Research 9, the feature film

    After seeing the short film, I've finished watching the entire feature film! The full length version delves much further into the story. It had the same ideals as the first, namely, surviving in a post-apocalyptic world against the robots, but it was more detailed. The main character, 9, remained the same, but the audience was now able to see him develop as a person. 9 begins as a timid newcomer who has no idea what lies ahead, but by the end, he has developed into a brave hero ready to do whatever it takes. Now that he had a lot of time, the director was able to really advance his career. He was also able to create new rag dolls that we had never seen before.We learned more about 5 and met the other rag dolls, but 7,5, and 1 were the main supporting characters. 1 has his own storyline in which he appears to be a stubborn old man at first, but in the end, he sacrifices himself for the common good. There's still a lot of world building and new environments to see.

    The first film's machine reappears as an antagonist, but this time as a far smaller foe who leads to a much more dangerous threat. Now there is dialogue that both advances the plot and adds to it. There was more time to justify why things are the way they are with an hour of running time instead of seven minutes. The audience now knows how the world has become post-apocalyptic, and that the rag dolls represent the spirit of the main scientist. Because of the longer runtime, the plot was able to grow more fully. In terms of animation and special effects, it works much better here.The character designs seem to have improved significantly. For instance, green light effects are done much more cleanly here. While the devices remain frightening, each rag doll has a distinct design that separates it from the others. In general, the feature film was well worth watching.