Any movie that has Tim Burton attached to it, even in the smallest of ways is going to be something that gets my attention. 9 was released in 2009 and directed by Shane Acker and based on a story he created. 9 is a dark, moody, and fantastic sci-fi animated movie that I think is an underrated gem and deserves way more love than it gets.
How to Download 9
You can download or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice. If you like animated films, check out the other ones Tim Burton was involved in – Corpse Bride, Frankenweenie, or The Nightmare Before Christmas.
The Movie Review
While the movie had some people, I am a huge fan of working behind the scenes. 9 also features an amazing voice cast that is led by Elijah Wood. It also features, Martin Landau, John C Riley, Crispin Glover, and Jennifer Connelly to name just a few of the amazing cast that brings this story to life.
The story of 9 is fantastic. Set in the future, mankind has been destroyed thanks to an AI called BRAIN. BRAIN destroyed all human life, but a brave scientist had a fail-safe, 9 special little dolls that are called Stitchpunks that could stop BRAIN and give life one last chance here on Earth.
I do have to say that this is not a kid’s movie at all. It is very dark and not all happy and funny like many other animated movies tend to be. This is a post-apocalyptic sci-fi kind of story and one that I thought was expertly told. It is impossible not to get sucked into this world!
9 is our hero and the last of the Stitchpunks to be created. 9 wakes up with no clue who he is, what is going on, and what he needs to do. 9 meets another doll called, 2 (all of the dolls have a number on their back and that is their name) before meeting the other dolls in the story.
I do not want to go into spoilers here, but the dolls have to work together in order to save one of their own. However, in the process of saving their friends, they realize that they have a much larger purpose and that they are the last hope life on Earth has. It is pretty deep and high-stakes stuff and I was invested in it big time!
Even now, 9 is a gorgeous-looking movie. It looks unlike any other animated movie thanks to it being so dark and moody, almost steampunky in its design. The use of lighting here is amazing and it is very impressive how they were able to give these little dolls such expressive faces to help you connect to them even more.
I already talked about how great the voice cast in 9 is, but the whole sound design in general is amazing. I remember when this first came out, at the time I had a 5.1 surround sound system and it truly brought this movie to life! It has an amazing score with the likes of Danny Elfman providing tracks for it.
I watched 9 again recently for the first time in many years and I have to say that it still holds up. I can see why it might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I was entertained from start to end. If you want a dark sci-fi story that looks incredible and has characters that you actually care about, there are not many animated movies better than this!
