The Animatrix (2003)

A collection of nine short films featuring stories related to The Matrix (1999).

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

From the creators of The Matrix and blockbuster producer Joel Silver (Lethal Weapon series) comes this ground-breaking feature-length collection of nine original short films. Inspired by the visionary action and innovative storytelling of the Matrix trilogy, The Animatrix melds state-of-the-art CG animation and Japanese Anime in feature-quality shorts by seven world-renowned directors. Delve deep into the heart of The Matrix through visually stunning and emotionally resonant stories that reveal new details, including the war between humans and machines which led to the creation of the Matrix. Featuring the voices of Keanu Reeves (The Devil's Advocate, Speed) and Carrie-Anne Moss (Chocolat, Memento). Winner of the 2003 Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Animation Home Entertainment Production.

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Plot Keywords:

anime | supernatural power | anthology film | portmanteau film | omnibus film | 

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Taglines:

Free your mind.

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Genres:

Animation | Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Unrated

Did You Know?

Trivia

There is a reference to the Visual Effects Supervisor for the Matrix films, John Gaeta, during "The Second Renaissance Part II." As the human army gathers in the trenches, preparing for Operation Dark Storm, a male voice on the P.A. system announces, "Lt. Gaeta, please report to the Ops Center. Lt. Gaeta to Ops Center."

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Goofs

The word "scanning" is misspelled as "scaning" on a monitor.

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Quotes

Cis: You betrayed us, didn't you?

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Straight-to-Video Movies (2015)

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Soundtracks

THE REAL
Written by Don Davis
Performed by Technical Itch aka. Tech Itch/Don Davis

User Reviews

Animatrix or Matrixime

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.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA Japan

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

3 June 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

The 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