It’s about time someone spoke for the hunchbacked assistants of the world — surely the mad scientists have had more than their share of the spotlight. “Igor” might rectify this imbalance.
This animated feature creates a community devoted to inventing the most evil contraptions imaginable — thus a good locale for mad scientists. There’s a whole school producing Igors, who study to get their “Yes, Master” degree and learn how to lisp in deference.
The Igor at the center of our story (voiced by John Cusack) is the servant of Dr. Glickenstein (John Cleese), a second-rate scientist who always loses the annual Evil Science Fair to Dr. Schadenfreude (Eddie Izzard).
Could this be the year Igor’s own inventions — far more ingenious than his master’s — finally gain attention at the Fair?
Well, of course. Unless the nasty Dr. Schadenfreude has his way.
With most animated films, there’s always the question of whether there will be enough grown-up jokes to keep the parents in the audience interested. With “Igor,” the situation is reversed. Most of the funny gags are for grown-ups, and many will fly over the kiddies’ heads.
However, there is satisfying slapstick provided by Igor’s creations: an unkillable rodent named Scamper (Steve Buscemi) and a floating brain named Brain (Sean Hayes).
The PG rating is explained by the gloomy atmosphere and the freakier characters, who include a stitched-together giant assembled by Igor. I can imagine this movie giving young kids nightmares, as silly as the tone generally is.
Director Anthony Leondis and his crew keep it all bopping along; the one-liners come fast, but the film doesn’t fall victim to the “Shrek” habit of relying on pop-culture references.
The voice casting is truly fun. Izzard and Cleese know how to do this kind of thing, and Jennifer Coolidge floats her way through a few different voices. Somebody was paying attention here.
The animation isn’t at the Pixar level, and looks highly influenced by Tim Burton’s design sense in “Nightmare Before Christmas” and “The Corpse Bride.” Burton isn’t involved in this film, but those pointy chins and big eyeballs are unmistakable.
The difference is, Burton would have found some way to make this memorable. “Igor” is amusing, but it lacks the final touch that would put it over the hump.
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