From the creators of The Matrix trilogy, this groundbreaking collection of 9 short films from 7 of the world's leading Anime directors provides a visionary fusion of CG-Animatrion and Japanese Anime.
Matrix writer-directors Larry and Andy Wachowski commissioned seven artists from Japan, America and Korea to make nine short films set in the world of their feature trilogy. Some of the top anime directors contributed to this anthology, including Yoshiaki Kawajiri (Ninja Scroll), Koji Morimoto (Robot Carnival), and Shinchiro Watanabe (Cowboy Bebop). Some of the films tie directly into the narrative of the live-action movies. Drawn in a style reminiscent of Jean "Moebius" Giraud, Mahiro Maeda's The Second Renaissance (Part I & Part II) depicts the human-machine wars that caused the enslavement of humanity and the creation of the Matrix. The duel between two flamboyantly costumed Kabuki warriors in Kawajiri's Program is an expanded version of the cybernetic training Neo (Keanu Reeves) undergoes in the first Matrix film. Watanabe evokes the look of old newspaper photographs in A Detective Story, which falls outside the storyline of the features. Fast-paced, violent and grim, The Animatrix is an uneven but intriguing compilation that represents a new level in the ongoing cross-pollination between Japanese animation and American live action. (Not rated, suitable for ages 16 and older: considerable violence, violence against women, grotesque imagery, brief nudity, alcohol use) --Charles Solomon

Customer Rating:
Summary: A good source for the backstory of The Matrix trilogy
Comment: The Animatrix consists of nine animated shorts that revolve around the Wachowski Brothers' trilogy of The Matrix films. Seven of the nine shorts are considered to be anime; "Final Flight of the Osiris" and "Metriculated" are the two shorts that are not considered to be anime. Madhouse, one of the major animation studios in Japan, was involved with almost all seven of the anime shorts. The names involved with the seven anime shorts are Mahiro Maeda, Shinichiro Watanabe, Yoshiaki Kawajiri, Takeshi Koike, and Koji Morimoto.

While all seven of these stories are done in an anime style, the animation style is different for each story (with the only exception being the two parts of "The Second Renaissance," which have the same animation style). Each director brought their own style to the short they were working on. While most of these shorts are not inter-related, you can still tell that they are part of the same whole unit of The Animatrix.

The DVD release includes some bonus features. There are audio commentaries for "The Second Renaissance Part I," "The Second Renaissance Part II," "Program," and "World Record." There are subtitles provided, because the audio for the commentaries is in Japanese. There is a 22-minute documentary titled, "Scrolls to Screen: The History and Culture of Anime."

There are text-only biographies for the directors and the segment producers involved with The Animatrix. There are also "making of" mini-features for the various shorts, and each mini-feature runs for roughly seven minutes. There is also a DVD-ROM link.

I would recommend The Animatrix to anyone over the age of eighteen, due to the violence included in the shorts. I would definitely recommend this DVD to a fan of The Matrix films, so they can acquire some backstory for the films, as well as see some additional stories for The Matrix universe.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Much Better Than the Actual Movies
Comment: Let me say straight out, I have never been a fan of the Matrix movies. What started out as an obvious ripoff of John Woo films and Ghost in the Shell was drawn out into an unnecessary trilogy for purely financial reasons. The Wachowski brothers are without a doubt two of the biggest hacks in Hollywood, just look at the failure of their Speed Racer adaptation. However, the idea of the Animatrix was genius; take the premise of the Matrix, strip away all the useless martial arts attempts at action scenes and focus on the truly interesting part of these films, the story. The centerpiece is without a doubt the finest; "The Second Renaissance". This two-part story tells the most interesting piece of drama, the back story, and the dark depths to which this chapter goes show the true destructive nature of humanity. If only the films had focused on the first war between humans and machines, we might not have had such horribly acted pretentious dribble. Several of the other shorts are excellent as well. "Final Flight of the Osiris" demonstrates Square's perfection for human CGI animation (second only to Pixar), while Peter Chung takes his hyper-intelligent mold of anime to the extreme in "Matriculated". What becomes clear to the viewer after time and repeated viewings, is these artists are infinitely more creative than the Wachowskis, who should have perhaps stayed as producers on the film trilogy, and handed over directorial control to someone more capable, and more competent.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Good Set of Stories!!!
Comment: Animatrix is a set of short stories that take place in the matrix universe, each with there own animation style. To make this short I'll just say that it's worth it!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Anime Fused With The Matrix
Comment: There is no comparison to the Matrix Trilogy...
Until... The Animatrix was released!

This DVD includes 9 unreleased titles
made buy the guys that brought you The Matrix!

Each short film has it's own story and style.
They still follow, to some extent, the idea that
The Matrix was based off of.

When can we say there's TOO MUCH technology? So far,
I like where we're heading, it brought me this movie...
But maybe some day we will reach the point where our
world is run by it...

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Customer Rating:
Summary: The Animatrix Gift Set (includes soundtrack)
Comment: This animation is a mini series of different views of the Matrix. The series are like various examples of how the Matrix function. It could be interesting for the animation and matrix lovers. However i do prefer a single movie rather than short different series.

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