Brilliant little flim

I bought this for my children, but I enjoyed it and probably understood the undercurrent message more. A shame films like this get passed over for the more flash Pixar and their ilk. The film itself was well story boarded, and even though the back ground was bleak and apocolyptic, and the colouring muted, it was certanly not a dull or bleak film. Highly recommended for all ages.

---

More than meets the eye

Having seen the reviews and comments, I must see something in this film that others don't, because I do rate it.
First off, it looks magnificent. Even if there were no more to it, the film would require a viewing just for the graphics. The animated depiction of a dead world (remember, the puppets are not sentient and have no means of reproduction)that leaves behind only debris, half functioning but demonic machinery (which does appear to be able to reproduce) and nine small burlap puppets is awe-inspiring.

But its not just a looker. This is one of an elite group of films that presupposes an earth which is unpopulated by humans. I struggle to think of more (first half of Wall-E?). Is this why some people struggle with '9'? There is no human interest, the puppets are merely two dimensional facets of their three dimensional but deceased inventor, not to be taken as fully rounded characters. But Shane Acker and Tim Burton manage to elicit from me some care about then, and as my son reminds me, if you don't care about any of the characters there's not much point to the film.

To be sure, some of the film's themes are well trod; the dangers of technology, man versus machine and all that. But 9 managed to keep me absorbed and interested right through to its pseudo-religious ending (how can pieces of burlap go to heaven?). And it has improved with repeated viewings, understanding the relationship between the puppets and how they relate to their creator enhanced my appreciation of '9'.

It also remained true to its graphical novel origins and, hell, it even made me curious to read one. Something I've never considered before.

---

9 is the number of a good little devil

The world has been destroyed by a war between men and machines, because a totalitarian regime imposed to a mad scientist to build the ultimate machine that could build more machines. The machines won of course. But on that last machine the mad scientist who was not completely mad built a plug-in that had to be brought and that plug-in is working two ways. It activates the machine if it is plugged into the machine or it is the destroying element if it is activated when off the machine. Then he creates some nice little mechanical humanoids whose mission it is to destroy the mechanical folly that destroyed the world. The last of these little technical androids is number Nine and he will succeed in his mission. The details are in the film itself. It is naïve, slightly frightening, definitely sickening about the silliness and gullibility of human beings. It is also full of hope that these little nice mechanical androids who are given the planet after this catastrophe will be better than human beings. Human beings had been created by God and these by a not so mad after all scientist. You can imagine the madness of God who created such an unmanageable species. Maybe not the best of Tim Burton's films but quite a good one, though obsessed as usual with death, which means with life.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne, University Paris 8 Saint Denis, University Paris 12 Créteil, CEGID

---

Looks great but that's about all.

This whole thing was a bit of a disapoointment to me. Beside it looking great there wasn't much to it. The story was weak, and the whole thing felt very rushed. Because of this you never felt involved with any of the characters; there was no emotional attachment at all.

On the plus side the Blu ray does have some good extra features - one of which is the original short.

9 was originally a short animation made by a guy at film school, and it's easy to see why the original short caused such a stir and was soon picked up and made into a feautre lenght film. Unfortunately the translation doesn't really work for me. The idea of the story is OK and the robot monsters are excellent but all in all, you don't feel very involved with a film which is a bit of a let down - especially when you consider how good the short was/is. The short made a lot more sense, you felt more for the characters, and the ending was less confusing.

A real shame. If this review was helpful please give it the thumbs up.

---

Very nice film - full of action

Very inteligent movie with all the right componets and not overdone. It talks on how we managed yet again to destriy our world but in the end there is always hope that the gadgets will survive. I had very nice time viewing it and was always kept alert. Worth buying