PG-13, 79m, 2009

With the Voice Talents of Elijah Wood (9), John C. Reilly (5), Jennifer Connelly (7), Christopher Plummer (1), Crispin Glover (6), Martin Landau (2), Fred Tatasciore (8 and a Radio Announcer), Alan Oppenheimer (the Scientist) and Tom Kane (the Chancellor). Directed by Shane Acker. Produced by Jim Lemley, Tim Burton, Timur Bekmambetov and Dana Ginsburg. Screenplay by Pamela Pettler. Music by Deborah Lurie. Based on the short film of the same name.

            This is one of those animated films that scoffs at the notion of animation being a children’s medium, and the film certainly earns its PG-13 rating. This film is classified as an adult animated film. I disagree, I consider this film to be a teen animated film, as the film never goes near the boundaries pushed by other adult animated films like Fritz the Cat, Heavy Metal or A Scanner Darkly. This film was released on September 9, 2009, making its release date 09/09/09 (I can’t make this stuff up if I tried). The film is an expansion of the 2005 animated short 9 created by Shane Acker, when he was a student in UCLA. The short was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short in 2006, but it lost to The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation.

            The film opens with a mysterious scientist (Alan Oppenheimer) stitching together a rag doll like figure called a Stitchpunk. This opening brings to mind the opening of Coraline, which was released the same year. The difference is the opening of Coraline sets a creepy precedence for the rest of the film. This film’s opening sequence feels less creepy as it feels like a lonely old man is creating something he can interact with. Through narration from the Scientist, it’s revealed that in its pursuit to further technology humanity was destroyed itself and now the world is a barren wasteland. 9 (Elijah Wood) wakes up with no memory of who he is and mute. He goes outside where he’s started by the apocalyptic landscape. He hears something coming so he hides and bonks it on the head. It turns out to be a fellow Stitchpunk by the name of 2 (Martin Landau). 2 helps 9 regain his voice before they are attacked by a terrifying mechanical monster. 2 is captured in the ensuing battle and 9 is left alone. He gets rescued by 5 (John C. Reilly) and is quickly introduced to 1 (Christopher Plummer) and 8 (Fred Tatasciore). There 1 tells 9 the expositional story of how the Stitchpunks awoke to a world ripped straight out of The Matrix, where machines and humanity are at war with one another. Eventually humanity is wiped out leaving only the machines referred to as “the Beasts” and the Stitchpunks. 9 and 5 set out to rescue 2, they fin him in the Beast’s lair and their helped in taking down the Beast by 7 (Jennifer Connelly). 9 puts in the remaining part of a machine that sucks out the soul of 2. The machine comes to life and tries to kill 9, 7 and 5. They escape and travel back to 7’s lair 4 and 3. It’s revealed that the Scientist had built the machine, dubbed the brain as a way to build new machines. The Brain and its creations eventually turn on the humans following the machines being used for war purposes. The group joins back with the other Stitchpunks and they’re attacked by a machine created by the Brain. Their residence is destroyed leaving the Stitchpunks without a home and without shelter. The rest of the film centers around the Stitchpunks trying to survive and take down the machines.

            The film touches on the dangers of letting fear guide one’s actions This is best illustrated through the character of 1. 1 is so terrified of the outside world, that he forces all of the other Stitchpunks to hide and in the effort to save himself and his companions, he virtually imprisons them, The film also touches on how if great technology is put into the hands of the wrong people, it could have disastrous consequences. This is demonstrated when the scientist creates a machine that is meant to help humanity, instead the dictator bastardizes the project and turns it into a weapon of war. For a time, the plan works, that is until the machines turn on their creators and obliterate all of humanity.

            The creation of the Stitchpunks reminded me of the Homunculi from the Fullmetal Alchemist series, as both groups of characters are created by one being and both groups embody a particular trait. However, unlike the Homunculi, the Stitchpunks aren’t very interesting as characters. Conceptually they are interesting, but when put into practice, the characters fall into dumb, boring and generic stereotypes. Examples of this include 9 is the new guy, 3 and 4 are the geniuses, 7 is the rebel, 8 is the big strong brute and 2 is the kind elderly gentleman who gets axed off quickly. This is extremely frustrating as this idea could have worked. Had the story been stretched out to the length of a series, the characters could have been almost as interesting as the Homunculi from Fullmetal Alchemist, instead we’re treated to instantly forgettable character that we’ve seen time and time again.

            The animation of the Stitchpunks is rather jerky, but I interpreted this as a way to show the unnatural nature of the characters as they are not naturally created. The details of the character animation is quite exquisite. Each of the Stitchpunks are made with similar material, but their designs are unique, making each of the Stitchpunks instantly recognizable. The background animation is your typical post-apocalyptic setting, with a dulled color tone and dark cloudy skies.

            As this film is rated PG-13, it has themes that may frighten young viewers. The movie is very open about showing several human characters meeting their demise and that all the humans on the planet are now dead. Scenes involving the Stitchpunks getting their souls sucked out of their bodies are likely to inspire nightmare among young children. That being said, the film does take time to remember the peaceful soft scenes. There’s a particular memorable sequence where the Stitchpunks dance and relax, while listening to “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”.

            9 introduces its audience to new ideas and concepts that aren’t fully explored, resulting in a film riddled with exposition and characters that we as the audience hardly get to know. The film’s design is your basic post-apocalyptic wasteland, with minimal visual substance. This is a real shame as Tim Burton was a producer on this film, and while some of his films are lacking in characters and plot, his set and character designs are always visually interesting. While not a bad film, 9 lacks the awe and wonder of other films released at the time like Up, Coraline and The Princess and the Frog.