In an industry where remakes are remade and reboots rebooted, 9 is a breath of post-apocalyptic fresh air. Though based off
Acker’s 2005 Academy Award nominated short film of the same name, nothing about this film is “re’ed”. Originality oozes from the screen as Acker gets the opportunity to flesh out the world he teased us with four years ago.
We enter that world as a stitch-punk named 9 opens his lenses for the very first time. Vulnerable and unzipped, 9’s first sights are a dead human beneath him and a mysterious, yet intuitively significant object before him. Though every shadow screams caution he bravely ventures into a decimated wasteland where he finds, and quickly loses, a much needed companion. From there, 9 takes us on a journey that reveals the destruction of man, the rise of machines and the survival of nine.
The story of Man vs. Machine is turned upside down in Acker’s world. There’s a clear winner to the war, and it’s not us. What’s interesting is that the demise of humans seems unimportant in the grand scheme of the film. Concern solely rests in what the nine must endure because of humanities mistakes. It is this theme, along with tides of paranoia and fear that drive the movie forward and allow us to invest in and sympathise with these nine strange beings. 9 is refreshingly sophisticated in its vision and successful in its realization of it.
It is a beautiful marriage of visuals and character that makes this movie well worth a watch. Besides looking great, details like 1’s stitched wrinkles and 7’s bird skull add to their respective character’s personality. Each number is unique and fleshed out nicely and all nine warrant a closer look (Hint hint Cartoon Network). The nine are voiced by a stellar cast including Christopher Plummer, Martin Landau, John C. Reilly, Jennifer Connelly and Elijah Wood, whose voices fit their characters perfectly.
I’ve been very disappointed with North American animated films for years because they’re always geared towards kids. Don’t get me wrong, UP was a great movie and I’m continually impressed with what Pixar brings to the table, but once in a while I’d like to stretch my imagination in a way that doesn’t involve a floating house, friendly monsters or talking toys. Now, if those monsters were ripping the toys to shreds while slo-mo jumping through a window of a house as it exploded in a fiery blaze...Consider my imagination stretched. My point is, the anime industry realized decades ago that animation isn’t just for kids while North America has yet to see the light. Fortunately, Shane Acker has. Terror is not tamed and death is not dumbed down in a film that will capture your adult imagination while decapitating a few machines in the process. 9 is definitely not your little brother’s animation – and that’s a good thing.