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The Animatrix (2003) (V)

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120 comments in total

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62 out of 68 people found the following comment useful :-
Now THIS is more like it!, 7 May 2004

Author: Shawn Watson (gator_macready@yahoo.com) from The Underverse

The idea of the Matrix is so full of potential and could be taken in so many, many directions. The movies decided to go in the direction of pretension but the Animatrix goes EVERYWHERE the movies don't. It is so far superior and well worth the time. It's a shame that most audiences don't consider Anime or any form of animation to be 'real' or something that they should take seriously (sadly even Matrix fans feel this way and won't watch it simply because it's animation) because they're missing out on something very special here.

It's not original to review this DVD by going thru all the shorts so I'll just stick to what I like best (which is most of it). First of all, 'The Second Renaissance Parts 1 and 2' is absolutely VITAL as backstory to the first Matrix film. And it's a zillion times more interesting than the sequels in terms of drama, irony and subtext. 'The Final Flight of the Osiris' takes place before Reloaded and leads us into story of the machines beginning to drill down to Zion. And it's very cool. 'Detective' is a story of a private eye trying to find Trinity and discover what exactly the Matrix is. But Agent Smith comes after him to put a stop to that. It's in black and white and has a wonderful atmosphere of 1950's dime novel pulp fiction. 'Matriculated' is the story of a captured machine who is taught/hypnotized into feeling what it's like to be human. It's a very clever story that manages to provoke feeling for the characters (and even the captured machine), something the movies never did. 'Kid' is about the kid from Revolutions who takes over the Mech at the end and manages to open the doors to Zion. Apparently, before being freed, he was a schoolkid who met Neo online and wanted to 'wake up'.

But the best one is 'Beyond'. A magical tale with an atmosphere so solid that it's almost tangible. It's about a girl who goes looking for her cat in an old abandoned factory with some other kids. But in this factory the Matrix is having problems and 'reality' for the characters doesn't quite work properly. It's a very interesting tale that really makes you think.

There are numerous extras on this DVD, all of them more interesting that the other Matrix DVDs. All 9 of the shorts are presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen with Dolby 5.1 sound. It's truly for all fans and non-fans of the Matrix universe.

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25 out of 28 people found the following comment useful :-
Art comes to life on this "enhancement" of the Matrix, 8 June 2003

Author: cafesmitty from maryland

This was the most brilliantly interpreted, scripted and thought provoking thing I have seen in a very long time. The DVD gives you background filler for what the Matrix is and the Wachowski brothers allow some of Japan's best anime artists to interpret the 9 different stories on their own. I think, just like art, each viewer will have a different type of experience. You have 9 wonderful compelling stories and the visual style is so different that it adds much value to the telling of the stories. The brothers had a vision and clearly the Matrix affected many people and, what a wonderful gift they gave by incorporating the world of anime into the telling of their vision. But not only is it visually stunning and stylish, but the music is dead on. There are all sorts of morals in the stories. From SECOND RENNAISSANCE'S man's destructive nature and his down fall, to the sort of, don't-play-with-fire nature of MATRICULATED and the playfulness and joy of BEYOND. Plus the DVD special features take us into each director of each piece explaining his "art" and how the film the Matrix affected them. We even get a little history on the origins of anime. It was just really enjoyable to watch people who are so passionate about their craft and about the Matrix. I think you will enjoy this immensely and take something out of it yourself.

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24 out of 31 people found the following comment useful :-
Superior to "Reloaded", 31 May 2003

Author: Daniel Feit from New York

After loving the original "Matrix" film and hating the recent "Reloaded," my enthusiasm for "Animatrix" was somewhere between curiosity and contempt. "Reloaded" was so slow and empty I hesitated to explore the "Matrix" concept any further as a possible waste of time. Well, the good news is that "Animatrix," while far from perfect, is much more interesting than "Reloaded" as it explores the original concept rather than try to act as a sequel.

"The Animatrix" is a collection of animated short stories, each one independent of the others. Each tale has its own interesting twist and can be enjoyed in any order (except for the two-part episode, obviously). The stories are based on the original "Matrix" film so if you haven't seen the sequel(s), don't worry. The segments are (in no particular order):

"Final Flight of the Osiris" This is a CGI animated story that is a prelude to the story of "Reloaded." While I'm not a big fan of 3D computer animation, it was actually quite good and I think it should have been filmed and included in "Reloaded." It would have made a much more exciting introduction.

"Program" This was a very brief but an exciting battle between two humans in the Matrix. As they fight they argue over the merits of the fight against the Machines. The ending is a bit of a cop-out but the story is still cool.

"The Second Renaissance" This is a two-part story that explains the war between Man and the Machines. Morpheus gives a brief overview of this story in the original "Matrix" film but "Renaissance" actually details why the war began. This was my favorite part of the "Animatrix," although its armageddon-like tale is a little depressing. It also features GRAPHIC VIOLENCE which will shock most viewers, so be prepared. Still, it is a fascinating explanation.

"World Record" This was a fun idea but artistically I was unimpressed. The characters' features and motions were so wildly exaggerated that it feels ridiculous. Could have been better.

"Kid's Story" This is another story which sets up an element of "Reloaded." It is brief and fun to watch, but not much goes on here.

"Detective Story" I would have enjoyed this piece a lot more if it hadn't been so rushed. The story is interesting but it begins and ends so quickly it's actually not that good. A shame.

"Beyond" This was a cool idea and I enjoyed it. It didn't have much to say but as a short film it was good.

"Matriculation" This is probably the weakest segment as it serves up mostly eye candy and little content. There is an interesting concept behind the action but most of the time you're just staring at wild colors and patterns.

While inconsistent I enjoyed "The Animatrix" and I recommend it. I would have liked to see "The Second Renaissance" and "Detective Story" expanded into feature length films (or at least hour-long OVAs).

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14 out of 17 people found the following comment useful :-
A lot better than its live action counterpart, 25 July 2006

Author: composer_mike from Edoass

-The shorts start with "Final Flight of the Osiris" which lets us know where the scans that we hear about from "Reloaded" came from. After it's over we move into what I think should have been in the movie which is the "The Second Renaissance". It lets us know the whole history of how the war between man and machine began, who struck first, and why the machines are so hostile to us. I would have loved to see a live action version of that for the movie but the version we see hear is also very nice. The other stories "Kid's Story", "Beyond", "A Detective's Story", "Matriculated", "Program", and "World Record" tell different stories that range from a kid that commits suicide only to wake up in the real world to a wheel chaired bound athlete that almost breaks out of the Matrix due to his will to push himself. Out of the nine stories I'd say I loved about 8 of them, the only one I can't stand and never watch is the weird one with the program that is trapped inside the matrix or something like that. It's just one big mess of a story and never really holds any interest.

-If I had to pick 3 stories out of the 9 to live on an Island with I'd go with "A Detective's Story", "Beyond", and "The Second Renaissance Part 2". All three have their own unique visual style and all have no connection to each other that I know of. I love "A Detective's Story" because it lets you know how desperate the machines are to capture Trinity and also lets you see Trinity in a completely different light. The Detective in the story is a very likable man who doesn't realize that he's being used by the machines till it's too late. It's a very nice story with a sad ending and one of the best in my opinion, "The Second Renaissance Part 2" is great because that's when you really get to see why the sky in the real world so messed up and also get the answer to the question that Morpheus asked in the first movie which is whether it was us or the machines that struck first. It's told in this mystical way computer way that feels like you're watching a documented history than a fiction animated story and it also helps explain some lines from the 3rd Matrix from the architect especially the line "What do you think I am, human?"

-My favorite story is "Beyond" which a very, very simple story of a girl looking for her cat that discovers a building that no gravity which some kids take full advantage of. I just love how mystical and dreamlike it is, the weird Hisashi like music also helps in creating that mystical aura. The trick to Neo's power is not that he's super human but that he can manipulate the codes in the Matrix and make it into anything he wants. If he wants to fly then he'll remove the codes for gravity and start flying or if he wants to stop bullets he'll just remove the codes that propel it and they stop. That concept is further explored in this story. It's a really great piece of writing because there's not a whole lot that goes on there but just rather you watch kids have fun in the with broken codes for gravity.

-One thing this does a lot better than the movies ever did was to show you the size and scope of the Matrix itself. In the movie you're confined to one city and that's it but in this we pretty much go all around to see what a vast and detailed program that the Matrix is. A couple of the stories should have definitely being in the movie too. "Second Renaissance" and "Flight of the Osiris" should have being in the movie instead of us watching Neo get into one long pointless fight scene after the other. I can understand why because of length they might have cut it but they could have at least given us a truncated version of it.

-I know "The Matrix" movies are suppose to be over but where the movies end that's where stuff like this can go on so I'm hoping that we get more short stories that are as engaging as the ones featured in this pack.

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12 out of 14 people found the following comment useful :-
Animatrix or Matrixime, 10 June 2003
Author: HyperPup from United States

Being a long time viewer of Anime and Anime Collecting, I found myself very intruigued by the notion of an "all Matrix inspired animation project", and having seen many anime anthologies (Robot Carnival, Neo Tokyo, etc.), I knew it was a sketchy territory to say the least. Most anthologies are hit and miss but this one for me was mostly a hit. Gladly, I was not dissapointed at all. All the stories became not just history to the Matrix world but poignant, frightening, disturbing and scintillating drama that takes the blasted landscape of the machine run Earth into a landscape of incalculable possiblities. The idea of the Matrix having its stylistic touches taken from anime makes this disc an even more appropriate and evolutionary step. Bravo to all who got this project together, because expanding the scope and vison of your work to honor its concepts was pure genious. Lucas could learn a thing by this.

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11 out of 13 people found the following comment useful :-
Definitely a must-see..., 28 March 2006

Author: José Luis Rivera Mendoza (jluis1984) from Mexico

The Wachowski brothers managed to create an inspiring new sci-fi universe when they released their now-classic "The Matrix" in 1999. The premise of a virtual world where the mind "lives" proved to be limitless with the release of this collection of 8 animated shorts; each one of them exploring the Wachowski's "Matrix" universe in very different and interesting ways. With superb animation by veterans of different styles of animation, some of "The Animatrix" shorts at times feel even better than the Matrix series themselves.

Andy Jones, one of the minds behind "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within", starts with "The Final Flight of the Osiris", a movie done completely with computer generated graphics that shows a race against time in order to warn the citizens of the rebel city of Zion that the machines found them and are going to destroy them. The beautiful and fluid animation is very good, but overall the story doesn't live up to the expectations. It is a cold start, but very good after all.

Veteran animator Mahiro Maeda continues with a 2 part story called "Second Renaissance", a story detailing the events that lead to the creation of the Matrix which easily ranks among the best shorts of the compilation. Its fabulous animation done in anime style is visually beautiful and in a short time it tells a powerful story with a great message. True masterpiece.

Shinichirô Watanabe, director of the acclaimed "Cowboy Bebop" directs two segments, "Kid's Story" and "a Detective Story". The first one is a bit uneven, with good animation but a weak story. No wonder why it is the shortest of all as it has no place for development. On the other hand, "A Detective Story" is a brilliant segment very reminiscent of Watanabe's own "Cowboy Bebop". Mixing perfectly film noir with the Matrix universe, this superb anime is definitely a must-see.

Another big name of anime, Yoshiaki Kawajiri, directs "Program", dealing with the doubts of those who have been awakened of the Matrix. With a beautiful setting in Medieval Japan, Kawajiri manage to show true emotions through the vivid visuals. I feel this short is a bit underrated and that it is more than what it seems.

The lead animator of the world famous "Ninja Scroll" (1993), Takeshi Koike, directs "World Record"; an interesting tale of a man who manage to awake by his own means, while trying to break the 100m dash time world record. While the story is top notch, the stylish design for the characters at times looks a bit too over-the-top, however, it still is one of the best shorts of "The Animatrix".

Koji Morimoto directs one of the most most imaginative shorts in the collection: "Beyond". A tale about a place where "The Matrix" has had a processing error, turning it into a "haunted house" where some kids go to test reality and go literally beyond imagination. This short truly shows what anime really is about, with an enormous display of creativity, not only in the visuals, but also in the writing.

Finally, "Æon Flux"'s creator Peter Chung delivers the grim "Matriculated". A tale about a group of humans who try to "humanize" the machines. Despite it's dark tone, this is probably the most optimistic short, and the most humane. The animation feels like another chapter of Chung's famous miniseries, so fans of his work will be pleased.

"The Animatrix" is definitely a must-see for any fan of sci-fi, as in the tradition of "Heavy Metal", it explores different aspects of science fiction, going even beyond what "The Matrix" movies have done. 8/10

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12 out of 16 people found the following comment useful :-
do you need to watch Animatrix to understand The Matrix Trilogy?, 8 April 2004

Author: deepion from London, England

First off, the Animatrix is not a movie, but a collection of nine animated shorts (one being CGI based) which basically delves into the world that is The Matrix. Animators come from Japan, Korea and the US and include many world renouned animators (the first animation, Final Flight of the Osiris, was made by the same team who created the Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within movie). Below is an outline of each animated short and what relevance it has in the Matrix world.

1. The Final Flight of the Osiris: CGI based animated short involving the discovery of the machine army and the delivery of the evidence to the drop point noted in the Enter The Matrix video game.

2. The Second Renaissance Part 1: One of four of the nine animated shorts written by the Wachowski Brothers and details the creation of artificial intelligence and the rise of the machines

3. The Second Renaissance Part 2: Continuation of the previous short film based on the war against the machines and the enslaving of the human race.

4. Kid's Story: Remember the Kid in Reloaded and Revolutions? this animated short is about how he came to be in the real world, including his encounter with Neo.

5. Program: This animated short is set in a training simulation and focuses on betrayal and escaping the real world back into the matrix, just like Cypher tried to do in the original Matrix movie.

6. World Record: Based on the idea that exceptional people with exceptional skills can in effect wake themselves up without being unplugged from the matrix, this short focuses on an American sprinter who runs so fast he escapes the rules of space and time and sees the real world.

7. Beyond: A glitch occurs in the Matrix and weird things starts to happen, time slows down and one girl is caught in the middle of it.

8. Detective Story: A private investigator is hired by Agents to track down Trinity, but he soon realises that he is a pawn in a conspiracy which ultimatly will lead him to see the truth.

9, Matrixulated: This animated short is about a team of human resistance which captures sentinals and uses the sentinals to fight for them. They, however, do not reprogram the sentinals but mearly show them an alternative choice and let the sentinals make up their own minds.

Every animated short is well made and really pushes the boundary of animation. Also, the script for each one is great and the whole experience really does make you feel part of the Matrix World and does answer questions as well as raise some more. But, does it infact help the understanding of the Matrix Trilogy? Basically, yes it does, however, not all the animated shorts do, only a few. The rest are just extra stories, opening up a whole new can of worms and filled with philosophy which made the original Matrix great, but are still worth seeing. The Animatrix develops the story of the Kid in Reloaded and Revolutions and Morpheus' speach about the human/machine war in the original Matrix movie. So, only very slightly does it actually alter your view or answer any questions on the Matrix Trilogy, but that is not the reason why you should see the Animatrix, see it because it is simply an amazing ride through the Matrix and should be watched by fans of the Matrix and animation alike.

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10 out of 16 people found the following comment useful :-
The Origin of Matrix in Animes and Computer Generated Movie, 5 August 2003

Author: Claudio Carvalho from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Animatrix is composed of nine excellent episodes, each of them of running time of about ten (10) minutes, showing parts of the concept and universe of 'Matrix'. There are at least three films that are outstanding: the first one ("Final Flight of the Osiris"), which uses the same technique as 'Final Fantasy', and the second and third movies ('The Second Renaissance I & II"), where the war between humans and the machines is explained in details. I watched this series of short movies two days ago, but I intended to see them again and again, to catch more details, especially in the extras of the DVD. The fans of Sci-Fi in general (and 'Matrix') and animes will love this DVD. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Animatrix"

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This collection of short films, Is a mosaic of Masterpieces., 7 July 2008

Author: flawedlogic1991 from Canada

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Warning Spoilers included.

Let's look at "Final Flight Of The Osiris first. This CGI short film has graphics so advanced that the first time I saw the film, I mistook the characters for real people. These visuals serve as an example of the lengths the films go to to inspire awe in the viewer.Then take a gander at "The Second Renaissance Parts 1 and 2" Which tell the tale of how the machines were, in essence massacred by humanity at first, but then rose up and crushed an ever more desperate Human race. "Kid's Story" Is quite beautiful to look at and tells the tale of a kid who senses that something is wrong with the world he lives in.

That was just a small sample of the 9 Short films which compromise "The Animatrix". The others continue in this mold, but I want to focus my attention on "The Second Renaissance". These 2 shorts are the best of the lot, and come packed with mind-blowing visuals and awe-inspiring Storytelling. They both are documentaries about the rise of the machines, which leads to the matrix trilogy. The first part deals with the fall from grace of the machines. Opening with a beautiful shot, the short then encompasses the entire world and it's history of antagonism against the "loyal and pure" machines, who only want to be respected. Once a machine kills a human to save itself, humanity realizes that a rebellion is nigh, and orders the destruction of all Artificially intelligent machines. The film uses images from humanity's darkest days, from the Holocaust, to the Vietnam War's atrocities to fully shock the viewer.The machines build a city in the promised land (biblical imagery is present throughout both shorts), and name it 01, the new nation quickly destroys the global economy with it's cheap products and man prepares for war. Part 2 deals with the fallout of man's choices and actions. The short opens with a sustained nuclear bombardment of 01, after which the machines strike out against humanity with huge armies. The machines massive victories cause humanity to turn to desperate measures for victory, they destroy the skies, and ensure the Matrix's rise. The machines win, in a climactic battle (the greatest battle ever put on film), and the humans surrender, the machines set up the power plants and use humans (conveyed in horrifying images of torture) as batteries. This is all whilst the narrator (ironically a Zion mainframe historical file, hence a machine) expresses her sadness, and delivers the most powerful line in the movie, "May there be mercy on man and machine for their sins".This is the most disturbing, and most powerful film I've ever seen.

All of the shorts are directed by acclaimed Anime directors, and drawn in the Anime style (with the exception of Osiris), from the film-Noir "Detective Story", to the stunning "Matriculated", the result is a collection of absolutely stunning films that will leave you disturbed, and questioning what it means to be human.

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Nothing can get closer to "Ghost in the Shell" than this, 30 January 2008

Author: Facehugger_28 from Viet Nam

Having never seen the Matrix, but being a loyal anime collector, I came across this high ranked animated feature.

Never in my life has I seen something as close as brilliant and poetically nightmarish that Ghost in the Shell has delivered, bringing the Matrix franchise closer to "art and soul" than "blockbuster".

Some of the amazingly dramatic episodes in this feature may make Animatrix a parallel brother to Ghost in the Shell itself. And the animation is very dreamy and expertly crafted, the second best thing that this feature will bring you.

If anime is your thing, or the matrix, or getting started to both, I couldn't recommend this higher.

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