Igor parents guide

Igor Parent Guide

Overall B

Every mad scientist has a subservient assistant, so Dr. Glickenstein (voice of John Cleese) has Igor (voice of John Cusack). However, this mistreated minion is tired of playing second fiddle and has his own ambitions to win the annual Evil Scientist Fair.

Release date September 19, 2008

Violence C+
Sexual Content B
Profanity B
Substance Use A-

Why is Igor rated PG? The MPAA rated Igor PG for some thematic elements, scary images, action and mild language.

Run Time: 87 minutes

Official Movie Site

Parent Movie Review

In the land of Malaria, where practically everyone who’s anyone is a mad scientist, Igors are everywhere. Relegated to the role of executing commands screamed at them by their masters (“Pull the switch!”), they live out underappreciated lives—not to mention having to deal with the pain and inconvenience of being hunchbacked.

But one Igor (voiced by John Cusack) has far grander aspirations. For years he has quietly worked on his own projects, resulting in the creation of his two companions, Brain (voiced by Sean Hayes)—a brain in a jar that lacks any intelligence—and Scamper (voiced by Steve Buscemi), a road-killed squirrel who is now immortal. It’s a good beginning, yet what Igor really wants is to be able to produce the greatest, nastiest monster imaginable so he can put his name on the records as one of the most evil, diabolical madmen to ever exist. A bonus would be winning the Evil Science Fair, which is happening on the upcoming weekend. When his master is accidentally killed during an exploding experiment, it appears the budding apprentice’s opportunity has arrived.

After pulling together his plans, along with some spare parts and pieces lying about the laboratory, he unveils his grand monster: a huge female figure. However, only a few moments after the creature’s birth, Igor realizes that while she may look evil her personality would suggest otherwise.

A mix of slapstick humor kids will find funny and jokes that only parents are likely to get gives Igor a surprisingly fresh concept that’s mostly enjoyable to watch. Cynical from start to finish, the script especially pokes fun at celebrity culture when the supposed-to-be evil monster is brainwashed into becoming a high maintenance actress—changing her “evil” into “Eva” (voiced by Molly Shannon). As the plot unfolds, Igor finds himself growing fond of his creation in a way he never expected. As well, he faces the increasingly difficult dilemma of deciding between good and evil (a choice which provides positive messages for young audiences).

At the same time, this film does have a darker side—and not just with its depiction of a land where the sun never shines. Much of the visual comedy derives from what are truly violent scenarios, usually involving Scamper. Tired of living his life with Igor and Brain, the squirrel constantly looks for possible ways of killing himself. Eating dynamite, drinking poison, getting shot at or even chewing off his own appendages to get out of a tight situation, are just some of the methods he employs. Obviously, his immortal nature negates any negative consequences from occurring.

Along with this suicidal obsession, the film’s relatively few other content concerns consist of some terms of Deity and a couple of veiled sexual innuendos. Taking these into account, a date with Igor may be an experiment best suited for older test subjects who will appreciate the jokes and not be blown away by the scary observations.

Starring John Cusack, Steve Buscemi, John Cleese. Running time: 87 minutes. Theatrical release September 19, 2008. Updated

Igor
Rating & Content Info

Why is Igor rated PG? Igor is rated PG by the MPAA for some thematic elements, scary images, action and mild language.

This animated film about a mad scientist’s assistant features plenty of animated violence, mostly centering on an animal character that is immortal, yet doesn’t want to live. He uses explosives, poison and other devices to try and take his life, and is constantly putting himself in danger. While no explicit gory details are seen and the actions are portrayed within a humorous context, some parents and children may be disconcerted by these portrayals and the character’s lack of respect for his life. A scatological joke and a couple of veiled sexual remarks are included, as well as the depiction of a female character showing a large amount of cleavage. An invisible man tells others he is not wearing pants. One mild expletive and about a half-dozen terms of Deity are uttered. Women are often preyed upon and used by men for their own selfish interests.

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Igor Parents' Guide

The Igors in this story represent a lower class, and it is assumed they are unintelligent and always speak, look and act in a certain way. What “Igors” do we have in our society? Why do we tend to classify people according to stereotyped traits, such as physical appearance or speech?

Home Video

The most recent home video release of Igor movie is January 20, 2009. Here are some details…

The not-so evil genius of Igor comes to DVD in widescreen and full screen presentations, with an audio track in Dolby Surround 5.1 Sound (English). Bonus extras include deleted scenes, bloopers and a featurette (Be An Igor).

Igor is also available on Blu-ray Disc in widescreen. This presentation of the movie offers an alternate opening scene and commentary by Director Tony Leondis, writer Chris McKenna and producer Max Howard.

Igor releases as a DVD/Blu-ray Combo on 6 April, 2010.

Related home video titles:

This animated tale looks like a cross between The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Igor has the same body type) and The Corpse Bride (which also features ghoulish characters). Winning the science fair is also the greatest dream of a young man in Meet the Robinsons. Another nutty squirrel acts as a sidekick in the movie Hoodwinked. The challenges of immortality are explored in the film Groundhog Day.