Genres

Visitors Review

Sean Axmaker 2012-05-20 22:51:23

... a haphazard collection of spare movie parts cobbled together in a pale imitation of better-animated comedies.

pugetsoundtransfer 2012-05-20 10:53:34

Entertaining and funny for kids and adults

The movie was funny and entertaining for me and the kids. Not nearly asscary as "Nightmare before Christmas" for kids. The Igor character islikable and the sidekicks are excellent. The voice talent is matched upwith the characters very well. This is one of the best kids films wehave been to see at the theaters in a few years. It is right up therewith Cars. We may go see this movie again at the theater and I am surethe DVD will keep the kids entertained again. It is great that anindependent company can produce an entertaining film and we don't haveto just wait to see what Pixar puts out. Go see this movie foryourself, you will not be disappointed.

Linda Cook 2012-05-20 09:10:20

What a strange little movie is "Igor!"

2012-05-19 16:40:33

Wait and it's worth it!

I picked up IGOR at a discount, not knowing anything about it other than what was written on the back of the case. I love old horror movies and I love wacky comedy, so I figured it might be worth it. I've watched it three times now, enjoying it more each time. True, it gets off to a slow start. John Cusack's voice-over back-story opening is very weak. It's not particularly funny and he doesn't do it well. I almost gave up. But I'm nothing if not persistent. The result: It's a stitch! Once Eva, the monster who thinks she's an actress, takes stage, the movie picks up tremendously. There are funny situations, brilliant one-liners, great acting, clever animation. Okay, I admit it: when the message arrives ("We're all born with an evil bone. It's up to us whether or not we use it."), it screams: MESSAGE!!! But that's okay, because the road there is paved with such great stuff. This was an indie production, so without the Pixar-type funding, it falls somewhat short of the visual brilliance of the big-studio animation films. But it's miles and miles above BARNYARD. (Hell, ANY movie is miles and miles above BARNYARD!) I don't particularly recommend this for kids. They wouldn't get through the opening and they wouldn't get 15% of the humor. But for those of us who like ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN and YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN and DRACULA: DEAD AND LOVING IT, it's a must-see. Oh yes, there's also the wonderful voice of Jennifer Coolidge. Can't go wrong with that!

Fred Topel 2012-05-13 09:51:09

Well, here's another animated movie.

miami92 2012-05-12 13:16:46

Good Fun

I absolutely loved John Cusack and Sean Hayes performances in thisfilm. The digital animation was splendid. Great to hear Arsenio in thefilm. Jennifer Coolidge caught my attention. Her performance wascolorful and was executed masterfully. I do feel the film is directedat adults and older children, even though younger children will lovethe visual surroundings in this animated film. They may not understandmuch of the actual banter in the film, but the characters aredefinitely out there and really easy to mesh with.In conclusion, I think although this film is not the best film I haveseen, it does draw in the audience with the brilliant performances bythe cast, and the sheer genius of the animation.

brc1974 2012-05-12 08:05:26

Don't Waste Your Money

This is one of the worst movies I have ever seen. My kids were soexcited to see this movie and it was such a flop. Halfway through themovie several people were leaving. My family does not get to go to thetheater very often to watch movies and it really ticks me off to spendmy hard earned money on something like this. The whole movie had adreary feel to it. At one point a rabbit gnaws off is foot....that isabout what you feel like doing by the end of the movie. I think my8year old could come up with a better movie than this. There was reallyno funny parts whatsoever in this movie. Do not waste your time seeingthis terrible piece of crap they call a movie.

Michael Phillips 2012-05-11 23:53:27

My kid went with it, and I had a fairly good time, as I waited for the reappearance of a marble-mouthed peasant tart, voiced by Jennifer Coolidge. Half the time her line readings are hilarious, and it's impossible to know why.

Ethan Alter 2012-05-11 10:32:44

Decent animated horror spoof that plays better for older film buffs than their youthful offspring.

2012-05-11 02:30:14

Tries hard but never quite hits the mark

I should start by saying that, as a fan of both classic horror films and spoofs of classic horror films, I really wanted to like Igor. I really did. But I couldn't help feeling through most of the movie that the creators _really_ should've spent more time on the script. You can see what they were going for, and you can also see how the concept should have been great. But the execution however, never quite hits the mark. A big problem is the design. You cannot watch Igor without comparing it to The Nightmare Before Christmas, not only because of the stop-action animation similarity but because the sheer look of the film seems so clearly derivative of Nightmare Before Christmas. Eva is modelled on Sally, and I could swear that they actually reused Nightmare's Mayor action figure for Igor's King Malbert. And even if you can get past the visual derivation, there's the problem of characters seeming derivative. Brain, the classic sci-fi/horror "brain in a jar", has a personality derived from a different source: B.O.B. the Blob in Monsters Vs Aliens.Only two characters really stand out. Igor (voiced by John Cusack) is clearly drawn and likeable and can _almost_ make you care enough to ignore the film's short-comings. And Scamper (voiced by the inimitable Steve Buscemi) is actually the best thing about the film: an acerbic, immortal rabbit who wants desperately to commit suicide. And who has all of the best lines:Igor: [shouts] Pull the switch! [Nothing happens. He looks over at Scamper, standing by the switch] Scamper: Do *not* yell at me. Igor: Oh, I-I'm sorry. I just... pull the switch? [No response] Igor: Please pull the switch. Scamper: That's better. Brain: Our work here is done. Scamper: 'Our work'? You spent the whole time playing with a piece of ribbon. Igor isn't a bad film. It's an okay film with occasional moments where it's actually good. But it could've been a really good film if the writers and designers had just given it one more good going-over before putting it into production. Recommended for fans of stop-action animation and of spoofs of horror films with an hour and a half to kill. And for Steve Buscemi fans.

Sherpakhan 2012-05-05 13:28:25

Cuter Than Expected

This movie should not have worked.It had fairly standard characters--the henchman who wants to be a greatinventor, the bitter immortal, the stupid brain, the not-so-evilFrankenstein-esquire Monster. It had predictable gags, a clichéd plot,and voice actors that made it easy to tell who was the hero, who wasthe villain, and who was the comic relief. It was filled with puns thatwere absolute groaners. In any other movie, I would have shut off thetelevision within the first ten minutes.But somehow, with this movie...it worked. The plot was comfortable andgave me a warm, cosy glow--while still somehow being unique and funny.Scamper and Brain (Brian) made me laugh until I almost cried, and whenIgor and Eva interacted, I wanted to cry from happiness. Schadenfreudewas an amazing villain. Dr. Glickenstein was, essentially, John Cleese,and Jay Leno made an excellent king. Yeah, the puns were stillgroaners, but somehow...they worked. And despite the fact that they setone up right from the very beginning of the movie, none of us who werewatching the movie figured it out until they dropped the punchline onus. Several plot twists came out of nowhere, or we just didn't catchthem. And the ending was just adorable.All in all, 10/10, and I recommend this movie to anyone. (By the way, I should mention that "we" who were watching this movieare juniors and seniors in college. This is a fun one for everybody.)

Claudia Puig 2012-05-04 23:14:11

While this is no WALLE, or Ratatouille, it does bring to mind Monsters, Inc. and some of the visual flair of Burton's The Corpse Bride.

Peter Bradshaw 2012-05-02 19:36:15

This film is outclassed by the Pixar stable, but it's entertaining stuff for the children.

Laura Clifford 2012-05-02 01:29:58

...too visually busy to be pleasing to the eye and lacks the wit needed in the creation of a fantastical locale.

Simon Jordan 2012-04-25 02:27:07

Igor's leaden plotting, miscast voiceovers and tasteless one-liners are likely to leave every member of the family wishing this creation had never been born.

2012-04-24 11:56:09

Weird, innovative, but not great

Igor came out in late 2008 and quickly died at the theaters, hence a quick trip to the DVD. The story behind Igor is simple enough, a hunchback assistant to a mad scientist takes over for his boss once the boss dies in a lab accident. This Igor then enters the annual monster-making competition. In the process, he discovers more about himself, his place in life, and the origins of his society. The story is written as a comedy with parts of romance, action and suspense thrown in. This movie is quite original, and the cast is excellent, however the biggest failing is the unfunniness of the comedy. Many of the cast are accomplished comedians such as Jay Leno, John Cleese, and Steve Buscemi so the cast is not to blame for the lack of humor. I would say that this is due to the scriptwriters. Much of the comedy occurs as side gags to the main storyline, as if somebody threw them in to try and get a rise from the audience. Few of the supposed funny scenes advances the story. So overall, an OK movie. It is fine for kids, though boring probably for most kids to sit thru.

2012-04-23 14:31:45

An Unexpected, Groovy Treat!

This review is from: Igor (DVD) We chose to get this movie because of the actors, but our expectations were fairly low, based on many of the reviews here. Imagine our surprise when we discovered that Igor is a charming movie, full of heart and humor from the beginning!Note, however, that this is not a movie to just "sit" the kids in front of and walk away. There is enough complexity in the characters and the story that one would want to be present to explain things as needed.Having said that, I cannot say enough about the story line and the characters. Despite the short time line imposed on the creative team, the script was well written, the musical choices superb and the voice-over work impeccable. Although John Cusak and Molly Shannon were probably never in the same room together, it is not at all apparent in the movie, which isn't always the case. The cast boasts a laundry list of wonderful actors and performances, but Eddie Izzard deserves special kudos for his quite evil, yet not TOO over-the-top, Dr. Schadenfraude.Is it an old story? Perhaps. Is it predicable? Sure. Does it borrow from tired cliches? Absolutely. But it is also a universal story, with a familiar arc, and characters that the viewer can identify with. And it does all this with respect, and love, which is why it feels fresh and (if you'll pardon the pun) it's alive! I'm sure we will watch this movie again and again.The one thing that frustrates me about Amazon reviews is that reviewers often don't give readers a reference point from which to compare their (the reviewer's) taste to one's own. To that end, I will say that we are substance-over-flash people: we found Wall-E mostly vapid, condescending and heavy handed, while we watch Hoodwinked over and over for its heart, well developed characters and intelligent humor.

Nigel Andrews 2012-04-22 22:22:20

More well-aimed wit was needed, less grapeshot wackiness.

Rich Cline 2012-04-21 06:50:18

Makes up for its simplistic story with some demented humour

Sandie Angulo Chen 2012-04-20 16:12:51

Mad-scientist comedy is fine for younger kids.