Cusack's Igor speaks out in this dark tale

Everyone wants to get into the potentially lucrative animation game. Igor screenwriter Chris McKenna says he was inspired by Frankenstein movies for this particular feature.

The story takes place in the kingdom of Malaria, where evil scientists rule, aided by their hunchbacked servants, known as Igors. But one of these Igors (voiced by John Cusack) dreams of advancing beyond his rank. When his master dies, Igor decides to enter the Evil Science Fair and shun servitude. Rivals try to foil his plan before the inevitable happy ending.

The animation style, drenched in darkness, owes more to Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas than to recent Pixar hits. The visual style grows a bit monotonous, but a more serious problem is that the story is undernourished. Although Molly Shannon does what she can with Eva, the monster who dreams of being an actress, the script could use more satirical touches.

The cast, however, is top-notch. Cusack brings his neurotic humour. Steve Buscemi has the best lines as Cusack's cynical rabbit assistant and Sean Hayes is droll as the talking brain.