Rating: 
Summary: Skip it.
Review: What is the Animatrix? Nine very short and uninspiring animated shorts. The good part? You'll realize this after 2, and turn it off. Last Flight of the Osiris is another Final Fantasy. If you liked that movie, you'll probably love this DVD. However, the vast majority of humanity did not. Some of stories don't even fit in with the world already created in the first two movies. Creativity? Yeah... but it's missused: perhaps even abused here. The 'Anime influence' is terrible... almost Samuri Jackish. The writers took all the anime cliches and threw them together to make their story. The Animatrix is a terrible mix of cliches of many genres.
Don't believe anyone that tells you this is necessary to understand The Matrix: Reloaded. If you want to understand it, go see it again. As for the Animatrix, unless you know you prefer animation over soul, or you are the type of guy that gets off on animated-half-nudity, take the blue pill.
Rating: 
Summary: Animaniacs
Review: I have to say that I have never really had any interest in Anime`. I had seen a few snipets of various sagas over the years. But nothing really held my attention for very long. While the animation always offered stunning visuals, to be sure, I could never see what all the fuss was about. When I bought The Matrix Revisited DVD awhile back. One of the featurettes on the disc, talked about The Animatrix, and offered a sneak peek (the Animatrix preview blew me away) at what the film's producers were going for, with this unique project. Since I am a fan of the first film, and the rest of the trilogy had yet to be released, I wanted to check this out for sure. My concerns for the Anime` format didn't matter-this I had to see.I'm very glad I did. After being disappointed in The Matrix Reloaded, I didn't know what to expect out of this, happily I can report, it's worth your time, especially, if you like the Matrix. The DVD has 9 short films that act as prequels to the films. Final Flight Of The Osiris fills in the gaps between the first and second films; The Second Renaissance Part I & Part II goes into what caused the machine/human wars and what caused humanity's enslavement; The Program is a fight between two warriors in much the same way the original film laid out their fight sequences; Kid's Story relates to a character that encountered Neo in Zion during the 1st movie; World Record explains in greater detail about the process of being connected: Beyond tells how the machines handle any system problem; A Detective Story ties into Trinity's backstory and Matriculated supposes whether or not the machines can be made to join the humans for a better world As you may expect each short varies in in its execution and animatition But overall, it's well worth a look and, I would even go so far as to say that the shorts do what Reloaded failed to do. Here, the stories are the focus and the visuals enhance the telling of that story, rather than the other way around. You wouldn't know it from reading the back of the snapper case of the DVD, but the disc has a few extras that take you behind the scenes of this project."Scrolls to Screen: The History and Culture of Anime" documentary gives novices like me an Anime` crash course. There are 7 enjoyable featurettes with director profiles, interviews and behind-the-scenes footage of each of the films 4 of the shorts have audio commentaries that are pretty good. Rounding out the bonus material on the disc is an "Enter the Matrix" videogame trailer. I liked visiting The Animatrix. It's so much better than Reloaded. I can't say I'm a full fledged fan of the Anime`genre now, but I can appreciate it so much more, having seen this disc
Rating:
Summary: "Beyond" the world of "Matrix" fandom
Review: "The Animatrix" is a diverse collection of animated shorts based in and around the Wachowski brothers' "Matrix" universe. The quality of the segments varies as much as the styles, however. First of all, the segment "Beyond" is, for me, worth the purchase price on its own. I will be watching this one again and again, in both languages. It is beautiful, poetic, mysterious and non-violent (not that I have a problem with violence). Consequently, it (along with "World Record") is also probably the furthest removed from the "Matrix" motion pictures. I cannot praise this segment enough. "Kid's Story" and "A Detective Story" are also quite worthwhile. Each exhibit unique artwork--from the hand-drawn, sketchy, explosive look of "Kid's" (a little reminiscent of Bill Plympton, though much less bizarre and cartoony) to the black & white, noir visuals of "Detective." Both are fairly interesting stories with artwork appropriate to each. Unlike many reviewers here, I enjoyed "Program." While the story is not at all complex, I like the artwork quite a bit. The rest: "Final Flight of the Osiris" is technically impressive, but on the whole left me cold (much like "The Matrix Reloaded," but that's a matter for another review). "The Second Renaissance" two-parter is a retelling of the rise of the computers, and while I found the "documentary" approach (using "news footage" and visual cues from historical images of Vietnam and Tiananmen Square) interesting, I probably won't be revisiting this segment often. I WANT to like "World Record" more; the art is very bold and unique, but I'm not really drawn into the story. Finally, concerning "Matriculated," by "Aeon Flux" creator Peter Chung... didn't care much for "Flux," and I can't say this did much for me either. I feel I need to acknowledge the English language dubbing. The voice talent is very good, with none of the goofy, distracting elements often associated with the genre. (You know what I'm talking about--those weird "HUH-H-H?", "WHA-A-A?", "AIEEE!" type exclamations.) RATINGS BREAKDOWN: "Beyond" -- 5/5. Obviously I really love this one. "Kid's", "Detective" and "Program" -- 3.5/5. The rest -- 2-3 stars or less. Extra features -- 3-4/5. So overall, I've arbitrarily settled on 4/5. "Beyond" makes me very satisfied with this purchase.
Rating: 
Summary: Red Pill Overdose
Review: Though a few segments fell flat for me ("Matriculated", "World Record"), the others more than make up for it. Combining anime creators with the Wachowski's post-apocalyptic vision was a stroke of pure genius. "Second Renaissance" plays as a prequel to the first film, sort of a pre-history of The Matrix. "Final Flight of the Osiris" and "Kid's Story" serve as a go-between, bridging the first and second films. The others are kind of an anything goes approach, but attain a cohesiveness in style and theme. "A Detective's Story" has a downright tangible future noir feel that I can't recall seeing since Blade Runner. The ghost story "Beyond" manages to be spooky, fun and beautiful all in the same frame. The extras on the DVD are great fun as well, extremely informative, and packed with clips of the anime those interviewed are referencing. The soundtrack CD -- available separately or in a two disc gift pack -- is the equal of the film, a great CD that'll likely stay in your stereo for some time. Nicely done, and a must have for any Matrix or anime fan.
Rating:
Summary: A terrific, if uneven, companion piece to the movie series.
Review: FINAL FLIGHT OF THE OSIRIS This computer generated prequel to the Matrix Reloaded, produced entirely in CGI, is the most technically advanced piece in this collection. There are moments when I forgot that I was watching virtual actors. The passion between the two main characters is intense, in a way that I thought computer images would never be able to imitate. An excellent short (not my favorite) but because of its intimate ties to the Matrix Reloaded, both in terms of story and style, seems out of place. It would have served better as the beginning of the second film. THE SECOND RENAISSANCE PARTS I & II Simply put, these pieces are the most powerful and provocative in the entire collection, filled with graphic and horrifying images. In a fascinating look at the prehistory of the Matrix films, humanity, not the machines, are the guilty party, enslaving an entire race of sentient life with no mercy. (As Gods, humans created machines in their image, so the slavers become the enslaved.) These shorts actually change the meaning of the overall film- very powerful. KID'S STORY A somewhat ho-hum story with some nice visuals and a cool ending that helps flesh out a small part of the second movie (don't want to give any spoilers) this segment is kind of pedestrian otherwise, with the skateboard tricks seeming to be the type of thing that would be cool in a 1980's comedy flick. PROGRAM Some interesting visuals help spice up a rather bland storyline in this short. Seems to be a remake of the fight seens between Morpheus and Neo in the first film. The story brings up the difficulty in accepting the bleak reality instead of the less bleak dreamworld, but never goes anywhere with the question. WORLD RECORD Perhaps the least visually appealing, with overly stylized runners going slo-mo for most of the short. If jiggly muscles are your thing, this is the short for you. No story substance in this one- very dull to watch. Also, whazzup with the agents? BEYOND A very beautiful piece, BEYOND is perhaps at heart the most simple story in the collection, with the focus on the perceptions of a young girl and some children in the face of mysteries they can never understand. Very engrossing. A DETECTIVE STORY A cool, stylish direction can not give this story the life it needed to fully flesh out. While it is the only one in the collection that focuses on the life of one of the major players in the film series (Trinity, with the voice done by the original actress, no less) the main character of the short is cardboard. Very disappointing. MATRICULATED The most bizarre and surreal of the bunch- this one took two viewings for me to understand its meaning, and still many of the images seem random, or bizarre for weirdness sake. The concept of pulling a machine into a human generated world and manipulating their perceptions is intriguing, but in the end we are left with many random but beautiful images that distract more than anything else.
Rating:
Summary: Lacking a Clever Title
Review: Hooboy, I can't say much at the moment other than that it kicked ... I went ahead and picked up the slightly more expensive gift set, which comes packaged with a soundtrack CD (Which I'll get to in a moment), and oh, it was worth the [money]. I'll spare you a detailed summary of events and instead deliver a few personal comments. Keep in mind, though, I haven't been able to sift through the entire thing as of yet. First of all, let me be clear about this - there are a few shorts I simply did not like enough to view a second time I've already seen. Second Renaissance via the web release, and while interesting, they don't demand a second look like some of the others; Matriculated alienated me with its funked up animation, but did something to bridge the gap with an interesting story; meanwhile, Program's dialogue made my cry and the animation simply laughed at me while the story delivered blows to my face. So you may be thinking, "What? So now we're looking at 5 animated shorts... are they really worth it?" The answer, of course, is yes, by all means yes, forever yes! Perhaps that level of enthusiasm isn't warranted, but I simply really dug this collection. Onto the ones I liked in ascending order... Oh, hey, be warned of some possible spoilers. I don't plan on revealing raw facts, but some obvious conclusions can be drawn from what I write, so if you haven't already been spoiled, be wary, or try to contract a case or short-term memory loss. Either should suffice, although the comedic opportunities accompanying the latter make for a more hilarious situation. Detective Story: Gritty animation, grim story. As stylistic as it was, the animation eventually started to wear on my eyes, but the story held me to a reluctant and fitting end. Didn't entice me too much, but I liked it enough. World Record: Interesting animation develops into curious animation (d)evolves into disturbing and messed up animation as a track star goes all-out to break records and, consequentially, himself. I liked the dub, and as weird as the character designs were, I found myself attracted to them by the end of the segment. Worth a good few views. Final Flight of the Osiris: I can hear the people screaming at me for not placing this one at the top, but luckily I do not care what they think. This is one of the more visually appealing segments of the DVD; in fact, I may be shortchanging it, as in places it's simply unbelievably cool and realistic. Graphically, Square has come quite a long way from The Sprits Within, but unfortunately the dialogue is as terse and flat as ever. While the dub doesn't approach the level of flat-out mind-numbing burning OH GOD THE FIRE BURNING BURNING pain that is Program, it still lacks much. Nice overall, though, and definitely worth more than a couple viewings. Beyond: Personally, I find this to be the most interesting of all of the shorts. The concept is original (and actually ties in at a small level with the Oracle's explanation of the supernatural in Reloaded), the animation is lovely, I dug the characters (for such a short story, they were developed surprisingly well), and I want to keep watching it because it's relatively inspiring. There is little actual action, but the premise upon which the story is based leads me to think that an entire animated series could be based off of this, because it's so open-ended and appealing. Overall, I give it "Boogie Supreme," but I don't know exactly what that is. I'm sure it's something good, though. Kid's Story: It ties into the Matrix! Yeah, so do the others, but I found this one to be the most attention-grabbing, and the relationship between Reloaded and this segment is very, very clear, if inconsequential. Probably the most badass of all of the shorts, there's an extended skateboard chase (believe me, it's exponentially better than the two-word description may have you thinking), and the animation style is brilliant. Same director as Detective Story, Shinichiro Watanabe, but the animation is completely different. Produced as rough-edged sketches, the images and especially the fluid animation of Kid's Story really grabbed me. It's also got the closest thing to an action scene from The Matrix as exists on this disc (so I say, others may disagree), and overall I'd say it is my favorite. Also note that Keanu Reeves supplies the voice of Neo in this segment, and the annoying kid ("Kid"?) from Reloaded is here, voice and animated representation intact. Imagine that, being picked to not only star in Reloaded but also have your likeness injected into a indisputably badass animated short. Full-star groove. And the soundtrack CD! I love this thing. I dig 3/4 of this cd, and as cheap as it was, it's a great deal. The last three songs (Juno Reactor and two no-name electronic bands - sorry to offend the one or two followers of either of them) grow repetitive quickly, and the last two are unfortunately laced with blatantly annoying samples from The Matrix. The first 9, though, I love. Completely and totally. It's worth the few extra dollars for the gift set, believe me.
Rating:
Summary: Matrix-Inspired Animation
Review: The Animatrix is a collection of 9 short animated films inspired by the story and concepts of "The Matrix". Larry and Andy Wachowski, the creators of "The Matrix", commissioned 7 different animation directors to contribute to the universe of "The Matrix" by creating short films that reflect their authors' personal styles and ideas about the Matrix. 4 of the 9 episodes were written by the Wachowski brothers themselves. Probably due to their short length, the films are more vignettes than stories. They present ideas and images and only partial narratives. The animation styles vary widely and give a nice sampling of animation today. There are so many distinct styles to choose from that every viewer is likely to find something in this collection to his/ her taste. The choices for your viewing pleasure are: "Final Flight of the Osiris" directed by Andy Jones, written by the Wachowski brothers: This film is arguably the most beautiful of the collection. It takes place inside a training program and on board a ship that is being hunted by sentinels. The animation is stunning, sexy and emphasizes the beauty of movement within the Matrix. "The Second Renaissance, Parts I and II" directed by Mahiro Maeda, written by the Wachowski brothers: These are two short films by the same director which address the question of why and how humans and machines came to be at war with one another. The history of Man and Machine, from the creation of machines until the enslavement of humans in the Matrix, is recounted by a Zion Archive historical file. Since the Wachowski brothers wrote these films, I guess this is the official word on how humans came to be in the predicament we see in The Matrix. I was not impressed by the animation in these two films, but they have the strongest narrative of the collection. They also have a clearly stated moral: "Bless All Forms of Intelligence." "Kid's Story" directed by Shinichiro Watanabe, written by the Wachowski brothers: Unlike the others, this film is directly related to "The Matrix Reloaded". It tells the story of how the young man who we see fawning over Neo a lot in "Reloaded" came to free himself from the Matrix. As Neo would say, and did say...repeatedly: "I didn't save you. You saved yourself." The voices of Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss are featured briefly. "Program" by Yoshiaki Kawajiri: One of the shortest and least interesting of the collection, Program tells the story of a human who wants to return to the Matrix and tries to convince his lover to go with him. "World Record" by Takeshi Koike: One rare human discovers the Matrix, not through his computer, but through his great athletic ability. Also pretty short, this one has an interesting premise and very stylized animation. "Beyond" by Koji Morimoto: A young woman goes off in search of her cat and finds a "haunted house" where the Matrix is malfunctioning. There is no message or underlying theme here. It's just a glimpse into the life a someone who accidentally discovers the Matrix and does not understand what she has discovered. "A Detective Story" by Shinichiro Watanabe: Animated in the style of a Philip Marlowe or Mike Hammer movie, this film is the story of a private detective who is hired by agents to find Trinity. The voice of Carrie-Anne Moss is featured. "Matriculated" by Peter Chung: Humans have a plan to convert some of the machines to their cause by exploiting the fact that machines cannot distinguish reality from simulation. To machines, "all reality is virtual". That is about as far as the story goes. Much of this film is very abstract. Pay close attention to the behavior of the machine; it is the most notable aspect of this film.
Rating: 
Summary: Wait for the box set...
Review: While the animation styles are varied and great if story drives your purchases I would wait until this is boxed with the Matrix set as I assume it will be. It is a classic example of form over substance as the animation is varied and excellent but the stories are universally weak. I was surprised in these shorts how many existing visual images were used. The dearth of original imagery is disturbing and makes me wonder and worry about what has been burned into our visual minds. A definite rental but I wouldn't purchase it if you are not into animation. It really does not further the Matrix world at all.
Rating:
Summary: A visual feast
Review: Lots of good things to say about this DVD, but the main thing is that some of the segments are just... hauntingly beautiful. This mainly goes for The Second Renaissance I and II. Which is sometimes extremely gruesome, but has an important story to tell. It also has some fantastic abract imagery that won't soon leave you. The same can't be said for "Beyond", which has much less story, and no action, but which is even more beautiful in all its understatedness. If you like good drawings, I beg you to notice this masterpiece. It is probably the single most beautifully drawn piece of animation I have ever seen. Not the least the *composition* of the frames is amazing. The concepts of the Matrix (what is reality? and are we prisoners?) are important to think about our situation in this world, and when they are represented as beautifully as here, they are a pleasure to consider also.
Rating:
Summary: A ¿Matrix enhancing¿ experience.
Review: When I first heard about this impending DVD release, I nearly burst with excitement. Then from viewing bits and pieces of the offerings on the matrix website, my appetite was somewhat diminished. As with the original Matrix film (and certainly the sequel), this isn't exactly what many people are expecting. Whereas the original Matrix was a fairly tight closed unit combining philosophy and sci-fi, the Animatrix tends to focus more on the sci-fi aspect. Needless to say, I was not disappointed. I was not as impressed with the Final Flight of the Osiris as I thought I would be, as far as "story-telling" goes. Nevertheless, it contains some of the finest CGI ever produced, and it certainly fills in some of what was lacking in Reloaded. That said, I was most impressed with the Second Renaissance Parts I & II. The animation and storytelling fit for a one-two punch in explaining in detail humanity and "the machines" at their worst moments. "Kid's Story" from the Director of Cowboy Bebop is an incredibly interesting visual piece which gives you a little background on Neo's kid groupie from Reloaded. To sum up the "Visions" (the 9 short films), there are some to be blown away by, and others you can just blow off. None are done poorly, but some do not fit as well as others to tell a cohesive tale. Although, from watching the extra features, especially on the history of Anime & America (truly a delight and an informative, if cursory glance at anime's history), cohesiveness is not the goal of the DVD. Taken in individual doses (save for the Second Renaissance Parts I & II which should be watched together) to be digested individually, each film yields its own unique take on the world of the Matrix. I was pleasantly surprised after being somewhat disappointed with Reloaded. I felt that, even in the limited time of the films, there was more character and character development in these fine short works of anime than in the sequel itself.
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