Igor

As I was watching Igor, I found myself pleasantly surprised on different levels. First, I admired the film's look, which seems inspired by Tim Burton's animated style in Nightmare Before Christmas and The Corpse Bride. Then, I admired the film's dry and surprisingly macabre humor, which is appropriate for its horror theme. Finally, I found myself surprised by how attached I had gotten to the characters by the end, and how I eventually ended up caring about them. This is a wonderful little surprise of a movie that hopefully will find an audience, despite the studio's infinite "wisdom" of releasing a Halloween movie for kids in mid-September.

The film's imaginative premise is set in the far off land of Malaria, where all the diabolical mad scientists in the world live and make their plans for global domination. Malaria is full of dark castles, constant dark and threatening skies, and pretty much looks like every classic horror image rolled into one landscape. I liked the subtle (and not so subtle) references to classic horror that the animators threw in, and I also liked the idea of Malaria's ruler, King Malbert (voice by Jay Leno), holding an annual competition, where the mad scientists pit their most evil creations against each other. The reason for the contest is that Malaria thrives off of threatening and blackmailing all the other neighboring kingdoms into giving them money, or else they'll unleash the winning creation of the contest on the world. We learn early on that the mad scientists of Malaria hold all the power and respect, while the lowly hunchback servants (who are all named Igor) act as errand boys. One little Igor (voice by John Cusack) has a secret desire to change all that. He's tired of being the lackey to the obviously incompetent Dr. Glickenstein (John Cleese), and has some secret creation plans of his own that he keeps hidden from his master.

Glickenstein is removed from the picture early on when he is killed in a lab accident after not listening to his Igor's advice. With the doctor out of the way, Igor can now work on his dream monster, and enter it in the competition, winning respect for Igors everywhere. He already has some experience with creating life. His two closest companions and sidekicks are a couple of his past secret creations - A roadkill rabbit named Scamper (Steve Buscemi), who has been reanimated and blessed with eternal life, even though he doesn't want it and is constantly seeking ways to end it, and a robot with a human brain named Brain (Sean Hayes). With the help of his two friends, Igor builds his female monster, but it doesn't turn out the way he expects. The creature, named Eva (Molly Shannon), is a gentle and kind soul who is more interested in being an actress and singing showtunes than in wreaking havoc on villagers. As Igor tries to train his monster in time for the competition, the kingdom's most famous mad scientist, the wonderfully named Dr. Schadenfreude (Eddie Izzard), learns about the monster's existence, and tries to steal it so he can enter it in the contest himself.

What impressed me the most about the film was the amount of intelligence in the screenplay by Chris McKenna (TV's American Dad). Igor strikes that perfect balance between not talking down to kids, while not insulting the intelligence of any adults in the audience. This is one of those movies where adults may find themselves laughing at it more than the kids, thanks to clever references to horror cliches and classic films like A Clockwork Orange. The film's sense of humor is refreshingly offbeat, and sometimes even dark. I liked the scene where Igor is presented with one of those "Hang in there, baby" posters, only instead of a cat hanging from a tree by its claws, it shows a smiling cat hanging from a tree on a noose. And then there's the character of Scamper, who pretty much walks away with the film. He's a rabbit with a dry wit, not to mention a death wish, despite the fact he knows he can't die due to his zombie state. Steve Buscemi brings the right amount of sarcasm to the character, with plenty of witty asides that will most likely fly completely over kids' heads.

Yes, Igor is often very funny, but more than that, the movie has a lot of heart as well. I liked the relationship that Igor strikes up with Eva, and how he slowly begins to learn that he doesn't have to be evil, or follow in the footsteps of anyone else before him. Despite the sometimes twisted humor, the film's heart is constantly in the right place, and this creates some surprisingly effective moments. The voice cast should also be applauded for bringing these characters to life, and for making them so appealing. Despite the big names, this is the rare case where they seem to have been cast based on their talent, rather than just putting another famous name above the title like in some animated films. John Cusack and Molly Shannon bring a lot of warmth to their roles, especially Shannon, who plays the monster as a dainty Broadway starlet stuck in the body of a hulking behemoth. Everyone seems to be having a great time with their characters, and that energy comes through in the movie itself. Other stand outs in the cast include Jennifer Coolidge, who gets some big laughs as Schadenfreude's girlfriend and assistant, and Sean Hayes, who makes a great goofy counterbalance to Buscemi's dry humor.

I was quite surprised by Igor, and by how much I wound up enjoying the film. I don't know how it will go over with kids, as I was the only person at my screening. I have a feeling, though, that accompanying adults will find a lot more to like here than they expect walking in. This is a great little movie with a dark streak that is never too mean, and a sweetness that is never cloying and overbearing. Judging by this film, the team at French animation studio Sparx has a lot of talent, and I hope it carries over to their next production.

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