Big stars, big talent, and even more important for Hollywood, big money are transforming independent shorts into wham-bam features.  Nothing too surprising there.  Many filmmakers construct their short films as calling calls, pitches for paying gigs, and structure those shorts to be the best bits of bigger works, or small segments of them.  But that’s mainly live action shorts, which serve little other purpose, only seeing the light of day-or the gloom of a theater-in under-attended fest screenings and within the ignobility of YouTube.  Animated shorts, however, are accepted as works on their own, not just a way to bigger things.

Now we have a pair of animated shorts that are scheduled to grow, and what’s more, they are not comedies with anamorphic birds or bunnies, but science fiction.  Strangest of all, both haven’t a word of dialog.

The first of the features to hit big screens will be 9 (we’ll call it 9 the Feature), scheduled for release on 09/09/09.  Well, that will be easy to remember.  Tim Burton is producing, and he’s pulled in Elijah Wood, Jennifer Connelly, Martin Landau, Christopher Plummer, John C. Reilly, and Crispin Glover to voice the previously silent characters.  If trailers and clips are to be believed, the look and feel will match the short.  With of Shane Acker at the helm, that’s made more likely since he’s responsible for the original work.  The other is Rockfish, which has garnished less talk and no release date, but can claim Vin Diesel as a producer and voice actor.

The features may be the next great thing, or total wastes, but the shorts are gems now, and worth visiting.

9 (11 min.  Writer/Director: Shane Acker), that’s 9 the Short, creates a world of mystery and dread inhabited by rag dolls.  In a post-apocalyptic world, or perhaps just a large junkyard, 9, his name clearly stamped on his rough hide, assists 5 in the uncertain defense of their people.  They are hunted by a gigantic, semi-mechanized, wolf creature which steals their souls.  When 5 is caught, and drained, 9 must carry on alone, finding a way to survive and stop the monster that’s always so close.

Acker, who made 9 over the course of four years as his thesis project, has an amazing eye for detail, and uses every pixel on screen with purpose.  The world feels complete, though unknown.  If wastelands can be beautiful, then this CGI Hell-scape is.  It feels like Hell too-a dread inducing horror-show which is far more likely to leave you looking over your shoulder than Hostel or any of the more recent run of live action terror films.  All of which makes the threat feel real, quite a trick since our hero is made of burlap with goggles for eyes.  It is a trick Acker executes flawlessly as I became wrapped up in the struggles of this voiceless, but oh so emotive sack-man.  The conclusion is satisfying, without being cloying.

9 was an Academy Award nominee in 2005, vying for the prize in what was arguably the strongest overall field the animated short category has ever had.  Its competition included Pixar’s One Man Band, the charming Badger, and the steampunk masterpiece The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello, all which lost to the pedestrian drama The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation.

Legal red tape has 9 hidden away, at least until the feature arrives.  Officially, it can’t be seen and is even missing from 2005 DVD edition of the Academy Award Nominated Short Films, however, the internet cares little about these matters and a quick search will find it for your viewing pleasure. 

Rockfish (9 min. Writer/Director: Tim Miller) is a balls to the wall, pedal to the metal, action flick, with explosions, crashes, and a really, really big fish.  It’s low on complexity and very high on “wow.”  On a distant desert planet, an unnamed and rather bulky fisherman arrives with his loyal dog-lizard pet.  With vehicles both large and small, winches, cranes, and missiles, he sets out to catch something far below the hot, sandy surface.  It has other ideas. 

No, I didn’t learn anything about the meaning of life from this man-hunts-critter adventure (hmmmm, maybe I better re-read The Old Man and the Sea and Moby Dick) but I did feel an adrenaline rush or two.  The CGI is Pixar quality, with all the eye candy I could desire.  In simplest terms, “things blow up real good.” I was rooting for the action hero, and even more for his cute four-legged side-kick, but far more than either, I was rooting for the ground to rip open (it did), rocks to fall (they did), and everything to move really really fast (yup again). 

Rockfish is fun, light, and exciting.  That’s what it aims for, and it hits the mark.  I’m less certain on its legal state, so like 9, I’ll leave you to search it out on your own. (Hint: use the title and Google and you should be set in 10 seconds.)

Will either 9 or Rockfish make an entertaining or successful feature?  Perhaps, as both only vaguely introduce new and unknown worlds.  But sometimes less is more, and these short films are rewarding as they are.