Father and child sit together smiling while looking at a smart phone.

Want more recommendations for your family?

Sign up for our weekly newsletter for entertainment inspiration

Parents' Guide to

Igor

By Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 7+

Mad-scientist comedy with dark humor, cartoon violence.

Movie PG 2008 93 minutes
Igor Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

See all
age 10+

Based on 20 parent reviews

MixedAgesMama
MixedAgesMama Parent
October 15, 2018
age 12+

Beware for young kids

The common sense rating for this is WAY off. The sexy stuff in this movie is grossly understated in their review. Hiking legs, making out, mention of shaving legs for an evening together, explicitly talking about "this isn't even as sexy as I get," etc. SO off. Also, I understand the violence is mostly mister on Monster, but it's not slapstick, it's kiddie gruesome. It's faces blown off, electrocuted main characters, etc. It's also not really redeemed, the "positive ending" is like 2 minutes. The other thing important to note, is that a movie about persecuted minorities (Igors) or class social structure is good, but only so much as it explores the topic fully. This movie uses it as a poor premise without any real teaching, it's just "we all thought this was ok," but no talk of why or what society did to make it better in the 2 minute happy ending or anything. Not teaching, not positive, just an hour and a half of violence and sexy stuff between the main characters without any redeeming value. Also honestly just does a terrible job trying to emulate Tim Burton. Do not watch.

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much sex
2 people found this helpful.
JunkieDiavolo
JunkieDiavolo Adult
May 13, 2022
age 6+

Underrated

I loved this movie so much as a kid. People complain about the violence and scariness but its about the same level as other movies like Corpse Bride. The animation isn’t even that bad either, unlike another reviewer said this ISN’T a Disney movie. It was done by a smaller studio in France and I can think of FAR uglier movies from 2008. It’s a cute story and it has a happy ending even with the bits of morbid humor. Igor is a kind and intelligent soul who deals with a lot of peer pressure and feels a need to be recognized. In the end he goes with being a better person thanks to Eva, a kind hearted “monster” he creates who is in reality a lovely pacifist women who wishes to be an actress. It’s very sweet and people hate on this movie far too much. Also Steve Buscemi is in it. 10/10

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
1 person found this helpful.
See all 20 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In the dark, gloomy kingdom of Malaria, evil scientists have free rein to create monstrous inventions with the help of hunchbacked servants who are all called Igor. The central Igor (voiced by John Cusack) secretly wants to be a scientist, so when his misguided master (John Cleese) dies in a lab explosion, Igor brings to life a towering female monster, Eva (Molly Shannon). But instead of being vicious, she's convinced -- thanks to a brain-washing mix up -- that she's an aspiring actress.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (20 ):
Kids say (16 ):

IGOR borrows its animation style from Tim Burton and its story from Young Frankenstein, but even with such classic inspiration, it's only OK. At least the voice actors are top-notch -- the supporting cast includes Steve Buscemi as the voice of Igor's suicidal-but-invincible rabbit creation Scamper; Sean Hayes as Brain, a dim-witted brain in a jar; and Eddie Izzard as the hilariously named celebrity scientist Dr. Schadenfreude.

Kids will certainly be entertained, especially by the antics of the two sidekicks responsible for most of the laughs. The story is so simple that even very young kids will be able to follow along, and Eva is surprisingly touching as she practices "Tomorrow" and dresses up like Gloria Swanson. Igor -- like many other recent animated movies -- may fall short of the Pixar standard for greatness, but it's good enough for most little monsters who can handle the dark humor.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the movie's messages. Why is it so out of the ordinary for Igor to want to be a scientist? How do others' expectations affect the way we behave and the way we see ourselves?

  • How does the movie use dark humor for the sake of comedy? What do you think is the appeal of dark humor? Is dark humor appropriate for young kids?

  • How was the violence reminiscent of the cartoons of the past? Are cartoons such as these a bad influence on kids, or do you think kids can see the exaggeration and know that it isn't real and can't happen in real life?

  • Families can also discuss how this film fits into the monster-movie genre. What does it have in common with movies about Frankenstein and the hunchback of Notre Dame? How is it different? Kids: If you could create a "monster," what would it be like?

Movie Details

Inclusion information powered by

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

See all recommended movie lists

Related Topics

Want suggestions based on your streaming services? Get personalized recommendations

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate