IGOR, 2008
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IGOR
Movie Review
Directed by Anthony Leondis
Voices by John Cusack, Steve Buscemi, Sean Hayes, Eddie Izzard, Molly Shannon, Jay Leno and John Cleese
Review by Eli Manning

SYNOPSIS:

Animated fable about a cliché hunchbacked evil scientist's assistant who aspires to become a scientist himself, much to the displeasure of the rest of the evil science community.

REVIEW:

I'm going to reach a lot in this review. Since I have inside information on how the Family Guy/American Dad team writes their scripts. And since the screenwriter of Igor, Chris McKenna, is the head writer American Dad, I kind of understand what he was trying to do in with this 2-D animation film.

The theme to Igor is for our unconventional hero to nix the brainwashing ideals the town's mayor has put on their city. The mayor (ironically voiced by Jay Leno!) believes that in order for people to feel safe and comfortable, most times you need to be a little bit evil to accomplish this task.

Of course that idea is silly, but it's a lot what the Bush administration has done to many in the American public. Before any republican leaves this website, I will conseed that I am of a centralist mindset. I believe equally on the right and left sides of things. And it doesn't take a genius to realize that the last 8 years have been a constant push to scare the wits out of their U.S. public in order for them to do what they want to do.

Igor is basically an anti-republican and anti-Bush film. The metaphor for this film is the phony black cloud in the sky that the mayor has created in order to keep things dark and keep the

people scared, worried and in check. Our hero will soon realize that the world is much brighter than he ever realized and it's the help of his 'good' monster creation to show him the way.

Of course the monster is his own creation, so it's an extension of himself. Igor has never been able to show his good side until he creates his own personal monster (which also becomes a love interest for him which is really a tad creepy!) to show him the way. The monster is his sub-conscious coming out and it also helps out the rest of the town. After all, one spec of sunshine can always push the darkness away.

So in order to feel safe you don't have to resort to evil tactics is what the movie is saying. And stop listening to what your so-called leaders are saying and listen to yourself.

Igor also deals with the vanity issues of our society as well. The monster on the surface is not a pretty thing, but it's what's inside that counts. Igor himself is a tad insecure because of how he looks and soon realizes too that this doesn't matter. Another ideal from the filmmakers to point out to the younger audience who will see this film.

I do have to say that the movie really doesn't pan out in the end. The animation is brilliant and so are the voice over performances from the actors. But the movie just isn't that funny as a film like this should be. I think it was more focused on giving us a nice theme than actually entertaining us.

It was a tad strange too to give 'the Monster' an I want to be an actress angle. She is brainwashed in her own right by James Lipton of all people, as she is put in a Clockwork Orange chamber showing the Actor's Studio, and comes out of it wanting to be the next big star. A little too close to the sleeve in many ways giving us the only true good character of the film and making her an actress. Are you kidding me?

The trick to any good film is to present is the theme but for us to not realize that there is actually a theme because we are so entertained by the plot and the characters. This film does not do this and this is not a film parents should be taking their kids to.

Because there have been so many terrific animation films in the last few years, Igor can't be helped to be compared to them. And it's really not even close as Igor isn't in the same ballpark as such films like WALL-E and Ratatouille.

So thanks for the anti-Bush film guys, but please come up with a tighter story and give all of your created characters a character arc. Steve Buscemi voices your typical comic relief/right hand man character, and he was very funny in the beginning. Then he's basically gone from the movie after the halfway point. Things like that left you frustrated in the end.

1 1/2 stars out of 4!center>