9
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The Story
This post-apocalypitic animated tale follows the adventure of a collection of “stichpunk” rag dolls mysteriously alive and trying to survive after a war between the machines and the humans has wiped out any other known life. All that remains are these little burlap-bodied creatures with mechanical eyes, hands, and feet hiding in a bombed out cathedral and occasionally hunted by a vicious red-eyed robot “cat.”
Each “doll” has a number drawn on its back that is also its name. When 2 (voiced by Martin Landau) is captured by the cat, 9 (Elijah Wood) disobeys the orders of 1 (Christopher Plummber), the self-annoited leader of the group, and takes 5 (John C. Reilly), a fearful mechanic, with him to follow the cat and try to rescue 2. (This is all much less confusing within the film.)
Joined by several other dolls they once thought were dead, including 7 (Jennifer Connelly), a warrior, 9 and friends accidently awaken a great, evil machine and must find a way to stop it. They must also discover the secret of their own existence in order to try to save the last remnant of humanity.
Content Issues
“9” contains no sexual content or harsh language, but it is definitely not a kids’ animated film. It is set in a world in which all of humanity is presumed dead (including some corpses still lying around). The violence is not bloody, but it is scary and fatal in a few places, and the story is built on some “dark science” (magic?) that has to do with the violent transport of unwilling souls.
Worldview Talking Points
“9” began as an 11-minute short film by UCLA animation student Shane Acker. It was visually inventive enough to earn him an Oscar nomination, the attention of animation legend Tim Burton, and the funding to turn 11 minutes into 79 and a feature-length story.
Students interested in animation and/or science fiction may be drawn to this wildly original story. It is stunning to look at and tells a creative story, but it is also dark and not intended for younger kids. It’s not a Pixar film.
The story is also built on a very spiritual framework that raises heavy questions about what it means to be human, the nature and destiny of the human soul, and our complicated relationship with technology. It will definitely be worth talking about with your child if he or she sees it. We hope a few of the following questions will help guide that conversation, if so desired.
- Did you like “9”? What surprised you about it? What grade would you give to the animation? What grade would you give to the story itself?
- Did you have any idea what the little creatures really were when the movie started? If not, what would you have guessed they were or how they came to be?
- The story exists in a world in which human beings have souls. Do you think everyone pretty much believes that humans have souls? If not, what are some worldview perspectives that would assume people do not have souls? [Parent: It’s not a blanket statement, but strict materialists would assume we came into being through evolution alone and exist only as a physical, not spiritual, beings.]
- Did the 1 character remind you of a kind of religious leader? Do you think the filmmakers were trying to say that religion leads to legalism, arrogance, and fear? Why or why not?
- The scientist who created the machine says that the problem with the machine is that it does not have a human soul. That’s why he believes it becomes evil. Do you think having a human soul would make a person good, necessarily? Why or why not?
- What does the Bible say about humans? Are we naturally good or bad? [Parent: The Bible teaches we are created good, in the image of God, but that sin has so corrupted us that we are born and exist in “badness.” See Romans 3:23 and Jeremiah 17:9.]
- The film also shows how our human faith in technology and science eventually leads to our destruction. Do you think technology is basically a good or bad thing? Or does it even make sense to label technology with a value statement like that?
- Why do you think some people are so suspicious of technology? Is it possible for us to trust technology too much? Why or why not?
- The Bible warns that any time we put our hope and trust in something other than God, we’re making a foolish choice. Is having advanced technology enough to make people wise? If not, where do we find wisdom even when we have the most advanced technology in history? [Parent: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, according to Solomon.]
- If we don’t put our hope in technology to save us and make us strong as a society, where should we put it? [Parent: See 1 Peter 1:13.]
- In the movie, the scientist divides his soul into pieces and uses a device to put it into the 9 dolls. It’s not clear if he is using science or magic or some combination of the two. What ideas do you think the filmmakers were trying to represent by that? [Parent: Maybe the scientist is a picture of God creating people in his image. Or maybe the filmmakers are playing with mystical non-Christian religious ideas of soul transfer, manipulation, and distortion.]
- The end of the movie is confusing, but several of the souls (or parts of the soul?) rise up from the symbol on the ground into the sky. What did you think was supposed to be happening there?
- Were the souls going to heaven? To some other version of the afterlife? Being joined to the universe somehow?
- What does the Bible teach about the human soul and its future? [Parent: The Bible teaches that our souls are sinful, but that we can be forgiven for our sin through faith in Jesus’ death in our place on the cross and His resurrection from the dead. As believers in Christ, our souls will exist forever with God in eternity. As unbelievers, our souls will exist forever apart from God in the torment of hell.]
- At the very end of the film, the remaining dolls declare that the world is theirs to do with as they please. What do you think they can possibly do with it?
- Overview question: While we live in this world, what do you think our attitudes should be about technology, worship, and human souls?
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