9

9 is the creation of Shane Acker, developed into a short film in 2005. The 10.5 minute film took 4 and a half years to create.

The story follows sapient rag dolls who inhabit a world parallel to our own. They are made up of every day objects, like most inhabitants of their world. Joining together, 9 and his friends fight against a monster that has stolen the souls of other rag dolls.

The film was released on April 21st, 2005 and won the following awards:

Student Academy Award - Gold Award for Animation
SIGGRAPH - Best in Show
Animex - First Prize, 3D Character Animation
Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, Foundation College Awards - First Prize, Non-traditional Animation
Florida Film Festival, Newport Beach - Best Animated Short

After a decade of conflict, the Great World War has ended. In Germany, "The Chancellor" has announced that "The Way To The Future" is through science and technology, hiring scientists to fulfill this vision. A former toy maker turned scientist and is eventually funded to work in "automaton research", a form of artificial intelligence.

Working hard, the Scientist begins to build a Binary Reactive Artificial Intelligent Neurocircuit, or The B.R.A.I.N. but is captured by The Chancellor's men and interrogated. The B.R.A.I.N. is confiscated along with all the Scientist's documents and blueprints. The Chancellor plans to build a larger version of the B.R.A.I.N. and use it for war.

With the creation of the Fabrication Machine, the Chancellor decrees that the machines will do the work for people but his announcement is met with anger and unrest. Secreting the Fabrication Machine into a secret location, the Chancellor has it begin to build Mech Walkers, two-legged pods armed with machine guns and poison gas missiles. The Chancellor has built an army for his own purposes and tells the people that the Mech Walkers are designed to keep the peace as law enforcement. The real use of the Mech Walkers to to start war with neighboring nations.

The Scientist, having escaped from detention and hiding in a classified area with a band of rebels, begins to build sentient rag dolls...

--

The setting of 9 is an alternative reality of our own, set after World War I. It is post-apocalyptic and the legacy of humanity is threatened by machines. Machines that were built to aid humanity after the War but rebelled and began to build machines of their own design.

Known as "stitch punks", these six friends band together to save their world.

9 (Elijah Wood) leads his friends 1 (Christopher Plummer), 2 (Martin Landau), 5 (John C. Reilly), 6 (Crispin Glover) and 7 (Jennifer Connelly) on the journey of a lifetime.

Produced by Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov, the animated, feature-length adaptation will be directed by Shane Acker and released on 09-09-09.

As of yet, little is still known about the film's characters. What we do know:

As the oldest of the dolls and self-proclaimed leader, 1 is clever but domineering, quick-tempered, and almost unwilling to trust 9 .

The inventor of the group, 2 is old and delicate but kind. Fascinated by trash, he loves to explore the wasteland for parts he uses for inventions. He walks with a cane and can only see through a pair of glasses known as a lorgnette.

The twins 3 and 4 are mute and communicate via flickering lights to each other. When they speak with the others their eyes turn into film projectors. Both are shy and instinctively hide when there is danger.

A skilled mechanic, 5 is a great engineer and inventor. He is also a healer and teacher in the group. Devoted to his friends, he lost his left eye in an attack.

Wildly impulsive, 6 is an artist who uses his drawings to interpret the visions he has of the past and future. He helps predict events and solves problems for 9.

The lone female, 7 is a warrior. Although she is fearless she is also impatient and this causes her to be reckless at times. Her calm helps the group through dangerous situations.

As 1's personal bodyguard, 8 is strong and fierce, wielding his weapons masterfully, but he is also dim-witted and easily deceived.

Thoughtful, sincere, and with a good heart, 9 is willing to risk his life to save the other stitch-punks. Although he is the newest to the group, he displays the leadership qualities 1 does not have. He also seeks the meaning of life and the truth about what happened to the world.