Rating: 
Summary: Good Background and excellent insight
Review: All 9 episodes are of the highest quality - the animation is simply stunning and while the pace of the stories may seem a bit sluggish they are all atmospheric and totally fit in with the whole Matrix trilogy.The background to the Matrix world and the whole insight into other areas or details that links the films (Final Flight of the Osiris) is amazing and helps to give a much fuller, richer environment to enjoy the whole Matrix phenomenon.
Rating: 
Summary: Not In One Sitting
Review: First of all, I want to say that after watching it, I realised that Animatrix isn't just stand-alone stories of 9 individual parts but that each story helps to either: 1. give background info on the trilogy
2. explains certain quirks of the Matrix
3. gives clues as to the future of the series Therefore, in some ways, The Animatrix makes for very good complementary viewing alongside the Matrix trilogy, especially now we are in the lay-over, waiting for Revolutions to appear on the screen. One way or another, every one of the 9 stories have some link to the trilogy, some in major ways. I managed to catch The Animatrix on the theater, so I saw it wide-screen. While it was intended for DVD, it transmutes very well onto the wide screen. The action is large and the pace is fast. Each story by itself is riveting and engaging with animation that is unique to each (one story is done graffiti-style, another is done in rugged sketch lines, another is done in clean manga style, another is done black and white with brooding shadows, and yet another is totally CG). However, watching all 9 stories in one sitting is quite a strain on the mind since each story is almost a basic replica of the last one. My friends and I (though huge fans of the Matrix, and catching the animatrix before Reloaded premiered) were yawning mid-way through the 9 stories. It just suddenly felt really loooong. The first two stories (The Second Renaissance) is essential viewing to the understanding of how the Matrix came about. The Kid's Story gives background on the appearance of Ash, a new character in The Matrix Reloaded. Final Flight of the Osiris helps to explain the sudden news of invasion in Matrix Reloaded. And Matriculated gives us a clue as to what will happen in The Matrix Revolutions (the final part of the trilogy) where the machines are "brain washed" and used to turn against other machines. Getting the DVD means being able to watch the 9 stories in different sittings. That will help alleviate the repetitiousness of watching all 9 at a go. Also, the documentaries featured on the DVD are promising and worth the look. All in all, The Animatrix is stylish animation with crisp storylines. Some of the most beautiful animation are found in this series. And some of the scenes will disturb you. It is definitely not for children but for adult viewing. Standout & Essential stories include:
1. The Second Renassiance (Part 1 and 2)-- Gives the origins of the Matrix 2. Kid's Story -- Explains the appearance of Ash (the Neo-fanboy) in Matrix Reloaded 3. Matriculated -- Gives a clue to what will happen in Matrix Revolutions 4. Final Flight of the Osiris -- Gives background info on the oncoming invasion of Zion in Matrix Reloaded 5. Beyond -- Examines a "glitch-in-the-matrix" scenario similar to the House Neo, Morpheus, and Trinity enters in Matrix Reloaded to face of with the Twins and rescue the Keymaker.
Rating: 
Summary: The Animatrix Reviewed
Review: Admittedly I waited with a lot of anticipation for this project; an anime-influenced lesson in story-telling from a series of Japanese masters about issues and things that they are well known for ' it seemed so much like a perfect match of Japanese current cultural thinking and awareness and American movie-making and marketing tie-ins. On DVD only. How cool is that? For much of The Animatrix however it all seems to go horribly wrong. What appears instead is a sometimes cool, sometimes haphazard pitter-patter of stories and varying animation techniques that only really touch the surface of The Matrix and provide scattershot storytelling. Here are some examples: Two of the DVD's nine segments, The Second Renaissance parts one and two, deal with an interesting overview of the fall of corrupt man and the rise of the machines. While it's nice to have a backdrop of the movies, The Second Renaissance makes you wonder why the characters should even bother or why you should care. Witness the imagery of the pyramid building and you'll get the picture. The masterpiece of the Animatrix is of course the Final Flight of the Osiris, a total CGI love-fest created by Square Pictures (the Final Fantasy movie being their only other project of note). The plot involves the discovery of the machines boring tunnels leading straight to Zion, the resistance movement in the 'real world' and the attempt by the ship Osiris to deliver a warning to the Resistance via a drop box in The Matrix. Half of this segment however is geared towards a program-style training fight scene between Thadeus and Jue, two of the crew (and lovers apparently). In the context of everything that will take place, what the hell is the purpose of this scene, other than to show a perfectly rendered rear-end of Jue? Whole parts of this segment scream out to show you how cool it all is, but really are quite pointless. In Kid's Story there's another unique animation style that is rather hard to describe - remember the a-ha music video 'Take on me' from the 80's, it's like that - which at times works really well and other times looks like it was scrawled by a toddler. This is another segment that ties into the movies (though is less apparent and doesn't involve the overall plot quite like Final Flight of the Osiris). So it wasn't half bad. World Record is plum awful, and features an annoying exaggerated drawing style, especially the depiction of the agents. In the end, uh, what happened? The idea is interesting but how the story gets to the end, and the resolution, is just bad. Program utilized another fighting program plot, though it turns out to be a rehash of a Matrix plot and is ultimately, again, disappointing. Another segment was a black and white film noir-style piece called Detective Story, but felt out of place and in the end went nowhere. A Raymond Chandler-esque detective is hired by, well, a Program (basically) to find Trinity since the programs can't do it themselves. Using a computer interface and screen that looks like it came screaming from a set of the movie Brazil, the detective goes on his ultimate quest. The voice-over is terrible and again parts pay homage to The Matrix for no good reason. Like Detective Story, the Animatrix fell way short of being a decent method of getting some good stories across. Maybe I was expecting way too much of this, but it sure seems like everything produced after The Matrix (the Matrix Reloaded, Enter the Matrix, and the Animatrix) have been below par. Instead of inspiring to produce better and more interesting stories, instead the Wachowski brothers, who oversaw all of the projects and are ultimately responsible, really lowered the bar a bit much. That being said, the Animatrix still has some redeeming qualities and I'm glad the Wachowski brothers used a new method to expand on the universe of The Matrix. The problem is that with some superior writing and better coordination with the Japanese directing talents, it could have been so much better. For parents: there is a bit of bloody violence and a wee bit of nudity here so being animated doesn't mean that the Animatrix is for kids. It's not.
Rating:
Summary: The Animatrix explores what we don't see in The Matrix Films
Review: This was a bold and daring project that acts as a companion piece to The Matrix Trilogy. Since the movies have no time to explore all the many little questions we have about the matrix this was an ingenious way to explore many interesting and thought provoking elements of a world where man is a mind slave to machines. Each episode tackles an issue that you may or may not have thought about when watching the first (or second) film. While most of them are top-notch in the art direction department they do lack a little more depth in terms of telling a complete story. For example in Kid's Story we get a kid who (like Neo) is curious of what the matrix is and has heard of the legendary Neo, Trinity, and Morpheus. But how did he learn this? We get no back story to his inquiry or curiosity, just the up to the moment decision of him breaking free just like Neo did, while it was great, it didn't explore anything different than the first movie. The most baffling and dazzling of all of these short films is Matriculated, which like in AEON FLUX style shows alot and explains very little. It tackles some really great ideas on slavery, conversion, and doing to the machines what they have done to the humans. It's definetly one of the more open ended shorts and is great to discuss with friends. Flight of the Osiris may appear dazzling but too much time I fear is wasted on a fight/strip tease that has little or nothing to do with the plot. Time is wasted on this when we could have learned a little more about the crew/ and the events leading up to the machines discovering zions location. The second renaissance I and II are the most straight forward and revealing of all the shorts. Giving an excellent play by play of what lead up to the machine rebellion and eventual creation of The Matrix. It is graphic and extremely real, it disturbingly shows us what hatred and segregation can lead too if we do not, as a people, learn to except all forms of life and live with them peacefully and cooperatively. A strong message told through science fiction. This is an amazing effort that includes some of the top-names in Anime today. It is fresh and daring in todays world of spoon-feeding plot lines and two dimensional characters. It brings to life the matrix like never before. Watching this along with playing the game gives a very complete history of the Matrix and the events leading to and discussed in the second film. This is for fans only. Enjoy the Ride, its a good one.
Rating:
Summary: A nice mixture of different styles of cutting edge animation
Review: A nice mixture of different styles of cutting edge animation. More important, the shorts provide a background look into the Matrix and the events that eventually led to it's creation. A must have for serious Matrix/animation fans.
Rating:
Summary: Worth seeing once
Review: I was really psyched up for this collection after downloading the "The Second Rennaisance, Parts 1 and 2" at the theanimatrix.com. Unfortunately, the collection was disappointing as a whole -- most of the best episodes were the ones already released for download off the web. I did enjoy "Kid's Story" and "Detective Story", but as for the rest, I found myself getting bored with the slow pace of the stories. There were definitely some good scenes, but the "newer" episodes generally seem to suffer from an over-emphasis on visual effects and not enough attention to the plot. Recommended only for those die-hard matrix fans who are obsessed with owning everything matrix-related. As for the rest of us -- save your money -- better yet, buy a book.
Rating:
Summary: Better than the sleazy sequel
Review: After watching the sequel, this animation is superior. The movie was the worst movie of last 3 years after species squel.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty good, interesting stories
Review: Okay, so this is a nice addition to the Matrix canon, and does give us a lot of back story to the events that happen in the live action films. The stories are mostly entertaining, though a couple are as gruesome and troubling as possible. If you are not the kind of person that enjoys bodies being mutilated and people being killed cruelly by robots, this might not be for you. Also, if you don't like the Matrix films, this is not for you. In fact, why are you even reading this? The animation is great, the sound is excellent, and overall the dvd is worthwhile. If you enjoy really wild animation and special effects, you will certainly like this. HOWEVER - just because this is animated does NOT mean that this is child appropriate. It is not. It is completely inappropriate (IMO) for children under the age of 12. It is very violent and contains images that are FAR too incomprehensible for young children, not to mention R rated language. Fine for adults and teenagers old enough to know the difference between reality and movies, simply not appropriate for children.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent animation
Review: The animation is fantastic. Any animation fan should see this work, but also should pay attention to how, even with the best animation, good voice direction and dialog writing can make a piece weak. In "Program" , it is the most apparent. Some of the most beautifully drawn animation I've ever seen with flat uninteresting dialog in the writing and delivery. This reminds me a bit of Final Fantasy. Again, a piece of excellent ly done ground breaking animation, but the voice direction was weak and writing terrible. I hope this opens the doors for most animation and maybe, someday, we'll get our cake and get to eat it too.
Rating:
Summary: Animatrix rules the wastelands
Review: State of the art anime with the best talents from this world, mixed with the extreme storyline of The Matrix, unleashes a cool to watch and very amazing collection of short stories.
There's no need to say the first animation, called The Final Flight Of The Osiris, is one of the best animations ever made. For the fans of the Matrix, The 2 episodes of The Second Renaissance reveals in depth plots and background about this visionary trilogy. And also the last episode A Kid's Story, reveals the history behind a character which appears in the second movie The Matrix Reloaded. It is obvious who it is when you watch it. So, it is a must buy if you like animation, both japanese or aeon flux style. Specially if you have a good home theatre set at home, to experience the digital sound.
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