We give '9' a 10

Sadly, this movie didn't enjoy much fanfare here.

Simply because it's a computer-animated release presumably made for kids, but with a storyline that has nothing to do with kids.  It started gloomy and ended gloomy.  And I'm not talking about The Corpse Bride-gloomy.  There is absolutely nothing --and I mean, nothing!-- funny about '9'.

Set in the apocalyptic era after the war of man and machine, this 'cartoon' had no slapstick character who served as the running joke or the comic relief.  The characters were all eerie-looking rag dolls with souls, feelings, guilt, and a hunger for survival.

And your connection with them is borne out of fear, mystery, and empathy.
The whole plot feels real in its surrealism.  The story --a veritable, beautiful goldmine of knowledge and awakening.

I guess that's why my boys loved the movie so much.  Apart from having a yen for the Dark (well, you can blame me for that), it gave them a chance to think.  Miro even said, "I'll be more careful when I invent robots in the future, Mimi.  I don't want them destroying humans.".  And Kenji mused, "Even little things can fight big things." --referring to the part when the numbered dolls finally defeated the Machine Overlord.

There are lessons learned.  And I don't mean a peashooter lesson like Play Nice With Your Toys or Ogres Have Layers.  This is way beyond that.  There's Strength In Numbers (pun unabashedly intended) being one of them.

'9' is a must-watch for children and adults who feel like seeing an animated flick to be able to think and feel, rather than just laugh.   Luckily, it's available on DVD.  We have 3 copies. :)

'9'.  Directed by Shane Acker and produced by Tim Burton.
Tim Burton... why are you not surprised?