In
Igor, an animated comedy featuring the voices of
John Cusack, Steve Buscemi, Sean Hayes and Molly Shannon, the creepy hunchback sidekick of a mad scientist is actually the brains of the operation. A smartly written, fast-paced, snappy comedy,
Igor turns the classic Frankenstein tale on its pieced-together, misshapen head, while at the same time imparting a couple of important though obvious lessons on its audience.
It's likely much of the dialogue in
Igor will fly well over the heads of kids, as the majority of the jokes are intended for adult audiences -– not that they're off-color.
Igor's PG rating is appropriate. It doesn't even nudge PG-13 territory. While there are some silly jokes for the younger audience members, most of the humor in
Igor is too clever for kids to pick up on.
The Story
Igors exist only to serve mad scientists; it's just a fact of life. If you're born with a hunchback, you are automatically subservient to some sort of crazy professor/scientist dude. But one Igor (voiced by Cusack) has bigger plans than simply obeying his dim-witted boss every time he orders a switch to be thrown. This Igor's an inventor just waiting for an opportunity to step into the limelight.
Said opportunity presents itself when his boss is killed by one of his own experiments. Finally Igor and the creatures he's created -– the low-wattage Brain (Hayes) who's not nearly as intelligent as he believes himself to be (he misspelled his own name, scrawling Brian across his cranium in permanent marker) and Scamper (Buscemi), an indestructible rabbit with a death wish -– have their chance to compete in the annual Evil Science Fair. And Igor knows exactly what will earn him first place. He's been slaving over the design of a gigantic evil woman and believes it'll be just the ticket to win first place.
John Cusack's character, Igor.
© MGM
So, he pieces her together, zaps the creature with electricity, and voila! she rises. But her evil bone is dysfunctional and everything that could go wrong, goes wrong. She's not evil -– she's Eva (Shannon), a prissy giant who loves blind orphans, flowers, and ultimately decides she's a dainty actress headed for Broadway. That sort of attitude isn't going to win an evil tournament, and as Igor stresses out over how to win he, of course, learns a massive amount of important life lessons.
The Bottom Line
George Lucas ventured outside the standard CGI animation look with Star Wars: The Clone Wars with disastrous results. But director Tony Leondis did things right when he opted for a Tim Burton-ish twist with Igor. The animation's gorgeous and the fact it stands out from the pack certainly works well for this horror/comedy.
The voice cast, led by Cusack, all sound as though they're totally committed to the world of mad scientists and Igors and weird creatures. Cusack pours it on as a thoroughly decent guy stuck in a world where everything must be evil. Voicing the gigantic Eva, Shannon brings a mix of sweetness and diva-ish attitude to a creature with looks only a mother could love. Buscemi and Hayes really made out in that their characters, Brain and Scamper, deliver the best lines and have the most energy onscreen. They're so entertaining they deserve their own spin-off.
Igor (Cusack) and Eva (Shannon) in 'Igor.'
© MGM
In the country of Malaria (love that name) where these creatures dwell, it's all about being evil. But despite what sounds like a dark and scary tone,
Igor's actually a light-hearted comedy that's surprisingly sweet.
Igor's an unexpectedly touching, enjoyable romp through a world of bizarre and creepy creatures, and definitely more original than a lot of the animated fare distributed by major studios.
GRADE: B
Igor was directed by Tony Leondis and is rated PG for some thematic elements, scary images, action and mild language.
Theatrical Release Date: September 19, 2008
