Igor (C- or 1.5/4 stars)
In a world filled by mad scientists, evil inventions, and hunchbacks ... 'Igor', an animated film directed by Anthony Leondis, tells the story of an intelligent mad scientist's hunch-backed lab assistant who hopes to one day become a lab scientist himself. The goal: to win 1st prize at the annual Evil Science Fair. Igor's goal hits a snag when his Frankenstein-like creation turns out to be an anti-evil being (geared more towards singing show tunes than wreaking havoc upon the world). Of course, the film is sprinkled with more lively characters and inane subplots than one can shake a stick at. Some things work. But overall, the movie is a mess.
The kingdom of Malaria is a land of permanently inclement weather. It is populated by evil geniuses who all have dumb-ish hunchbacks ("Igors") on hand. But our protagonist Igor (voiced well by John Cusack) is different than the norm because he's actually quite smart. Igor has 2 oddball friends: Scamper, a perpetually suicidal rabbit (Steve Buscemi). And Brain, a robot with a real brain planted inside (Sean Hayes, Will & Grace). After Igor's nasty boss, Dr. Glickenstein (John Cleese) is accidentally killed, he & his eclectic friends use this rare opportunity to create their own monster named Eva (Molly Shannon).
She comes alive (using human tissue, eww), and things are looking swell. But much to Igor's dismay, Eva turns out to be a huge, but sensitive, sweet monster who dreams of becoming an actress (after watching some commercials on TV). The rest of the story revolves around Igor & Eva's relationship, attempts to make her evil, her singing 'Tomorrow' from Annie, Scamper's continual attempts to rid himself of the world, and evil plots made by Dr. Schadenfreude & Heidi (Eddie Izzard, Jennifer Coolidge) to uncover the truth behind Igor, thus disqualifying him from the big Evil Science Fair (real inventive name, huh?). There's also a subplot involving King Malbert (Jay Leno) & his rule over the inclement land. Is there a tangible reason why it's always dark, gloomy, and evil in Malaria?
The best parts of the film are its premise, its animation (though, not great) and the voice-over work by a who's who of comedians. At best, 'Igor' is a loony, colorful, mildly clever kids film that 'tries' to re-invent the classic monster story, Frankenstein. But everything else misfires. The jokes work only occasionally (and most of them will go right over kids heads). Some of the dialogue/screenplay is downright scary for children, as well (being evil is better than being nice, the killing of blind orphans, discussions of suicide, axe-ing people to death, etc.). I also hated the high-pitched, whiz-bang, zany, manic-like delivery of almost every line being uttered. 'Igor' is hectic, often annoying & plenty boring. 'Hyperactivity' does not equate to it being interesting. Monster hit at the box office? Nope.
The kingdom of Malaria is a land of permanently inclement weather. It is populated by evil geniuses who all have dumb-ish hunchbacks ("Igors") on hand. But our protagonist Igor (voiced well by John Cusack) is different than the norm because he's actually quite smart. Igor has 2 oddball friends: Scamper, a perpetually suicidal rabbit (Steve Buscemi). And Brain, a robot with a real brain planted inside (Sean Hayes, Will & Grace). After Igor's nasty boss, Dr. Glickenstein (John Cleese) is accidentally killed, he & his eclectic friends use this rare opportunity to create their own monster named Eva (Molly Shannon).
She comes alive (using human tissue, eww), and things are looking swell. But much to Igor's dismay, Eva turns out to be a huge, but sensitive, sweet monster who dreams of becoming an actress (after watching some commercials on TV). The rest of the story revolves around Igor & Eva's relationship, attempts to make her evil, her singing 'Tomorrow' from Annie, Scamper's continual attempts to rid himself of the world, and evil plots made by Dr. Schadenfreude & Heidi (Eddie Izzard, Jennifer Coolidge) to uncover the truth behind Igor, thus disqualifying him from the big Evil Science Fair (real inventive name, huh?). There's also a subplot involving King Malbert (Jay Leno) & his rule over the inclement land. Is there a tangible reason why it's always dark, gloomy, and evil in Malaria?
The best parts of the film are its premise, its animation (though, not great) and the voice-over work by a who's who of comedians. At best, 'Igor' is a loony, colorful, mildly clever kids film that 'tries' to re-invent the classic monster story, Frankenstein. But everything else misfires. The jokes work only occasionally (and most of them will go right over kids heads). Some of the dialogue/screenplay is downright scary for children, as well (being evil is better than being nice, the killing of blind orphans, discussions of suicide, axe-ing people to death, etc.). I also hated the high-pitched, whiz-bang, zany, manic-like delivery of almost every line being uttered. 'Igor' is hectic, often annoying & plenty boring. 'Hyperactivity' does not equate to it being interesting. Monster hit at the box office? Nope.