Elijah Wood is a decorated actor who earned more than a dozen prestigious awards for his role in “The Lord of the Rings” ensemble, but his career extends beyond high fantasy. He stars in the lead voice role of the 2009 post-apocalyptic animated film “9.” Wood’s character, a sentient rag doll known simply as #9, must navigate an imaginative Tim Burton-produced dystopia on a quest to restore life to the world. “9” is streaming now on Peacock.
“9” was far from Elijah Wood’s first foray into sci-fi, but it’s easy to forget his breakout role. The “Lord of the Rings” star was unrecognizable in “Back to the Future 2,” where he appeared in his first outing as a child actor. After many years of experience, both on-screen and in the voice-acting booth, Wood had developed more than enough aptitude to breathe life into the titular lead character of “9.” It’s an underrated and oft-forgotten movie, but one that’s worth checking out as a time capsule from a different era of feature-length animation.
The entrancing sci-fi dystopia earned critical praise
Director Shane Acker conceived of “9” while he was still a university student. What started as a short film became an acclaimed feature backed by serious star power and deserving of several noteworthy award nominations. “9” takes place in a post-apocalyptic setting where humans no longer exist and machines reign supreme. Along with a cast of other similarly numbered rag dolls, #9 must survive as machines hunt them down. A choice must be made regarding how these dolls intend to change their bleak civilization.
The late Roger Ebert, arguably the most influential movie critic of his time, painted vivid praise for “9.” Ebert mused extensively on the movie’s artistic animation, saying that “the first images are spellbinding,” and ultimately described the film’s visuals as “entrancing.” However, Ebert expressed disappointment with “9’s” action scenes, believing that these scenes took away from the core theme of the movie while also resulting in simplified dialogue and uninspired enemy designs.
When the movie’s core premise comes back into focus, it’s clear to see that it’s all about Elijah Wood’s character and his hopefulness for the future. It’s a sci-fi tale as old as the genre itself, but it justifies a Peacock subscription based on its beautiful presentation alone. Check it out alongside other classics on the platform, including one of the scariest horror movies of the past decade.
