SHANE ACKER

Bil’s rating (out of 5):   BB.5

USA, 2009.  Focus Features, Relativity Media, Arc Productions, Starz Animation, Teen Cartoon Films, Tim Burton Productions.  Story by Shane Acker, Screenplay by Pamela Pettler.  Cinematography by Kevin R. Adams.  Produced by Timur Bekmambetov, Tim Burton,Dana Ginsburg, Jim Lemley.  Music by Deborah Lurie.  Production Design by Robert St. Pierre, Fred Warter.  Film Editing by Nick Kenway.  

Years after humanity has destroyed itself thanks to its technological recklessness, nine diminutive android dolls with the cutest patchwork outfits are the only beings left to inhabit the planet. Bereft of names and simply stuck with digits for appellations, this team of nomads struggle to survive in a world where the people are gone but their deadly machines have been left behind. 9 wakes up in this post-apocalyptic paradise without a voice and finds a strange device that he cannot explain. After being saved from being killed by 2, his voice is fixed and he discovers the usage for his random object, but unfortunately in doing so wakes up a doomsday machine that could destroy the entire planet.

This fast-paced, superbly animated film (based on director Shane Acker’s Oscar-nominated short) suffers for a lack of depth in both plot and character: the computer-generated work is detailed to perfection, but there’s no sense of adventure to the story, nor do we really get to know any of the personalities involved. It’s a mild 80-minute distraction that is not particularly memorable save for a couple of spectacular action sequences.