Animation does not mean a kids movie. I'm not referring to movies like Wall-E where they can enjoyed by all ages in this group. I'm not referring to South Park where its crude and done for laughs. I'm referring to stuff like Secret of Nimh, where it looks like it might be for kids but in reality will only succeed in giving them horrible nightmares for years to come (those damn rats). 9 can be said to be the Nimh for this generation, giving nightmares of machines and monsters for years to come. And, like Nimh, its a damn good movie, although perhaps not in the right media.
9 opens in some kind of laboratory, where a scientist creates his ninth sack-man robot...thing. It cuts forward, and the scientist is dead on the floor and 9 awakens. As 9 explores the deserts apocalypse that Earth now is, he encounters the other 8 creations as well as the robotic beasts that hunt them.
9 has its greatest strength in its visual style. As 9 wanders around the new world, dead bodies scattered here and there, the sombre visuals recall the wastelands of Wall-E. The machines are scary as all hell at times, and always creative. Some visuals, such as the, erm, "soul-sucking" become repetitive and lose their effect, but regardless, the visuals of the film will stick with you.
The characters are also quite well portrayed. Sure, they can fit into some stereotypes and none are terribly depthy, but a revalation two-thirds of the way through explains this perfectly well. There's 1, the fearful leader, 2, the engineer, 3 & 4, twin cataloguers, 5, 2's loyal apprentice, 6, the artist, 7, the brave heroine, 8, the brawler, and 9, the hero. Some don't get quite the attention they maybe deserved, notably 6, but they each get their moments to shine.
More time to invest in these characters might have been preferably, leading me to my main complaint. 9 is by all means a good movie, but it feels like it would have been better as a comic book series or a video game. As a series, the characters would be more fleshed out in print than on film, and maybe would have made it a better ensemble rather than 9's story.
As for the video game argument, the story structure of 9 feels all too much like a game. The progression is episodic, with "quests" for something usually ending in the theatrical equivalent of a boss fight. If it is adapted to a game, it has a lot of potential, but as a movie, it has an odd feel in that sense.
Despite the problems with the narrative, 9 is a visual wonder, and by that alone is recommended. Maybe its destined to become a cult classic, with fanfics and spinoffs galore to fully flesh out the universe. Just don't scare the kids with it.
9 opens in some kind of laboratory, where a scientist creates his ninth sack-man robot...thing. It cuts forward, and the scientist is dead on the floor and 9 awakens. As 9 explores the deserts apocalypse that Earth now is, he encounters the other 8 creations as well as the robotic beasts that hunt them.
9 has its greatest strength in its visual style. As 9 wanders around the new world, dead bodies scattered here and there, the sombre visuals recall the wastelands of Wall-E. The machines are scary as all hell at times, and always creative. Some visuals, such as the, erm, "soul-sucking" become repetitive and lose their effect, but regardless, the visuals of the film will stick with you.
The characters are also quite well portrayed. Sure, they can fit into some stereotypes and none are terribly depthy, but a revalation two-thirds of the way through explains this perfectly well. There's 1, the fearful leader, 2, the engineer, 3 & 4, twin cataloguers, 5, 2's loyal apprentice, 6, the artist, 7, the brave heroine, 8, the brawler, and 9, the hero. Some don't get quite the attention they maybe deserved, notably 6, but they each get their moments to shine.
More time to invest in these characters might have been preferably, leading me to my main complaint. 9 is by all means a good movie, but it feels like it would have been better as a comic book series or a video game. As a series, the characters would be more fleshed out in print than on film, and maybe would have made it a better ensemble rather than 9's story.
As for the video game argument, the story structure of 9 feels all too much like a game. The progression is episodic, with "quests" for something usually ending in the theatrical equivalent of a boss fight. If it is adapted to a game, it has a lot of potential, but as a movie, it has an odd feel in that sense.
Despite the problems with the narrative, 9 is a visual wonder, and by that alone is recommended. Maybe its destined to become a cult classic, with fanfics and spinoffs galore to fully flesh out the universe. Just don't scare the kids with it.