Igor

In the fictional world of Malaria, mad scientists are commonplace. But behind those geniuses, there is always an Igor, a lab assistant who is always there to flick a switch. But the film's protagonist, one of those Igors, has certain gifts when it comes to science. When his master dies, he takes the chance to participate in the national science fair. He is helped by two of his creations, immortal and cynical rabbit Scamper and human-brained robot Brian, and ends up creating a female equivalent of Frankenstein's monster. Meanwhile, evil scientists try to thwart Igor's plans to participate in the fair.

“Igor” is an animated film that is very much reminiscent of Tim Burton's masterpieces, “The Nightmare before Christmas” and “Corpse Bride”. Indeed, the creatures and the sets look very gothic and realism has been abandoned in favour of expressionism. The overall plot looks very much like it's from the imagination of Tim Burton too: evil scientists, a tale about following an outcast in a brand new world.

However “Igor” is nothing like Tim Burton's work. It is much more about telling a story than it is about describing the environment. The comedy moments are numerous, but draw more the kind of humour from “The Incredibles”. Still, the film is very worth seeing on its own account (if only for the cracking performance of Steve Buscemi as Scramper), and for a very entertaining, though fairly dark story.

If you're looking for a Tim Burton-like film, you may be disappointed; however, “Igor” still stands pretty well as a comedy/action film.

Pierre Schramm