9

Getting a 12A certificate probably isn’t going to help a CG animated movie make it big at the box office, which is a real shame, as while it may be rather intense for younger children, 9 is a great piece of entertainment.

An expanded version of Shane Acker’s Oscar-nominated short film (which he first made as part of his university thesis), the movie opens after humanity has been obliterated due to its blind pursuit of technology. Before he dies, a scientist uses a strange device to breathe life into a burlap rag doll, known as 9 (Elijah Wood). The newly animated toy discovers that there are eight others like him created by the scientist, most of whom are in hiding from the ‘Cat Beast’ robot that wants to kill them.

After one of their number is kidnapped by the vicious robot, 9 heads off to rescue them, only to inadvertently awaken the Fabrication Machine, which is capable of creating more war machines and wants to steal the rag dolls’ souls. 9, along with his burlap brethren, must then find a way to defeat the machines, as well as discover more about a mysterious talisman that may be the key to everything.

9  has a beautiful and meticulous visual style, with some intense, pulse-pounding action sequences and a bleak, philosophical tone that sets it apart from most animated fare. It’s a film that’s trying to tackle some fairly deep ideas, with each little burlap creature representing part of a human soul, dealing with the fact that they are completely alone in a broken world. At times it gets a bit confused and limply metaphysical, but largely it’s an excellent piece of filmmaking that attempts to show that CG animation can be more than just entertainment for children, and can offer a unique way to tell interesting and unusual stories.

The film has been criticised in some quarters for being narratively weak, but I can’t help thinking that this is only true if you just treat it as a man (or toy) vs. machine kid’s film, rather than thinking about what the film is trying to do, and how it’s attempting, in an interesting but not 100% successful way, to explore the human condition.

However where the film works best it that it’s a true visual feast, with a unique style that’s enthralling to look at and which keeps you entertained and engaged from beginning to end. It’ll certainly be interesting to see what Shane Acker gets up to next.

Overall Verdict: It may be a lot darker than most animation, but 9 is a gorgeous to look at and memorable post-apocalyptic tale.

Reviewer: Sam Bruneau