9 (Shane Acker, 2009)

9

Not to be confused with the award-winning musical Nine, 9 finally proves what anime fans have known for some time - that animation isn't just for kids. Telling a dark, disturbing tale of post-apocalyptic life and the danger posed by sentient machines, it winds up feeling like a mind-melting cross between Mad Max, The Terminator and Toy Story.

If that sounds like too much genre-twisting, then fear not. First-time feature director Shane Acker is in masterful control of his material from the outset, with a helping hand from producers Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov, and 9 presents one of the most coherent and fascinating post-apocalyptic visions that we've seen in a long while.

WALL-E may at times have looked like a photograph, but 9 looks like a work of art.

Unfortunately the same can't be said of its storytelling, which remains so worryingly simplistic that you can't help wondering whether Acker really did think his audience lay among the under-12s. 9 may look spectacular, but there's a noticable lack of substance beneath that slick surface.

Instead Acker seems to have spent his time creating the world for his characters to inhabit, and you have to admire his world-building invention. Prior to the apocalypse, The Scientist built a robot known as the Fabrication Machine, a device that was intended to advance mankind and bring about peace. Instead it was used by the world's leaders to wage an unstoppable war that engulfed the planet - and when the Machine acquired a sentience of its own it wiped out mankind.

The source of mankind's misfortune would also turn out to be the saviour of life on Earth, however. Before his death The Scientist was able to create nine 'Stitchpunks', miniature handcrafted robots who were each driven by a portion of The Scientist's own soul. When 9 awakes he finds his creator dead, and he takes with him a curious amulet as he searches for his eight brethren among the dusty ruins of mankind's downfall.

The rest of the narrative is composed of a few set pieces that pit our heroes against the Machine's evil robots, and they really have little going for them beyond their flamboyant visual invention. Acker's vision includes seamstress snake robots and airborne battles across an abandoned church spire, but there clearly wasn't time for an actual narrative.

There are some genuine vocal talents behind those tiny Stitchpunks too, including Elijah Wood, Jennifer Connelly, Crispin Glover, John C. Reilly, Martin Landau and Christopher Plummer. They may not have been given the most exciting script to work with, but they do their best to plaster over the cracks, and they provide us with some of modern animation's most vibrant characters along the way.

Still, it's hard to get beyond the visual splendor of 9, and given the absence of a storyline I'd advise against trying. Instead simply enjoy Acker's immersion in the details of a world that might have been, and try to ignore the fact that the plot could be written on the back of a button. Maybe for once style really can be allowed to win over content.

3/5

9

9

Starring: Elijah Wood, Christopher Plummer, Martin Landau, John C Reilly, Jennifer Connelly
Director: Shane Acker
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Fantasy
Rated: PG-13

In a Post Apocalyptic future a rag doll named 9 comes to life to find that humanity is gone and all that is left besides himself is a small group just like him.

9(Elijah Wood) is the story of a ragdoll who is rescued by 2(Martin Landaeu) from a mechanical beast when 2 is captured he meets the rest of the dolls and compels them to leave the safety of their home to save 2. Things go wrong and soon they are all fighting for survival.

9 visits very familiar territory, in this vision of the future shockingly machines have turned against humans and destroyed them all. I have seen this premise a million times before and at this point would hope someone could come up something even marginally original that can destroy humanity. The robots for the most part look like the mutilated toys that Sid from toy story made however The main robot villain is horrendous he was really cool 10 years ago when I saw him in Terminator 3D at Universal Studios not so much now.

One of the things that 9 has going for it is it is visually stunning to look at and the atmosphere of the future earth is great there was definitely a lot of attention to detail that can be seen in the wasteland environments, this world was not rushed, it’s also nice to see an edgier animated movie with more adult themes and content. Where 9 truly shine’s though is the running time is an hour and 19 minutes; 9 looks really cool and it doesn’t overstay its welcome.

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9 - ***

So I will have to admit that I was extremely pumped for this movie.  I had seen my first glimpse of the trailer roughly 6 months ago or so and have been captivated by the idea ever since.  Much like District 9 (odd the two most original movies this year had the number "9" in the title), this was a movie I had no  idea about and was caughy by surprise...in a good way.

 Here is a movie that looks original and is an animated movie that takes its subject matter seriously.  While I love Pixar movies a great deal they are still geared towards kids with a little adult humor thrown in.  Well written and directed they might be, but as a country we have still not reached the point of using animation as a true means to tell a dramatic story like they have in other countries.  Hopefully, this will help pave the way.

This movie gets enough points for its originality and innovation alone.  The sheer detail and care that was put into each character and environment is quite the sight to see.  Not to mention the small details that add a real life to this world, such as the scene where the character "8" puts a magnet close to his head to relax a bit.  This is akin to sneaking away to smoke a cigarette in their world I feel and was a small detail I really enjoyed.  

 The movie starts out with our main character "9" coming to life right before us.  Again, I thought this was a very good scene as he comes to life and I feel, for the first few moments, the movie captures the essence of what it would be like to come alive in a strange world and have no idea how or why, very well.  However, this does lead into the one gripe one can have with this movie.  

 The director Shane Acker, it seems, decided to take the approach of putting us right in the middle of the story but and leaving the rest to be told in flashback.

This is a perfectly fine method, assuming of course you fill all the major plot details, either by the characters informing us or through direct flashbacks.  Very quickly 9's journey leads him to another being just like himself, "2."  2 explains little about thieir situation.  He does give 9 the ability to speak now, and in the process finds a special device that 2 recognizes as "what he's been drawing."  Who he is talking about, we are not sure and dont get to find out as "the beast" shows up and kidnaps 2 as well as takes the device that was seemingly such a big find.  


Next, our character 9 is discovered by "5" who takes him to the rest of the remaining crew from the original 9.  It seems they are all surprised as they didnt know there was another but not surprised enough to make a big deal about, they seem to talk about for a minute, then accept it and move on.  I suppose in a time of crises you cant really wax philosophical about these sort of things but I would have liked them to delve a little deeper into this.

Also, once 9 reaches the others we notice the drawings 2 was talking about are drawings made by 6, that we see making these drawings and notice that they are in fact drawings of the device 9 had that was stolen from him.  Why is he drawing this?  Nobody seems to be quite sure, but everyone else in the crew seems to have a purpose, or at least feels like they do, and yet treat 6 and his drawings as some sort of novelty...the mere musings of a mad man.

Once 9 informs the crew about what happened to 2, the groups oldest and de facto leader "1" declares 2 a lost cause and forbids the crew to go after him.  1 was apparently the one who led them to their safe haven as they waited for the war between man and machine to end and now they will wait until this "beast" who took 2 is gone as well.  He seems to be all about the hiding and waiting.

After a bit 9 convinces 5 to go after 2 just the two of them.  The res of the crew is wrong for just staying and hiding, something has to be done about their situation instead of just waiting.  So off they go.  This, of course, leads to another run-in with the beast where certain doom is spelled out for 9 and 5....until "7" comes out of nowhere to the rescue!  The audience is supposed to be shocked at this point as 7 was crossed out on the list by 1 earlier, but we all know she is not dead as she appeared in the trailer.

This is not a good decision as the device ends up sucking the life out of 2  awakens "The Machine" which is nastier even than "The Beast."  9, 7, and 5 must now escape this machine and find out what to do next.  This leads us to 3&4, who we also were supposed to think were dead (but again, appeared in the trailer).  This is where we learn about the war between man and machine and how the 9 came to be where they are.

As I mentioned earlier, 9 is a very original movie with a unique look and great animation and voicework.  It is worth the price of admission just to have a look around (and I did find it humorous that my ticket cost me $9).  The story leaves a little to be desired.  After it is rediscovered that 7, 3&4 are alive, it is hinted at that they went their own way and seperated from the rest of the crew un purpose, but this is never delved into with any sort of detail.

9

i’ll be buying this dvd.  what can i say more than that?  i really liked it.  and the main reason i want to buy the dvd is in hopes it will contain original short shane acker did way back in like 2006 or something.  he won the academy award for short animated feature back then and was able to lure of big name, blockbuster name, tim burton to sign on as producer of this feature length film.  with a name like tim burton attached, you can pencil in well known names such as elijah wood, jennifer connelly, christopher plummer, crispin glover, john c. reilly and martin landau to do your voice overs.

this thing is visually impressive and very stylishly done.  it just looks plain cool.  the story is a little terminator, a little matrix, a little mad max, a little vulcan’s hammer, it actually has a little of a lot of stuff in it.  not that it’s a terribly original story by any means.  it’s post apocolypse.  everything is torched except these little doll guys that some mad scientist put the last bit of his soul into so they could bring new hope to the world he had ultimately destroyed.

and it works for me.  i heard someone complain it was too short and there needed to be a little more explanation and detail and all that.  i say hooey!  it’s refreshing to see a film coming in under an hour and a half.  i’m sick to death of these epic nearly 3 hour features.  this thing is short, sweet and to the point.  i’ll let you decide what the point is.

i might buy this thing new on dvd.  so like 15 bucks?  20 depending on the special features.

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Cal Reed

9: Is it a 10?

9 and 5 want to save 2. But 1 says, "Don't even think about that."

8, a big galoot, is on 1's side.

3 and 4 are twins and blithe spirits willing to go with the flow. 7 is a magical force — brave and beautiful. 6 draws strange designs. Or was that 8?

So, does all this add up in 9's eponymous flick?

Strangely, the answers is yes.

The Movie Slut thinks you should also know that these numerical beings are animated and look as if they're made of fabric swatches stitched together with knitting wool. Their story plays out in a post-apocalyptic world that resembles a never-ending junk heap. And that's all she'll say about that.

See you at the movies, The Movie Slut

9

     Produced by Tim Burton (and, yes, you can tell Tim Burton was involved) and based on writer/director Shane Acker's short film by the same name, "9" is a visually stunning, post apocalyptic animated tale about odd, little rag dolls which are the last hope of humanity. 
 
     Fair warning.  Just because this is an animated film and the main characters are small, doll like things, this movie is rated PG-13 for a reason.  It occurs shortly after the fall of mankind.  There is ruin everywhere, some dead bodies, (nothing really graphic) and some skeletal remains.  Don't bring younger or easily frightened children. 
 
     That having been said, "9" is, as I said, visually stunning, action packed, and exceptionally well done.  Acker pulls off a fast paced, yet enjoyable and engaging, story about death, hope, and the triumph, quite literally, of the human spirit. Voice talents include Christopher Plummer, Martin Landau, John Reilly, Crispin Glover, Jennifer Connelly, and Elijah Wood as our title character, 9.  9 is a small, cloth skinned, creation/creature, brought to life by a scientist, near the end of a devastating war between humanity and machines.  It doesn't take 9 long before he is running for his life, pursued by something that seems to be part machine and part cat skull and aided by 5, one of the 8 other creations/creatures that seem to be the only things life alive.  Each one of these numbered creations seem to have an innate role, including an almost insane 6 who seems to resemble Tim Burton a bit.  9 seems driven to find and rescue 2, who was captured by the afore mentioned cat/machine/monstrosity shorty before 5 found 9.


     From there, the story unfolds quite quickly, all without feeling rushed and while keeping the plot evolving.  The story is simple enough for younger viewers to understand and contains enough subtly embedded meaning and metaphor (like the cathedral-esque factory where the machines are made, the fictional, Nazi-like state that created the machines and used them for conquest, and the best-ever use of a Judy Garland song to foreshadow oncoming doom) to keep adult viewers paying attention.  On top of that, the action is paced very well and keeps you in suspense (nail biting, really) throughout the action scenes.  The ending may seem a bit, confusing or even anti climatic to some, but I, personally, was satisfied with the thought that, one so many levels, live goes on.

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Brian
Ciné Critique Américain

9 (Shane Acker, 2009)

With Tim Burton (Batman, 1989; Sweeney Todd, 2007) and Timur Bekmambetov (Daywatch, 2006; Wanted, 2008) serving as producers and backing the feature, it is hard to dismiss 9 as another in a long line of mediocre animated offerings by Hollywood (Pixar excluded). Based on an Oscar-nominated short of the same name and by the same director, 9 is in a way a breath of fresh air, even though for most parts, it dwells on genre clichés.

Directed by Shane Acker, this animated feature runs for a paltry eighty minutes. As a result, the narrative is not developed to its fullest potential. In general, the story is well-told; in fact, it is quite commendable that the filmmakers are able to clearly shape out the structure of the narrative and offer an unrushed feel to its execution with just slightly more than an hour of screen time.

When the end credits appear, however, most viewers might find themselves a little short-changed. We are left wanting for more, not because the film is so brilliant that we cannot get enough of, but rather we would like to see more of it just to get a more comprehensive picture of the story and its characters. That being said, I do hope that there will not be a sequel to 9, because despite its flaws, the ‘essence’ of the story is already told in the film.

Set in a post-apocalyptic world much like Terminator Salvation (2009), 9 centers on a group of nine ‘rag dolls’ with human-like consciences (perhaps the last remnants of intelligent civilization on Earth). They struggle to survive amid a hide-and-seek battle with the Machines. But when one of their own is captured, they set out to rescue him along with the internal disputes which follow a team with an uncooperative leader.

The animation is quite laudable. What is most striking about the animation is its rendering of the film’s setting. The bleak, almost lifeless world of perpetual gloom is, to a large extent, photo-realistic and creates a mood of desperation and lost hope. The desolateness of the environment is further emphasized by the size of the film’s characters – they are no more than half a meter tall. In spite of this, and because of their resourcefulness and bravery, their many David versus Goliath encounters with the Machines do not always end up a lost cause.

The climax of Acker’s film is more of a revelationary nature. It tries to explain the origin of the ‘rag dolls’ and provides some needed background information which preludes the film’s story. 9 is by no means a kid’s film; there are scenes of violence (including a close-up of a severed human hand), jump scenes, and quite a tense atmosphere. This is aimed at teenagers and especially adults who want to experience a decent animated feature without being insulted by material geared towards people who put on size-six shoes.
 
SCORE: 7.5/10
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Recommendations: Toy Story 3 (Lee Unkrich, 2010), To Kill a Mockingbird (Robert Mulligan, 1962), The Visitor

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9

I’ve seen some strange and confusing films in my day, but I have got to say that 9 takes the cake. THat is not to say that this is a bad film, by any stretch of the imagination, just a bit on the eccentric side.
The good…the animation is beautiful. Look at the detail in each of the puppets. It is quite impressive. Voice casting isn’t half bad, though I belive I would have switched Christopher Plummer and Martin Landau’s characters. THe fabrication machine is also quite the impressive manifestation, as are the things that “serve” it. The story is ok, but I think it could have been a bit lighter in tone, but I think that has more to do with my anti-dark film stance than an actual critique of the film.
The bad…I’m so tired of these post-apocalyptic films. Can’t anyone out there come up with something original? This could have easily happened on another planet. To make things worse, the time frame they seem to be in is as if the war happened around the 40s or so. I have no issue with that, really, but I do wish they had set down an actual time frame. Also, how is it that 7 is the only female, or how is she female, rather? I mean, these are all part of the scientist’s soul. I’m guessing that is the part of him that’s in touch with his feminine side? No, that can’t be it, because she was far from being all girly girl. I didn’t really have a problem with the character, but rather the fact that it was odd to have this one female and that its part of his soul. Just seemed a bit odd to me.
I wish I could say that I enjoyed this picture, but the fact is that I didn’t. At the same time, I didn’t hate it. There just wasn’t anything to make me sit up and say I love this or that about this film, at least nothing that would make me choose it over a Pixar flick, or even remember it. However, I do think if you can get past the utter confusion of the film and how not for kids this is, you’ll find a decent film.

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