Prismark10
9 is a visually creative short animation by Shane Acker. It was nominated for a best animated short Oscar and later Acker got funding to release a feature length version.There is no dialogue so the story is hard to fathom. There are two ragdoll type creatures. One of them is designated the 9th one left alone when the other one perishes and loses its soul to a mechanical type monster. 9 has to find a way to defeat the monster and ends up releasing the souls devoured by this monster.The short animation has a post apocalyptic Gothic steampunk style, it is very well lit and clearly a labour of love.
Delia99
This short film tells us the story of 9, a ragdoll-ish, stitchpunk- ish... thing, 9, who leaves in an aftertheend-ish, apocalyptic-ish world... and is all alone because all of his friends have died. On his own, he sets on a quest to murder the beast who slayed them - and even though he gets the soul-draining talisman, they still DON'T get revived. Kind of justified, the cat beast rips their bodies off. Like, he has a cloak made of their skins, which actually is pretty terrifying. No dialogue in this one. After all, most of the time, 9 is all alone and has no one to speak to. Speaking to himself isn't an option, this short isn't about psychopathy. Though we get a glimpse of original!5, who would get split up in 2 and 5 in the feature film.Although this short is in a way, sadder than the film (in here, all of them but 9 are posthumous characters, and in the end, 9 is left alone, whereas in the film, he has company), but for some reason the ending seemed to be... lighter. Perhaps because in the movie, he had actually met all the deceased stitchpunks, and had grown to care for them, when here, he only knew 5 (for like, one minute) and there's no indication he knew any of the other stitchpunks. Still, an entertaining short film I enjoyed.
www-jats
This is a really fun animation, mostly because it's just so simple of a story very detailed in animation and visually exciting. I mean, for all the complicated methods of the computer animation with great lighting effects and detailed skins and movements of the characters and their effects on the environments, it's a very easy man-vs-monster story that can appeal to everyone.A raggedly named 9, or marked 9, or the ninth raggedly or something to that effect is tragically left alone after its partner 4 sacrifices itself to a monster that steals its soul. 9 devises a way to defeat the monster so that it will no longer torment it, and in the process discovers a way to provide closure to the souls' entrapment (the souls of 1 through 8). This is presented through faction fantasy pretty much existing as never-before-seen.It's very enjoyable and visually amazing. The monster seems almost perfect for the environment they come from, and the characters are very well emotionally presented considering their darned faces. The plot contains no real desire to be stretched into feature length or accepted as important, just presents six minutes of about as much fun as six minutes can give.
general_jihad
This is an excellent short animation. The story is well written and directed. The animation sequences remind me of the first oddworld video game. Not that they have similar stories really, or characters, but the overall look and feel somehow remind me of the world painted in that game. The use of silent characters brings a weight to the action and tension happening on screen. The creature is a mixture of junk found within this world, but seems to hunt with a definite purpose. The ending shows us that purpose, and a quick glimpse into what it might be like to live in this tiny world.Very cool short.