SHORT - BUT VERY SWEET : "9"

Now, one thing you guys may not be aware of is the fact that I am a MASSIVE animation fan. Of any sort. From Pixar to Miyazaki – I’m your gal. That is why I have been chomping at the bit to watch the Oscar ® nominated animation 9 for a VERY long time. Especially with Tim Burton’s name as producer on the credit block. (Guess what, massive fan of Tim Burton aswell!) I have finally achieved this goal and believe me it was everything I expected of it and more…

As is usual, first the plot: It is the aftermath of the classic sci-fi plot “man against machines”. Only the machines have won and the human race has been wiped out. All that remain that are vaguely human are 9 rag dolls that have somehow come alive. Unfortunately none of them know where they came from or how the came alive, they just know of the world they are born into. It is important to add that the rag dolls didn’t all appear at once and 9 is the last one to appear. He is by far the most inquisitive and adventurous of all the dolls and starts a chain reaction of events that will change the world…

I know, that sounds like a cliché. And I am the first to admit, there is a lot in the film that is cliché: the “sassy chick” the “jaded leader” and “his goon” the “wise old scientist” and many more… As for the storyline it is an imaginative dystopia set in an alternative reality with some rather obvious allusions to Nazi Germany and Somewhere Over The Rainbow figuring in it. And I have to admit that I could see where the story was going from the middle onwards. That seems like rather a lot wrong with the movie if you think about it. The point, however, is that I seriously doubt you are meant to think about it for any length of time. Not in that much detail. I mean, “men against machines” themed horror / sci-fi flicks have been prominent since the 70’s for God’s sake, if you go down that route just don’t watch it. If you do that, you will be missing alot. ALOT. The film for one thing, is an absolute visual feast. You could randomly pick a frame and hang it on your wall as an art piece, it’s that good. The “holes” in the story are very easy to complete with basic imagination (and I assume anyone into watching animations has at least a basic imagination!). The characters are in a word lovable. I have heard people say “they aren’t developed” but really, they are just your good old staple animation / Hollywood film characters we watch in every film of this sort. Plus, with talented actors like Elijah Wood, Christopher Plummer, Martin Landau and Jennifer Connolly lending them their voices the rag dolls do a much better job “coming alive” on screen than some “live” actors do!

So it will not change your life. I have always said that all movies are not meant to. I will go as far as saying this though: Director Shane Aker has done an excellent jop and if you watch 9 and fail to enjoy it on some level, there is very probably something seriously wrong with you…