There’s a big debate going on between whether or not animated films are a genre or not. Some say that animated films lend themselves to several genres, comedy, drama, horror, ect. Others claim that animated films already are a genre, made mostly for children and solely for comedic purposes. I personally see them as a way to make movies and the story that animation tries to tell is the genre. But that argument is becoming harder and harder to make when films like ‘Igor’ come around, a film whose plot is so phoned in that you can practically see the writers or producers of the film saying “It’s just an animated film, this is what animated films do, right?”

The film’s premise is actually very clever. In the far off land of Malaria (cute) lives a giant crowd of mad scientists who make evil creations. Why? So they can show them off at the Mad Scientist Fair! The point of the fair is to raise money to keep Malaria financially secure, that is, if the world doesn’t pay their ransom they unleash their evil creations to destroy everything and everyone. The only problem is that only mad scientists can enter, and not little hunchback assistants who are all named Igor. And this, as you would imagine, is where Igor comes in (John Cusack). Igor just wants to be a mad scientist like everyone else at the fair, but since he was born with a hunch, he was forced to go to ‘Igor School’ where all hunchback children go to become assistants to their diabolical masters.

After a freak accident kills his master, Igor decides to take over his duties and create not a mechanical monster, but an actual breathing monster. Accompanying him are his sidekicks Brain (Sean Hayes) and Scamper (Steve Buscemi), the try to create a gigantic evil woman named Eva (Molly Shannon), who unfortunately doesn’t want to be an evil monster, her true calling is acting. So instead of rampaging villages and terrorizing the town, she recites theater monologues and does voice exercises. Igor tries to make her sinister but it’s no good, she has the acting bug and she has it bad. But watching from his lair is another mad scientist called Dr. Schadenfreude (Eddie Izzard) and his assistant Jaclyn (Jenifer Coolidge), they plan to steal Igor’s monster and make her into the psychotic killing machine she should be. In time though, Igor grows feelings for Eva, and doesn’t want to turn her into a real life monster. So the fight between mad scientist and mad…um, hunchback, begins over who will keep and train the feminine monster.

The premise sounds charming enough, but ‘Igor’ sadly falls victim to the clichéd story that most animated films are recycling today: the main character is strange, awkward, and made fun of by everybody, yet he yearns to follow his dreams and become more. He falls in love with somebody but either a nasty villain, a certain misunderstanding, or both make the two think they don’t like each other. At the very end they realize their mistakes, follow their heart and confess that the best gift in life is being yourself. We’ve seen this story too many times, but we’ve put up with it in the past because the film in question often has something else to offer…this film does not. The characters are boring, the story is boring, and even the premise after awhile starts to get boring.

There’s only three elements that make this film somewhat entertaining: two of them are the characters. Molly Shannon as Eva is very funny as she seems to be a mix of extreme feminine and extreme masculine qualities. Steve Buscemi as Scamper is also very as a depressed suicidal rabbit who constantly tries to kill himself…the only problem? He’s immortal. The last good quality about this film is the design. The characters and backgrounds obviously have a dark, cartoonish fantasy to them that is no doubt inspired by many Tim Burton movies. The only problem is that these were obviously meant for 2d drawings, not 3d animation. That is, everything on the screen is cluttered and crowded, where the design of this movie should be focused on its individual yet extreme design. The characters look great but often get lost in all the other stuff going on in the background. So even the design can’t quite save it. In the end, it’s a jumble of lame in-jokes, lazy storytelling, and less than enthusiastic voice acting.

So who will like it? I guess kids who weren’t scared by ‘Corpse Bride or ‘’Nightmare Before Christmas’ might get a few laughs. Anyone who likes the design of those films should probably see it just to soak up the artistry of its fun design, especially if you like the designs of old monster movies.

Who won’t like it? People who are sick of the stereotypical formula that all these animated features seem to follow all the time. With a premise this clever you would think that not only the jokes but especially the story would be more clever and interesting.

My thoughts? I laughed once or twice and enjoyed some of the character designs, but that’s about it. I suppose it’s harmless enough, but why make a film like this if you have nothing new to offer? Animation truly is an art form, not a genre, and it should be treated as such. When animated films continue to follow the same formula that others have done a million times it limits the possibilities of what the art form can do. Hollywood has proven that we no longer need fresh ideas, but we do need fresh stories, we need fresh stories to match up with the fresh ideas. Film makers who make movies like this need to take more risks, not with their design, but with their tales.

Douglas Darien is a featured writer for Xomba.com. Read the rest of his work here or visit his website www.thatguywiththeglasses.com.