The Animatrix (2003)

The Animatrix is a collection of several animated short films, detailing the backstory of the "Matrix" universe, and the original war between man and machines which led to the creation of the Matrix.

Directors:

Peter Chung, Andrew R. Jones

Writers:

Lilly Wachowski (screenplay "The Matrix") (as The Wachowski Brothers), Lana Wachowski (screenplay "The Matrix") (as The Wachowski Brothers)

Stars:

Kevin Michael Richardson, Pamela Adlon, John DiMaggio

2 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kevin Michael Richardson	...	Thadeus (segment "Final Flight of the Osiris") / Cop (segment "Kid's Story") / Agent #2 (segment "World Record") (voice)
Pamela Adlon	...	Jue (segment "Final Flight of the Osiris") / Manabu (segment "Beyond") (voice)
John DiMaggio	...	Crew Man (segment "Final Flight of the Osiris") / Kaiser (segment "Program") (voice)
Tom Kenny	...	Operator (segment "Final Flight of the Osiris") (voice)
Rick Gomez	...	Pilot (segment "Final Flight of the Osiris") (voice)
Tara Strong	...	Crew Woman (segment "Final Flight of the Osiris") / Nurse (segment "World Record") / Misha (segment "Beyond") (voice)
Bette Ford	...	Old Woman (segment "Final Flight of the Osiris") (voice)
Julia Fletcher	...	The Instructor (segments "The Second Renaissance, Parts I&II") / Narrator (segment "World Record") / Townsperson (segment "Beyond") (voice)
Dane A. Davis	...	01 Versatran Spokesman (segment "The Second Renaissance, Part II") (voice) (as Dane Davis)
Debi Derryberry	...	Kid (segment "The Second Renaissance, Part II") (voice)
Jill Talley	...	Mother (segments "The Second Renaissance, Parts I&II") / Townsperson (segment "Beyond") (voice)
Dwight Schultz	...	Townspeople / Policeman / Exterminators (segment "Beyond") / Nonaka (segment "Matriculated") (segments "The Second Renaissance, Part I & II") (voice)
James Arnold Taylor	...	Ash (segment "A Detective Story") / Raul (segment "Matriculated") / Miscellaneous Voices (segments "The Second Renaissance, Parts I&II" - "Kid's Story") (voice)
Clayton Watson	...	Michael Karl 'The Kid' Popper (segment "Kid's Story") (voice)
Keanu Reeves	...	Neo (segment "Kid's Story") (voice)

Storyline

Anthology of nine short anime (Japanese animation) films tied in to the 1999 blockbuster "The Matrix" and its sequels. "Final Flight of the Osiris": The crew of the hovercraft Osiris attempt to warn their city of an imminent attack. "The Second Renaissance, Parts 1 & 2": The story behind the war between man and the machines, how mankind scorched the sky, and the creation of the Matrix. "Kid's Story": A teenager is contacted by Neo, and manages to escape the Matrix. "Program": Two warriors battle in a samurai training simulation when one decides to betray his crewmates and re-enter the Matrix. "World Record": A champion sprinter manages to break free of the Matrix by sheer physical effort during a record attempt. "Beyond": A young girl searching for her cat discovers a haunted house caused by a glitch in the system. "A Detective Story": Private investigator Ash tracks a hacker named Trinity through the looking glass. "Matriculated": A group of humans capture a machine scout and insert ...

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Plot Keywords:

anime | supernatural power | anthology | battle | hacker | 

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Taglines:

Free your mind.

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Genres:

Animation | Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Japan USA

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

3 June 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Animatrix

Company Credits

Production Co:

DNA Productions,Madhouse,Silver Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Final Flight of the Osiris was originally shown as a standalone piece in the theatrical release of the Matrix Reloaded preceding the main film. This helped provide background information as to how the humans first found out about the machine threat to Zion.

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Goofs

When Washington D.C. is shown the first time in "the second renaissance", you see that directly behind the capitol, there are enormous skyscrapers, but the second time they show the capitol (in the riot scene), you can see the sky behind it.

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Quotes

Teacher: Reality can be a pretty scary thing for some people; this world must have been a cold and alienating place

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Connections

References Cowboy Bebop (1998)

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Soundtracks

CONGA FURY
Written by Mabi Thobejane and Ben Watkins
Performed by Juno Reactor
Courtesy of Waxtrax!Records / TVT Records
(segment "Final Flight of the Osiris")

User Reviews

do you need to watch Animatrix to understand The Matrix Trilogy?

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.