Reviewed by Neil Davey
Stars the voices of John Cusack, Eddie Izzard, Steve Buscemi, Sean Hayes, John Cleese, Molly Shannon, Jennifer Coolidge,
Jay Leno, Christian Slater, Arsenio Hall, Myleene Klass
Written by Chris McKenna
Certification UK PG | US PG
Runtime 87 minutes
Directed by Tony Leondis
The theme for this week's films seems to be 'amiable enough' - assuming, that is, two such films are enough to constitute a pattern? However, there's no getting around it. The Rocker is an amiable comedy and Igor — despite being, arguably, Burton-lite and owing more than a nod to Terry Pratchett — is an amiable slice of family animation.
Igor (Cusack), like all the other Igors in the land of Malaria, is an evil scientist's assistant. Unlike other Igors though, this particular Igor is talented inventor rather than a miserable lisping hunchback designed to be kicked, blamed and to throw the occasional important switch. Not that this Igor will get to demonstrate his evil scientific abilities: that would break the rules of Malaria and infuriate his master, Dr Glickenstein (Cleese). However, given Glickenstein's premature evil science-related death, Igor now has a shot at winning the annual Evil Invention competition, provided he can keep his master's demise a secret and protect his invention — the creation of evil life — from the thieving Dr Schadenfreude (Izzard). And, as it happens, also assuming he can turn his project evil because at the moment, instead of rampaging through Malaria destroying everything in her path, Igor's creation Eva (Shannon) is possibly the sweetest stitched-together woman on the planet.
With it's Burton-esque visuals, Elfman-like score, gently witty script and fine voice cast, Igor is a perfectly enjoyable, if derivative, experience. There's also a deliciously dark side that comes into play although the makers clearly pull their punches, particularly when it comes to Igor's sidekicks, Scamper (Buscemi) a suicidal but immortal rabbit, and Brain, a not-so-bright brain-in-a-jar. After their initial introduction — and Scamper's regular early attempts to end it all — they're left to become standard comedy relief, which is a waste but perhaps understandable with the need to get a PG certificate. Mind you, Scamper still gets to deliver the film's best line ("like that's the first time I've gnawed my own legs off") and there are other gleefully cruel background jokes to compensate: it's very hard to dislike a film that uses blind orphans for occasional comedy kicks. There are several other flaws and Pixar won't be looking over their shoulders any time soon but Igor's still a perfectly decent bit of family entertainment.