I remember when I saw the trailer for Delgo. It was a couple of days before the film’s premier on 12/12/2008. It seemed very odd that an animated CG film had such a weak promotional campaign. I guess the crew thought the film was so awesome that it didn’t need months or even weeks of pre-marketing.

Well, that course of action didn’t pan out too well since Delgo had one of the lowest box office draws in history. Like me, I think a lot of people saw that one scant ad for the movie and had a partial interest in seeing it but decided to see something else instead. Something else that had been showering us with previews, commercials and online ads way in advance.

Thank goodness for that second chance offered by the home video market. I rented the DVD release of Delgo. I just had to see what this movie was about and if it truly merited that terrible theater run.


Young Delgo

Delgo could be described as an introduction to race relations for very, very young people. A race of winged beings called Nohrin are forced to flee from their dying homeland. They appeal to the Loknis, an earthbound race of beings that can control special rocks through a form of telekinesis, for safe haven. The Loknis agree and the two races dwell together in peace.

The ruler of the Nohrins, King Zahn (Louis Gossett, Jr.), appoints his sister, Sedessa (Anne Bancroft), with the task of overseeing the merging of the two societies. That turns out to be a really big mistake since Sedessa believes the Nohrin shouldn’t live side by side with the inferior Lokni. She commands her Nohrin armies to subjugate the Lokni and civil war erupts. Sedessa even goes as far as to poison the Nohrin royal family but only succeeds in killing the Queen. King Zahn has Sedessa’s wings clipped and banishes her from the kingdom. But the damage is done. Though Sedessa is to blame for the social unrest the battles that took place between the Nohrin and the Lokni have sown the seeds of distrust that will root and grow for many years to come.


Um, can I get the carriage without the pointy spears in the seat?: Princess Kyla (Jennifer Love Hewitt)


Delgo (Freddie Prinze, Jr.) lost his parents during the war so he is understandably not too fond of the winged Nohrins. That is until he meets Nohrin Princess Kyla (Jennifer Love Hewitt). The two start to form an unlikely friendship that is frowned upon by practically everyone on both sides of the kingdom. Their courtship will have to wait because Sedessa has managed to amass a new army that she will lead to the doorstep of her brother’s kingdom and guarantee her takeover of the kingdom. If the Nohrin and Lokni can’t put their differences aside to defeat Sedessa then they will all be crushed under her iron will.

After watching Delgo I feel really bad that it did so poorly during the theatrical run. This was a pretty solid CG toon. The story is pretty good. I liked the Loknis and the Nohrins. Though the “Hatfield vs McCoys” plot is nothing new the moral is still something that both young and old need to recognize. We need to remember that once upon a time we had intense racial tension like the beings in the film have and though it’s been dramatically reduced over the years it is not completely extinct. I’m all for teaching people about being respectful and compassionate to those that are different from them.

The other thing about Delgo is the beautiful design style. I loved the character designs of all the different cultures in the film. The animation style itself has an elegant fluidity to it. The colors and environments seem to pop right off the screen. It’s a lovely piece of work to watch.

Though Delgo takes place in a fantastical world the film doesn’t dumb down the seriousness of the events. Hey, the queen is assassinated within the first ten minutes. The movie doesn’t make light of heavy issues like death, prejudice and political turmoil. The Dark Crystal comes to mind where you have a work that is essentially kid friendly but it does get just intense enough so the younger viewer will get the tough message without having nightmares or needing therapy the next day.

As an adult, watching Delgo was not a ride on the baby roller coaster. I was very surprised that I never got a case of the “drowsies” watching this. That’s the sign to all other people over 13 that this is not some vapid cartoon packed with silliness and after-credit sing alongs.


Wow! What color will it turn into if you play "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun"?: Princess Kyla (Jennifer Love Hewitt) and Delgo (Freddie Prinze, Jr.)

What also helped was the excellent voice work. Heavy hitters like Louis Gossett, Jr., Val Kilmer and Anne Bancroft lend a lot of emotional weight to Delgo. And don’t immediately dismiss the inclusion of Freddie Prinze, Jr. (like I did). He’s pretty captivating as the titular character along with his dippy pal, Filo, voiced by Chris Kattan.

The DVD is loaded with features such as a director’s commentary, character bios, deleted scenes, a featurette called “The Sounds of Delgo” and the original animated short that spawned the full sized feature.

My last word on Delgo is that it was a pretty good animated movie. The story is timeless, the characters are amazing, the visuals are yummy and the voice acting is more than decent. This is touted as Anne Bancroft’s last film before her untimely passing. I know this is going to sound crazy morbid but if I could choose a movie to be my last project before kicking the bucket I would want it to be something worthwhile and gorgeous. Delgo is a film that Ms. Bancroft should be proud of and is a wonderful last hurrah to her legendary acting career. This should capture the attention of youngins and grown-ups, alike so rent it sometime.