Tim Burton and Shane Acker's "9"

[Foxtale]

I'm not saying it can't be done, especially since it looks like they are advertising it as a 'darker' movie, I'm just saying they have to have real skills to pull it off.

I know there are successful movies that have done it but not very many animated, full length ones.

And the two examples you used bed were both of 'historical' characters with stories that are largely known. Not only that but they were technically 'robbers' so they weren't pure good characters so the people out there that don't like to see a movie ending with the main characters all dying can justify it (not saying that is how everyone thinks but there is a wide spectrum of moviegoers to try to please).

I'm not saying it hasn't been done, or it can't be done. I'm just trying to guess based on current trends. I can't wait till we hear more about the story. I'm pretty sure I will see it when it first comes out (unless it gets super terrible reviews, then I'll wait till it goes to the dollar theatre near me )

*edit* Also this idea come out of cultural ideas about story telling. Most of what I am saying is for the American market. From what I have heard/been taught, the European story lines for movies aren't as obsessed with the 'happy ending' as it is here in the U.S.

[Dacey]

I just watched the short (finally). I had a *kinda* hard time understanding it, but hopefully the movie will make a little more sense to me.

As for the ending, it's hard to say if the film will be like that or not.

Keep in mind that we didn't really get to know *any* of the dolls but 5 and 9. I'm guessing that 5 will probably still die in the movie, but I'm on the fence about the others.

[Daniel]

Spoilers, WJ!

[Dacey]

Appologies. My bad.

[Bill1978]

OK just editing as I should visit the homepage before posting something I thought was exciting. LOL.

I just viewed the 2 minutes of footage that is online and all I can say is WOW!!!

This one looks like it is definitely not one for the kiddies. But I'm really excited about this film, for sure now. I really enjoyed the short film even in it's 'awesome' YouTube quality, and was impressed with the trailer I saw a while ago and this footage just makes me want to rush out and see it. I hope it is successful.

[American_dog_2008]

Looks like a great start of autumn!

[Dacey]

According to Comingsoon.net, the movie has offically recieved a PG-13 rating now.

[OriginalGagBonkers]

Finally something teenagers and adults can look like.

[Dacey]

That's funny. I can't imagine why anyone would want to *look* like this movie. Especially since the stars are ragdolls.

[OriginalGagBonkers]

Did I say like? I meant to say look at... I do know that a trailer of this was shown with Xmen Origins Wolferine.

[Dacey]

The "9 Scientist" now has a Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=ho ... ist?ref=mf

Cool stuff!

[Dan]

So my folks and I got to see the film "9" the other day. The film is an adaptation of writer/director Shane Acker's graduation short project from UCLA. Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov ("Wanted") saw the short and were so impressed that they supported him doing a feature length version that was distributed by Focus Features.

The film takes place in the aftermath of a war between man and machine that has left the planet a barren wasteland. The only living beings remaining are small sentient rag dolls created by a dying scientist. The ninth is the last to awaken and, along with the others, find that not all of the machines have died out. The film features the voice talents of Elijah Wood, John C. Reilly, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher Plummer, Crispin Glover, Martin Landau, and Fred Tatasciore.

Visually, the film is quite beautiful. The dark apocalyptic atmosphere fits perfectly with the tone of the film, not relenting so as to make it appealing to the youngsters (the film is one of the few CGI flicks to be rated PG-13). The voice acting is very well done by everyone, hitting the notes just right to make the characters believable. I actually liked the music composed by Deborah Lurie with the themes by the one and only Danny Elfman. While no particular music moment stuck out the most, they bolstered the storytelling of the film and the darkness of the pictures presented.

Two things prevent the film from reaching greatness. The first is the length. At 79 minutes, the film is just too short. And it is because of the length that there is the second problem. Story elements are sacrificed, leaving some plot points not present. The first act feels rushed and, while the third act is told in spectacular fashion, there are still some questions that were left unanswered.

In spite of the problems, the film is still a good, very enjoyable adventure thriller that is wonderful to look at. Give it a shot some time.

[EricJ]

The film takes place in the aftermath of a war between man and machine that has left the planet a barren wasteland. The only living beings remaining are small sentient rag dolls created by a dying scientist.

As Playstation fans have joked, there were supposed to be ten, but one went into videogames instead:
http://www.amazon.com/Little-Big-Planet ... B002ELCUUG

[Dan]

It's fun comparing the two, actually. LittleBigPlanet is a fun, joyous universe whereas 9 is a dark, post-apocalyptic wasteland. Both are filled with thralling adventures only with differing tones.

[GeorgeC]

Face it --

The market for "grown up" animation in North America just isn't there. Probably never was. At least not for anything costing tens of millions to make.

The animated features that have been successful are general audience films. I haven't seen a PG- or G-rated really crack the top list. Sure, there are cult favorites like Heavy Metal, Nightmare Before Christmas and the Miyazaki films (which are certified hits in Japan) but their popularity is nothing like the Disney features, Pixar, or DreamWorks' Shrek series.

I had hoped there was an audience otherwise for this but I think the cultural bias is just too great. It's not an American thing, either -- overseas "older kids'" films generally don't do well, either. For the many people who thought Akira and Ghost in the Shell were box office hits --- they weren't... they bombed in Japan, too!

Of course, what constitutes a hit gets debated all the time and people point to $100 million grosses as the signs of a hit.

It really isn't when many film budgets -- including both Disney and Pixar films -- are higher than $100 million. Rule of thumb is that a film only begins to make money when it grosses over twice its production and marketing costs combined. That's presuming Company A is also distributing and marketing Product A in-house. If a film is distributed by a second party or there is a co-financier as in the case of Titanic (1997), then the film may have to gross three times production and marketing costs to break even. Second party in that case gets paid first before the principal sees their money earned back.

So yes, it's very possible and has happened more times than can be counted that many $100+million films have just not made their money back... yet! There are stories of other films far less expensive and far older than these colossal-budgeted films that have taken decades to break even, too.

That last bit about break-even is something I've harped about for a long time... In an era of $20 million salaries for a bunch of people who frankly aren't worth the money and films budgeted over $100 million where you just don't see the money spent that well on screen, I have to question how anybody makes money in this business...

As Droo says, "It's creative accounting!"