the movie

9 is a 2009 American computer-animated satiristic post-apocalyptic science fiction film directed by Shane Acker and produced by Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov. The film stars the voices of Elijah Wood, John C. Reilly, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher Plummer, Crispin Glover and Martin Landau. It is based on Acker's Academy Award-nominated 2005 short film of the same name. The screenplay for the film was written by Pamela Pettler, with casting by Mindy Marin, production design by Robert St. Pierre and Fred Warter, and art direction by Christophe Vacher.

The time is the too-near future. Powered and enabled by the invention known as the Great Machine, the world's machines have turned on mankind and sparked social unrest, decimating the human population before being largely shut down.

But as our world fell to pieces, a mission began to salvage the legacy of civilization; a group of small creations was given the spark of life by a scientist in the final days of humanity, and they continue to exist post-apocalypse. Another of their own, #9, emerges and displays leadership qualities that may help them survive and possibly even thrive. The conflicted but resilient tribe already includes #1, a domineering war veteran and the group's longtime leader; #2, a kindly but now-frail inventor; #3 and #4, scholarly twins who communicate nonverbally and mostly with each other; #5, a stalwart and nurturing engineer; #6, an erratic artist beset by visions; #7, a brave and self-sufficient warrior; and #8, the none-too-bright muscle and enforcer for #1.

With their group so few, these 'stitchpunk' creations must summon individual strengths well beyond their own proportions in order to outwit and fight against still-functioning machines, one of which is a marauding mechanized beast. In the darkness just before the dawn, #9 rallies everyone of his number to band together.


sources: Focus Features | wikipedia

the characters

9 (Elijah Wood) is the youngest of the group that represents the Scientist's humanity, bigheartedness, thoughtfulness, and sincerity. He is very intelligent, but he can make mistakes due to his curiosity. He seeks the truth in the history of his creation, and wishes to know the meaning of life. He has a strong brotherly bond with 5.

8 (Fred Tatasciore) is the brutish ruffian from the Scientist's personality. He wields the one half of a scissor and a knife as his weapons. He is a master of his weapons. He is the largest of the group, but is the least intelligent.

7 (Jennifer Connelly) is the fighter part of the Scientist's personality and (possibly) the only female of the group. A rebel and a loner, she is willing to take many risks for the good of her people.

6 (Crispin Glover) is the artistic portion of the Scientist's personality. He sees things what the others in the group don't see. 6's fingers are made of ink pen nibs, which he uses to draw.

5 (John C. Reilly) is the Healer part of the Scientist's personality. 5 is caring, nurturing, and the loyal, bighearted "common man" who always tries to play the peacemaker.

3 and 4 are twins, and the Historians of the group. They are unable to speak, instead using flickering lights in their eyes to communicate with each other and 4 can project images from his/her eyes for the other members of the group. They are very intelligent and energetic.

2 (Martin Landau) is the creative portion of the Scientist's personality. He is a kind, delicate old inventor. He is fascinated by garbage and scrap, and loves to explore the wastelands and look for parts for his inventions.

1 (Christopher Plummer) is the cowardly, arrogant portion of the Scientist's personality. He is the oldest of the group and the leader, demanding absolute loyalty from the others and frequently clashes with 9, who refuses to follow him.

The Scientist (Alan Oppenheimer) invented the nine creations in an attempt to thwart the corrupt and warlike B.R.A.I.N., hoping that they would continue the spark of life. Each of his creations contains a portion of his human soul, embodying both his qualities and flaws. He used the talisman to transfer his soul and supply each with life.

The Chancellor (Tom Kane) was responsible for causing the Fabrication Machine to turn against humanity.

The Cat Beast is the first machine that 9 encounters, and the main antagonist of the original short film 9. It was the last active machine in the world until the reactivation of the Fabrication Machine. With a gait somewhere between a lion and a monkey, it has spines on its back, a cat skull for a head, a red mechanical eye in its left socket and a light bulb in its right, which it uses to see in the dark. It kidnapped 2, but was destroyed by 7.

The Fabrication Machine/B.R.A.I.N. (Binary Reactive Artificially Intelligent Neurocircuit) is the machine that built all the machines. It was designed by the Scientist as an A.I. for use by the Chancellor, but the latter enslaved it as the control unit for weapons manufacture, causing it to go rogue and wipe out humanity.

The Winged Beast is a pterodactyl-like machine constructed by the Fabrication Machine to hunt down the creations. It has knives and scissors for a mouth, four small red eyes around its "head", a tarp or flag for its bat-like wings, and a harpoon on the end of its tail. Several hman bones appear to be integrated in its structure. It can fly through a combination of its wings and an electric fan in its body. In battle, it uses the blades on its head, the claws on its wings, or its harpoon tail, which can be fired and retracted at will.

The Seamstress is a cobra-like robot designed by the Fabrication Machine to capture the Scientist's other creations, it is also its most formidable warrior. Its serpentine body bears numerous spindly metal limbs that end in a variety of claws, scissors, needles and blades. Spools of red thread are attached to its back, and 2's lifeless body is attached to its tail. Its head is a mixture of a skull and a broken doll mask with a requisite red mechanical eye hidden by the black fabric of its body, surrounded by smaller limbs that can spread the fabric to reveal its face. It flashes light through 2's eyes to hypnotize its victims, immobilizes them with its thread, and binds them in its own body to take back to the Fabrication Machine.

Seekers are large hot air balloon-like machines with searchlights and alarms similar to air-raid sirens to scout around the factory.

Spiderbots are small tarantula-like robots that are made by the Fabrication Machine to repopulate the humanless world. They chase 9 and 7 as they escape the factory.

Steel Behemoths are large, two-legged machines built by the Fabrication Machine as autonomous weapons. They formed the bulk of the Chancellor's army during the new war; a decision that backfired on humanity when the Fabrication Machine went rogue, as its behemoths were already spread across the world to begin their mass extermination of all life. They are visually similar to the tripods from The War of the Worlds. They are fast for their size, and use powerful machine guns that can penetrate concrete. They can also launch capsules that excrete toxic gas. As said by 1, the gas kills all life, including bacteria.


source: wikipedia