Animating a success story
'Delgo' is the 'toon that could
By Nick Nunziata
CNN Headline News
(CNN) -- In Atlanta's trendy Buckhead district, amidst the pubs, boutiques and fashionable eateries, lurks a company building an animated feature that just might get Hollywood to sit up and take notice -- figuratively, of course.
After all, Hollywood's not some gigantic six-eyed serpent born of radioactive waste that's able to physically sit up and notice anything. Scratch that. That's exactly what Hollywood is.
The company is Fathom Studios and the film is "Delgo," a feature described by producer Marc Adler as "an animated fantasy adventure set in a magical world with action, humor and romance. It combines the epic visual style of 'Lord of the Rings' with the original comedy of 'Shrek.'"
Note to prospective filmmakers: It doesn't hurt to compare your story to ones that have pocketed a few billion box office and home video greenbacks.
The sad and unfortunate dying gasps of American 2-D animation have created an insatiable demand for cartoons driven by binary code. In the wake of the Pixar/Disney split, a film like "Delgo" has incredible potential.
"The Pixar/Disney relationship is one of those marriages you hate to see end in divorce," Adler comments. "Pixar's creative team and Disney's marketing/distribution are both the best at what they do and that's why they've been so successful together. Their success has opened doors for studios like Fathom and we'll likely see other studios replicating their model in the future."
While it's unlikely that anyone can belly up to Pixar in the name recognition and creativity game (yet), it's companies built of passion and autonomy, like Fathom, that have the best chance of becoming the next name brand. Of course, the risks are incredible.
"The only way we could get the film made was to fund it independently," says Adler. "Although Fathom has been in the animation business for over a decade, we had never produced our own feature. It was only after we started getting media attention and a following through www.Delgo.com that studios took notice of us. Of course, we have enjoyed the autonomy of producing the film as we envisioned it without outside influences."
The fact a film this epic and ambitious can be made in Georgia and still compete is an eye-opener.
That "Delgo" is packed to the gills with a top-grade voice cast takes the whole package to the next level for Adler and his crew.
"In many cases, like with Chris Kattan, their improvisations were so good we changed lines and even scenes," the producer says. "With actors like Freddie Prinze Jr., Jennifer Love Hewitt, Michael Clarke Duncan and Kelly Ripa, you can't help but be moved by their performances. We've read these lines on paper hundreds of times, but their delivery of the lines always got the laughs or tears out of us. They've taken the film far beyond our initial expectations."
Those tears might be tears of joy when the underdog "Delgo" finally hits theaters, because while Hollywood can sometimes take a beastly shape, it's always looking for that next big thing.
