An action-packed adventure, director Shane
Acker's animated fantasy epic 9 is the feature-length
expansion of his Academy Award-nominated 2004 short film of
the same name. The screenplay for the feature is by Pamela
Pettler (Monster House); directors Tim Burton (Beetlejuice)
and Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted) are among the feature
version's producers.
The time is the too-near future. Powered and enabled by the
invention known as the Great Machine, the world's machines
have turned on mankind and sparked social unrest, decimating
the human population before being largely shut down.
But as our world fell to pieces, a mission began to salvage
the legacy of civilization; a group of small creations was
given the spark of life by a scientist in the final days of
humanity, and they continue to exist post-apocalypse.
Another of their own, #9 (voiced by Elijah Wood), emerges
and displays leadership qualities that may help them survive
and possibly even thrive. The conflicted but resilient tribe
already includes #1 (Christopher Plummer), a domineering war
veteran and the group's longtime leader; #2 (Martin Landau),
a kindly but now-frail inventor; #3 and #4, scholarly twins
who communicate nonverbally and mostly with each other; #5
(John C. Reilly), a stalwart and nurturing engineer; #6
(Crispin Glover), an erratic artist beset by visions; #7
(Jennifer Connelly), a brave and self-sufficient warrior;
and #8 (Fred Tatasciore), the none-too-bright muscle and
enforcer for #1.
With their group so few, these "stitchpunk" creations must
summon individual strengths well beyond their own
proportions in order to outwit and fight against
still-functioning machines, one of which is a marauding
mechanized beast. In the darkness just before the dawn, #9
rallies everyone of his number to band together.
While showcasing a stunning "steampunk"-styled visual
brilliance, 9 dynamically explores the will to live, the
power of community, and how one soul can change the world.
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