9 **1/2

Picture from: zap2it.com

9 takes place in a world where humans have been killed off by the very machines of their making. This storyline has been recycled time and again, from the robot in Metropolis (1927) and Hal in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) to the machine-controlled apocalyptic earths in The Terminator (1984) and The Matrix (1999). But none of those movies are animated, and none have nine ragdolls leading the resistance.

The film begins with #9 (voiced by Elijah Wood) awakening in a house, only to realize the world around him is in shambles. He finds a little plate, zips it up inside him, and wanders off. He soon meets up with #2 (Martin Landau), a craftier, older design, who marvels at the little plate, knowing what it is and what it does. Or not. Truth be told, I still don’t know what this little thing does. The film’s plot is almost an aside, seemingly moving sideways more than forward. We find pieces of the puzzle, but they never really add up to the whole.

The dialogue is too simple, never properly utilizing the voice talents of Wood, Jennifer Connelly (#7), Crispin Glover (#6), or Christopher Plummer (#1). It might as well be a silent film, because the star of the movie is the animation. Shane Acker, the director’s whose short film on which the feature is based was nominated for an Academy Award, is in complete control as a visual artist. Each character looks and moves differently. In the best sequence of the film, the dolls find a record of “Somewhere over the Rainbow.” As the music plays, there is such a sense of wonderment amidst such chaos. #3 and #4 dance atop the vinyl as it spins. It is such a perfect combination of picture and sound.

As the story unfolds, there are sequences of journeys and rescues, of internal struggle, flashbacks, and fierce robotic dogs. Not surprisingly, it feels like a string of short films that don’t quite fit together. The ending of 9 is as confounding as the rest of the film. At a brisk 80 minutes, we’re convinced we must have seen something, but we’re just not sure what.

All together, 9 is unnecessary as a feature film, and it is difficult to recommend as such. Unlike with Pixar, the leader in computer animated movies, Acker’s film does not contain relationships in which we feel invested. There is a good film in the material somewhere, and perhaps it remains in the original short, but I look forward to seeing Acker’s visual ability resurface in future projects. With an improved plot, he will no doubt make a much better, more entertaining, and more indelible mark on animated storytelling.