[6.50/10] 9 (2009)

9 (2009)

Earlier this year, Henry Selick's "Coraline" pushed dark humor and even darker fantasy to bold new places within the realm of animation. Now we have "9," which feels like a continued evolution of the animated film: while the general plot is less than intricate, the dark, postapocalyptic setting and nightmarish visions of man-made machinery contorted into spiders, ravens, and snakes represents a bold step forward for mainstream animation's potential to appeal to a mature audience. The animation is pretty spectacular as each fiber on the rag dolls is animated to a certain extent and the action scenes almost make you feel like you're right in there with them. The story is decent if you don't put much thought into it, but it felt a bit rushed and incomplete at times. The ending is obviously left open-ended for potential sequel purposes. Each doll stands out on their own and has their own personality so they're easy to distinguish from one another. Needless to say, the majority of the characters are given a chance to shine in the film. The designs of the machines was amazing to watch. The film's length is a bummer on one hand, but good on the other as it's too short to really lose interest in anything that's going on. "9" throws you head first into a dark, animated, post-apocalyptic world that makes you want to stay strapped in through all of its twists and turns. While the film may be shorter than expected and the story isn't as developed as it probably should be, it's still an entertaining and visually stunning ride.

• My Rating: 6.50/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: 58% (5.9/10)
• IMDb: 7.1/10