The Animatrix

9 short films based on the Matrix movie. Some copying it closely others following themes. The best one is supposed to be Flight of the Osiris. I think this is actually the worse of the bunch. It has the high tech 3D Toy Story style graphics that were just beginning to take hold, but actually like a lot of 90's sci fi, they replaced story with FX.

It's just a shooting gallery, bad guys get shot and they keep coming. So, yes, I guess this 4 star review is starting off kind of bad.

All the others I loved though. There were some very powerful images in the Second Renascence shorts. The mechanical horse haunts my memories for some reason. And I loved the theme of the track and field short where an athlete is so incredibly in his zone that he become aware of the matrix. I like to think that of all the folks who would become aware, all star athletes would be among the most likely.

Personally, I love the Animatrix, and I believe the Wachowski brothers repay a large debt of gratitude and creative license to the Japanese animation industry by exposing so many talented animators and directors through this collection.
However, those hoping to get all of their Matrix-universe questions answered before the release of "Matrix: Revolutions" may be sorely disappointed by this showcase. Although some short films provide backstory (more in the descriptions below), they are also standalone pieces. The strength of this collection is in the strength of its contributors, and it provides a diverse cross-section of modern Japanese anime which will give the uninitiated an opportunity to see what's being produced.
The short films in the collection are:
"Final Flight of the Osiris" - This short produced by Square (also the production company for some of the best video games of the past decade, and the "Final Fantasy" film) provides an almost creepy example of "digital actors" whose skin texture, bounce and movement are nearly impossible to distinguish from the real thing. Only their lip sync gives it away. The story involves the captain and pilot of the Osiris, the doomed ship which (in the Reloaded timeline) sends the warning to Zion that the machines are digging. It is also a direct introduction to the "Enter the Matrix" video game, as it depicts the drop of the letter which Niobe or Ghost must retrieve from a post office in the first act of the game.
"The Second Renaissance, Parts I and II" - If one can overlook the fact that more information is contained in this "Zion Archive file" than Morpheus told Neo the humans knew, these two short films provide a compelling and lushly illustrated history of the fall of humanity and the rise of the machines. In particular, the fluid art style and the haunting voice-over make this an easy 18 minutes to spend, and it invokes more sympathy for the machines than you'll get from the human-centric viewpoint of the Matrix films.
"Program" is the weakest film in the series; mercifully, it is short. Although the animation style is as classic in the world of anime as "Snow White" is in the world of Disney, the story line is weak. I enjoy this more if I turn down the sound and just watch.
"World Record" attempts to illustrate what happens to a human in the Matrix whose desire to accomplish something physically pushes him to the brink of the reality he thinks he knows. The art design is not for everyone, but is beautifully realized with tremendous detail in every cell. The music is also a plus. This won't add much to your "Matrix IQ" but is a very creative exploration of what happens to people whose minds are not freed by the Zionists, and who do not find their way out through a computer.
"Kid's Story" is one of my two favorites on the disc. It ties into "Matrix: Reloaded" by telling us how the annoying kid in Zion came to know and love Neo. It's no secret to those who have seen the film that the kid "self-substantiates", or gets himself out of the Matrix without help. His journey to that point, though, is detailed in a lush, deliberately-paced, gorgeously-scored piece of animation that will leave you breathless. One of two films directed by Shinichiro Watanabe of "Cowboy Bebop" fame.
"Beyond" - Koji Morimoto (an assistant animator on the legendary "Akira") turns in the most inventive and beautiful short piece of the disc. It takes a simple question - what would happen if the Matrix's physical rules malfunctioned in some locations? - and explores the answer, from the bizarre physical happenings that children call hauntings to the arrival of futuristic wrecking equipment that razes and rewrites the affected locale. This, along with "Kid's Story", makes the DVD worth the price of admission.
"Detective Story" - this black-and-white second entry from director Shinichiro Watanabe plays like a Sam Spade film. Its comic book style is stark and beautiful, and the addition of Carrie-Anne Moss's voice really grounds it in the Matrix universe. At the end of the day the story doesn't matter much, but it's an enjoyable nine minutes all the same.
"Matriculated" - Peter Chung (of Aeon Flux) shows a real flair here for art, but tells a somewhat convaluted story of humans who try to get machines to "choose" to betray their own kind. My complaint with this piece is not its technical execution, which is brilliant and shows that Chung dedicated himself to improving an already great talent, but rather in its plot. Like "Program", watch this one for the art.

I enjoy this most out of everything in the story's franchise because their is so much colonization in the maintained theme of the entire story explain from as many view points as humanly imaginable.

Ok, I've waited for this DVD since I found out about it. It was preordered and shipped. I popped it in and ... flat lined! If you are an anime freak, than this may be something to add to your collection when the price drops. But if you are looking to get a real feel for the Matrix story background, seek alternative sources. Before I jumped on the bandwagon and clicked buy, I should have had a better sense of what I was getting. I wanted something that would go over the FULL past of the Matrix, i.e. the first surviors and the founding of Zion. But the only story that even seemed in line to what I thought I was getting was the first chapter, the final flight...which I watched last because of a button mishap. Before viewing that I was crushed! This is definitely a rent first, or borrow DVD. I'm not sure how you can ride the fence about this one. You either liked it or hated it. If I could rate on workmanship I would rate higher, however I'm rating on story-line only...and again, it was a HUGE let down.

I saw the Animatrix almost eigth years ago and I love it, the menus and the music on it, and of course the movie itself, unfortunately I lost the DVD. Years later I bougth the Ultimate Matrix Collection great colection but the menus are horrible considering that is a blue ray edition, so I decided to buy this for my personal collection.

Awesome totally recommended for Matrix fans.

I've been a fan of animated film for a while now, both mainstream and underground, and this is by far the most impressive animated movie ever.

The different animation styles, the intense, poetic story lines, and the overall MIND THRILLER this movie entails is superb.

If you're looking for something super trippy to watch and to bend your mind - sober or not - this movie will trip you out with heavy and uplifting story lines, thought provoking themes, and off the walls animation.

A must see for any animated film fan. I'm buying it.... NOW!!