Feel like you’ve exhausted all the new releases on Netflix? Looking for something new to watch?

9 is a computer animation movie created in 2009 which features automation, magic, adventure, and mystery in the hands of a rag doll. The movie takes place in 1930 when a German scientist and former toy maker is ordered by the chancellor to build an autonomous machine in the apparent name of progress. The machine’s name is B.R.A.I.N. With the discovery of a conscience, this autonomous machine went on a murder spree and ended Germany in a matter of months.

With civilization gone and the scientist haunted by his mistake, the scientist has now crafted a rag doll (called a stitchpunk) and has given it life by bestowing his soul upon it. After he imbues his soul upon the doll, he passes. The plot focuses on this doll’s mission to save the world before B.R.A.I.N. harnesses their souls.

9 may not be the movie for you, but it is for me. This solid 4.3 (out of 5) star movie puts a twist on dark cartoons. I was only five when I first saw it and it changed my overall favorite movie list. While it had a $30 million budget, it made nearly $50 million, which is pretty good for such a dark cartoon.

At this point you’re probably wondering what a stitchpunk is. A stitchpunk is a ragdoll made with burlap covering and metal appendages. Each one has a set of camera lenses for eyes and a number sewed to its back. Every stitchpunk was once a human being. It is rare that a stitchpunk is one human being. The only reason a stitchpunk has life is because part of or the whole soul of a human being is bestowed upon it due by a special talisman. With this talisman you can harness souls, as well as bestow them. This talisman is so special that only nine stitchpunks were made–hence, the title of the movie.

9 took four years to make. This was one movie of many that was an on and off project. The original idea for the movie was to be a stop-motion animation. When director Shane Acker saw it would cost more to craft the different characters, backgrounds, and props out of clay, he took the computer animation route instead. With this route the animation resembles the animation style of Toy Story.

The cast and crew is what makes any movie, and this crew is no different. Elijah Wood really does catch the true feeling of his stitchpunk, title character 9. John C. Reilly (Stitchpunk 5), Crispin Glover (Stitchpunk 6), Christopher Plummer (Stitchpunk 1), and Jennifer Connelly (Stitchpunk 7) all capture their characters’ crucial roles in a post-apocalyptic world. As each stitchpunk progresses throughout the story they bond and hear each other out and remember things from when they were human.

Some viewers argue this movie could’ve used a more human touch, like a human character.
For me, however, 9 is a great movie and I would recommend it to anybody to watch.