Number 9, Number 9, Number 9

Animation has developed in leaps and bounds since the advent of CG.  It was the release of Pixar’s Toy Story back in 1995 that marked the dawn of the new era however, a combination of revolutionary visuals, memorable characters, and a warm, witty and wise script laced with a profoundly humanist subtext (it’s there!  really!) resulting in one of the best films of all time*.

Since then of course, very little has reached or even tried to reach similar heights of storytelling magic, the only films coming close being Toy Story II (funnily enough), as well as other Pixar efforts such as Finding Nemo or the magnificent WALL-E.  Rival studios such as Dreamworks have achieved reasonable commercial success with flicks like Shrek, but these have generally lacked comparable depth.

9 began life as a short-film created by Shane Acker, one of the CG wizards brought in to work on The Return of the King, and has since been expanded into a feature-length animation with the aid of Tim Burton who receives a production credit for his efforts.

At some point in the future, man has been brought to extinction by all-powerful machines of his own invention – kind of a la Terminator but with a smattering of The War of the Worlds thrown in for good measure.

Into this nightmarish post-apocalyptic landscape awakes 9 (Elijah Wood), a small Pinocchio-esque doll about six inches tall, made of hessian and hand-carved wood with a zipper conveniently running down his middle.  Nearby lies the body of a white-haired scientific sort, presumably the genius who managed to animate (haw haw) him, as well as a small amulet covered in mysterious markings.

Venturing into the blasted outside world, he soon meets cheery old-timer 2 (Martin Landau), kindly one-eyed 5 (John C Reilly), action woman 7 (Jennifer Connelly), and the devious 1 (Christopher Plummer, whose animated alter-ego bears a striking resemblance to his gaunt features, as it did in Pixar’s wonderful Up!).  Although they’ve polished off humanity, the machines aren’t resting on their laurels however, and soon turn their attention to the above-mentioned dolls.**

Although the animation is generally excellent, the attention to detail does not quite come up to Pixar’s high standards – for example, one is unable to discern the individual fibres of hessian that make up our hero’s body – a challenge that Pixar overcame back with Monster’s Inc.  What sets 9 apart however is its darkly unusual setting, the dolls vs machines setup proving to be a remarkably fresh twist on an otherwise tired scenario, with technology in its various forms battling over the earth's depleted reserves of life.

However this isn’t enough to make up for an incredibly cliché-ridden script.  The story feels stripped to its skeleton, the bare bones of its archetypal plot acting as an adequate frame over which to stretch the film’s visual skin, but without breathing much in the way of soul into the proceedings.  This isn’t helped by the seemingly endless chase sequences which merely succeed in exhausting one’s attention, rather than gripping it.  Sadly, despite its beautiful wrapping, 9 ultimately feels hollow, like a doll lifelessly lying on the workbench.


Distractions from the heat:  Next weekend - huzzah!  New White Denim album Fits now out at a store near you!  This recipe.  Its the shit.


* as good as Citizen Kane and Casablanca?  Yes, absolutely!
** duh duh DUUUUUHHHH!!!!