5. 9

9
Shane Acker, 2009

A handful of tiny doll-like robots are the only life left on Earth after a terrible war. When the last of these robots, 9 (Elijah Wood), comes online, he inadvertently awakens the machines that destroyed humanity in the first place - but he may also be the key to destroying those machines once and for all.

2009 has really been a banner year for animation, between Up, Coraline, and The Fantastic Mr. Fox. For a while, I was thinking I could count 9 among them - certainly the least of the four, but competitive. Unfortunately, it kind of implodes at the end, devolving into some nonsensical bits of business that don't seem fully thought out. As a result, it winds up not adding up to much, despite some decent attempts at allegory. Still, there's a lot to like about the movie, mostly relating to the design of the world and characters, all of which are creepy as all hell. How could I not enjoy a movie that takes my two favorite things in the whole wide world (monsters and robots) and mixes them together into robot monsters? The animation itself is a tad clunky at times, but the top-notch designs help to mask that. It's also well-paced, exciting, and has some moments with a lot more emotional pull than I would have expected. It may be kind of disappointing, especially when stacked up against the competition, but it's certainly still worth watching.

6.5/10