9 (2005 film)
| 9 | |
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Poster for the short film
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| Directed by | Shane Acker |
| Produced by | Shane Acker |
| Written by | Shane Acker |
| Music by | Earganic |
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Production
company |
UCLA's Animation Workshop
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| Distributed by | Thinkart Films |
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Release date
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Running time
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11 minutes |
| Country | United States |
9 is a 2005 computer animated short film created by Shane Acker as a student project at the UCLA Animation Workshop. Tim Burton saw the film and was so impressed by its artistic vision that he went on to produce a feature-length adaptation also titled 9, directed by Acker and distributed by Focus Features. The film was presented at the Indianapolis International Film Festival. It was nominated for an Academy Award for best animated short film, but lost to The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation, although it did win a Student Academy Award for Best Animation.
9 is a sentient rag doll who appears to be the last of his kind, living in the ruins of a decaying, post-apocalyptic Earth. He is first seen making simple constructs out of refuse – a swinging armature of scrap metal, an upright book with string tied around it, and a dummy rag doll full of tar, though the purpose behind these things is unclear at first. Hunting 9 relentlessly is the Cat Beast, a mechanical monster wearing a cat's skull for a head. It appears to be guided by a small glowing talisman which it holds in its claws. Sitting quietly, 9 stares into the mirrored surface of his own strange talisman and has a flashback.
In the flashback, 9 searches the ruins with his mentor 5, a one-eyed rag doll. They gather useful bits and pieces and store them in the cloth linings of their own skin. With 9's help, 5 is able to salvage a light bulb and operate it using pieces of wire. 5 gives the functional bulb to 9 for safe-keeping.
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Wikipedia