Movies pit humanity against technology

An obscure animated film that opened on 9/9/09 came in second at the box office during its opening weekend. The film, "9," is directed by a filmmaker who has only worked on short films before, including a 2005 story about a rag doll that fights a monster. Shane Acker worked with screenwriter Pamela Pettler to adapt the earlier story into a feature-length film - though at 79 minutes it barely makes the cut.

The crowd at the theater can probably be attributed to the fact that Tim Burton's name was used to promote the movie. He is one of several producers listed in the credits, but the movie definitely feels like a Burton film from the opening sequence.

Acker's world is a dark and dreary one, not unlike the world of Burton's "Nightmare Before Christmas" or the place in which Edward Scissorhands is brought to life, away from the bright-colored suburbs. In fact, the opening scene of "9" when a man is sewing together a rag doll is very similar to a scene in "The Nightmare Before Christmas" when the rag doll Sally sews her legs and arms back on.

The world in "9" is a post-apocalyptic one in which humanity has destroyed itself through technology. A narrator tells viewers that man's pursuit of technology has turned against humankind. The movie starts as a white-haired man sews up a rag doll and paints the number 9 on its back. The man is dead by the time the rag doll wakes up. It can move on its own and seems to be able to think on its own - it even appears to have a conscience, or a soul. As the rag doll, which looks like it is made of burlap and mechanical parts, wanders out of the building the sights of a destroyed world can be seen. There are pieces of cars, wrecked buildings, and from time to time, a glimpse of a dead human.

It is a dark movie, and probably too scary for younger children, though there were quite a few in the theater.

As the rag doll 9 wanders out, he discovers another rag doll with a number 2 on its back. 2 (voiced by Martin Landau) helps 9 (voiced by Elijah Wood) by installing a voice box in him. 2 is an inventor, and it appears there are others like him out there. But before 9 can get to the bottom of things, the pair is attacked by a monster that can best be described as a robotic cat. It carries off 2, and a trinket 9 found in the scientist's office. 9 is injured, but another rag doll finds him and brings him to an old church that is used as a sanctuary.

There are a total of nine rag dolls, and 9 was the last to be created. Part of the mystery of the movie is why no more or no less. In the church 1 (voiced by Christopher Plummer) has taken on the role of leader. Each rag doll seems to have a unique personality. One of the dolls serves as the muscle, another seems to have lost its mind, and four of the nine are missing, including the recently captured 2. Those remaining are content to stay inside the church to hide from the robotic monster. But 9 feels responsible for the monster carrying off 2 and he persuades 5 (voiced by John C. Reilly) to go with him on a rescue mission. Along the way, they find out more about the truth of their creation and their missing compatriots.

The basic concept of the movie is not a new one. It is an idea that was wrestled with in 2001's "Artifical Intelligence: AI," directed by Steven Speilberg. In it, David (Haley Joel Osment) is a robotic boy who comes into the home of a family when their biological son is dying. Like Pinocchio, David longs to be a real boy, but no matter how much he seems to feel human emotions he is not accepted as a human.

The idea of machines turning on their makers is also the key to "Blade Runner," a 1982 sci-fi film based on a story by Philip K. Dick. Harrison Ford starred as Rick Deckard, a blade runner, who is charged with tracking down robot-type creatures, known as replicants in the film. The movie is set in 2019, in a bleak version of the future that is now just 10 years away. The main question in the film is whether the replicants deserve the same rights as humans, and if something non-human can somehow have the essence of what makes us human. In the film, Deckard finds himself questioning his orders after he gets to know one of the female replicants.

Though "9" is dark, it ends on a hopeful note, and for anyone who enjoys the odd creations in Burton films, Acker creates nine rag dolls that are worth a watch.