Igor

Let's clear something out of the way right now : Igor is an animation movie, but mainly not for children. Kids will not understand most of the jokes as the topic for most of them are intended for an older audience. There is, however, a visual comedy that will apply to younger viewers, but overall I think this movie targeted teenagers and adults.

People will like Igor based on what they expect from the movie. If they expect it to be like Wall-E and other Pixar movies, you probably will be disappointed. Igor has it's good sides and bad sides. The visual side was breathtaking, the setting is beautiful, with unorthodox character design. However in some cases, like the king of malaria, it seemed like a copy of Nightmare Before Christmas' mayor, and that was disappointing. The story is not too bad, but not the best. It lacked a bit of depth at some times, but it is still amusing and entertaining.

Overall Igor is a good animation movie. It's not the best, definitely not the worst. It's definitely worth seeing for animation fans, people who like Tim Burton's work (as the design in the movie is similar to his style), and anyone who wants to enjoy a light story with a happy ending.

What I found in Igor was nothing more than pure fun and entertainment. I was delighted every second while viewing it by how interesting and enjoyable it actually ended up being. Though the movie itself isn't the best movie of all time, it tries as hard as possible to be memorable, and even though it was a bit bland and mediocre around the edges, the movie doesn't fail at just having a good time. The character of Igor for me was absolutely unable to hate, and all the other characters are so intriguing as well that they make the film unable to look away from. While this movie did get boring at times, it is just so cute and it has a lot of humorous and sweet scenes. It still of course isn't a masterpiece, but it's a film that anybody in the right mood could have a decent time with and I recommend it if you can appreciate if for what it is.

King Malbert (Jay Leno) rules the world of mad scientists with flashy clothes and dark storm clouds. As such, the mad scientists all clamor for the honor of winning the royally-sponsored "Science Fair". Each scientist has their own right arm, an Igor, with optional Lorre-esquire manner. When one scientist's efforts leave nothing but his actual right arm, however, his Igor (John Cusack) sees a chance at greatness, in activating his own monster. But is he too good to be evil? This one's a sleeper in every sense, which is kind of a good thing. Although it's a grand year for animation, with ambitious offerings from many studios, sometimes you look for something a little simpler. Igor excels at that. There are just a few things that keep it out of the "great" category, so let's point those out first. Technically, there are a few instances when the lip-sync is off, probably due to shuttling, as noted below. A noticeable number of the jokes (and a couple of songs) have the feel of being recycled from other animated films, which is never good. This being an animated comedy, that naturally hampers the story a bit. Although pop culture references (a recurring complaint on various message boards) are kept to a bare minimum, the ones used...well, grate on the nerves a bit.

The good parts: the film is beautiful to look at, in a "Tim Burton" fashion. The tight animation is well-serviced in digital; a feat in itself, since the credits reveal that this thing was literally made around the world. Visuals of the environment are consistently stunning. The stylized design does help to endear you to the characters, who themselves are a parade of great ideas, with voice talent that shows some thought. Examples include Igor's pals: the surly Scamper (Steve Buscemi), a reanimated roadkill rabbit, with the tire track to prove it, and Brian (Sean Hayes), a disembodied brain in a machine, named by way of dyslexia. There's also invisible talk show host Carl Cristall (voiced most appropriately by Arsenio Hall) and the villain's girlfriend, a shallow, multi-personality fashion plate called Jaclyn Heidi (well-voiced by Jennifer Coolidge). Even the James Lipton cameo is oddly appropriate.

So, in short, what works really works, and what doesn't really doesn't. It will likely be a welcome dollar peep once Halloween is closer.

It's a shame that this little film did not receive the deserved acclaim. Anthony Leondis's 'Igor' may not tell a story that is completely original but it's a nice and fun adaptation of Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein'. It has all the ingredients of an amusing adventurous animation film. The atmosphere and colour created by the vivacious animation draws the viewer and the colourful characters keep one involved. The actors that include Steve Buscemi, John Cusack, Molly Shannon, Sean Hayes, John Cleese and Jennifer Coolidge, behind the voices of the characters do a remarkable job. Coolidge is particularly hilarious with her weirdly funny accent as Heidi. Writer Chris McKenna does a very good job in adapting the story and making it lighter in order for it to appeal to children as well. However, I must add that the film is targeted at the young adult audience than children because many of the jokes are for 'grown-ups'. That does not mean that children will have less fun. Even though McKenna has made some big changes from the original, the heart of the story pretty remains the same even though this one ends on a more positive note with a different message. However, perhaps as a result, the story sometimes lacked in depth and a few little things remained unexplored. Yet, this flaw is very minor and doesn't ruin 'Igor' from being wholesome family entertainment.

As a fan of CG animation and cheesy horror, I was really looking forward to this one. It wasn't as good as I had hoped, and not nearly as good as it *could* have been, given the talent. But the premise was nicely original, and the actors put in some good performances. Steve Buscemi steals almost every scene he's in, and Eddie Izzard was really good. Jennifer Coolidge was another standout, as was Sean Hayes. I think Cusack made a very funny character, certainly more fun to watch than the Disney lead in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The animation style is very reminiscent of The Nightmare Before Christmas and The Corpse Bride. Overall, I really enjoyed it. It was a nice break from the steady diet of comic book films and action films I've had this summer.