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The Animatrix
Genre: Sci-fi cyberpunk adventure
Producers: The Wachowski Brothers/Silver Pictures/Warner Broa/Village Roadshow Pictures Directors: Andy Jones/Mahiro Maeda/Shinichiro Watanabe/Yoshiaki Kawajiri/Takeshi Koike/Koji Morimoto/Peter Chung Medium: American 3D animation/Japanese 2D animation/Korean 3D animation The Skinny: A collection of shorts from and inspired by the world of The Matrix films. Think: The spirit of the original Matrix film animated Where Found: In greater video stores/retail outlets near you courtesy of Warner Home Video.
Pros: A risky international project from the folks that bought you Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, Cowboy Bebop, Aeon Flux, and Ninja Scroll
My Take: Every now and then, somebody makes a genius idea a reality. The creators of The Matrix, brothers Larry and Joel Wachowski, were huge fans of Asian cinema like Chinese "wire fu" flicks and anime. Since they took a very Asian approach in the first Matrix movie, the brothers decided to go into the realm of animation for a prelude to much-hyped sequels in 2003. Using the talents of well-known animation producers like Peter Chung, Shinichiro Watanabe, Andy Jones, and countless others as well as high-profile studios like Madhouse, Studio4C, DNA, and Square USA, the brothers brought tales from and inspired by their world of The Matrix to the animation arena courtesy of The Animatrix. The nine shorts each showcases a particular tale within the virtual world of The Matrix and its effects in the real world. The Second Reinassance, the only short told in two parts, tells about the origin of how the Matrix came to be. Kid's Story tells how a young teen who, like Neo before him, learns about the truth about what's real and what's not. Program shows a battle in a Matrix program simulated as a feudal Japanese battle. World Record shows how an athlete, unaware of the existance of The Matrix, pushes his body to unbelievable highs. Beyond shows what happens when a young lady discover this strange place where weirdness exists without explanation. A Detective Story tells, well, a story about a detective who is in search of a notorious hacker named Trinity. Matriculated defies all explanation. These shorts are great and a testament to the best of what animation has to offer. The most popular of the nine shorts is the only one that was theatrically and one of the two that directly affects the events in the Matrix sequels, Final Flight of the Osiris. Without spoiling it for those who haven't seen it, the visuals of the short should are some of the most realistic I've ever seen. Not unlike The Spirits Within, Final Flight shows that realistic animated humans could be done, and it's a shame that Square Pictures no longer exists. This short is a final testament to the Hawaiian-based studio's work. Warner Home Video put 78 minutes of extras on the DVD, including a documentary about the history and culture of anime, probably one of the best non-otakuish, non-insulting features about that topic I've ever seen. There are interviews, documentaries, and animatics about each short, and yet there are only commentaries on three of the shorts. Regardless, The Animatrix is what the sequels should have been because unlike Reloaded and Revolution, The Matrix and the Animatrix feel like they're a part of the same universe and feel more connected than The Matrix and the sequels are. The Animatrix should already be a part of your anime collection, and if it isn't, it should be.
Jeff Harris |