Comparing 9, the short, and 9, the full-length movie

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 Short Film: I was amazed by Shane Acker's short film 9 for how much it managed to accomplish in such a short space of time. The story is simple, but it felt active and fast-moving actually brought me into the dark post-apocalyptic setting of the film. What I loved about this film was how it relied almost entirely on visuals to tell its tale. There was hardly any dialogue, yet within me pulled such tension and such emotion in every scene. Animation here is shown in a style that is raw, nearly or boldly hand-drawn, and thus accentuates the atmosphere. The wasteland and the mechanical villain were hauntingly and beautifully designed. 9 struck me as resourceful and strong and one with huge guts, even if little character development is possible in the short's limited time. The conventions of the short were tight and focused: every moment served a purpose, and anything seemed unworthy of delivery. It left me pondering upon its themes and the mystery of its world long after it ended. 

Full length Film: I have to admit the watching of the whole-length adaptation of 9 is completely different. The extended runtime allowed the story to breathe; it was possible to tell more backstory and develop some characters further. I enjoyed knowing more about these characters and how their world came into being. They all had very diverse personalities that made relationships between them more engaging. It was very nice to look at-everything looked really polished and larger in a way that gave the story an epic feel. However, the film settled for the traditional storytelling style, where there is overt exposition and a visible villain. In this respect, it fleshed out its plots actually, this took away some of the mystery and ambivalence about which I so appreciate in the short. So while it was a much more classic creation, it still had a captivating and visually striking story to tell. 

Comparison: Comparing the two versions of 9, I found that both have their own strengths. The short film's main strength is that it is short: for a few minutes it narrates a quick but emotionally engaging story communicated through images and atmosphere. With little dialogue, the short feels so relatable and enigmatic that the viewer is free to interpret quite a bit on their own. Meanwhile, the feature film provides a far larger world and character playing field. It elaborates on the ideas of the original, contextualizing the story and its themes. A free-for-all for the less demanding short, it sacrifices some of the raw intensity that made that one clicking away rather quickly. For me, I was more impressed by the short. Its quick narrative and emotional pull hit me harder. I enjoyed the feature, but it became somewhat interesting to a fault and lost a bit of the magic. Both films worth watching, but minimalist and enigmatic won me over in the short. 




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