“9”, film by Shane Acker finally coming to theaters!

Yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes! Ok, so I’m really excited for this movie. Almost two years ago someone sent me a link to a short (ten minutes) animated film by Shane Acker, entitled 9. I watched it, and was completely blown away. It was sort of like something from a person’s dream – somebody’s dark, bizarre, superawesome and intriguing dream. It was the only short film I’d ever seen that left me wanting much, much more; I felt as if ten minutes were not nearly enough to explore the universe Acker had created. You can image, therefore, how psyched I was to find out that the short was to be made into a feature-length film! And now that film is finally here! And with an amazing, all-star cast too! I’m already overdoing it with the exclamation points, and this is only how I felt before even watching the trailer!



How cool is that? 9 takes place in a sinister, postapocalyptic world where evil and frightening mechanical beasts threaten a group of sentient rag dolls who band together in an attempt to survive and find answers about themselves and the world that was. I was surprised at first that Elijah Wood was voicing 9, but I’ve come around to thinking he might be kind of perfect for the part. He can definitely do the whole earnest, innocent, underdog hero thing (à la Happy Feet, Lord of the Rings, etc) and he’s already done a lot of voice acting. Then we have Christopher Plummer as 1, coming right off his last big voice role with Pixar’s Up. He’s got a sweet voice, and I like it when he does animation, because then I can imagine the guy still looks like Captain von Trapp. I’m kind of neutral on Jennifer Connelly, but her character 7 does look pretty badass. The rest of the cast is pretty star-studded as well, but those three were the ones that jumped out at me.

One of the cool things about this film, aside from it’s unique design, is the fact that it seems to have the best action sequences I’ve ever seen in any animation anywhere. Check out this scene:



Although animated, 9 is not a kid’s movie. It’s dark and weird and features characters who fight what is essentially a losing battle. The beasts in this film are of the same brand of creepy that made the other mother in Coraline such a great villain. Check out this one, the Seamstress:



9 is directed by Shane Acker and produced by Tim Burton. In theaters September 9th. I am so there.