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| Poster artwork for the fantasy adventure animated film 9. |
Harming or Helping Humanity by Linh
9 began as an animated short from
director Shane Acker, which was nominated for an Academy Award, before it was
expanded into a feature film. Director Tim Burton jumped onboard as one of the
producers for 9, and his influence is
strongly felt throughout, as the characters have echoes of Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas.
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ENERGY SOURCE: 5 (John C. Reilly) and 9
(Elijah Wood) inspect the talisman symbol in the animated film 9. Image: Focus Features, Madman
Entertainment.
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Set
in a post-apocalyptic time in the aftermath of a war between humans and
machines, the story follows the restoration and renewal of humanity in the tiny
hands of nine rag dolls or 'stitchpunks' which are handcrafted by a scientist
as a last attempt to defeat the machines and save what's left of humankind.
The
scientist creates a machine so powerfully intelligent that it not only works
for humans, but also creates other robots to do work for the government. As the
scientist was close to giving the machine the ability to empathise, the
Chancellor orders the scientist to surrender the machine and forces it to work
in a factory creating war machines. The machine rebels and turns against
humanity, creating destruction and devastation - virtually wiping out the
entire human population.
In
an effort to save humanity, the scientist makes nine stitched dolls which he
knows will survive the poisoned and desolate wasteland better than the
remaining humans, and gives each stitchpunk a piece of his soul. He also gives
each one a number (using the myths and workings of numerology) that represent
their character traits. He dies as he completes his final stitchpunk, and the
last doll plays an integral role in the story.
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SACRIFICE: 1 (Christopher Plummer)
must decide the next move with 8 (Fred Tatasciore) and 9 (Elijah Wood) in the
animated film 9. Image: Focus
Features, Madman Entertainment.
|
Despite
the convoluted storyline, there is much to enjoy in the eighty minutes of 9. The computer-generated animation is
created by Starz Animation and although not as polished as Pixar or dynamic as
DreamWorks, it still succeeds in bringing a sense of gloom and sadness among
the vast, desolate wasteland. It also achieves in showing the glimmering sense
of hope instilled in the characters who must work together to save the future
of civilisation.
The
voice cast is a curious choice with Elijah Wood as 9, the number which
represents humanitarianism, so it was obvious for his character to be the hero
of the film.
As
the number 1 represents 'protection', Christopher Plummer's character becomes
the self-declared leader who can at times be cowardly and domineering, or
dutiful and self-sacrificing, depending on the situation; Martin Landau gives a
brief yet great performance as 2,the kind and gentle inventor and explorer of
the group, but is the first of the group to be sacrificed to the Beast; 3 and 4
are the mercurial and delightful twins who only communicate visually and are
constantly processing, programming and preserving information for their
historical records. Although they are unvoiced, the pair are remarkably
expressive and entertaining to watch; John C. Reilly continues to expand his
talents in all genres of films and his contribution here is the caring and
loyal 5, who is a healer and engineer; Crispin Glover (most (in)famously
remembered for kicking David Letterman in the head while appearing as a guest
on the talk show) voices the visionary recluse and artistic 6; the lone female
of the group is 7, who's a brave, self-sufficient and quick-witted stitchpunk
and voiced by Jennifer Connelly and Fred Tatasciore is the muscle-bound and not
too bright 8, the guard who wields a meat cleaver and half a scissor.
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DANGER: 9 (Elijah Wood), 7 (Jennifer
Connelly) and 5 (John C. Reilly) avoid the wrath of the Beast in the animated
film 9. Image: Focus Features, Madman
Entertainment.
|
The
film has many binaries such as good versus evil, science versus spirituality
and man versus machine, but the message regarding the extent of technology's
impact on society is one that may escape younger audiences.
The
use of animation to deliver adult themes to a younger audience seems to be a
trend that would continue, mostly to attract a wider demographic. The side
effects may be fewer youth-oriented animated films, less diversity in
storytelling technique and fewer people who are willing to take risks in
animation filmmaking.
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CAUTION: 6 (Crispin Glover), 5 (John C.
Reilly), 9 (Elijah Wood) and the twins 3 and 4 take measures against the Machine
in the animated film 9. Image: Focus
Features, Madman Entertainment.
|
Shane
Acker's first feature animated film is a solid effort with plenty of
imagination and creativity used to concoct a fine mix of audio and visual
effects to accompany the action and story.
The
philosophical and complex concepts of the narrative may make this film quite a
confusing mess for some audiences and children wouldn't easily grasp the plot.
However, 9 remains an entertaining
film with some fantastic visuals and engaging characterisations.
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CONFRONTATION: 9 (Elijah Wood) faces
off with the Machine in the animated film 9.
Image: Focus Features, Madman Entertainment.
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Director: Shane Acker
Writers: Pamela Pettler (screenplay), Shane
Acker (story)
Voice Cast: Elijah Wood, Christopher
Plummer, Jennifer Connelly, Martin Landau, John C. Reilly, Crispin Glover, Fred
Tatasciore, Alan Oppenheimer, Tom Kane, Helen Wilson
Producers: Tim Burton, Jim Lemley,
Timur Bekmambetov, Dana Ginsburg, Jinko Gotoh, Mary Clayton
Cinematographer: Kevin R. Adams
Original Music Composer: Deborah Lurie
Production Designers: Robert St. Pierre, Fred
Warter
Art Directors: Kevin R. Adams,
Christophe Vacher
Running Time: 1 hour and 20 minutes
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