“9″ is set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland that is visually inspiring, exquisitely crafted, unflinching (for an animated PG-13 movie), and frustratingly vapid.  It’s one thing to see a bloated summer blockbuster indulge in such technical indulgence at the expense of story and character (I’m looking at you “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”), but for a small movie like “9″ which was based on an animated short film and comes out of Universal’s art house distribution division, Focus Features, “9″ only cares about its technical and visual achievements and forgets its story and characters.

If you were debating about the debut film from director Shane Acker, I’m here to tell you it’s great.  This visionary tale is worth more than a cursory glance and it’s definitely worth ten of your American dollars.  Set after the Machines have rained down the apocalypse upon us, “9″ shows a different perspective, one seen from the eyes of tiny Steampunk creations.

At the “9″ junket, director Shane Acker talked about the journey his film took from Student Academy Award winning short to feature release backed by visionary producer/directors Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov.  Watch the interview after the jump.

Opening on September 9^th is director Shane Acker’s debut feature film “9″. The film is based on his short that won an Academy Award, and with the help of producers Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov, he got to make a feature. While I have yet to see “9″, it looks really cool and the people I’ve spoken to that have seen it have told me positive things. So if you’d like to take a look at some footage, after the jump are 6 clips from the film and a 4 minute featurette.

Tim Burton made his second appearance at Comic Con this year on board the panel for 9. This time he is attached as producer to Shane Ackers new animated film “9″. After being shown the trailer for “9″, director Shane Acker, producers Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov, as well as stars Elijah Wood and Jennifer Connelly came out for a panel discussion and Q&A. What was talked about is after the jump.

Focus Features continues to make the smart moves in selling Shane Acker’s upcoming animated film “9″ by focusing on the aesthetic. It’s captivating and eye-catching and since the film doesn’t open with the words “Pixar” or “DreamWorks Animation”, it needs to sell on its look.

These eight character posters for the nine characters of “9″ (3 and 4 share a poster) do a cool job showing off all the characters as well as the post-apocalyptic wasteland they inhabit.

Hit the jump to see all the posters in our new gallery - along with short descriptions of each of the characters. “9″ hits theatres on September 9th.

While movie theaters won’t be getting the final movie poster for director Shane Acker’s “9″ till Friday, a select group of online sites have been given it early, and Collider is one of them. As you can (and in high resolution by clicking on the poster), the final one sheet looks great and it’s the first animated film I’ve wanted to see in a long time that wasn’t made by Pixar.

Of course it helps when you’ve got Tim Burton and Timur Berkmambetov as producers. If you haven’t seen the cool trailer yet, I suggest checking it out to learn more about the film.

Finally, the back-story of “9″ has begun to unfold through the voice of the film’s Scientist on Facebook. There you can see the Machine that will help rebuild the Nation and his designs that will change the world.

9 hits movie theaters on 9.9.09

Oh, Pixar.  You thought you were safe and secure in your computer-animated kingdom and no one could challenge your superiority.  Okay, well that’s probably true.  “Up” is amazing and I can’t wait to see it again.  But there ARE other animated movies coming up this year and one that I can’t wait to see doesn’t have a hopping desk lamp in front of it.

Shane Acker’s “9″ looks like one of the most original animated films in years with a imaginative aesthetic that’s “Little Big Planet” meets the apocalypse.  Throw in a little of Coheed and Cambria’s “Welcome Home” (used to great effect in the film’s previous trailer) and I think this film is going to be one of the year’s most anticipated and successful films with “9″ in the title.

Check out the new trailer after the jump.  “9″ hits theaters on (when else) September 9th.