9 (Blu-ray) (2009)

"Sci-fi fans will find heaven in Shane Acker's feature-film debut.  Stephen Cole, The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
"...a story as sophisticated as its visuals...  Tasha Robinson, The Onion A.V. Club

Editor's Note Elijah Wood and Jennifer Connelly lend their voices to this animated fantasy directed by Shane Acker, a veteran of Spike and Mike's film festival. In 9, Acker turns his Oscar-nominated short into a full-length fantasy about a world where humanity has been annihilated by machines. In this post-apocalyptic earth, a group of sewn creations bands together to battle the few remaining machines. Produced by visionary directors Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov, this film also features the voices of Christopher Plummer, Martin Landau, John C. Reilly, Crispin Glover, and Fred Tatasciore.

	Crispin Glover - Voice
	John C. Reilly - Voice
	Christopher Plummer - Voice
	Elijah Wood - Voice
	Tim Burton - Producer
	Martin Landau - Voice
	Timur Bekmambetov - Producer
	Jennifer Connelly - Voice
	Fred Tatasciore - Voice
	Pamela Pettler - Screenwriter
	Shane Acker - Story
	Jim Lemley - Producer
	Deborah Lurie - Composer
	Danny Elfman - Additional Music/Songs
	Shane Acker - Director

Box Office
3.5 stars out of 5 -- "9 is a brilliantly animated and welcome treat for moviegoers searching for adventure, inspiration and complete originality." 08/19/2009

Film Comment
"The visuals have been expanded and the characters have been given greater depth....The aesthetic wavelength of producer Tim Burton was clearly in sync with Acker's." 09/01/2009

Chicago Sun-Times
3 stars out of 4 -- "[T]he best reason to see it is simply because of the creativity of its visuals. They're entrancing." 09/09/2009

Entertainment Weekly
"The latest achievement in art direction with an end-of-humanity theme belongs to the CG-animated fantasy-adventure 9, a tale of trust, bravery, and cooperation..." -- Grade: B 09/18/2009

Washington Post
?Acker?s visual gifts are undeniable. He uses CGI to simulate the look of stop-motion, and his rendering of texture -- from grimy fiber to yellowed paper -- is a wonder.? 09/11/2009

Total Film
3 stars out of 5 -- "9 takes the extra time to expand its characters....Dialogue is added and monster quotient upped." 10/22/2009

Chicago Sun-Times
Included in Chicago Sun-Times's "The Ten Best Animated Films Of 2009" -- "[With] delicate artistry by filmmaker Shane Acker..." 12/24/2009

A.V. Club
"The visuals are beautifully planned and executed, and they draw viewers deep into a terrifying post-apocalyptic world..." 01/06/2010

Uncut
3 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he film itself is visually impressive -- you can, perhaps, detect Burton and Bekmambetov's influence in the eldritchian landscape and twisted dieselpunk designs." 10/26/2009

Empire
3 stars out of 5 -- "The eerie visuals are inspired -- they've clearly been swilling around the director's head for years..." 05/01/2010

ReelViews 7 of 10
Perhaps it says something about the nihilistic perspective of modern society, but the post-apocalyptic story is becoming a popular genre; not since the height of the Cold War have movies been so obsessed with the end of civilization. No longer restricted to art-house meditations and action/adventure sagas, this kind of tale has made its way into the animated realm, first with 2008's Pixar release, WALL-E, and now with the Tim Burton/Timur Bekmambetov co-production, 9. Although there are enough scares and thrills to tip the scales slightly onto the PG-13 side of the PG/PG-13 line, this is by no means "adult" animation - or at least it's not going to conjure up thoughts of Heavy Metal or Fritz the Cat. This is post-apocalyptic adventure as imagined for a teen crowd, and what it lacks in depth it makes up for in action. With a slight running time of 80 minutes, 9 doesn't contain an ounce of fat on its animated bones...9 is certainly no WALL-E, but its intentions are different. Like many action-oriented films, whether live-action or animated, this one doesn't take the time to develop the characters and their relationships are telegraphed through recognizable cliches. (The film might have been better off without the "romance" between 9 and 7.) But it excels in establishing a narrative-advancing breakneck pace that integrates exposition without bringing the action to a screeching halt, and represents a largely enjoyable 1 1/4 hours. Comparing this to the summer's biggest, most bloated movie about malevolent robots, 9 is about twice as enjoyable with half the length. - James Berardinelli