The Animatrix

1. Final Flight of the Osiris: Top notch computer animation and a story that leads straight into the second movie. This one is more eye-candy than anything else, but it's good eye-candy.

2. The Second Renaisance Pts. 1 & 2: The history of our future, as told by the archives of Zion. Learn the chilling origin of the Matrix, and learn that the machines aren't the only ones to blame for the downfall of humanity. Chilling and graphic imagery, with direct parallels to well known historical events. This gives us an expanded view of what Morpheus told Neo in the first movie. Not for the squeamish.

3. Kid's Story: Utilizing bizarre imagery, this is the tale of one young man who became aware of the Matrix, and his efforts to escape. Symbolism is thick, and there are thoughts on modern youth culture in this world.

4. Program: All cel animation, but you would never know from looking at it. Two lovers quarrel over returning to the Matrix as they fight in a gorgeous rendition of old Japan. This one will leave an indelible mark on the viewer. The keen ear will detect superb voice acting from Samuri Jack's title actor, Phil LaMarr.

5. World Record: This one is wholly symbollic of man's eternal struggle, not against machine, though the Matrix is certainly involved, but rather, against his own human limitations. A tribute to the indomitable spirit of humanity. This tale is about a track runner trying hard to push the limits of his mind and body...and paying a heavy price for doing so.

6. Beyond: A glitch...or a haunted house. Either way, a group of children discover a place of magic in the world. But the Agents have discovered it, as well. Ever wonder why there is no magic left in the world? This story will offer you one possible reason.

7. A Detective Story: Harken back to the days of Sam Spade and Phillip Marlowe in this film noir homage. Detective Ash is hired to find Trinity, but his search through the looking glass and down the rabbit hole will not be an easy one. The art here reflects the true beauty of old black and white films.

8. Matriculated: What if the problem is that humans and machines never really tried to understand one another? What if neither understood the others suffering? Is it possible to reach out and offer an olive branch for peace? Or have the machines learned too well the art of cruelty from their former masters? This one features the familiar art style of Peter Chung, of Aeon Flux and Reign: The Conqueror fame. Also voice acting by Dwight Schultz from Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Enthusiasts of voice acting will recognize several voices, including Tara Strong, notably of the Powerpuff Girls, Kevin Richardson, who, ironically enough, played Morpheus in a Matrix parody done by Kevin Smith in his Clerks animated series, and the voices of Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Matt McKenzie of the original movie.

The soundtrack disc included is also of good quality, featuring a number of innovative techno style songs, most notably the track "Who Am I?" from the Kid's Story segment.

The only pity is that we will never get an anthology like this for television, because there is so much of the Matrix that could be delved into.

P.S. There is no spoon.

The Animatrix was conceived by the brothers Wachoski (the guys who made the original films). Four of the nine shorts were also written by them. One unfluential medium for the movie The Matrix was comic books, and the brothers successfully used this medium to not only tell parts of the story but introduce the world of the Matrix to the world (you can find the free online-comics on the Matrix website). Now, another highly influential medium to the brothers, anime (or Japanese animation) is being used to tell other parts of the grand story (and introduce the second film).

For casual fans of the movies, it is not necessary to buy this DVD. It has extra, but not intregal, story material. It's more of a bonus for people who want more (three films isn't nearly enough for many fans). What you get in this are nine anime short films directed by top names in their field. For anime fans this alone makes it worth buying. For Matrix fans it means you're getting quality. All the films are supervised by the brothers and four were written by them to ensure their proper place in the Matrix continuity.

Since this review is for American audiences, it's important to note something. This is NOT for young children! The reason this is important to note is because Americans seem trained to associate animation equals kids. Some of the shorts portay gruesome violence (even more so than the films thus far). Indeed, much like the film, the stories are very intellectual and not written for a child's mindset anyway.

In all, if you are a fan of the films, you need to check this out. It's really well done, and gives a lot of insight into how the world as we know it developed into the future world that Morpheus describes. Don't expect it to be better than the films, but it is a worthy addition.

Picture: It's great, you can't expect too much. It's perfect DVD quality, doesn't get better than that.

Sound: Very good. You're not getting 5.1 but it's still very good.

Features: None that I have seen, so I can't rate it at the moment.