9

Humanity has ended. The world is left in shambles; a testament of its own demise. All that remain are machines and stitchpunks, little ragdolls who have been given life by their scientist creator. Each of the nine creatures has a personality of their own. There’s the leader, the inventor, the twins, the healer, the artist, the warrior, the giant, and then there is 9.

Travelling across this post apocalyptic wasteland, the stitchpunks encounter machines controlled by the B.R.A.I.N., an artificial intelligence system. These machines attempt to kill them and take what’s left of their soul. It’s up to 9 and the rest to survive and defeat the B.R.A.I.N. so they no longer have to live in fear.

The attention to detail and characteristics of the nine stitchpunks is fantastic. Even though they are made from cloth, you can clearly see the emotion and personality in their faces, not to mention their actions as well. Each is different and you can’t help but develop a favorite among the crowd. The multiple inventions seen throughout the film are all just part of the creativity that went into designing this world they live in.

With a PG-13 rating, 9 is definitely not for small children. Death, destruction, and chaos are riddled throughout and it deals with some mature themes. Looking at the big picture, there is the internal message that we humans are killing ourselves and that something like this could happen if we don’t change our ways. Blah, blah, blah; we’ve all heard this before in other films.

The story can be difficult to follow. The audience is thrown into this world with little to no knowledge of what is going on. Sure, some things get explained briefly, but it’s up to you to infer much of what is going on.

At 81 minutes, the film is also quite short. Once you’re introduced to the characters, it’s almost nonstop. The action sequences throughout are fantastic, although the dialog could have been somewhat better. With some top names in the industry, you would have expected a better job.

9 is definitely a step up from the short film it is based on. It’s got action, comedy, and even a tad bit of romance thrown in for good measure. Don’t forget the spectacular animations as well. If I ever met a cross between LittleBigPlanet and steampunk, then 9 is it.