The animated world of 9, created by director Shane Acker and producer Tim Burton, brings us into a realm similar to that of The Matrix, Terminator Salvation, and I, Robot where mankind is fighting for freedom from the very machines he created. 9, however, takes the concept of man-against-machine one step further and dares to ask the question: What happens when the existence of mankind on earth actually comes to an end?

The film opens with #9, a being who appears to be made of little more than cloth with some string holding him together. He has just been zapped into existence and has no idea where he is, what he's doing there, and what in the world is going on outside of the room he just woke up in. His uncertainty leads to questioning and an unquenchable curiosity. He wants to know what happened in the world he's woken up in, why he's one of the only ones there, and what exactly he is. These queries are what leads him to open up the window to the outside where he sees, for the first time, a barren world full of destruction all around and, much to his surprise, also another being, one that looks very similar to himself.

#2 and #9, aside from looking alike, share many other qualities. They are both conscious yet fall somewhere between human and inanimate object. They desire to know the source of their human consciousness, and this is what motivates them to seek for answers together, a search that is brought to an abrupt halt by a terrifying robotic dog, the only other obvious being on the entire planet. Ill equipped to fight such a beast, #9 is thrown to the side, injuring his cloth arm. #2 is better prepared, but even so is still no match for the beast. As the dog drags #2 away, #9 is left once again alone in a desolate world with more questions than answers and quickly losing consciousness.

When #9 awakens he finds himself in the care of other beings like himself. As he is acquainted with them he is immediately reminded of #2 and the need to rescue him from the beast. The others, though, with the exception of #5, are not interested in going on any kind of rescue mission any time soon. #1 has set himself up as the leader and protector of this group and has no interest in doing anything other than keeping everyone safe. Any encounter with "the Beast" will only lead to harm and destruction and it is better to just stay inside, safe and away from everything. When #9 starts asking more and more questions he is met with hostility from #1 who says questions are pointless and only lead to danger. #1 has become so completely concerned with keeping everyone safe that he has forgotten how to even think about the outside world. #9 isn't content to live this kind of life. He knows there are answers out there.

Against the will of #1, #9, with the help of #5, sets out to find #2 and answers to his questions. In the process, #9 finds that there is a danger seeking out the truth as his curiosity inadvertently leads to the awakening of one of the darkest and most deadly monsters on the planet. His accidental revival of "the machine" leads to more destruction and death of his friends than he could have ever imagined. Yet in this awakening, #9 also discovers that the answers to all of his questions and the key to their very existence lies in the thing that they fear the absolute most. He sees clearly that the only way to truly understand the beast, the machine, and the role they play in all of what's happening is to return to "the source," the one who created them.

Continue: 1 2