The Animatrix thoughts? (1 Viewer)

[Mark Schmitt]

I just saw this last night as a rental and I need to buy! I love animation and I love the Matrix, and this was a perfect blending of the two. A few random thoughts (spoilers follow!):

Osiris: Wow! What a way to start this set! They are getting closer and closer to the ultamite goal in CGI. Not quite there yet, but further than ever. It was beautiful. A big step up from Final Fantasy.

The Second Renaissance blew me away! The best of the bunch! With it's mix of hand-drawn and computer animation, not to mention the division of robots and humans, it reminded me of Futurama of all things. A very dark Futurama, of course.

I agree with OliverT that The Kid should be R-rated. Think of all the emotionally troubled kids watching this one. I thought the stylized animation was excellent in any case.

World Record was very different yet powerful. I know people who are so driven, and this is taken to the ultimate limits of that drive.

Program wasn't my favorite as far as story goes. Did she know her adversary before? Was it the avatar of the guy that she socked at the end? Have to watch it again. All he says is "He wasn't real, it was only a test." It packs a much more powerful punch if the masked guy is actually the guy that pulls her out. Sorry I'm at work and don't have access to check the names. I liked Ninja Scroll and this was kick ass fun.

The only thing I didn't like about Beyond was the voice acting. It's painfully obvious that this girl is in Japan and she's Japanese. Why does she sound like she's from Texas? Other than that, wow! I remember the reference from Reloaded to haunted houses and this was an excellent example. I particularly liked that after the error is fixed the characters remember it but are not quite sure if it really happened.

I need to watch A Detective Story again. Nothing too much to say right now about it, but it was very good.

I really liked Matriculated and don't see what's so hard to understand. We know that the machines are not automatons (further proven in Renaissance) and the humans here have found out how to "brainwash" the machines. They have created a program that they jack the robot into so they can mess with its head. It reminded me of Confuse A Cat, the Python sketch. I can just hear John Cleese now: "Robot-Confusing Squadron! Confuse the...robot!" At the end, the 'bot tries to save her when he jacks her in, but it's too late. She's dead and the robot remains there, alone and confused.

Speaking of Aeon Flux, I wish I could see every episode of LiquidTV as well as Cartoon Sushi on DVD some day.

 

[Chris Farmer]

Other interesting thing from Matriculated was it shows people can in fact jack themselves in and out of the matrix. Answers the question people had abotu how Cipher got in and out to deal with the Agents in the first one.

 

[Magnus Nord]

First post on the forum, i'll try to show my thoughts of the Animatrix in this post.

Osiris

Great animation combined with a very acrobatic swordfight and some other acrobatic thingies, i thought it was a very nice section of the animatrix, not my favourite though.

The Second Renaissance 1&2

This is great material, it brings out all those thoughts you had about the apocalyptic destruction of the human race by robots, and its complete to.. gotta love it.

Program

Very nice, dont know what to say really.. not THAT much story but a very nice way of showing how you have to push things to the limit to achieve in the matrix, also some great landscaping.

A Detective Story

Very very nice. Loved the weird animation and trinity with that hairstyle I liked the guy and feel sorry for him in the end too.

Beyond

Ohh i loved this one.

The feel in this animation is just great, including the ambient music which makes things exacly like i love them.
The kids in the haunted house was great to, talk about a dreamhouse to play in as a child =)

Matriculated

I Loved Aeon Flux and i also loved this animation, its so psychadelic and its in the matrix-universe! , gotta love it. I also noticed how this animator creates spiky metal objects in a way that makes you say 'ohhhhhh my those things can hurt something BAD'.

World Record

This was the one with the least satisfying animation. It was kind of interesting due to the fact that he pushes himself so hard that he breaks out of the matrix for a time...

The Kid

Ohh this is some wicked weird animation, loved it!, and it also fills a story gap about the kid which was very welcome to be filled!!.


Conclusion of the Animatrix

Loved it, gonna watch my DVD more often then i ever imagined when i purched it. The feel in this DVD is great, it makes me smile and groan.

 

[Nick Sievers]

Other interesting thing from Matriculated was it shows people can in fact jack themselves in and out of the matrix.

Were they actually in the Matrix though? I thought it was a program that those particular humans had designed. Maybe they could control the level of consciousness within this particular program?

 

[Tim RH]

The only thing I didn't like about Beyond was the voice acting. It's painfully obvious that this girl is in Japan and she's Japanese. Why does she sound like she's from Texas?

Umm...you know that there is a Japanese language track available on the DVD too right? Turn it on. It's much better, trust me.

Anyway, here's how I'd rank the Animatrix shorts:

1. THE SECOND RENAISSANCE (both parts)
2. KID'S STORY
3. BEYOND
4. FINAL FLIGHT OF THE OSIRIS
5. PROGRAM
6. A DETECTIVE STORY
7. MATRICULATED
8. WORLD RECORD

Anyone else hoping for a Volume Two?

 

[Xenia Stathakopoulou]

Even though i have no anime in my dvd collection, i bought this disc. I enjoyed it alot, there was only 1 short i didnt like, the one entitled world record. It just didnt seem to fit with the others, anyway osiris was my favorite, with the renaiscance episodes coming a close second. In my opinion this dvd has high replay value.

 

[Mark Schmitt]

I didn't know about the Japanese track! Will check it out tonight.

 

[JamesHl]

The japanese isn't really any better, you just can't understand it, so it doesn't sound as odd. The original language of the disc is english, it's not like it's a cheap dub.

I like how at the end of matriculated the machine resolved to keep up the machine brainwashing program.

 

[Will_B]

I found this disc to be great, but now I need to ask: Is that it? Are they making any more? Animatrix II that is, and if so, will it come out before Revolutions?

About these shorts:

Osiris should have played before the start of Matrix II - Osiris was a much better action sequence than the Trinity motorcycle-bomb, IMO.

It was great to see the Final Fantasy animation at work again.

About the Second Renaissance:

This was so much more impressive an idea than the whole Terminator/Skynet concept which Harlan Ellison claimed credit for. Skynet was easy - a program turns on its creator and launches nukes. In contrast, Second Renaissance plotted out an almost all-too-real scenario (I was most impressed by the way the first salvo was economic - that's what made it seem frighteningly possible).

 

[GuruAskew]

They hint at more Animatrix shorts in the supplements. One of the animation directors says he's got a project w/ the Wachowski's that's "top secret" or something.

 

[Jeff Doe]

Hi guys,

I was the editor of all the supplemental material on the Animatrix disc. I am glad to see that you're all enjoying the disc. It was a lot of fun to put together.

Anyway, in answer to the question "will there be an Animatrix II?" the answer is no. Sorry, but there are no plans that I am aware of. It was a one time deal. If the Animatrix sells really, really well then maybe but that's a very big maybe. Frankly, I doubt it. Let's put it this way. Nothing in the Matrix universe happens without the Wachowskis. And after Matrix Revolutions they'll be done with the Matrix universe and moving on to other things.

The director that hints that his next project is secret is not talking about another Animatrix project. He was referring to the current project that he was working on. He just didn't want his fans knowing too much about it at the time the interview was done. Anime directors in Japan have fans like live action directors do in the U.S.

 

[Will_B]

Fair enough. Thanks for the info.

I'd love to say I've seen the supplements but my housemates have made off with my disc!!!! People are loving it.

 

[Brendan Brown]

I'm amazed that Warner and Village Roadshow gave them so much contractual clout...especially at a time when Bound was the only thing under their belts. Or was their control over the franchise a part of their Reloaded/Revolutions contract?

 

[Bill>Moore]

It took me a few viewings of the Matrix to get into it and I wasn't thrilled with Reloaded, but it was ok. Still, I'd heard good things about Animatrix and how there was "something for everybody" on the disc. I was interested to find out more about the backstory, so I jumped in. At $14.99, not a ton of risk there.

Turns out I really enjoyed it. I mostly dislike anime, but enjoyed learning a little more about the Matrix backstory and some of the animation was pretty good. My favorites were Flight of Osiris and Second Renaissance 1-2. I'm far from a die-hard Matrix fan. At best, I'm kind of lukewarm on the series, but there's enough that I keep feeling like I need to see the next movie, buy the DVD, etc. I think Animatrix is well worth the $14.99 I spent on it.

 

[Marvin Richardson]

Finally rented this one after being on vacation. Almost bought it first; thank goodness I didn't do that! I love "The Matrix" and I might like "The Matrix Reloaded" even more, but "The Animatrix" was terrible.

"Final Flight Of The Osiris" was pretty good. Aside from some issues when the characters are moving, the CGI of people is getting pretty damn amazing.
"The Second Rennaissance" was decent from an information point of view, but not very good otherwise. Boring as a matter of fact. The information would have been more interesting if I'd read it.
"Beyond" was by far the best of the shorts. Loved the idea of a haunted house being a glitch in the Matrix. Beautiful animation.
"A Detective Story" was decent, but as others have said, lacked any real tension. Did like the noir look to it though.
"Kid's Story" was abysmal. I know some see this kind of animation as distinctive, but I just find it unattractive and distracting.
"World Record" was pretty blah too. Didn't care for the look of the agents or the story.
"Program" was alright, but kind of pointless. Did like the touch of the enemies disolving into code when killed.
"Matriculated"...I gave up watching this one about halfway through. Interesting visuals with no story that I could find.

So, if I ever see it used for $5 I might pick it up just for "Beyond" and "Final Flight of the Osiris", but other than that it wasn't worth the price of admission, IMHO.

 

[Jason Walstrom]

Matriculated was very interesting I thought. The idea of trying to turn a machine to the human side through their computer construct to build trust and loyalty was a very neat idea IMO.

 

[Shane Acker]

I was wondering if there is a particular chronological order that the shorts on Animatrix should be watched in. I have watched a few of them and if you hit play all it seems to me to start at the end, then go to the beginning then the middle. At least thats the way it seems to me.

 

[Francois Caron]

Anyway, in answer to the question "will there be an Animatrix II?" the answer is no. Sorry, but there are no plans that I am aware of. It was a one time deal.

Not necessarily. Based on the numerous reviews and opinions of "The Animatrix" and "Matrix Reloaded" (which I haven't seen yet -- waiting for the DVD), The Animatrix appears to be much better story-wise than the entire second movie. Maybe it's a sign that control over the Matrix Universe may have to be taken away from the Washowski Brothers before they get the chance to do any damage to it, and be handed over to the fans and filmmakers who have embraced it. The Matrix is a genre that has so much potential in creating so many good stories. It would be a shame to lose that opportunity.

As a reference, we all thought that George Lucas would take care of his Star Wars franchise, ensuring generations of filmgoers will enjoy this fantastic sci-fi adventure saga. But that turned out to be one big fat illusion. Today, Lucas won't even release the original version of Episodes IV through VI under any form, choosing to release only versions that twist and distort his original vision. Will the same fate occur to The Matrix? It all depends on who has control over the franchise and what they intend to do with it.

 

[Jeff Doe]

Francois-

Not necessarily. Based on the numerous reviews and opinions of "The Animatrix" and "Matrix Reloaded" (which I haven't seen yet -- waiting for the DVD), The Animatrix appears to be much better story-wise than the entire second movie. Maybe it's a sign that control over the Matrix Universe may have to be taken away from the Washowski Brothers before they get the chance to do any damage to it, and be handed over to the fans and filmmakers who have embraced it.

Ah, sorry Francois. The Animatrix was the Wachoski's deal through and through. It was their idea, they wrote some of the episodes or provided treatments. A couple of episodes they didn't write, but those stories had to approved by them along with everything else.

In fact, they approved EVERYTHING. From the stories and animation to the supplemental material on the disc. For example, in the episode Detective Story, originally Trinity was not wearing glasses. When the Bros. saw the finished piece they decided she should wear glasses to be more in line with the movies. So it was literally "back to the drawing board" to add the glasses (if you look closely, you can see Trinity's eyes still behind the lenses).

Bottom line, there will be no more Animatrix unless the Wachowski's want it.

 

[Dewitte]

I'll jump on here with a big "me too" in that I enjoyed the disc quite a bit. "Second Renaissance" was so good, I watched it twice in a day - something I never do (not even with the funnier episodes of Family Guy). It's too bad the likelihood of another direct-to-video release is slim. This has been one of the more interesting releases I've seen for quite some time.

My only gripe was the appearance of Harry Knowles in the Intro to Anime featurette. If it's anyone who does not deserve any more screen time, it's that morally-questionable fraud.

De