Igor (2008)

Absolutely Fantastic

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

Animated fable about a cliché hunchbacked evil scientist's assistant (John Cusack) who aspires to become a scientist himself, much to the displeasure of the rest of the evil science community."Igor" is the first animated feature film produced by Exodus Film Group and the French CGI animation studio, Sparx*. Work was split between the studio's Paris and Vietnam facilities, and despite a large array of celebrity voices, the film ended up becoming rather obscure. While not a smashing success, the film did earn a small profit. (This would also likely be the last film from Sparx*, as they were acquired by Virtuos shortly after.) Rotten Tomatoes writes, "With an animation style that apes Tim Burton, and a slew of cultural references that aren't clear enough to reach the crowds, Igor's patched together antics make it hard to see who the film is trying to please." This sums it up very nicely. The animation is clearly Burton-inspired (the king looks an awful lot like Halloween's mayor), and much of it was hit and miss. Fun, yes, but never a home run. Trying to pinpoint where it went wrong is difficult, though... something just feels off.

The land of Malaria was once a sunny happy place, but then the sunny days ended. The economy collapsed and the king decided on a new economy of evil inventions. Igor (John Cusack) wants to be more than the stereotypical assistant to his worthless master Dr. Glickenstein (John Cleese). He wants to create his own evil inventions.The animation is bright despite the fact that the sun never shines. It's very cartoonish while trying to create some smarter material. The problem I had is that I didn't love the characters. I get the sarcastic spin on the traditional fantasy. It doesn't make them lovable. John Cusack just doesn't have the voice. It doesn't match the cartoon. While I understand that they intentionally created an opposite Igor, it's just hard to see Cusack in that role.

There will be some who love Igor, and some who don't. I liked it, I have seen better animated films, but I have seen worse as well. The plot, despite a very intriguing concept, is rather formulaic and the film drags at times, but a lot compensates for any misgivings. There may be some who'd think Igor is too dark, I can understand, but I happened to like the dark tone the film sometimes had, it reminded me a little bit of the Gothic charm you'd find in a Tim Burton film. The animation is absolutely great, very bold and colourful while keeping to Igor's overall atmosphere, and the characters are quirky with an endearing protagonist and Scamper is very funny and devious. I also liked the ghoulish jokes and gags, and the film is smartly written generally. The vocal cast I can't fault either, John Cusack and John Cleese are both very likable, Molly Shannon like her character is very sweet-natured and Jennifer Coolidge's Heidi is hilarious, but Steve Buscemi as Scamper steals the show. Overall, a good film, not a great one but I don't consider it bad either. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Like a lot of computer animated movies these days, Igor is long on inventive visuals but short on good scripting. We have the formula as usual: misunderstood protagonist, his cute comedic sidekicks, the duplicitous villain and the complicated love interest. Something is missing though: a small ingredient called charm. And wit, if you really want to be thorough. Aside from a few amusing lines from the ever-sarcastic Steve Buscemi, and a indescribable finale where a female Frankenstein creates mayhem while dancing to the hits from 'Annie', there's precious little for anyone over the age of puberty to get their teeth into. The horror film-inspired art design is well done, but it still pales in comparison to the 16 year old stop motion The Nightmare Before Christmas.Which is the main problem.. there's nothing new here which hasn't already been done (and mostly better) in movies of a similar ilk. A decade ago, CGI films were still a novelty. Nowadays, like their 2D counterparts back in the 80's, the market is utterly clogged with them, and the love seems to have gone out of the production. Result: we get forgettable, identikit films like this, which are only good as a flickering babysitter why mummy and daddy are spending their benefits down the pub. I've probably said something similar in another review, but the days of Toy Story and Shrek seem a LLOONNGG time away.. 5/10