Platicsco
Good story, Not enough for a whole film
BallWubba
Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.
Robert Joyner
The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one
Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de)
We find ourselves on a post-apocalyptic planet looking similar to the Earth in Wall-E watching strange acts including books and light-bulbs performed by two small rag-dolls. We also see a strange metallic creature, considerably superior in size to the dolls, being on the hunt. It attacks doll#5 and kills it while absorbing its soul right afterward. Doll#9, however, manages to hide successfully and goes on with its experiments. Not much later, the metal predator is out again having its attention focused on another rag-doll. The moment it catches the doll, however, #9 appears in safe distance and we realize the one caught by the predator is not real, but merely a dummy. Furious with being tricked, the giant soul-eater targets #9 and follows him relentlessly through the bleak scenery. Is it all over for our little hero now?I saw this short-film already quite a while ago for the first time and was not impressed at all judging from the rating I gave it. This time it's different and I'm actually even curious to watch the full feature which was made four years after this Oscar-nominated short. It's probably gonna be different as in the short there was no talking at all and the long version features voice-work from Academy Award winners Landau, Connelly and Plummer. The consensus seems generally positive too, so I'm surprised Acker has not done any further work since then, although he has two projects in development, without release date though. Anyway, back to the short film. If creepy animation à la Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty or Coraline is your cup of tea, you should definitely give this one a go.
www-jats
This is a really fun animation, mostly because it's just so simple of a story very detailed in animation and visually exciting. I mean, for all the complicated methods of the computer animation with great lighting effects and detailed skins and movements of the characters and their effects on the environments, it's a very easy man-vs-monster story that can appeal to everyone.A raggedly named 9, or marked 9, or the ninth raggedly or something to that effect is tragically left alone after its partner 4 sacrifices itself to a monster that steals its soul. 9 devises a way to defeat the monster so that it will no longer torment it, and in the process discovers a way to provide closure to the souls' entrapment (the souls of 1 through 8). This is presented through faction fantasy pretty much existing as never-before-seen.It's very enjoyable and visually amazing. The monster seems almost perfect for the environment they come from, and the characters are very well emotionally presented considering their darned faces. The plot contains no real desire to be stretched into feature length or accepted as important, just presents six minutes of about as much fun as six minutes can give.
octopus1138
I saw this movie a couple of nights ago. They were showing all the academy award nominated short animations. This is probably one of my favorite styles of artwork, all grungy and cool and stuff. There's good storytelling involved too. It's basically about this little rag doll guy that tries to stop a monster that's destroying all of his kind. His name is 9. The animation is top quality. I only have a few critiques and it's that his movement stretched his texture a little more that the texture looked like it was meant to be. Also I think that the ground could have been a little better with added rocks and dirt clumps etc. The fact is, since those are the only flaws I can find, the movie must be pretty good. Except for my mildly critiquing eye (just because I'm into this stuff) I was completely absorbed in the movie. I love it and think anyone who's interested should watch it.
Dennis Yoo
Great Visual Effects, stunning work!!! Shane is an inspiration to all short film makers.Brilliant Characters set in a visually fantastic backyard war zone. Dramatic lighting and gutting CGI environments create an astounding miniature world in trouble. Simple yet profound story telling without words, transcends past language barriers producing a universal story for all. With this film you can definitely see Shane's progress of his previous Good films to this breath taking achievement in short film making.A must see for any fan of animated shorts with stunning imagery.
