9 Movie Trailer

Posted on Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008 by Peter Sciretta

9 is a computer animated film produced by Tim Burton (The Corpse Bride) and Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted, Nightwatch), directed by former WETA Digital artist Shane Acker, and featuring the music of Danny Elfman. Based on Acker’s Academy Award-nominated 2005 film festival short (watch it on YouTube), 9 is a post-apocalyptic nightmare in which all of humanity is threatened. The official plot synopsis follows:

“When 9 (Wood) first comes to life, he finds himself in a post-apocalyptic world. All humans are gone, and it is only by chance that he discovers a small community of others like him taking refuge from fearsome machines that roam the earth intent on their extinction. Despite being the neophyte of the group, 9 convinces the others that hiding will do them no good. They must take the offensive if they are to survive, and they must discover why the machines want to destroy them in the first place. As they’ll soon come to learn, the very future of civilization may depend on them.”

The group includes 1 (Christopher Plummer), a domineering war veteran; 2 (Martin Landau), an aged inventor; 5 (John C. Reilly), a stalwart mechanic; 6 (Crispin Glover), a visionary and artist; and 7 (Jennifer Connelly), a brave warrior. I like Acker’s unique art style which could be described as a darker/post apocalyptic version of what Tim Burton use to do, with a touch of LittleBigPlanet. Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Watch the trailer in High Definition on Apple. 9 hits theaters on 9.9.09.

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  • Looks awesome!
  • Tim Burton? Timur Bekmambetov? Shane Acker? Collaborating? Count me in!
  • This need to be nominated for best animated film.
  • Perry
    Not only does this movie look amazing, but Burton and Bekmembetov are great directors. Also, a trailer set to Welcome Home? That's epic.
  • It does look quite intriguing; the premise - that humanity is irretrievably gone - is a nice change from the typical by-the-numbers post-apocalyptic trope wherein some isolated pocket of humanity exists to "create hope". In one sense, this could be (and I stress, *could be*) what I Am Legend was supposed to be: an answer to the question, "what comes after us?". I only hope they don't wuss out and do a last-minute reveal à la I Am Legend: "surprise! there are humans left after all. Now don't you feel good again?"
  • It does look quite intriguing; the premise - that humanity is irretrievably gone - is a nice change from the typical by-the-numbers post-apocalyptic trope wherein some isolated pocket of humanity exists to "create hope". In one sense, this could be (and I stress, *could be*) what I Am Legend was supposed to be: an answer to the question, "what comes after us?". I only hope they don't wuss out and do a last-minute reveal à la I Am Legend: "surprise! there are humans left after all. Now don't you feel all warm and fuzzy again?"
  • rnl
    sounds and looks great
  • Did they steal the character design from LBP?
  • WolfLogic
    No, the short came out before LBP was announced. In the same vein, Media Molecule didn't steal the designs from 9, either. :)

    I am suddenly SYKED for this movie. Finally, animation that is gritty and serious.
  • Huzzah! I'm glad that Burton got attached to be able to make this happen, but I also hope that it doesn't get labeled as merely a "Burton" film. Because dark does not necessarily mean T. Burton, contrary to what I fear is often public conception. (Burton's not even all that dark all the time, geesh)

    Can we talk about the voice talent? Martin Landau? Crispin Glover? John C. Reilly? CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER?!?!?! I'm lukewarm-okay on Connelly and Wood, but the others are like a personal dream come true. (especially Christopher Plummer. His voice is like molasses to my sour soul)

    This film needs to be what the short was, EPIC. I remember thinking that it was pretty intense, especially for short form. Hopefully will not be watered down.
  • oh my god, that looks so amazing. I definitely will see this
  • At first I was just going dismissed this as just another uninteresting thing Burton has been putting out lately, but after checking out Shane Acker's short and then watching the trailer I am eagerly looking forward to this. Love the score too.
  • same here... that blew my mind away
  • yeah, whenever 'pixar' isn't attached to a cg movie i lose all interest but this looks pretty cool - checking out the short as i type!

    i wonder if people will see this thinking they're checking out the new daniel day lewis musical...
  • OPAL
    IM ONLY GONNA SEE IT BECAUSE OF ELIJAH WOOD, ROFL!!!!
  • Dan
    The music is "Welcome Home" by Coheed and Cambria.
  • thanks man
  • Ghost
    The intro is the Knife, who I prefer over Coheed. But good choice.
  • rachel summers
    the knife kicks ass.
  • Wow, this is the type animation that I think a good number of people have been waiting for. As much as I love the Pixar stuff, it is always going to be geared towards a young/family audience. I don't think they'll ever venture into a world that would be as dark as this film seems to present. There's nothing wrong with that either, I love the way the Pixar company is. I also love the fact that there are other animation studios who are producing what may be really great work. It's a bold move to make an animated feature that is not geared towards the youth, but I've always felt that a compelling story is what sells a film, doesn't matter who it's aimed at. My hope is that this trailer is a good indication of the film that is to come. The short was brilliant and beautiful. I think I just fan-boyed my pants. Sorry folks, I just got my wisdom teeth pulled and this little trailer helped make my day.
  • I disagree. a lot of adults LOVE Pixar, and Pixar lately has been tipping its toe into adult territory. We shall see what happens in the future.
  • I understand what you're saying, but I think I should clarify my thoughts about Pixar being a family company. I know Pixar films have been dealing with more adult content (Wall-E and environmentalism) and I don't think they'll stop approaching themes that relate to adults. However, I don't think Pixar will make a film that is geared only towards teens and adults. I believe that Pixar will always keep their focus on a wide audience so that they may better convey the message that their films are trying to make. So while they'll handle big/important topics, they'll still make sure that it's acceptable at all levels. Thankfully, Pixar doesn't dumb itself down when discussing messages that are rather adult. As I said before, I love Pixar and would not want them to change their process, just continue reinventing/pushing the envelope like they've always done.
  • There is a difference between adult themes and adult oriented. WALL-E, while did tackle the whole adult themes much better than their last incarnations, it wasn't really much out of the box for them, which is why it concluded the way it did.

    I'd say The Incredibles was probably their most "Adult Themed" movie to date. Probably why it's the only Pixar Flick to get a PG-13 rating.
  • We are still a long way from animation being considered an accepted medium for anything other than kids movies. I feel that there is still a certain stigma attached to it which prevents it from ever being taken seriously. We're slowly starting to push the boundaries of it but it's a gradual process that needs some sort of catalyst to really get it going. Who knows, if this performs well maybe it will inspire other studios to take a shot at an adult-themed animated film. But until that happens, at least I still have Japanese animation to look forward to.
  • I completely agree with you about not being fully accepted. I think it will take another Toy Story like movie to really push things into that next stage. It wasn't that long ago that an entire animated feature was thought to be ridiculous, but we've come a long way since then. I wasn't a big fan of Beowulf, but I did like the fact that it was attempting to make a film that wasn't just for children. It had some decent action parts, but nothing that I was really amazed by. I'm just always up for a great story.
  • wow, this looks incredible. i love the dark theme. i will definitely see this. the music sounds badass, the animation looks bad ass, and the story looks pretty bad ass.
  • Looks awesome...can't wait...
  • Nickleyo
    Since I saw Shane's short a few months ago, and learned about this movie, I've been excited to learn more. I'm very happy to finally see a trailer. The animation style looks awesome, and the story is pretty cool. I hope the voice acting in this movie holds up.
  • I was not aware of this movie but it just shot to the top of my most anticipated films of 09 list.
  • Sues
    I've been waiting for this basically since it was announced they were making this into a feature, which was in February, and if this trailer is any indication, it will be WELL worth the wait. Especially since I'm pretty sure the original release date was... this week. IMO the voiceover gets a bit corny, but I have yet to lose faith in the addition of voice actors. This is hands down one of the most imaginative things I've ever seen enter mainstream film/animation, and I'm happy as anyone that this kind of animated feature is finally getting out there. This truly could be the beginning of more mature/dark material in mainstream feature animation.
  • bb6640
    This look just amazing! I hope this doesn't get watered down into a G rated thing because as it is this look really dark, adult stuff - which is exactly what feature animated films need right now: If The Dark Knight can re-invent the superhero movie as epic crime drama then we should see a feature animated film made for adults.
  • I agree. The movie looks so good, and I hope MPAA won't destroy it. fuck the MPAA by the way
  • Studios destroy ratings, not the MPAA. Studios set the goals. Fuck the Studios.
  • i don't really see how there could be a super intense rating to this film....they are machines and rag dolls....are we expecting blood, nudity, sex, drinking, drugs, and heavy language? i dont really see how any of that would make this film greater than it could be if it was a simple G rating....who cares about the rating really? the idea, the plot, the animation, the music, etc... i feel like it will be great no matter the rating. i doubt it will be G though, the trailer definitely looks dark and i am very excited to see what this film is like, i expect at least PG but nothing more.
  • Holy fuck, that just blew the shit out of my mind.
  • Andrew
    true dat!
  • Galdersorg
    For future reference Coheed is crap, htat being said: HOLY SHITBALLS that was awesome. Congrats Shane, I think you just got yourself some new fans, me? I've been a fan for a while now and all I can say is Rock on !
  • In all honesty, it's just going to take time. Thanks to cartoon network, America has been getting exposure to animated shows that aren't aimed towards kids but instead teenagers. As today's teens grow up, hopefully they won't carry with them the same kinds of prejudices that the current generation of adults seem to have about animated films.
  • Sues
    Does anyone have any idea where I can see the original short in its entirety? I've been searching since I discovered the short, and all I've come up with is the crappy shot-in-theater youtube video Peter linked here.
  • Geo
  • What I like is that it's being released by Focus Features, they know how to market and release films that may be on the outside of mainstream appeal. While I do feel that compromises can sometimes ruin or hinder a film, there are certain times that compromises are very necessary. I think there was something on the /filmcast a few months back about how sometimes too much lover for a project can blind you from seeing reality. It doesn't seem like this is a "half-way" sort of film, but that's just based on one trailer and short. I keep saying story is what matters most. Time will tell.
  • <3
    I like how it's released on the Sega Dreamcast's date.
  • Sues
    Okay is that a man in a suit throwing the Molotov cocktail at the 1:18 mark?
  • Probably a flashback to show the downfall of humanity.
  • Sues
    I was figuring the same thing, and judging from the fact that the shot comes after the line "After our world ended...", you're probably right.
  • Shane Acker has always intrigued me since the debut of his short (only year went to Sundance). The execution of the short was interesting, I can only hope that it doesn't get bogged down now that it's fleshed out (sometimes, shorts fleshed don't work). Count me in.
  • YouKnow
    I got the chance to see Shane's short at the Los Angeles Film festival some years ago during the "UCLA award winners" show and was amazed. I actually have the short on DVD, they were giving them out after the screening. He wasn't present but the directors of the other shorts that night were, and they said that he had been working on that project over the course of 4 years(!), with the exception of a certain period of time when he was asked to go work on some stuff for one of the Lord of the Rings films when it was filming. He did all the animation himself.

    I still have that little dvd and I've been waiting for this ever since I heard it was picked up by Burton and going to be made into a feature. Can't wait!
  • sounds like a dedicated guy
  • mcgruff
    haha that musical choice was unexpected. looks awesomely original though. loved the short when I saw it last year. When I saw this story, I thought of it as some straight-to-DVD movie that might be cool, but with that trailer and the announcement of the voice cast, Im super excited.
  • I am incredibly excited. I have had a crummy version sitting on my computer ever since I saw it at a small animation festival. The wait for this and the Bone movie is killing me. As for the style, I'm convinced it will take hold and at least do decently in theaters. If it does exceptionally well, I can only hope that more genre-bending, mature animated features will follow in the future.
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