Review - The Animatrix (2003)

          Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, the first official trailer is out for The Matrix Resurrections, and I can't begin to describe how excited I am for this movie. Well, right now I feel like discussing something related to The Matrix, but since I've already reviewed the three live-action movies, I think that I'm going to give my thoughts on The Animatrix. An anthology project released in 2003, The Animatrix consists of a series of anime shorts set in the world of The Matrix. There are quite a number of shorts in the collection, and I'd like to discuss theme here today. So, let's take a look at The Animatrix. 

        The first short is called "Final Flight of the Osiris," which starts off with two people, Thaddeus and Jue, in a dojo simulation sparring with katanas, cutting off pieces of each other's clothing a little bit at a time. Unfortunately, the simulation is ended by a proximity alarm, and Thaddeus and his crew on the Osiris run afoul of a bunch of Sentinels.  They eventually make their way to the Earth's surface, where they see a massive army of Sentinels and drilling machines tunneling. Thaddeus realizes where the machines are tunneling to: Zion. Jue volunteers to jack into the Matrix and drop off a package with a warning for Zion. Unfortunately, the Osiris is destroyed, and Jue drops dead within the Matrix. 

            I thoroughly enjoyed the animation style with this short, which is from the same team behind Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. The voice cast, which includes the likes of Kevin Michael Richardson, Pamela Adlon, Tom Kenny, and so forth, are all excellent. The only weak point is really the story, but I don't mind so much. 

         The next segment is the two-part segment "The Second Renaissance." In this segment, we see how many created the machines, who were made to serve mankind. One day, however, a machine called B1-66ER kills his owner in an act of self-preservation, but is ordering to be destroyed by the human government. This leads the machines to protest and rise up against the humans, and eventually abandon mankind to make a new society of their own. Choosing the Middle East as the location, the machines build a new nation: 0-1 (Zero One). The machines of 0-1 begin to create new, more advanced technology, putting much of humanity's own tech businesses out of commission. 

        The leaders of humanity begin to make plans to put an end to 0-1, and the machines, for good. Initial attempts, including nuclear bombardment, are ultimately useless, as the machines are less susceptible to nuclear radiation than humans. So, in a last ditch effort, the human leaders launch Operation Dark Storm, which ultimately uses special weapons to darken the sky and permanently block out the sun, which was the machines sole source of power. While this seems to work, at first, the devastating effects to the Earth itself are too catastrophic to fathom, with humanity's losses too great. The machines eventually take complete control, and they create a new source of power: one that utilizes human bioelectricity, and combines organic matter with technology. 

        Okay, so "The Second Renaissance" does an excellent job in establishing the proper backstory of the franchise, properly fleshing out (no pun intended) the full story of the machines' creation, the cause of the sky being permanently darkened, and humanity's ultimate downfall. A lot of fans love this one, and it's not hard to see why. 

         The next segment, "Kid's Story," sets up the character of Kid, who is starting to question the world around him, and is contacted by Neo. Kid eventually takes a leap of faith, and ultimately causes himself to be ejected from the Matrix without the need for the red pill. Okay, so the animation and voice acting was good, but other than that, "Kid's Story" pretty much sucked. Next. 

            The next segment, "Program," focuses on two individuals within a simulation of Feudal Japan, and they argue over possibly returning to the false reality of the Matrix. Again, aside from the animation, and seeing Japanese architecture, it sucked. Moving on. 

           The next segment, "World Record," focuses on a champion track runner who, during a track running competition, actually runs so fast, and pushes himself so hard, that he breaks through the very fabric of the Matrix and awakens in the machine world. He is eventually returned to the simulation, but with a newfound awareness of the falseness of the Matrix. Now, this one is really neat in concept, as the idea of running so fast that you might break down the barriers of reality is quite fascinating. Decent segment overall, but not one of the better ones. Next. 

          The next segment, "Beyond, focuses on a girl looking for her cat, who wanders off, following her to a haunted house. A group of kids are playing at the haunted house, which contains a major glitch within the fabric of the Matrix. Neat art style and visual storytelling, but an overall simple little short. Next. 

         The next segment, "A Detective Story," focuses on a private detective, who is assigned to track down and locate Trinity. The art style is very neo-noir, which fits well for the story being told here. It definitely feels like a classic noir-style crime thriller, and is definitely a favorite of mine. 

    The final segment is called "Matriculated," and it focuses on a group of rebels based on the Earth's surface, who lure a machine into a trap, and insert the machine into a Matrix designed by these rebels, and attempt to teach the machine about empathy, compassion, and all of the good things about humanity. This works, and the machine decides to help the humans in an onslaught by other machines. This segment, another favorite of mine, was made by the creator of Aeon Flux, and is definitely has the exact same art style. The story is neat, and raises some fascinating questions about the connections between man and machine. 

         Overall, The Animatrix is a mixed bag, but an enjoyable expansion to the mythos of The Matrix franchise. I give an overall rating of 4/5. This is Chuck signing off, and I'll see you guys next time.