Delgo (2008)

After seven years and $40 million in development, Delgo averaged two viewers per session in its opening weekend.

So not so good.

It would go on to recoup less than 2% of its costs, becoming one of the biggest flops of 2008. There are probably three keys reasons for this. First is the animation, which is simply not up to scratch. To be honest, it wouldn't even have been up to scratch in the year development commenced, let alone in the same year as WALL-E hit the screens. Second is the script, which is not terribly good. The basic plot's alright I guess ... not innovative in any way, you understand, but not awful. The details very much let it down, however. The 'funny' parts never even raise a smile, while the 'exciting' parts aren't. In the latter case, that's partially due to the animation, which is too stiff and ungainly to convincingly depict a fight scene.

The third reason the film failed isn't really anything to do with how good it is, but the fact that it was made outside the studio system, and had a small marketing budget. Films made on that basis can be successful, but it's rare, especially on the back of such a large budget.

So, plot: there's an evil wannabe Queen and she tries to engineer a war between the two 'good' races so that she and her totally-not-orcs can swoop in and take over. Brash orphan from good race #1 and tender-hearted princess from good race #2 have to stop her.

I did say it wasn't innovative.

It's really not hard to see why this one sank at the box office. You can safely skip it.