'9' A Review In Real TIme

The first thing that one has to notice about '9' is its technical brilliance. Right from the start the puppets have real personality and life to them. When one is threatened early on you immediately find yourself going to that place in your heart reserved only for wet puppies and limping kitties. But then we meet their leader and find out its not democracy but a DICKocracy and if there is anything I hate more than puppets, its rude puppets with delusions of grandeur. You would think that a world under attack from evil robots would have better targets than nine little stitchies hiding under a helmet. The world they inhabit is pretty bleak in itself. Nothing but danger and despair with few things to make you smile. It all feels like it was made by someone with war memories that are still not faded from memory. Our numbered stitchies all fulfill a certain character type and I like the way they adapt to their surrounding by being both brave and inventive. However, the creatures they fight are terrifying in creation and sound. Certainly not the bubblegum clean stop motion world you expect from Tim Burton or Wallace and Grommit. One wonders why these mechanical creatures would want anything to do with hunting our helpless and gentle stitchies. I wouldn't recommend this film for children under ten. Some of the creatures and escape scenes are pretty intense and that is giving full credit to the filmmakers and their ability to even keep adults locked in their seats. Its fascinating but often very sad stuff. Why does all this make me think of concentration camp survivors who roam a dingy world with nothing but their friendships to sustain them. I wish after 72 minutes that I could have left feeling uplifted and renewed in my humanity but I only felt sad.