Have you ever felt like you couldn't do something because of who you are? In the country of Malaria the sun hasn't shone for many years. Under a perpetual cover of cloud, the citizens of Malaria - who were once farmers - make a living creating diabolical inventions and then accepting pay not to release them on the world. Our hero wants nothing more than to be an evil scientist. He's brilliant and he has ideas no one else can even fathom - but he was born with a hump on his back, automatically relegating him to the ranks of Igors, the mindless assistants of the evil scientists.
During preparations for the annual Evil Science Fair, Igor (John Cusack) tries to help his master, Dr. Glickenstein (John Cleese), complete his invention with a well-intentioned suggestion. Ignoring the suggestion of a lowly Igor, the scientist blows himself up - leaving Igor in danger of being recycled for spare body parts. Igor decides to cover up the death and create his own invention for the Evil Science Fair. He creates a grotesque, larger-than-life creature that scares the life out of Igor and his pals, a less-than-brilliant Brain (in a jar, that is...voiced by John Hayes) and Scamper (Steve Buscemi), a suicidal but immortal super-intelligent rabbit. However, after they track the monster to a home for blind orphans where they find her playing with the children, they begin to suspect that something went wrong with her evilness.
This entertaining animated romp marries the tales of The Hunchback of Notre Dame with that of Frankenstein to create an animated classic that kids will love. Though it has a very dark setting and some of the monsters may scare very small children, the story itself is light-hearted and carries a good message about being yourself and how even the lowliest in society have their unique ideas and value.
The quality of animation is on par with the Disney animated classics with a very Disney-esque story line. My three-year-old son loved it, constantly asking where Eva (Igor's "monster") was whenever she wasn't on the screen. Steve Buscemi's character may be considered the most disturbing by little kids, being very ratty-looking and always up to some mischief...like blowing himself up, electrocuting himself, or chewing through his own feet.
Voice talent abounds in this movie. Aside from those already mentioned, voices include Molly Shannon, Eddy Izzard, Jennifer Coolidge, Jay Leno and more. As you can imagine, with a cast like this you have to have a lively script and expressive lines. The voices were all exceptionally well-matched to the characters, though I think my favorite was Eddy Izzard's character, the villain Dr. Schadenfreude.
Overall this is a great addition to the collection of animated classics for the kids, as long as you don't mind the background of an "evil" society. In the end, part of the moral of the story is that no one has to be evil, perhaps a good bit of message to de-glorify movie villains. Anyone who is unsure whether their children will be scared by the strange characters should certainly watch it before handing it to the kids, but then it's bound to be one they'll want to watch again and again.