"9"

I first saw this video when it debuted at The Animation Show 3 back in 2006 in San Diego and I was blown away by the subtle complexities of this ten and half minute CGI short. Within seconds you are immediately drawn in to the story. Without a single spoken word every emotion is conveyed perfectly and with almost no back story you feel more empathy and concern for this character than some ninety minutes films are capable of. And as good as it is here, it was so much more encapsulating on the big screen. When I found out that The Animation Show series (started by Don Hertzfeldt and Mike Judge) was coming to DVD I was anxious to get a chance to enjoy a number of these films again. The first two in the series were released together and a little later the third, but no "9". After some investigation I found out that "9" is a theater exclusive short and was purposefully left off of the TAS3 DVD. Well, that just bites it. I did find out recently, however, that creator Shane Acker has a deal with Focus Features to make "9" into a full-length movie. This time around it will contain dialogue, which kind of changes the whole film. The project will feature the voice talents of Elijah Wood (9), Jennifer Connelly (7), John C. Reilly (5), Crispin Glover (6), Christopher Plummer (1), and Martin Landau (2). "9" is scheduled for theatrical release on 9/09/09. Pretty cool, huh?