9

Encouraged by producers Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov, director Shane Acker expanded his Oscar-nominated animated sci-fi fable short into a feature-length film. 9 opens with a tiny “stitchpunk” rag doll (voiced by Elijah Wood) bearing the #9 on his back coming to life in a desolate, dreary, post-apocalyptic world. Totally bewildered, 9 doesn't even realize he has a voice until he's befriended by a kindly “brother,” known as #2 (Martin Landau). Eventually, 9 learns that the dark emptiness is filled with danger: humans have been decimated by machines, and it's the sacred mission of creatures such as himself—created by a dedicated scientist during humanity's final days--to perpetuate “life” on Earth. Each of 9's numerical colleagues boast distinct qualities and weaknesses: #1 (Christopher Plummer) is a war vet full of negativity, while #3 and #4 are nonverbal twins who are able to communicate with the bygone world. Of the others, #5 (John C. Reilly) is an engineer, #6 (Crispin Glover) is a visionary artist, #7 (Jennifer Connelly) is a brave, if reckless warrior, and #8 (Fred Tatasciore) is a dimwitted brute. So it's up to young 9 to weld them into a cohesive team to defeat the villainous “Great Machine.” Although briskly told, the storyline in this visually striking film is also somewhat one-dimensional. A strong optional purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary (by writer-director Shane Acker, animation director Joe Ksander, story artist Ryan O'Loughlin, and editor Nick Kenway), a “9—The Long and Short of It” behind-the-scenes featurette (17 min.), “The Look of 9” production featurette (14 min.), “9—The Original Short” with optional commentary (11 min.), an “Acting Out” featurette on character animation (5 min.), and deleted scenes (8 min.). Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is a “U-Control” picture-in-picture track with behind-the-scenes footage that plays during the film, an “On Tour with Shane Acker” behind-the-scenes featurette (6 min.), and the BD-Live function. Bottom line: a fine extras package for an uneven film.] (S. Granger)