Rated: 12A/ PG = For horror Animated images!


A new era in animated storytelling begins on 9.9.09. Visionary filmmakers Tim Burton (The Corpse Bride, Charlie and The Chocolate Factory) and Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted, Nightwatch) join forces to produce wunderkind director Shane Acker’s distinctively original and thrilling tale. 9 stars Elijah Wood, John C. Reilly, Jennifer Connelly, Martin Landau, Christopher Plummer and Crispin Glover and features the music of Danny Elfman.

When 9 (The Lord of the Ring’s Elijah Wood) first comes to life, he finds himself in a post-apocalyptic world. All humans are gone, and it is only by chance that he discovers a small community of others like him taking refuge from fearsome machines that roam the earth intent on their extinction. Despite being the neophyte of the group, 9 convinces the others that hiding will do them no good. They must take the offensive if they are to survive, and they must discover why the machines want to destroy them in the first place. As they'll soon come to learn, the very future of civilization may depend on them. --© Focus Features

Animation film 9, directed by Shane Acker, is a bleak apocalyptic tale in which a ragtag group of doll-like creatures appear to be the only survivors on a ruined landscape that's obliterated of humans. These creatures have survived a horrible devastation in which the world's technology and machinery attacked mankind. Our heroes, who come with numbers instead of names, are hiding in fear of being next in line.

Eljiah Wood voices the protagonist of this story, 9, a jute-woven critter with a funky zipper up the front, who stumbles on an underground community of others like him, hiding from the terrifying machinery that's still wreaking havoc on Earth. Younger and braver than the others, 9 persuades his fellow survivors to come out of hiding and fight back the machines.

A full-length feature version of an 11-minute short film that won the director a Student Academy Award, 9 has some stylishly haunting visuals and innovative animation too, but the plot leaves a lot to be desired, comes as it does with repetitive action scenes and indifferent characterization. Veteran actors like Christopher Plummer, Jennifer Connelly, John C Reilly and Martin Landau lend their vocal talents to the other characters made out of different materials.

Despite its novelty, "9" is often boring at a running time of 90-minutes and there are long stretches you're likely to find yourself snoring through.

Produced by Tim Burton and Russian filmmaker Timur Bekmambetov who were impressed enough by Acker's short film to commission this feature version, 9 is imaginative and visually stunning. But you need real patience to appreciate its full intentions. I'm going with two out of five for director Shane Acker's 9. Watch it if you're an animation junkie; there's much to be pleased about.

Rating: 2 / 5 (Average)

I'm not a huge movie lover myself, but something about this movie really captured my eye, was it the plot? The characters? The setting? I must honestly say it's all of them. I fell in love with the plot, the characters and everything else about it. I wasn't that happy with the ending though, it left me sort of mad because I was suspecting a much happier ending but overall it's a fantastic movie to watch if you enjoy gloomy scenery, action and slightly scary images (not recommended for younger viewers.) This review is coming from a 13 year old female, if you are curious.