Comic-Con ‘09: 9 movie panel

9 is an animated fantasy adventure from the talents of Shane Acker, a first-time director whose credits include animation work for The Lord of the Rings. It’s a “stitch punk” tale about nine little robotic creatures who are imbued with the spark of life by their human creator — just before the human race becomes extinct, thanks to malevolent robots who wipe them out. These nine robots, each named after their sequential number in order of their creation, become caught up in a wild adventure when the same machines that destroyed the humans set their sights on them. The entrance of the last robot, 9, complicates matters because he is very, very special.

On hand at the panel were creator/director Acker, producer Timur Bekmambetov (best known as the director of Night Watch and Wanted), producer and geek god Tim Burton, and voice talents Elijah Wood and Jennifer Connelly.

We were shown an extended clip from the film which was not at all what you usually see in animation. 9 is definitely a “grown up” animated movie, with a PG-13 rating, full of intense action and endless thrills. Personally, I can’t wait to see this one if for no other reason than that it’s something genuinely creative — a world, characters, and a story we have never seen before. It’s coming from Focus Features on September 9, 2009.

Below are some pictures from the panel.

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9 film stills: Copyright 2009 ©Focus Features.