Animated cinema is a mixed bag. Like animated TV, it seems like a lot of outlets are still struggling to embrace the medium for varied and interesting projects outside the usual genres. Some of the most engaging horror, action, andscience fictionfilms of the past few decades happen to be animated. It’s just that most of those entries either never come to theaters or struggle to turn a profit. Shane Acker’s 2009 film9is a great example, and it’s worth looking back to see what happened.
Post-apocalyptic media has become no less popular over the last century.The brief zombie crazeof the late 2000s and early 2010s has largely blown over, but the downfall of society remains integral to pop culture. The 2020s kept the post-apocalyptic party going with shows likeSweet Tooth,Station Eleven, The Last of Us, and non-stop new iterations ofThe Walking Dead. No one has to look hard to find a myriad of takes on the end of all things.
Shane Acker
Stars
Elijah Wood, John C. Reilly, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher Plummer, Crispin Glover, Martin Landau, and Fred Tatasciore
Release Date
August 02, 2025
9takes place after anightmarish uprising by the machines. Under the thumb of a brutal dictator, a scientist creates a machine that unleashes hell upon humanity. This quickly wipes out all life on Earth, but the world is not barren. The same scientist enacts a mysterious ritual to split his soul into nine pieces and push the newly-formed lives into small ragdolls. The nine dolls, known as “Stitchpunks,” emerge into a ruined city after the downfall of humanity. As each represents a different portion of the scientist’s mind, they all find different roles and specialties in the wasteland. 9, the youngest of the Stitchpunks, finds his brethren in the city. The area still faces at least one threat from a robotic cat who quickly makes off with one of the Stitchpunks. While trying to save him, 9 and his siblings accidentally awaken the mighty machine, sending more dangerous robots into the wasteland. The nine Stitchpunks will haveto stop the machinesand uncover the mystery of their creator to survive the terrible world they inherited and discover what’s left of life after everything ends.
Who made9?
9is primarily the brainchild of one Shane Acker. Acker is an animator from Illinois. He worked at Weta in the early 2000s, contributing a bit of work toThe Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. Acker created several short films during the same era. While pursuing his masters at UCLA, Acker spent four and a half years on his third known short film,9. Acker’s original9went through a few key changes over that long production window. He originally planned a three-minute stop-motion story. By the time it came out, he had just over ten minutes of quality CGI content. It won him a Student Academy Award and earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.Legendary director Tim Burtonand slightly less iconic filmmaker Timur Bekmambetov saw the short and worked to develop it into a full-length feature film. Acker stayed on as the director and story writer on9, thoughCorpse Brideveteran Pamela Pettler stepped in to craft the screenplay. The film’s cast has a few huge names and some beloved vocal talent. Danny Elfman provided the film’s theme songs. It’s a solid creative team, and the results are impressive.
How was9received?
Unfortunately,9fared poorly at the box office. It earned only $48.4 million on its reasonable $30 million budget. The film had a fascinatingmarketing campaign that involvedteasing characters and lore through an in-universe Facebook page and a striking website. This didn’t do much to help the project. Critics were barely any kinder to it.9has a 57% positive score on Rotten Tomatoes. Nearly every critic takes time out of their review to rapturously praise the film’s visuals. Most argue that the film’s writing fails to live up to its stylistic promises. Many argue that it’s all flash and no substance.Roger Ebert was generally quitepositive about the project, though he also pointed out that the film’s animation quality is its main selling point. A lot of audience reviews express shock at the film’s lack of popularity. Those who enjoyed it when it came out tend to see it as an underrated gem.
Though9didn’t get the attention it deserved fifteen years ago, it could still be a delight to watch today. It’s a haunting journey into a grim, apocalyptic future. While it doesn’t dig as deeply as it could into thethemes of its dark backstory, it still delivers its message in a tight, compelling package.9is available to stream on Max or through premium subscriptions on Hulu, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, and more.
