DELGO [PG]
review by Robert Newton
Blurb scrawlers would be quick to come up with a quotable nugget to describe the animated fantasy Delgo, and might draft something like this: “A visually splendid alien ‘Romeo and Juliet’.” We would say the same thing, only if our review were to be cited in marketing materials, it would have to contain an ellipsis after the quote, those unimposing three dots denoting that some text has been excised. In this case, that text would be the words “with a story that is as uninventive as it is predictable.”
Delgo (voiced by Freddie Prinze Jr.) is a poor Lockni boy who falls for Kyla (Jennifer Love Hewitt), a Nohrin princess. The Lockni are a reptilian-looking race of peaceful people, but their oppression by the winged Nohrin is being seriously tested. With the threat of war looming, Delgo and Kyla must defuse the tensions while routing out the malignant element in their midst.
The film looks incredible. A barebones animation team has done a fantastic job in creating a world so rich in color and detail, from the age lines on the faces to the musculature of their flying steeds. While the movement of the characters feels just slightly mechanical, the eyes are alive, which is a tough task that even “The Polar Express” couldn’t accomplish. The world the filmmakers have created here is as complete as the one that Peter Jackson and company crafted for the “Lord Of The Rings” trilogy.
It’s the script that drags “Delgo” down. We know from the beginning that Delgo and Kyla will end up together, and that the conniving Nohrin power couple General Raius (Malcolm McDowell) and shunned (and de-winged) Nohrin royal Sedessa (Anne Bancroft, in her final role) will be defeated and peace will return to the land. All the obstacles that are constructed to try our heroes are ultimately free of drama, as the sentiment throughout is too plucky and storybook. It’s a story that we would ultimately like to see end differently — or even fought a little harder to sell us on — but in the end, “Delgo” is really just a “gorgeous-looking…also-ran.”•••
Robert Newton is the editor of WorcesterMovies.com.
