DVD Reviews

Igor – DVD Review

By Jeff Swindoll Jan 20, 2009, 12:20 GMT

Who is the man behind the hump? In this playful animated film, John Cusack lends his voice to the famous henchman who may not be as bad as all the movies and books have made him out to be. ...more

Get off the slab and pull the switch on your DVD player for some monstrous family fun as Igor walks this way onto DVD.

In the village of Malaria (I assume in Transylvania) terrible storm clouds ruined the crops generations ago and the villagers needed another form of income. King Malbert (Jay Leno) offered the Mad Science Fair to line the pockets of himself and the people of Malaria.

Each year the evil scientists will put forth a devilish creation and those creations fight it out to see who has won. Then the king will ransom the world NOT to unleash the winner on them. The lowest citizen in the land are the Igors, or the hunchbacked assistants to the mad doctors.

An Igor (John Cusack) to Dr. Glickenstein (John Cleese) actually wants to rise above his menial station and invent instead of just throwing the switch. He’s been secretly doing so and has given a rabbit named Scamper (Steve Buscemi) immortality, though he didn’t want it and would rather die, and has put a brain into a robot called Brian (Sean Hayes) since the brain misspelled “Brain” as he’s not the greatest mind in the land.

Igor gets his big opportunity when the bad doctor blows himself up and Igor creates the gigantic monster Eva (Molly Shannon). He wants her to be the most evil creation ever, but she has a kind heart and only wants to be an actress (after an unsuccessful brain washing, or is that Brian washing?).

The reigning winner of the Evil Science Fairs, Dr. Schadenfeude (Eddie Izzard), gets wind that Igor is in procession of the possibly winning entry in the fair. Since Schadenfreude has “liberated” his winning entries from his evil counterparts he makes it his mission to steal Eva from Igor, win the fair, and usurp Malbert as king of Malaria.

It must be my enjoyment of the old Universal monster films that put my delight at Igor over the top. The film takes place in a fantasy world where evil science is the bread and butter of the village that seems like it’s off the Universal back lot.

The film is peppered with many references to horror flicks and its fun to spot them. The voice talent is top notch with kudos going to Cusack, Buscemi, Shannon, Cleese, and everyone else.

A fun cast having a great time in hunchback land. Your enjoyment of the film may depend on your age and appreciation for the land where it takes place. I was on the road this weekend and watched it when I wasn’t behind the wheel and got to listen to Igor two more times as each of my kids watched it as well.

Even though the last two times were just listening I still liked Igor just as much as when I watched it. It may not rise to the level of Pixar product or even Nightmare before Christmas, but its ugly duckling tale dressed up in Halloween garb is one that the entire family can enjoy. A darker sense of humor and love of horror movies might push up the enjoyment meter a bit more if you happen to be either of those creatures.

Igor is presented in a dual sided release with an anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) enhanced for 16x9 televisions on one side and a fullscreen version on the other. Special features include a commentary by directory Tony Leondis, writer Chris McKenna, and producer Max Howard. There’s also a 3 minute alternative opening, concept art galleries, and trailers for other Fox DVDs (but not one for Igor).

I just had a good time and a top notch vocal cast and good story only added more happiness to the mix. I especially enjoyed the whole “mad science” aspect of the film and the counterculture of Igors. Pull the switch!