Animation has really come into its own in the last few years with groundbreaking and awe-inspiring films like Up and the widespread addition of 3D into many animated films.

9 is a breathtaking film with some of the most striking and wonderful set pieces ever seen in an animated film. It also has a compelling and wonderfully imagined concept which unfortunately isnt fully developed enough to make it a classic, but the ideas are so potent and the animation so glorious that its easy to overlook these deficiencies.

Set in the post apocalyptic 1950s, machines have destroyed humanity leaving nothing but rubble and desolation. The last sparks of humanity live on inside nine sackcloth characters, each with a numeral etched on its back. Numbers 1 to 8 have survived by hiding in the wasteland for a while and live in terror of The Beast, a huge robotic cat intent on hunting them down. But when 9 arrives, he awakens something even more terrifying which abducts 2 and they are forced to band together to save him.

Its a brilliantly imaginative film. Each of the nine characters is given a distinct look and even though they look similar theyre easy to distinguish. The twins 3 and 4 with their flickering eyes which project images to communicate are a wonderful creation as is the ninja-like grace of 7. All this is set against a glorious backdrop of broken rubble and collapsed buildings with an astonishing amount to detail.

The regular environment is beautiful to look at but when it really gets into its stride the art is jaw dropping. A scene featuring the insane 6 catching the falling ashes of a burning factory which glows malevolently in the background is utterly beautiful and a sequence in which the machines red eye is seen glowing balefully through the mists as it approaches the group is worthy of any cinematographer youd care to name.

Its not without its problems. The film has been adapted from Shane Ackers 11 minute short and its roots are clearly evident. What it has in spectacular visuals it lacks in plot and many questions are left unanswered. Why are there only 9 of them? Why are they all completely different from each other? Why does the machine want to capture them in the first place? These unanswered questions leave the film feeling rather unsatisfying, a bit like a hollow Easter egg that you hoped would be chocolate all the way through. In addition, because theres not enough time spent on developing each characters personality (as opposed to simply the way they look), its difficult to have the degree of empathy that the film wants you to have (and which youd like to have for them) when times get tough.

It could have done with an extra 20 minutes to explain some of these gaps rather than attempting to stretch a simple concept to a features length.
However, despite this gripe, the concept is fantastic, the animation is nothing short of incredible and if youre willing to give it the benefit of the doubt and fill in some of the blanks with your own imagination, then its a spectacular and beautiful film, a must see for any fan of animation.