"9"
Directed by: Shane Acker
Starring: (The voices of:) Elijah Wood, John C. Reilly, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher Plummer, Crispin Glover, Martin Landau
Rated: PG-13
From the story of Noah and the book of Revelation in the Bible to novels that sprung up in the years following WWII and the newfound nuclear capability, post-apocalyptic literature has captured the imagination of the masses.
"Frankenstein" author Mary Shelley wrote "The Last Man," considered by some to be the first science fiction novel, which looked at a survivor of the end of the world. Modern authors from Jack London to Stephen King to Cormac McCarthy have also explored the subject with great success.
The cause of the apocalypse varies: Sometimes it's nuclear holocaust, sometimes it's disease (as in zombie films), and sometimes it's simply natural changes in the nature of the planet. After all, if the dinosaurs lost their dominance by natural causes, it could happy to we puny humans.
But the best-known setting for the apocalypse is a dystopian world driven out of existence by technology that has gone amok.
The latest in the line is "9," directed by Shane Acker, based on his and co-writer Pamela Pettler's screenplay and the short film Acker made in 2004 of the same name and with the same theme. Producers Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov got involved to get Acker the funding he needed to realize his vision on a full scale. The result is as visually captivating as it is emotionally disturbing and thought-provoking.
In this era of exponentially accelerating technology, animation has been growing by leaps and bounds and in many directions. "9" doesn't look like anything that has come before, and from the opening scene forward, it's easy to make believe you are watching a documentary based in another world or dimension.
The title character (voiced by Elijah Wood) is one of a handful of what can be described as sock puppets, imbibed with what we come to find out is the last vestige of the soul of humanity. How this group came into being, and how they were bestowed with their emotions, is as much a point of the film as is the story of the fight they are waging against the super machine and the subsequent machines it created that brought about the end of the world as it was known.
The others in the group are all different aspects of their creator. Together they combine to make up a whole of the human soul. The voice actors, from veterans like Christopher Plummer and Martin Landau to relative newcomers John C. Reilly and Jennifer Connelly, bring varied voices to the characters who ultimately lead to a whole.
The character we follow most closely is 9, and his innocence and curiosity unwittingly unleash the power of the "ultimate" machine, the technological equivalent to the Antichrist.
Acker and Pettler fashion a parable that breaks little new ground but travels the well-worn territory with breathtaking action sequences, engaging dialog and amazing animation.
Fans of the "Mad Max" and "Terminator" series will understand the ins and out from the beginning to end of "9's" rather sparse 79-minute running time, and fans of animation of any kind will find themselves staring in amazement.
While not of the adult bent of the "hippie days" classics like "Fritz the Cat," "9" is definitely not a kids' sort of animated feature; the PG-13 rating it carries should be heeded by parents of younger children. There are disturbing scenes and troubling philosophical implications that should be left for an older crowd.
That said, I can't wait to see "9" again when it's released to the home video market. A sequel is surely in the works and, if Acker assembles the same team he used here, will no doubt be another winning piece of animated wonder.
Jim Wunderle owns Wunderle Sound Services and is a Springfield freelance writer and musician. He can be reached at info@wunderlesound.com.
