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BaftaBaby 
"Always entranced by cinema."
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 Posted - 10/12/2008 : 08:53:46
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Igor
Feature-length animations are usually graced with one, maybe two outstanding voice performances and they ususally both belong to Robin Williams. Igor boasts an ensemble cast who add real dimension to the superb cgi characters that drive this very funny tale of the redemptive power of love. Which makes it sound cheesy and honestly, it isn't. Well, maybe a crumb of gorgonzola.
Back to that cast, though. Try these on for size:
John Cusack as the eponymous Igor - for in the land of Malaria there are many Igors, all destined to serve their Masters [or Mathterths - as they must pronounce it], the Evil Scientists. This Igor, however, is cursed with curiosity and intelligence and a burning ambition to become an Evil Scientist himself. Toward this end he is assisted by ...
Steve Buscemi - one of Igor's experiments. He's an existentially morose bunny, brought back to life by Igor and made immortal. Which is handy. And ...
Sean Hayes from Will and Grace, here as a brain in a jar. The jar says Brian, but he's just a brain.
John Cleese is the Evil Scientist Mathter whom Igor serves. Cleese personifies the imperious tyrant as he dismisses any notion that Igor might have a notion, and entrusts to his slave only the vital job of all Igors when their mathterths are ready to launch yet another evil invention: "Pull the switch!" This time it's super-vital because he wants to win the annual Evil Science Fair, coming up any minute. But, despite Igor's warning, something goes wrong and his Mathter is no more, gone to join the Evil choir invisible. He is an ex-Mathter. Which gives Igor an idea, and a chance to cough in destiny's face. He WILL go to the Evil Science Fair, but this time, as an Evil Scientist. So he and his helpers go about inventing life itself. In the form of a giantess.
Molly Shannon plays this unexpected cutie-pie hulk who names herself Eva. Hmmm, can toonland sustain two mechano-Evas in one season? Well, of course! when both are so good. And so different. This Franken-Eva needs just one thing to render her not just Life, but Evil Life, and that is her Evil Bone, which Igor has cunningly inserted into one of her fingers. But, lurking in the shadows is ...
Eddie Izzard as a particularly malevolent Evil Scientist, Dr Schadenfreude. This Evil genius shares with Igor a powerful ambition to move up Malaria's hierarchy. He plans to win the Science Fair by stealing his rival's invention, and usurping ...
Jay Leno who embodies King Malbert, dedicated as only a monarch can be to the bedrock of his kingdom ... the continual supply of pure evil.
Technically the cgi never feels like a copy from more established studios because director Anthony Leondis has created an evocation of the finest Eastern European stop motion classics from Jir� Trnka morphed through Tim Burton, but made the style his own. The production design is stunning. Yes, there are echoes from del Toro through Japanese mountain scenes - but the whole feels fresh and original.
Chris McKenna's script borrows some of the rhythms he used in episodes of American Dad. It races along, easily dispelling any preliminary doubts about rooting for a bunch of creatures who adore being evil. It works because the characters are sharply defined and somehow you care about each and every one of them. It works because the story, unlike some of the inventions, has a warm heart fuelling it. But most of all it works because it is FUNNY!
The filmmakers' relative inexperience coupled with perhaps a dash too much of homage after homage - may cause Igor to fall just that notch short of becoming a classic, but it certainly reminds us there's a varied world of animation to enjoy. Not just those that have gazillions of bucks behind them.
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Salopian 
"Four ever European"
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Posted - 11/06/2008 : 17:45:28
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I don't know whether I wasn't in the right mood (I had to get up early -- 11:00 a.m. -- in order to see it) or whether a little bit of magic was missing, but it didn't quite draw me in quite as much as I would have hoped. Nevertheless, everything that B.B. says above is correct and thus I have still given it 4/5. The main downside as an animation of this category is that I think many parts will be quite hard for younger children to grasp, both in terms of plot points and external references. This may though mean that it will be enjoyed all the more by older children who wish to differentiate their tastes from their younger siblings etc.
"Animated wally loves Eva." |
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Igor
