What is it with CGI animators? I realise that things have come a long way from Toy Story, and we will always have the Dreamworks/Disney Pixar rivalries, but CGI animation is becoming more & more depressing. I'm not sure who he target audience of this film would be, and that is the big problem.
The majority of CGI movies nowadays seem to know it's target audience pretty well. Young kids, and parents who have to watch the movie with kids. Take a look at any successful CGI movie, and the formula is the same. Colourful characters, snappy dialogue, and a few risqué jokes that adults will chuckle at, and kids won't get. 9 has absolutely none of that.
I do not think it is a kid's movie by any stretch of the imagination. OK, it's CGI, there are a lot of cutesy characters (mostly borrowing from a narrow range of stereotypes), but the movie is colourless, the subject matter (post-apocalyptic survival, loss of humanity over technology etc.), not to mention several death scenes, scary adversaries, and very little by way of humorous dialogue, would alienate most kids.
I can't see it working as an adult's film either. It's too formulaic. You almost know exactly what is going to happen, and which of the group of 'Little Big Planet' rejects will not make it to the end.
As with most big budget animations, the artwork & rendering are top-notch, but the premise is too bleak to allow for any development. All the locations look pretty much the same, (and unfortunately, so do many of the characters). The story takes a back seat to action scenes, and overlong periods of overt displays of CGI mastery until about half-way through the film, but by then it's too late, and the explanations for the existence of the sack-boys, and of the world is dealt with all in 30 seconds, before we are back to more action scenes and doe eyed puppets.
OK, I will grant that I am presuming all CGI movies must be aimed at kids. I understand this shouldn't be the case. After all, Watership Down, & Animal Farm were examples of animation which were not really that child-friendly, but at least there was an elememt of morality with the tales they told. '9' doesn't really resolve itself that well, and it does end with a very nasty cliché.
Nice try, but there are better CGI movies that both adults AND kids can enjoy out there.
The majority of CGI movies nowadays seem to know it's target audience pretty well. Young kids, and parents who have to watch the movie with kids. Take a look at any successful CGI movie, and the formula is the same. Colourful characters, snappy dialogue, and a few risqué jokes that adults will chuckle at, and kids won't get. 9 has absolutely none of that.
I do not think it is a kid's movie by any stretch of the imagination. OK, it's CGI, there are a lot of cutesy characters (mostly borrowing from a narrow range of stereotypes), but the movie is colourless, the subject matter (post-apocalyptic survival, loss of humanity over technology etc.), not to mention several death scenes, scary adversaries, and very little by way of humorous dialogue, would alienate most kids.
I can't see it working as an adult's film either. It's too formulaic. You almost know exactly what is going to happen, and which of the group of 'Little Big Planet' rejects will not make it to the end.
As with most big budget animations, the artwork & rendering are top-notch, but the premise is too bleak to allow for any development. All the locations look pretty much the same, (and unfortunately, so do many of the characters). The story takes a back seat to action scenes, and overlong periods of overt displays of CGI mastery until about half-way through the film, but by then it's too late, and the explanations for the existence of the sack-boys, and of the world is dealt with all in 30 seconds, before we are back to more action scenes and doe eyed puppets.
OK, I will grant that I am presuming all CGI movies must be aimed at kids. I understand this shouldn't be the case. After all, Watership Down, & Animal Farm were examples of animation which were not really that child-friendly, but at least there was an elememt of morality with the tales they told. '9' doesn't really resolve itself that well, and it does end with a very nasty cliché.
Nice try, but there are better CGI movies that both adults AND kids can enjoy out there.