made worldwide. This record used to be held by the 2006 film Doogal ($7.2 million) and the 2009 film Battle For Terra ($6 million).
reports that only 12% of critics gave positive reviews based on 39 reviews, with an average score of 3.8/10, with the site's consensus stating that "Delgo features a blend of plot elements from earlier (and superior) fantasy films, with weaker animation and dull characters." Metacritic
, based on a normalized rating from 100 top reviews from mainstream critics, gave the film an average score of 27 out of 100, indicating "genrally unfavorable", based on 10 reviews panning the film for its fantasy clichés among other failings. Leonard Maltin's bestselling publication "TV Movies" gives the film a BOMB rating, calling it "a complete misfire."
Critics from Newsday
and Campus Circle gave the film acclaim, citing a unique look and it was widely accepted by parents for its positive influences. Universally, Academy Award-winner Anne Bancroft
was commended for her performance as the antagonist in what became her final film role. Tom Keogh of The Seattle Times
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".
Aside from the passing of Ms. Bancroft, the film had several other setbacks which delayed its release. MGM was originally expected to release the picture but an executive restructuring altered these plans. In addition, the president of Fathom Studio’s parent company, Kevin Foster, died of unexpected heart failure during production, causing attention to be drawn away from the film for almost a year.
A partnership with Dell
provided Fathom Studios with the hardware required to render Delgo. This is a general trend in the industry as Hewlett-Packard
supplies DreamWorks Animation
with their computers.
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
fantasy film
Fantasy film
Fantasy films are films with fantastic themes, usually involving magic, supernatural events, make-believe creatures, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered to be distinct from science fiction film and horror film, although the genres do overlap...
. The film was produced by Fathom Studios, a division of Macquarium Intelligent Communications, which began development of the project in 1999.
Despite winning the Best Feature award at Anima Mundi
Anima Mundi (event)
Anima Mundi is a competitive Brazilian video and film festival devoted exclusively to animation, held every July in the cities of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, Brazil.-History:...
, the film's box office was one of the lowest grossing wide releases in recent history. Delgo grossed just $915,840 in theatres against an estimated budget of $40,000,000, according to box office tracking site The Numbers. The film was released independently with a large screen count (over 2,000 screens) and a small marketing budget. The lack of marketing and poor timing of the release are both cited as reasons for the disastrous theatrical run. 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
acquired the film rights for international and DVD distribution and Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
purchased the U.S. television rights. Delgo was Anne Bancroft
Anne Bancroft
Anne Bancroft was an American actress associated with the Method acting school, which she had studied under Lee Strasberg....
's final film, and it is dedicated to her.
Plot
After having left their own world due to a loss of natural resources, the Nohrin settle on Jhamora with the permission of the Lokni. But some of the Nohrin, led by would-be conqueror Sedessa (Anne BancroftAnne Bancroft
Anne Bancroft was an American actress associated with the Method acting school, which she had studied under Lee Strasberg....
), believe in the superiority of their own race and try to take land away form the Lokni. Delgo (Freddie Prinze Jr.)'s parents are killed in the resulting conflict. Nohrin King Zahn (Louis Gossett Jr.
Louis Gossett, Jr.
Louis Cameron Gossett, Jr. is an American actor best known for his role as Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley in the 1982 film An Officer and a Gentleman and Fiddler in the 1970s television miniseries Roots...
) is horrified by the war and admonishes Sedessa, who then poisons the Queen and almost kills Zahn as well. She is subsequently banished, and her wings are clipped off.
Delgo, meanwhile, is raised by Elder Marley (Michael Clarke Duncan
Michael Clarke Duncan
Michael Clarke Duncan is an American actor, best known for his breakout role as John Coffey in The Green Mile, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe.- Early life :...
), who tries to teach him how to use the power of the stones. Once Delgo grows up, however, he gives in to his desire for revenge against the Nohrin as a whole. But then he meets Princess Kyla (Jennifer Love Hewitt
Jennifer Love Hewitt
Jennifer Love Hewitt is an American actress, producer, television director and former singer-songwriter. Hewitt began her acting career as a child by appearing in television commercials and the Disney Channel series Kids Incorporated...
) of the Nohrin and develops a tentative friendship with her. When she is kidnapped by General Raius (Malcolm McDowell
Malcolm McDowell
Malcolm McDowell is an English actor with a career spanning over forty years.McDowell is principally known for his roles in the controversial films If...., O Lucky Man!, A Clockwork Orange and Caligula...
), who is actually working for Sedessa, Delgo and his friend Filo (Chris Kattan
Chris Kattan
Christopher Lee "Chris" Kattan is an American actor/comedian, best known for his work on Saturday Night Live.-Early life:Kattan was born in Sherman Oaks, California. His father, Kip King, was an actor and voice actor who appeared on the series Reno 911! as Larrie Plum. His mother, Hajnalka E....
) are blamed and arrested.
In the Nohrin Prison, Delgo meets General Bogardus (Val Kilmer
Val Kilmer
Val Edward Kilmer is an American actor. Originally a stage actor, Kilmer became popular in the mid-1980s after a string of appearances in comedy films, starting with Top Secret! , then the cult classic Real Genius , as well as blockbuster action films, including a supporting role in Top Gun and a...
), who was forced to illegally gamble with his weapons by Raius, because Bogardus opposed an all out war with the Lokni. Delgo, Filo, and Bogardus escape into some underground caverns and eventually reach Sedessa's stronghold and rescue Kyla. Together they hurry back to try to stop the war from taking place. They are too late, for the war has already begun. Bogardus meanwhile fights and defeats Raius, but is soon after mortally injured. Just as Bogardus dies, Delgo realizes that he was the Nohrin soldier who spared his life many years ago during the first war between the Nohrin and the Lokni.
Meanwhile, Sedessa's army of monsters join in the battle. Kyla convinces the Nohrin generals to direct their troops to stop fighting the Lokni and instead pick them up and fly them away from the battlefield. Filo then directs an entire stampede of large animals onto the battlefield, sending Sedessa's minions fleeing for their lives. Delgo goes off to face Sedessa and find King Zahn, whom she has taken prisoner. He finally manages to master the stone magic, and defeats Sedessa. He also puts the past behind him by saving her rather than letting her fall to her death.
However, Sedessa then attacks Kyla, who has come to Delgo's aid. The two struggle and Sedessa finally falls, her artificial wings being of no use. Later, during the celebrations, it turns out Raius wasn't dead, and he makes one last attempt to end Delgo. He is subdued by a Nohrin, but not before he throws his spear at Delgo. Then, out of nowhere, the spear breaks in mid-air. Everyone turns to look at Filo, who has finally mastered his slingshot. Later, Delgo and Kyla's friendship blossoms into romance when they finally kiss.
Cast
- Sally KellermanSally KellermanSally Clare Kellerman is an American actress and singer known for her role as Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan in the film MASH , for which she was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.-Early life:...
as the Narrator - Freddie Prinze Jr. as Delgo
- Jennifer Love HewittJennifer Love HewittJennifer Love Hewitt is an American actress, producer, television director and former singer-songwriter. Hewitt began her acting career as a child by appearing in television commercials and the Disney Channel series Kids Incorporated...
as Princess Kyla - Anne BancroftAnne BancroftAnne Bancroft was an American actress associated with the Method acting school, which she had studied under Lee Strasberg....
as Sedessa - Chris KattanChris KattanChristopher Lee "Chris" Kattan is an American actor/comedian, best known for his work on Saturday Night Live.-Early life:Kattan was born in Sherman Oaks, California. His father, Kip King, was an actor and voice actor who appeared on the series Reno 911! as Larrie Plum. His mother, Hajnalka E....
as Filo - Val KilmerVal KilmerVal Edward Kilmer is an American actor. Originally a stage actor, Kilmer became popular in the mid-1980s after a string of appearances in comedy films, starting with Top Secret! , then the cult classic Real Genius , as well as blockbuster action films, including a supporting role in Top Gun and a...
as General Bogardus - Malcolm McDowellMalcolm McDowellMalcolm McDowell is an English actor with a career spanning over forty years.McDowell is principally known for his roles in the controversial films If...., O Lucky Man!, A Clockwork Orange and Caligula...
as General Raius - Louis Gossett Jr.Louis Gossett, Jr.Louis Cameron Gossett, Jr. is an American actor best known for his role as Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley in the 1982 film An Officer and a Gentleman and Fiddler in the 1970s television miniseries Roots...
as King Zahn - Michael Clarke DuncanMichael Clarke DuncanMichael Clarke Duncan is an American actor, best known for his breakout role as John Coffey in The Green Mile, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe.- Early life :...
as Elder Marley - Eric IdleEric IdleEric Idle is an English comedian, actor, author, singer, writer, and comedic composer. He was as a member of the British comedy group Monty Python, a member of the The Rutles on Saturday Night Live and author of the play, Spamalot....
as Spig - Kelly RipaKelly RipaKelly Ripa is an American actress and television host. Since February 2001, she has served as the co-host of talk show Live with Regis and Kelly, along with Regis Philbin and now solo host of Live! With Kelly...
as Kurrin - Burt ReynoldsBurt ReynoldsBurton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
as Delgo's father - Brad Abrell as Spog
- Mary Matilyn MouserMary Matilyn MouserMary Matilyn Mouser is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Lacey Fleming on the ABC series Body of Proof.-Life and career:...
as Baby Delgo - David Heyer as Talusi
- John VernonJohn VernonJohn Keith Vernon was a Canadian actor. He made a career in Hollywood after achieving initial television stardom in Canada.-Early life:...
as Judge Nohrin
Production
Fathom Studios began development on Delgo in 1999; animation work began in 2001. The movie was produced by Fathom in conjunction with Electric Eye Entertainment Corporation.In a 2001 interview, Marc Adler said that the film sets itself apart from other recent computer-animated films because it is not a comedy and also because it is "a very human story told in a non-human world". Maurer said that "the inspiration for the story really came from all of unrest we have in society today, prejudice, discrimination, hate crimes, violence - all of those terrible things. We wanted to tell a story where our heroes overcame these things personally and facilitated change among entire peoples."
During production, Fathom Studios created a viral marketing
Viral marketing
Viral marketing, viral advertising, or marketing buzz are buzzwords referring to marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness or to achieve other marketing objectives through self-replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of viruses...
campaign. In 2001, seven years in advance of the film's eventual release date, 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.
Next, they launched the Digital Dailies 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. Although, according to Adler, the original intent of the dailies was to allow the crew to "be able to offer commentary to other staff members who do not work the same hours", he also said that offering a learning experience to the public was an important reason for their creation. "By granting public access to our film as a work-in-process we are helping to educate students, burgeoning animators, and film enthusiasts about the procedures involved in the making of a computer animated movie." Adler said that the they were "contacted by professors from the many universities who use the Digital Dailies in their classrooms". The dailies "were receiving a half-million hits a month", and some of the crew members started to get offers from Hollywood studios (At one point Adler started hiding the identities of the crew with fancy aliases). Adler recruited main crew members locally from "Savannah College of Art and Design, Georgia Tech and smaller digital outfits". Students from the drama department of North Atlanta High School acted out some of the scenes to create reference material for the animators.
Adler said that their team created eight main characters, at least twenty "secondary characters", "twenty-two creatures, thirty plants, and fifty-six sets", as well as numerous background characters. According to Warren Grubb, Fathom's head animation director, one of the challenges with modeling the background elements was that "We couldn't even use most of the off-the-shelf systems at the time in creating the background assets because they were based on Earthly vegetation."
The filmmakers put together kits with artwork and actual replicas of the stones used in the film to send to the actors, rather than just an offer letter. Once the cast had signed on, the filmmakers had to travel to where the actors were with all their equipment rather than have the actors come to them to record their voices. Anne Bancroft
Anne Bancroft
Anne Bancroft was an American actress associated with the Method acting school, which she had studied under Lee Strasberg....
, the voice of villain Sedessa, died in 2005, before production finished. On the film's end credits, the film is dedicated to her. Additionally, John Vernon
John Vernon
John Keith Vernon was a Canadian actor. He made a career in Hollywood after achieving initial television stardom in Canada.-Early life:...
, the voice of Judge Nohrin, died in 2005, making this his final film.
The directors acknowledge the influence of artist Roger Dean
Roger Dean (musician)
Roger Thornton Dean is a British-Australian musician, academic, biochemist and cognitive scientist.He is married to poet, writer, musician and academic Hazel Anne Smith.-Music:...
, specifically his album covers for Yes
Yes (band)
Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...
and Asia
Asia (band)
Asia are an English rock group formed in 1981. The band was labelled a supergroup as it included former members of several veteran progressive rock bands, namely John Wetton , Geoff Downes , Steve Howe and Carl Palmer Asia are an English rock group formed in 1981. The band was labelled a...
, on their backgrounds.
Distribution
Distributor-for-hire Freestyle ReleasingFreestyle Releasing
Freestyle Releasing is an independent film studio founded in 2003, specializing in helping other people/companies to release their films theatrically for getting distribution fees...
distributed the film in 2,160 screens in the United States.
Fox has non-theatrical rights for the world with the exception of U.S. television (not including PPV
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
and VOD). Cartoon Network has basic cable rights.
The DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
was released in the U.S. on August 4, 2009. A Blu-ray
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
was released on October 5, 2010. The DVD extras include audio commentary
Audio commentary
On disc-based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video...
from the directors, featurettes, six deleted scene
Deleted scene
In Entertainment, especially the film and television industry, Deleted scenes are parts of a film removed or censored from or replaced by another scene in the final "cut", or version, of a film...
s, and the short "Chroma Chameleon".
Awards
The film was accepted by numerous film festivalFilm festival
A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. More and more often film festivals show part of their films to the public by adding outdoor movie screenings...
s, including the three largest animation festivals in the world: SICAF (Korea), Annecy
Annecy International Animated Film Festival
The Annecy International Animation Film Festival was created in 1960 and takes place at the beginning of June in the town of Annecy, France. Initially occurring every two years, the festival became annual in 1998...
(France), and Anima Mundi
Anima Mundi (event)
Anima Mundi is a competitive Brazilian video and film festival devoted exclusively to animation, held every July in the cities of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, Brazil.-History:...
(Brazil). Delgo received the "Best Feature Film" award at 2008's Anima Mundi.
Box office
Delgo is notable for producing the worst opening ever for a film playing in over 2,000 theaters, earning $511,920 at 2,160 sites; according to Yahoo! MoviesYahoo! Movies
Yahoo! Movies , provided by the Yahoo! network, is home to a large collection of information on movies, past and new releases, trailers and clips, box office information, and showtimes and movie theater information. Yahoo! Movies also includes red carpet photos, actor galleries, and production...
, this averages to approximately 2 viewers per screening. Delgo also holds the record for being the lowest-grossing computer-animated film of all time with just over $915,000 made worldwide. This record used to be held by the 2006 film Doogal ($7.2 million) and the 2009 film Battle For Terra ($6 million).
Critical response
Reviews of the film have been largely negative. Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reports that only 12% of critics gave positive reviews based on 39 reviews, with an average score of 3.8/10, with the site's consensus stating that "Delgo features a blend of plot elements from earlier (and superior) fantasy films, with weaker animation and dull characters." Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, based on a normalized rating from 100 top reviews from mainstream critics, gave the film an average score of 27 out of 100, indicating "genrally unfavorable", based on 10 reviews panning the film for its fantasy clichés among other failings. Leonard Maltin's bestselling publication "TV Movies" gives the film a BOMB rating, calling it "a complete misfire."
Critics from Newsday
Newsday
Newsday is a daily American newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties and the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, although it is sold throughout the New York metropolitan area...
and Campus Circle gave the film acclaim, citing a unique look and it was widely accepted by parents for its positive influences. Universally, Academy Award-winner Anne Bancroft
Anne Bancroft
Anne Bancroft was an American actress associated with the Method acting school, which she had studied under Lee Strasberg....
was commended for her performance as the antagonist in what became her final film role. Tom Keogh of The Seattle Times
The Seattle Times
The Seattle Times is a newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, US. It is the largest daily newspaper in the state of Washington. It has been, since the demise in 2009 of the printed version of the rival Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Seattle's only major daily print newspaper.-History:The Seattle Times...
praised Anne Bancroft's "excellent voice work" and noted the film was a "busy but decent animated fable that feels like a Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
or Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
spinoff".
Aside from the passing of Ms. Bancroft, the film had several other setbacks which delayed its release. MGM was originally expected to release the picture but an executive restructuring altered these plans. In addition, the president of Fathom Studio’s parent company, Kevin Foster, died of unexpected heart failure during production, causing attention to be drawn away from the film for almost a year.
Impact
According to the Wall Street Journal, "the failure of Delgo to attract audiences reflects a glut of films in the crowded holiday corridor and highlights the challenges facing films made and marketed outside the Hollywood system." The oversaturated market for films has made the opening weekends so competitive that over half of all independent labels folded in the last eighteen months – including subsidiaries of the major studios.A partnership with Dell
Dell
Dell, Inc. is an American multinational information technology corporation based in 1 Dell Way, Round Rock, Texas, United States, that develops, sells and supports computers and related products and services. Bearing the name of its founder, Michael Dell, the company is one of the largest...
provided Fathom Studios with the hardware required to render Delgo. This is a general trend in the industry as Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...
supplies DreamWorks Animation
DreamWorks Animation
DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. is an American animation studio based in Glendale, California that creates animated feature films, television program and online virtual worlds...
with their computers.