Master, We Need More Brains! (Ja)

By ROB DEWALT I

Master, we need more brains!

Rob DeWalt I The New Mexican

Igor, computer-animated hunchback fairy tale, rated PG,

Regal Stadium 14, 424-6296, 1 chile

In the dark and stormy village of Malaria, evil reigns supreme. Power and prestige in the community are earned by making a lasting impression at the annual Evil Science Fair, where inventors and their hunchbacked lackeys — Igors, if you will — parade their diabolical experiments before an anxious crowd. His majesty, King Malbert (voiced by Jay Leno), oversees the proceedings while furthering his goal to blackmail the world by threatening to unleash the winning creation upon the global citizenry unless he is paid $100 billion.

Igor (John Cusack), the reluctant assistant to evil inventor

Dr. Glickenstein (John Cleese), is a bit of a tinkerer himself. When his master is snuffed out after an experiment goes awry, Igor sees his chance to rise above his station. Unfortunately, his plan to create an ax-murdering behemoth backfires when his sewed- together, reanimated beast turns out to be a softhearted prima donna actress with an affinity for Broadway show tunes. Igor tricks his invention, Eva (Molly Shannon), into entering the Evil Science Fair. While Eva believes she is auditioning for a part in Annie, she is actually being prepped to destroy the other sinister inventions at the fair so Igor can have his shining moment.

But Dr. Shadenfreude (Eddie Izzard) and his accomplice, Jaclyn (Jennifer Coolidge), have other plans. After clinching more than a dozen consecutive top honors at the Evil Science Fair by stealing other scientists’ inventions, Schadenfreude sets his sights on Igor’s new creation to continue his winning streak — and on dethroning King Malbert. First, however, he must dispose of Igor by sending him down the Igor Recycling Chute, where his body parts will be repurposed for future experiments. Can Schadenfreude turn his pacifist Franken-hostage into a killing machine in time to usurp the throne? Will Igor escape death before Eva is transformed into the cartoon equivalent of The Manchurian Candidate?

Sigh. Whatever your age, there is barely enough emotional tension, comedic wit, or character development in this sleepy picture to care much how it unfolds. No matter how many wisecracking sidekicks and pop-culture references the filmmakers inject into its flabby plot, Igor still comes off as a botched cinematic procedure – - an exploding beaker of blockbuster snippets culled from the muscular plot tissue of much better films including the Austin Powers series, Young Frankenstein, Shrek, Van Helsing, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and countless horror classics. The result is a product that hijacks physical gags, action scenes, humor routines, and set pieces from the scripts of those films. If Igor screenwriters were attempting to pay homage to the movies they hold dear, they failed miserably, sticking to Hollywood cliches instead of pursuing artful interpretations of their source material.

Some of the supposedly funny scenes here rely on pop-culture personalities that most toddlers and ‘tweens will care little about. Will they know James Lipton of Inside the Actor’s Studio, who plays himself? These kids are better off watching cable-TV election coverage for laughs. And about those allusions to Sunset Boulevard and A Streetcar Named Desire: vintage cinema only works as a plot mechanism in modern animated movies if directors bother to make it relevant to the story.

The makers of Disney/Pixar’s WALLE incorporated the Hello, Dolly! ballad “It Only Takes a Moment” multiple times in their movie, punctuating the song’s relevance to the plot by having mostly- silent robots mimic the human emotions and movements found in the 1969 film version. Igor director Anthony Leondis gives audiences less than 45 seconds of archival footage that has little — if any – - impact on the story or characters. Leondis’ intention was to explain in short order how Eva became a spoiled actress instead of a motivated murderess, which many adult viewers will comprehend straight away. But frankly, dear director, the fidgety young ‘uns all hopped up on candy and soda —

your target demographic, mind you —

probably won’t give a damn.

Sidekicks Scamper (Steve Buscemi) and Brain (Sean Hayes) provide marginal comic relief for the kiddies, but parents might scratch their heads a bit at the character of Scamper. He is Igor’s reanimated rabbit buddy, a bucktoothed fur ball of existential roadkill, immortal but hellbent on ending his own life. His death wish finds him electrocuted, poisoned, mutilated, and blown to bits, mostly by his own design. I am not a father, but I have to ask: when did suicide become an acceptable topic for PG-rated, rib-tickling family entertainment? Also, if you fancy the notion of your kids making fun of blind orphans, skinned baby seals, and strangled kittens, this is the movie you’ve been waiting for!

Despite its questionable taste, Igor

is not without its charms. Voice work by the entire cast is top- notch, and

the computer-animation team and production designers breathe ghoulishly delicious life into the town of Malaria. Evil may call for a subdued color palette at times, but the filmmakers also understand that devilish characters can flourish just as effectively in bright hues. Stealing a swatch from the blood-red adornments of

101 Dalmations’ Cruella De Vil, character designers splash carnival-worthy color on their villains and heroes when the mood calls for it —

without compromising the film’s overall dark tone. Unfortunately, the physical actions of key players look stiff compared to the detailed draping of fabric and flowing hair applied to them. Certain characters move like stop-motion clay puppets, and their facial expressions are comparable to the blank stares seen in television cartoons like Family Guy and South Park. Frankly, I wore a similar expression —

my back hunched in utter boredom —

as the final credits rolled. <

Originally published by ROB DEWALT I THE NEW MEXICAN.

(c) 2008 The Santa Fe New Mexican. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.