I have enjoyed animated movies for years and I'm usually willing to give new animated movies a chance. Some of them have been much better than others. I recently had the chance to see Igor, a new animated movie.
Once a year in the land of Malaria there was an evil science fair. The evil scientists would show off their new evil creations. The rest of the world would then have to pay Malaria to make sure that they were not attacked by the creations. King Malbert came up with that idea as a way for the country to make money after the dark clouds moved in. Anyone born with a hunch was destined to become an Igor for an evil scientist. The Igor would be forced to do anything and everything their master wanted. One Igor, who worked for Dr. Glickenstein, was actually fairly intelligent and he dreamed of being an evil scientist. He managed to create Scamper, an immortal rabbit, and Brain, a brain in some kind of robotic device, without his master knowing.
While testing his newest invention, Dr. Glickenstein was killed. Igor decided to keep the death a secret so he could enter his own invention in the science fair. He set to work creating a monster that would destroy things but something went wrong. She ended up being kind and thought that she was an actress named Eva. Igor managed to convince her the upcoming science fair was really an audition. While that was going on, Dr. Schadenfreude was planning how he could win the science fair again and become the new king.
Igor seemed to have been inspired by some horror movies. Characters named Igor have turned up in several horror movies, with those characters usually being lab assistants to someone. Once the main Igor character decided to work on what he considered his greatest invention, some elements were used that had to have been inspired by Frankenstein. Igor was creating a monster just like was done in that movie only to have things not turn out like he wanted. Eva was created by combing many different parts and she wasn't overly attractive, which also fit with the story of Frankenstein. I thought that the movie had an interesting twist on the story.
The plot for Igor really wasn't that complicated even though there was a lot going on. The first few minutes took the time to set up the situation in Malaria and explain how things worked there. The explanation was provided by the main Igor in a voice over while a few short scenes were shown. I don't remember the voice over being used again later in the movie. It really didn't take long before Dr. Glickenstein died and Igor decided to enter his own invention in the science fair. Most of the movie was focused on how he was trying to realize his dream of becoming an evil scientist by convincing Eva to act evil. Some scenes showed how Dr. Schadenfreude was plotting and getting his girlfriend Jaclyn/Heidi to help with his plan. The plot might be a bit too complex for some children, especially younger ones.
Igor did have a darker and somewhat twisted plot, so this isn't something that will appeal to everyone. It really isn't a good choice for young children either. The characters were connected to evil in some way and there was a lot of talk about doing evil or even hurting or killing people. I thought that the darker tone fit in with the plot. The fact that Eva thought she was going to audition for a part in the musical Annie was rather ironic since Igor wanted her to do evil things. There was a bit of violence in a few scenes that while not really graphic might upset some children. The humor did help to lighten the mood at times, but much of it was also a bit dark or twisted in nature as well. Scamper was immortal, but he was suicidal and kept trying to kill himself. Some viewers won't appreciate the humor, but I thought it worked for the movie. There were a few things, usually something that Scamper said, that were funny. The movie was rated PG, so parents should keep that in mind before taking young children to see it.
Igor, like most of the new animated movies, was created with computer animation. The animation wasn't anything spectacular, but it wasn't horrible either. It was basically just fine and served the purpose of telling the story. This was no where near the level of computer animation that Pixar creates. I wasn't expecting that level of excellence in the animation, so I wasn't disappointed. Some viewers might feel differently. The characters, especially King Malbert, had the same type of look that Tim Burton has used in his animated movies.
There were several relationships that were dealt with in Igor. There was a master/slave relationship between all the scientists and the Igors. There was even a bit of abuse included as well with a few things that were shown on how the Igors were treated. Jaclyn was Dr. Schadenfreude's girlfriend. Not a lot of their relationship was shown, but there were some issues in it. Neither of them seemed to really care about the other. She, especially when she was disguised as Heidi, wore outfits that displayed a lot of cleavage, which might concern some parents. There did seem to be a bit of a connection between Igor and Eva as the movie progressed as well that did add a bit of complication to the plot.
Igor dreamed of being an evil scientist and had been inventing in secret while working for Dr. Glickenstein. Igor was willing to go to some extremes to reach his goal of becoming an evil scientist, though he managed to be a likable character overall. I thought that John Cusack did fine with the voice. Scamper and Brain were two of Igor's inventions that didn't turn out exactly right. They, especially Scamper, provided some of the funnier lines. Steve Buscemi and Sean Hayes did good with the voices. John Cleese didn't have much to do for Dr. Glickenstein since he had his accident fairly early in the movie.
Eva was intended to be Igor's evil invention. Something didn't go right in the creation process and his attempt to fix the situation didn't work either. She ended up believing that she was an actress preparing to audition for a part in Annie. She looked like a monster, but was really very kind and sweet. Molly Shannon did fine with the voice for Eva.
Dr. Schadenfreude was the most successful evil scientist. He had been winning the evil science fair for years and was willing to stoop to just about anything to make sure that continued. He had fully embraced being evil. Eddie Izzard did a really good voice for the character. Christian Slater did the voice for Dr. Schadenfreude's Igor in a few short scenes. Jaclyn/Heidi turned up in several scenes without being that developed or having much to do. I thought that Jennifer Coolidge did well with the voice. King Malbert was only around in a few scenes, so not as much was shared about him. Some of the other evil scientists turned up briefly without having much to do.
Main Voice Cast
Steve Buscemi - Scamper John Cleese - Dr. Glickenstein Jennifer Coolidge - Jaclyn/Heidi John Cusack - Igor Sean Hayes - Brain Eddie Izzard - Dr. Schadenfreude Jay Leno - King Malbert Molly Shannon - Eva Christen Slater - Dr. Schadenfreude's Igor
Anthony Leondis - Director
Igor was a darker and somewhat twisted animated movie that won't appeal to everyone. Certain things were predictable, but I still thought it was an entertaining movie. This probably isn't going to appeal to younger children.
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