Nowadays it really takes something special to stand out in the crowd of family-friendly CG movies, so unless you’re working for Pixar or one of the few established non-Pixar franchises, you’re fighting an uphill battle. Which is why you’ve gotta admire Atlanta-based animation house Fathom Studios for managing to get their first independent feature Delgo on its way to the big screen. But will they actually have what it takes to draw in audiences? Well, the jury’s still out on that.

It’s not that the trailer for Delgo isn’t impressive from a technical standpoint. It’s just that CG films need to be more than simply pretty nowadays, and this looks a little bit generic. The good news is, it’s not another talking animal movie, but rather a fantasy film set in a world where the land-dwelling Lockni people are at war with the winged Nohrin. It’s a coming of age story / hero’s journey, and they cite The Dark Crystal as a major influence. The star-studded cast is quite impressive, with Val Kilmer, Freddie Prinze Jr., Jennifer Love Hewitt, Chris Kattan, Michael Clarke Duncan, Kelly Ripa, Malcolm McDowell and yes, even Burt Reynolds contributing voices. Check out the trailer below and see what you think. Delgo hits theatres on December 12th.