In a world destroyed in a war between men and machines, a hand-stitched doll with the number 9 written on its back comes to life. The world he has awakened to is frightening but he quickly learns that he is not alone and that there are others like him. They also have a single digit written on their backs. The first doll he encounters is 2 who tells him something about what happened to the world. 2 is also thrilled with the disk 9 is carrying. It has three unique symbols on the front. 9 soon learns that the disk and some of the other dolls are prepared to die for the good of humankind. They may be the last hope for man's salvation.
This movie is carried along by a unique visual style and a great sense of its "place." The sack-men and woman or dolls are refreshingly odd and actually funny to watch. The post-apocalyptic city is consistently beautiful and always has a feeling of danger. 9 is the youngest member of the group that represents the Scientist's humanity, big heartedness, thoughtfulness and sincerity. He is very intelligent but he can make mistakes due to his natural curiosity. He seeks the truth in the history of his creation and he wishes to know the real meaning of life.
The basis for this film is an Indian Malayalam-language science fiction horror film written and directed by Jenuse Mohamed. Violence and scary scenes are prevalent throughout with the main characters frequently battling killer robotic machines. They are merciless as they pursue and in several cases, kill their rag doll like prey in frightening ways. The robots also make alarming noises and often pop up out of the nowhere. This is an underrated animated movie and it received mixed reviews from critics. Plus, it had a lukewarm box office run but has a large cult following. 3 1/2* (I liked this movie)
79 min, Animation directed and written by Shane Acker and written by Pamela Pettler and Ben Gluck with the voices of Christopher Plummer, Martin Landau, John C. Reilly, Crispin Glover, Jennifer Connelly, Fred Tatasciore, Elijah Wood, Alan Oppenheimer, Tom Kane, Helen Wilson.
Note: Imdb 7.1* out of 10* with 134,685 review, Roger Ebert 3*, Rotten Tomatoes 57% with 187 critic reviews 56% with 250.000+ audience scores, Metacritic 52 out of 100 with 34 critic reviews, 6.5 out of 10 with 99 user scores, Letterboxd 3.2* out of 5* with 157 fans, Amazon 4.7* out of 5* with 2,388 reviews.
Special Note: This is the last theatrically released American animated film to be rated PG-13 by the MPAA up until the release of Isle of Dogs (2018) 9 years later. Alan Oppenheimer plays the scientist responsible for the destruction of the world. So, it seems fitting that he's the cousin of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the "Father of the Atomic Bomb.” The marketing department planned to give the film a release date of September 9, 2009 (09/09/09). The clock on the Notre Dame Church is stuck on the time 9:09.
Mistakes: When 5's map blows away, it gets caught on a piece of wood but then blows further away when 5 and 9 approach it. When 5 and 9 are in the cave, 7 knows that they are in there because she sees the map caught on the piece of wood. Once 2 places a voice box into 9, the zipper remains open. But, in the next shot 9's zipper is closed? The following shot has the zipper open again? 9 is later shown zipping his zipper closed? When the Seamstress is sewing 1, he falls and a coin falls off his hat. In the full shot, 1's coin is back on his hat? Before the Seamstress is attacking, there was a quick shot of 8. His mouth was sewed so he couldn't scream for help. Why didn't the Seamstress also sew 1's mouth closed?
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