Delgo (2008)

12% of critics liked it
(43 reviews)
31% of users liked it
(2,094 ratings)

Freddie Prinze Jr., Jennifer Love Hewitt, Anne Bancroft, and Val Kilmer all lend their voices to this animated fantasy adventure set in a magical world divided by fear. As two dueling civilizations prepare to unleash the dogs of war, it's up to one troubled adolescent and his unlikely friends to… More Freddie Prinze Jr., Jennifer Love Hewitt, Anne Bancroft, and Val Kilmer all lend their voices to this animated fantasy adventure set in a magical world divided by fear. As two dueling civilizations prepare to unleash the dogs of war, it's up to one troubled adolescent and his unlikely friends to save their world from unspeakable destruction. Chris Kattan, Malcolm McDowell, Michael Clarke Duncan, Eric Idle, Burt Reynolds, Kelly Ripa, and Sally Kellerman co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Play Trailer

Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 29 min.
Directed By: Marc F. Adler, Jason Maurer
Written By: Scott Biear, Patrick Cowan, Carl Dream, Jennifer A. Jones, Jason Maurer
Genres: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Animation

In Theaters: Dec 12, 2008 Wide
On DVD: Aug 4, 2009
Studio: Freestyle Releasing

Critic Reviews

Jane Horwitz, Washington Post
Although the film may be too violent for kids younger than 10 and too storybook for teens, it is a tale of mythic pretensions and can be quite stunning.
Claudia Puig, USA Today
The story is tedious, noisy and banal. It is also rather dark and convoluted for children, though it does have the familiar bombast of a video game.
Susan Walker, Toronto Star
This flick is like 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.
Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger
There isn't enough action for older children, or silly humor for younger ones; even at an hour-and-a-half, the film feels padded, and it's going to feel even slower to audiences amped up on blood-red Icees and molar-cracking Nonpareils.
Kyle Smith, New York Post
A few magic rocks and tepid battle scenes do little to inspire interest in the goings-on as Malcolm McDowell and Eric Idle spout villainy and punch lines, respectively.
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe
Delgo demonstrates how hard it is to create a memorable, credible-looking piece of animated entertainment.
Kevin Carr, 7M Pictures
The problems with Delgo aren't isolated, and that's what makes things bad. The problems filter through every aspect of the movie.
Mike Scott, Times-Picayune
A dull retread. ... Not even the film's easily enchanted target audience -- that is, children -- are likely to stay under the spell for long.
David Cornelius, DVDTalk.com
How do you go ten years and not notice how lousy your script is?
Avi Offer, NYC Movie Guru
An unimaginative plot with dull characters that aren't as endearing or memorable as they could have been.
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com
Sleep-inducing and yet excessively violent, "Delgo" is a highly directive and bloated piece of animated sci-fi set in a fantastical world that never captures the imagination.
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
The crude, not-so-state-of-the-art animation and artwork all too clearly show the film's 2001 start date.
Matt Brunson, Creative Loafing
As hard on the eyes as it is on the brain.
Sean Means, Salt Lake Tribune
Just try figuring out the audience for the movie, because the violence is too much for kids under 8, while anyone over 8 will be turned off by the idiotic humor.
Austin Kennedy, Sin Magazine
Even though some of the action is fun and the world is imaginative, it loses points for having a horrible comic relief character that derails the fun.
Linda Cook, Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)
I'm not saying it's a Christmas miracle. What I am saying is that the new animated movie 'Delgo' and 'The Bells of St. Mary's' have something in common.
Kevin Carr, 7M Pictures
If the cast is too large or filled with name actors (often many of which are heading down the has-been road), the film is going to suck.
Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media
Shoddily animated adventure is too violent for young kids.
Pete Hammond, Boxoffice Magazine
Indifferently produced with on-the-cheap CGI animation, Delgo has gathered a B-name voice cast that competently moves the story along but doesn't distinguish it in any way.

Read all 19 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Luke B

Well, I couldn't not watch the greatest box-office flop of all time. Ever heard of Delgo? Probably not, it came, it went and that was all. Delgo tells the story of two waring races and how tensions rise when the Princess of one side goes missing. It's a typical fantasy plot.… More
Well, I couldn't not watch the greatest box-office flop of all time. Ever heard of Delgo? Probably not, it came, it went and that was all. Delgo tells the story of two waring races and how tensions rise when the Princess of one side goes missing. It's a typical fantasy plot. The animation is nowhere near the quality you'd expect from 6-8 years of work on this. However, the designs are rather impressive in places, and a beautiful and original world, that we could vanish into could have been created. It's not as terrible as you might expect. The tension between the two tribes is fairly well built on and the adult themes of immigration and societies view of it, are quite well handled, for a kids film. Kilmer's aggressive, gambling, but ultimately good character, also gives some sense that the adults were being catered for at one stage. This film is garnering more attention now, due to the similarities it shares with the Avatar trailer, but something tells me that isn't going to fail as spectacularly.
Panta O

I really wanted to see this one... but disappointment was huge after doing it! I think that this story and the way it was set up is more for comics than for a film. Freddie Prinze Jr., Jennifer Love Hewitt, Anne Bancroft, and Val Kilmer all lend their voices to this animated… More
I really wanted to see this one... but disappointment was huge after doing it! I think that this story and the way it was set up is more for comics than for a film. Freddie Prinze Jr., Jennifer Love Hewitt, Anne Bancroft, and Val Kilmer all lend their voices to this animated fantasy adventure set in a magical world divided by fear. The story about two duelling civilizations prepare to unleash the dogs of war could not keep me interested for a long time the way it was told... especially when it's up to one troubled adolescent and his unlikely friends to save their world from unspeakable destruction. It wasn't too bad as an idea , there was a lot of effort put in it, but the result was miserable... I am sorry to say, but my recommendation is to skip this one!
Marion R

Proof that the more writers a film has the bigger piece of Delgo it is.
Chad R

Decent flick that attempts to return to the formula of 80's cartoons: Tell a decent story, remove as much actual death as possible, and have some sort of moral lesson. As to moral lessons, this follows and even mixes many old formulas: Peasant plus princess, downtown plus… More
Decent flick that attempts to return to the formula of 80's cartoons: Tell a decent story, remove as much actual death as possible, and have some sort of moral lesson. As to moral lessons, this follows and even mixes many old formulas: Peasant plus princess, downtown plus uptown, breaking of racial barriers, racial tension, Democracy vs Monarchy, Buddism, Christianity, treachery, misunderstandings, war...all that rolls together to come to a nice little happy ending which the kids will enjoy.