Igor (film)
A 2008 animated film about a hunchbacked inventor.
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The film "Igor" is a computer-animated feature about a hunchbacked lab assistant who dreams of becoming a scientist.[1] Exodus Film Group's Igor was the inaugural full-length computer-animated movie whose entire budget came from private equity investments.[2] The film made its global debut on September 13, 2008, at Grauman's Chinese Theater.[1]
Making and release
Chris McKenna conceived the idea for an evil scientist film with twisted tropes while attending the 1998 Cannes Film Festival.[2] McKenna pitched his idea to Exodus Film Group as a three-paper treatment instead of the usual concept art presentation.[2] The project was first announced on September 7, 2004, with McKenna, executive producer Max Howard, and 50 to 75 animators from ElectroAge involved.[3] Exodus originally planned a seven-minute short film titled "Igor: Unholy Frijoles" to launch a feature-length version.[3]
Tony Leondis was revealed as director on September 22, 2006, and helped develop the setting's backstory.[4] The voice cast included John Cusack as Igor, Steve Buscemi as Scamper, and John Cleese as Dr. Glickenstein.[1] The computer animation for Igor was created using Autodesk Maya, and the entire process took under a year and a half.[5] On February 1, 2006, The Weinstein Company secured the North American distribution rights; subsequently, the U.S. theatrical distribution rights were transferred to MGM.[6]
On September 19, 2008, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer gave Igor a theatrical release across 2,300 screens in the United States.[7]
What the cited sources add
The Animation World Network account states that Exodus Film Group was formed in 2001 and created one of the first private equity animation film funds.[1] The Los Angeles Business Journal article notes that Exodus sought investors with a minimum $30,000 investment for the feature film's budget.[8] Doyle also explains that he introduced a piano concerto for Eva's theme because Eva wants to be a performer.[9] The Dark Horizons review describes the film's look as "interesting but never shakes off the feeling of plagiarizing Tim Burton wherever it can".[10]
References
- Hetherington, "'Igor': An Independent Spirit", Animation World Network, September 19, 2008. facts only, no text reused. awn.com
- Wikipedia, "Igor (film)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bertet, "Cannes played part in 'Igor' toon", Variety, May 18, 2008; Production notes 2008, p. 19; Moore, "Igor: the magic formula", The Daily Telegraph, October 11, 2008; Raugust, "Big Ideas: Behind the Scenes of Studio Development", Animation World Network, December 26, 2007; Moore, "Igor: the magic formula", The Daily Telegraph, October 11, 2008; Hetherington, "What Makes An Animated Pitch Hit?", Animation World Network, December 29, 2006 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Igor (film)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Brian B., "Exodus Film to bring forth Igor", MovieWeb, September 7, 2004; Fritz, "Exodus to animation", Variety, May 30, 2005; Ball, "Animation Vet Max Howard On Igor, Exodus and More", Animation Magazine, November 3, 2005; Baisley, "Christian Slater To Voice Igor Short Film", Animation World Network, March 4, 2005 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Igor (film)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Baisley, "Exodus Film Group Signs Tony Leondis To Direct Igor", Animation World Network, September 22, 2006; Production notes 2008, p. 19; Production notes 2008, p. 19 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Igor (film)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Moore, "Igor: the magic formula", The Daily Telegraph, October 11, 2008; "Backdrop", November 2008 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Igor (film)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Mohr, "Weinsteins mad for 'Igor'", Variety, February 1, 2006; Kay, "TWC's CG-animated Igor is big seller at Cannes", Screen Daily, June 5, 2006; Moore, "Igor: the magic formula", The Daily Telegraph, October 11, 2008 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Igor (film)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hetherington, "'Igor': An Independent Spirit", Animation World Network, September 19, 2008 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- "Wanted: Rich Parent-Investors Whose Kids Watch Lots of Cartoon DVDs", Los Angeles Business Journal, October 31, 2005. facts only, no text reused. labusinessjournal.com
- Sorel-Cameron, "'Harry Potter' composer on new monster movie", CNN, September 4, 2008. facts only, no text reused. edition.cnn.com
- Franklin, "Igor", Dark Horizons, September 19, 2008. facts only, no text reused. darkhorizons.com
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Igor (film) (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Igor (film) (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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