The 7 Eeriest Parallels Between Avatar and Delgo
For better or worse, I consider myself something of a Delgo connoisseur -- a fascinated observer and loyal fan of perhaps the most misconceived animated film and biggest box-office debacle in the history of movies. But maybe Delgo's creators were on to something when they undertook their story of two races battling it out for the soul of a planet, with some wicked fantasy adventure and a tender love story tossed in for good measure. After all, James Cameron seems to have been influenced by some oddly similar visuals and themes you'll find threaded throughout his new trailer for Avatar.
Or was he? Can two films on opposite ends of the Hollywood spectrum actually be kindred spirits of creativity -- and/or too close for comfort? See some of the uncanniest parallels after the jump, and judge for yourself.
· First of all, both films have heroic male leads who sprint through woodsy shadows in foreign lands:
· Both films feature tough but emotional female leads:
· Both films feature those female leads (among others) flying on the backs of winged reptilian beasts:
· Both films feature aircraft zooming through fields of massive floating rocks:
· Both films feature big, scary, fanged monsters of various types threatening their heroes:
· Both films feature alien warriors uncorking their fiercest battle cries:
· And both films feature all of the above as individual hurdles in the undying quest for love.
Oh, and both films harbored ambition and vision that required the better part of a decade to produce. Coincidence?
· Delgo Trailer [Apple]
· Avatar Trailer [Apple]
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Comments
Ha! Here are a few more comparison images for you: http://img.denihilation.com/delgovatar.html
Denihilation FTW! Awesome, awesome, awesome.
The smell of turkey is just getting stronger.
It's reminding me of Thanksgiving.
You just described every RPG I have ever played.
Stu, I love your Delgo obsession. When I included it in my own Avatar list today, I wasn't sure it really fit. But you nailed it with this thing.
Actually Delgo's probably a rip-off of Avatar...James Cameron wrote the original scriptment for Avatar in 1995, and it's been circulating the internet for years. In any case, Avatar is definitely *not* the rip-off here.
Hey, you need to check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-hRhGxqxpQ
Proof if proof was needed.
I'm Team Delgo, sorry.
I don't think you're catching the reason for the indignity here. Cameron had $300 million and unlimited resources after making arguably the biggest movie of all time, and his long-awaited follow up (more than a decade in the making) looks disturbingly like a Freddie Prinze Jr. animation vehicle that made $600k at the box office.
Yea, and um, like, that guy William - he ripped off both these guys when he penned Romeo & Juliet.
Funny, you called it parallels between two movies, when in truth, you just pointed out every single required plot line for every sci-fi/fantasy story out there. Check Terry Brooks and the Shannara series, Raymond Feist's Magician series. (although his strong leading lady didn't ride a dragon, she could transport herself. The main characters childhood friend rode the dragon.) Speaking of dragons, ever read the Dragons/Dragonriders of Pern series, by Anne MacCaffrey? Piers Anthony? Please educate yourself and do more study on the genre, before you start pointing fingers accusing someone of stealing a plot line. There is no plot line to steal. It's what every story in that category has to have to be successful. Whether it passes muster on screen is another thing. You'd have to look really far back in the history of science fiction/fantasy writing, to the very first story, to find out who started it (Jules Verne probably) and everyone else stole from him.
Nice, STV, nice.
OMG, Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons is a commenter on Movieline!
True true areaderofthegenre
Those tropes are quite common in that genre
HOWEVER,
Look at the panel by panel comparison posted aptly by denihilation
http://img.denihilation.com/delgovatar.html
Looks like a rip off to me.
Lamar Jackson,
And I have no doubt, if the author of this article, took the time, to look up other films of the genre, and noticed the films frame by frame, he would find the same angle/shot to compare panels to in "Star Wars" and "Lord of the Rings". Those are typical and more common if you looked.
Every huggy lovey scene has the two holding/looking at each other. There is, I know, the same poses, between Anakin and Padame. In the "Lord of the Rings" it's Aragorn and the elf princess, they too are in arm holds. My point is, the author of this article is trying to point similarities, in an effort to question authenticity and did someone steal someone's idea, when in truth, all his points are based on generalities, not specifics.
If the characters shared similar names, if their names started with the same letter, if they shared the same powers or vulnerabilties, I could see his point. But EVERY fantasy movie with an alien, has a frame just like the two posted, so you shouldn't compare them against one another, to say they are the same and ideas stolem. Pointy eared blue tatooed people have been sneaking through the woods trying to save the world for eons.
Creepy spider looking things a hundred times larger than life, again, look at Tolkien. Looks alot like the thing that got Frodo. I bet there's a shot matching thhose two, from the Ring movies.
The only panel I don't think looks typical for a movie is the first panel, of the dragonrider. That, indeed, actually looks like a cover of one Anne McCaffey's books.
I think the panel by panel comparison needs to be based on the twists of each story, i.e. show me each using his powers, not creeping through the woods...EVERYONE creeps through the woods, of course you have to show that, and how many angles can you really shoot/draw that to make it look different? To convince me of his point, he should focus on something other than what we have seen, in what is obviously in everyone else's body of work, not just these two.
Don't know if that makes sense. I still don't see a "rip off".
areaderofthegenre,
I understand your side completely. But to take this awefully simply. You've missed the point of the article.
It's not to be so anal and nitpick every frame. Or to draw conclusions based on shot by shot comparisons of nearly every fantasy story in history.
The point of the article is to simply get people to read it.
Which clearly you, me and everyone commenting has.
S. T. Vanairsdale has clearly done the job right.
As a fan of Delgo, I must say, even IF Avatar is a total "ripoff" of Delgo, and I mean straight through to the story following almost the exact same arc ...
I don't care. I liked Delgo, I thought it really had some interesting things to offer. It wasn't stupendous and the animation was a bit lacking, but still very good.
Why don't I care though?
Because Avatar LOOKS AMAZING! If it is a "ripoff", let's just call it the worlds best REMAKE EVER!
Yeah... but... this is in 3-D!!
Wow. This thing has turned into a town hall meeting.
...And the movie hasn't even been released yet. Yikes.
Ha! I guess they finally made an Elfquest movie -- twice!
avatar has been an idea of james camerons for years so it cant be a rip off. also their is another movie called battle for terra which has a very similar plot (humans attempt to take over alien world, aliens fight back). also your "eerie" comparisons could be taken from many other films, and the one about a flying machine in floating rocks is just being petty. Avatar is a very original idea and the special fx will blow your mind. go see it.
Avatar Baby
As long as the story is engaging, the movie will be worth watching. With a name like "Avatar Baby", it's clear what side your on. Yet don't be so foolish as to think it is an original idea, as no Hollywood production will ever be an original idea ever again. Something you make very clear in your own post. For something to be "original", there cannot be anything remotely similar before it.
As stated, the point of the article, is to get people to read it. Which clearly the author has done a fabulous job doing.
In any case, if your watching any movie for the FX alone, than the story being "original", isn't going to matter much of anything. This movie will sink or swim based on if the story can keep the audience from being bored to tears. Period.
i think it is probably all genre coincidence, i certainly wouldn't say Cameron ripped off Delgo, but it's still cool and amusing to look at! thanks for the article!
Yeah, it's sort of lame to point out archetypes or stereotypical movie scenes as "movie X is copying movie Y!" You could probably do this comparison for almost any two movies in the same genre, finding shots or scenes that are very similar between the two.
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