9 offers a treat in visual filmmaking
Although puppets are the protagonists, the movie's dark theme and mood is definitely not for kids
Bryan Reynolds
Issue date: 9/17/09 Section: Features
With films like Edward Scissorhands and The Nightmare Before Christmas to his name, Tim Burton is the quintessential cult classic moviemaker. He excels once again as producer on 9.
With a theme that will be relevant for years to come, 9 is likely to become a modern animated classic.
The story seems familiar at first: a scientist has created an artificial intelligence capable of learning from experience. His original intention for this machine is to help better humankind, but the military has a different idea. They confiscate "The Machine," as it's dubbed, and force it to build weapons of war so the nation can conquer other nations.
The Machine learns a terrible lesson from this behavior: It learns that life is cheap.
It swiftly turns on the humans it was created to serve and wages a war of extermination. Yes, this main story arc wore out its welcome a decade ago. Director and story creator Shane Acker, however, has taken this worn-out setup and found a way to make it new and exciting again.
The main characters are puppets. The same scientist that created The Machine also created a series of puppets that are a conglomeration of sewing, mechanics and the human spirit. These people (indeed, "people" despite being stitched puppets) struggle to survive in a world decimated by the war between man and machine. They have a destiny to fulfill, one that each individual has caught tiny glimpses of. It takes teamwork and puppet number 9 (voiced by Elijah Wood) to guide them in fulfilling it, giving the movie its title.
9 definitely earns its PG-13 rating; it isn't an animated movie for children.
Burton is only a producer for this movie, but it definitely carries his flare for the strange and macabre. The Machine tends to combine biological and mechanical elements in its creations, which results in some truly disturbing and terrifying enemies.
9 is a beautiful movie to watch. The design is as surreal as the story itself, which is the movie's best quality. It feels like you're lost in a dream for 90 minutes and it's a wonderful feeling. The puppets are so human that after only a few minutes of the movie, the stitching, buttons, and burlap become flesh and bone.
The only real problem with 9 is that some parts feel like they were just thrown into the movie as filler.
For example, a battle with a vulture-like machine, although impressive, isn't really relevant to the story. There just aren't any important plot points during the battle.
This only happens a couple of times during the movie and doesn't distract from the epic storytelling. And besides, most of the summer blockbusters felt like wastes of time, so giving up 15 or 20 minutes to irrelevant storylines isn't that big of a deal for 9.
Ultimately, 9 is very much like The Matrix; you can't be told what it is. You have to see it for yourself to believe it.
It isn't a perfect movie, but 9 is definitely worth the time and money. It raises a question that all of us should keep in mind as our technology becomes more advanced and our humanity seems to fade into the background: what truly makes humans great?
Is it our intelligence, or our ability to make shinier toys?
Or is it our feelings and our humanity that makes us strong?
With a theme that will be relevant for years to come, 9 is likely to become a modern animated classic.
The story seems familiar at first: a scientist has created an artificial intelligence capable of learning from experience. His original intention for this machine is to help better humankind, but the military has a different idea. They confiscate "The Machine," as it's dubbed, and force it to build weapons of war so the nation can conquer other nations.
The Machine learns a terrible lesson from this behavior: It learns that life is cheap.
It swiftly turns on the humans it was created to serve and wages a war of extermination. Yes, this main story arc wore out its welcome a decade ago. Director and story creator Shane Acker, however, has taken this worn-out setup and found a way to make it new and exciting again.
The main characters are puppets. The same scientist that created The Machine also created a series of puppets that are a conglomeration of sewing, mechanics and the human spirit. These people (indeed, "people" despite being stitched puppets) struggle to survive in a world decimated by the war between man and machine. They have a destiny to fulfill, one that each individual has caught tiny glimpses of. It takes teamwork and puppet number 9 (voiced by Elijah Wood) to guide them in fulfilling it, giving the movie its title.
9 definitely earns its PG-13 rating; it isn't an animated movie for children.
Burton is only a producer for this movie, but it definitely carries his flare for the strange and macabre. The Machine tends to combine biological and mechanical elements in its creations, which results in some truly disturbing and terrifying enemies.
9 is a beautiful movie to watch. The design is as surreal as the story itself, which is the movie's best quality. It feels like you're lost in a dream for 90 minutes and it's a wonderful feeling. The puppets are so human that after only a few minutes of the movie, the stitching, buttons, and burlap become flesh and bone.
The only real problem with 9 is that some parts feel like they were just thrown into the movie as filler.
For example, a battle with a vulture-like machine, although impressive, isn't really relevant to the story. There just aren't any important plot points during the battle.
This only happens a couple of times during the movie and doesn't distract from the epic storytelling. And besides, most of the summer blockbusters felt like wastes of time, so giving up 15 or 20 minutes to irrelevant storylines isn't that big of a deal for 9.
Ultimately, 9 is very much like The Matrix; you can't be told what it is. You have to see it for yourself to believe it.
It isn't a perfect movie, but 9 is definitely worth the time and money. It raises a question that all of us should keep in mind as our technology becomes more advanced and our humanity seems to fade into the background: what truly makes humans great?
Is it our intelligence, or our ability to make shinier toys?
Or is it our feelings and our humanity that makes us strong?
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