Delgo (2008)

Really Surprised!

It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

The acting in this movie is really good.

This animation has a terrific if familiar storyline (rescue a princess), great characters (good and evil) with unique powers, etc. Unique animals (some fly, some don't) are used in a variety ways from day to day utility and even combat.Unfortunately the makers of this flick apparently were in love with Jar Jar Binks and decided to create a similar super idiotic annoying side kick for the hero. You remember Jar Jar from Star Wars I the Phantom Menace. Fortunately apparently someone with a brain realized what a mistake the character was and it is not seen much except for the first several scenes. All in all and excellent animation and I'm hoping for a sequel.

Wow. It's like Lord of the Rings never happened at the start of the decade.Even the opening credits sequence with those bloated flying things just made me cringe.It appears to have been written and animated by middle-schoolers, and yes they were probably high too. They had to bring in all that big-name talent to do the voices, or the handful of people who did go see this film wouldn't have even gone.However, I do credit the animators with at least making a handful of nice images in the film. But really, a film like this should be beautiful to look at from start to finish, not just a few brief instants.There are not-so-subtly racist overtones, and the use of the slur "pansies" renders it even unfit for viewing by children, although infants are probably the only age group likely to be able to enjoy it.Watching this, I feel insulted as a viewer. It's geared towards infants, as far as I can tell. Of course, so was Toy Story, but the difference is that Toy Story is a masterpiece, and this is ... not.And the thing was about 30 minutes too long.If I had been associated with this project, I would have wanted it to disappear quickly and be permanently "lost". I would not be alleging that a more competent team "stole" it. But, these days, it seems the courts are the refuge of the incompetent, when it comes to content creation. Avatar is such a superior work that obviously required far more effort, that there is just no way that the Delgo team could ever hope to claim to have contributed to it. Rather, it seems more likely to me as a viewer that Delgo was ripped off from Avatar, and rushed out the door to beat it to market. An inside job.

The real awful thing about this movie is that it was barely (if even) advertised, which is the only real reason I can see for it having bombed in the theatres. If you keep in mind that this is a kids' movie, you'll enjoy it; if you go in expecting a complicated plot, lots of graphic violence, swearing, or whatever else, you'll think it was lame.The story is simple and typical of adventure movies for kids, but what did you expect? It's got a superb cast of voices, the graphics style is fresh and innovative, and perhaps with the exception of the comic relief character Filo, the characters are likable (Filo goes way beyond overboard, but again, he's there to keep kids watching and laughing). The animation is well done, only getting weird in bits where they seemed to be trying to make comic-relief characters funnier - which was obviously done to keep the attention of its younger audience. Finally, the world it's set in is beautiful, making one wish the movie were perhaps longer and more in-depth, but again, it's a kids' movie.The people writing reviews trashing this movie have serious issues. I imagine the majority of them will find what they are looking for in James Cameron's "Avatar" when that gets released. But if you're looking for something to show your kids, or because you want to see something fantasy-adventurish, give this a try. As long as you keep the title of this review in mind, you'll enjoy it. It's not terrible by a long shot.The only thing spoilerish that I will write in this review is that a few characters do die in this movie, so the PG-rating is appropriate.

I'm not exactly an animation buff. Last year I did watch 50 feature-length toons (13 in movie theaters), but so far in 2008 I've cut back to only 17 (including 14 in theaters). Since most of the previous comments seem to have an ax to grind on the extreme ends of the scale, I'll just try to stick to some comparative impartial facts to help others decide if this is their cup of tea (like so many others, I was the only one in the theater during my screening, so I obtained no benefit from the reactions of fellow audience members).If you enjoyed AQUA TEEN HUNGER FORCE COLON MOVIE FILM FOR THEATERS, absolutely do NOT see DELGO (it has no fake fast food to feed your warped tastes). This story is more original and less revisionist than HAPPILY N'VER AFTER, and the comic relief characters of Filo and Spig are no lamer than their counterparts in TMNT (2007). The sense of peril in DELGO is not as great as kids would experience during ARTHUR & THE INVISIBLES, but children can better identify with the actual humans in the similarly sci-fi MEET THE ROBINSONS. Though Michael Clark Duncan as Jedi-like/Jedi-lite Marley and the late Anne Bancroft as the evil self-styled Empress Sedessa provide DELGO's most distinctive voice work, they really can't compete with SHREK III's Eddie Murphy and Carmeron Diaz. I would say, however, the faux history of DELGO is just as understandable and even richer than that of SURF'S UP. Furthermore, the violence is not as gory as anime offerings such as PAPRIKA or VEXILLE. Make no mistake; this movie is not a gem like RATATOUILLE, WALL-E, PERSEPOLIS, or even KUNG FU PANDA. But at least with DELGO you don't have to worry about a favorite story from childhood being butchered, as you might with HORTON HEARS A WHO. Though FLY ME TO THE MOON topped SPACE CHIMPS, it does not add as much to the cartoon universe as DELGO. Sure, it's not topical like the SIMPSON'S MOVIE or the BEE MOVIE, but it did a better job of keeping me awake than either the abysmal DOOGAL or THE PIRATES WHO DON'T DO ANYTHING: A VEGGIE TALES MOVIE. And regardless of whether DELGO rips off the George Lucas empire, it's still more worthwhile than STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS (talk about beating a dead horse!).