Not so long ago I was publicly lamenting the lack of edgy kids fare today, the complete absence of films that are kid-friendly while still having a bit of bite to them, the sort of films that were commonplace in the 80s but have since dropped right off the radar. Well, hello Shane Acker.
Acker first burst on to the scene with his award winning short film 9 a few years back - I caught it at the 2005 edition of the Worldwide Short Film Festival. The story of a little canvas puppet man exploring a deadly post-apocalyptic world it was a truly visionary bit of work, stunning to look at and filled with creativity and heart. And luckily for us directors Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted, The Night Watch) ended up counting themselves among the film's fans and the pair used their clout to get a feature version made with Acker directing and the pair of them on board a producers.
The feature has been long in the works with Focus Features remaining pretty cagey on production materials but the full trailer is out now and looks absolutely stunning. I'd expect no less. Elijah Wood, Christopher Plummer, Martin Landau, Crispin Glover, John C Reilly and Jennifer Connelly provide voices. Check the trailer out below the break.
Man I am soooooooooo glad this is getting done!
Oh. My.
Count me in. More animated projects like this need to break through to theatrical releases.
here's the original short film of 9 on youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=964QHmjLqa0
This looks gorgeous. Hope to see this on my shores next year.