The AniMatrix trailer - whoa! (1 Viewer)

[KyleK]

Ooooooo...
Looks pretty sweet, it's too bad it's straight to video.

 

[Scott McGillivray]

I agree. This looks very promising.

It reminds me of the classic animated movie "Heavy Metal."

 

[Ross Williams]

Sweet! I'll watch anything that has to do with The Matrix.

 

[RossTerry]

that might be the first Anime thing ive ever wanted to see

 

[Allan Petersen]

Sweet! I'll watch anything that has to do with The Matrix.

I think it's safe to say that's the reason Warner is releasing this... Between Animatrix and the various DVD releases of the first movie, I'd say Warner is milking this franchise pretty hard.
Bring on the sequels, already.

 

[Seth Paxton]

Wow, that looks like an impressive project actually. I think it probably stems more from the powerful influence that the Matrix has had, especially in pushing cyberpunk to the mainstream. It seems natural that the more cyberpunk-friendly medium of anime would be the next thing to get involved.

My impression is that some of these creative people wanted to take their own looks into the goings-on of the Matrix, not unlike the desire for authors, game makers, etc to want to expand on the Star Wars universe.

I'd call this project a match made in heaven, at least in potential. I agree that it looks like the kind of work that would play great on the big screen. I wonder if any film elements even exist though, or if it will all stay digital no matter what form of animation is being used for each segment.

 

[Allan Petersen]

Wasn't The Matrix originally inspired by cyberpunk anime in general? AFAIK, the Wachowski brothers used anime clips to pitch the movie to Joel Silver.
I'm still waiting for a definitive adaptation of Neuromancer. It has great potential for a movie as it's basically a sci-fi heist story.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I would love it if The Matrix's universe turned into a sort of Star Wars or Star Trek universe, much like this seems to do.

I also like that they have many different styles. I can only hope that it doesn't suck, because it looks really interesting.

 

[NickSo]

hey thats pretty cool... The CGI one looks better than Final Fantasy! The anime-ish animation is really cool, and dark.. nice

 

[Ricardo C]

ooh this looks SWEET! Very much like the original Heavy Metal movie, which I adore
When is it coming????

 

[Alex Spindler]

Based on that, the only reason I can figure this isn't getting theatrical release is because of oversaturation of the Matrix in 2003.

I think I'll need to see this as soon as I can get my hands on it.

 

[teapot2001]

I posted about this early today: http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...3&pagenumber=3
You won't have to wait until the DVD in 2003. The shorts will start being shown on the official website in the fall on a regular basis, with Square's CGI short, the only one in direct relation to the movies, being released last theatrically.
Move over Aki, here comes a new CGI babe: Link Removed
~T

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I guess Square saying they would be doing sort of "freelance work" was true and they didn't sell the studio. At least it's going to a good cause.

Though one must wonder, how long will these clips be?

 

[LennyP]

Great, 9 episodes, 7 stories from 7 diff directors, their own interpretation and "reimagining", I hear one of the stories deals with how machines take over!
Some old style anime, some CGI (most likely from Final Fantasy makers), it's gona be awesome!
I'm GLAD it's going straight to DVD, less waiting. Wish DVDs were sold right in the theater.

 

[teapot2001]

The Matrix short was the last project Square worked on before they closed the studio. I don't know how long the others will be, but theirs will be about 10 minutes.

~T

 

[LennyP]

Square closed the studio? Does that mean no more great, multi-layered adult CGI movies and just stupid childish Pixar crap? Aww. :frowning:

 

[Seth Paxton]

I'm still waiting for a definitive adaptation of Neuromancer. It has great potential for a movie as it's basically a sci-fi heist story.

I know it. Heck, I even half enjoyed Johnny M. just because it got you into that world a little bit.


And I certainly wasn't trying to say the Matrix started cyberpunk or anything, just that it has been the genre's biggest hit and its own live action visuals have now also become standards for the genre. It's a self-feeding cycle. My point was just that it's natural for other cyberpunk artists to want to get involved in some manner as well.


Thi, thanks for the extra low-down on these shorts. Can we assume that the Square one will run in front of a WB film at some point, or in front of Matrix Reloaded?

 

[Allan Petersen]

And I certainly wasn't trying to say the Matrix started cyberpunk or anything, just that it has been the genre's biggest hit and its own live action visuals have now also become standards for the genre. It's a self-feeding cycle. My point was just that it's natural for other cyberpunk artists to want to get involved in some manner as well.

I wasn't trying to say that you were in any way implying that The Matrix started cyberpunk, Seth. Maybe it was just a knee-jerk reaction on my part because a lot of people seem to think that the Matrix offers revolutionary new themes (artificial realities, technology invading our bodies, etc.) when these have been explored even before the term "cyberpunk" was coined.

I was certainly blown away by The Matrix and I'm excited about the sequels, but Neuromancer still holds my top spot as the quintessential cyberpunk story. Johnny Mnemonic had glimpses of Gibsons world but it was an incoherent mess of a movie, IMO.

Burning Chrome might make a good film as well; it's sort of a Neuromancer Lite.

 

[teapot2001]

I'd think it would be shown before a WB movie to help promote Reloaded.
http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/art-m.../30/13.00.film
~T

 

[Seth Paxton]

Johnny Mnemonic had glimpses of Gibsons world but it was an incoherent mess of a movie, IMO.

The fact that it tantalizes you by drifting a bit into the right areas is perhaps the most frustrating thing about the film. It COULD have been done right.
Just seeing what the W's did with Matrix tells us that.
It's one thing to not be "as good as the book", but is there anything worse than when a great story gets made into a bad film and you just know that it means you probably won't ever get a 2nd chance to see it done right.
:frowning:
And of course what make cyberpunk what it is is not the SF items individually, but rather the grouping of them and then some newer, common underlying themes. One of the strongest being the defeat of the machine by the use of the machine.
I wrote a bit on this sometime last year, but I always point to the late 60's/early 70's SF as the beginning fragments of this new thinking starting to pop up, but yet to come together for real until Blade Runner. Just like Johnathan E beating the corporate rule by literally beating it at it's own game (Rollerball). Contrast that with 1984 where the whole point is to COUNTER the system from without, going anti-tech, anti-gov, whatever.
First came helpful techs in SF. That's the SF depicted in Star Trek.
Then came the notion that these techs might in fact be bad too, and you had characters rebelling against the techs. Think Faherenheit 451.
Now, the cyberpunk step takes us to the level in which people are embracing the techs, using them in combat with the tech/corporate society. Neuromancer being one of the best at that.
But its funny because I don't think Dick himself was really coming from a cyberpunk angle. He's so much more about the questioning of reality. That's what makes BR so interesting as a film because it bridges that natural link between "what is reality" and the high-tech artificial realities/existence found in cyberpunk thinking. What is reality, what is human.
I just hate to see the backlash against the Matrix for it's pop culture status. It's unfair to the art, which can't be blamed for being so good at reaching greater audiences. Is it the end-all, be-all, of course not. But it's a damn fine step.
Not all art needs to be unappreciated to be good.
(that's not directed at all toward you Allan, just the end of my rambling here ).