As part of the diluge of media coming from the now massive Matrix franchise, Warner Brothers and the Wachowski brothers have teamed up with some of animations best minds to create a disc of nine separate features each in vivid animation detailing the background to the growing mythos of the Matrix.
Things kick off with the first nine minute short The Final Flight of Osiris from the famed team that brought us the Square Pictures movie Final Fantasy The Spirits Within. This short begins with one of the most beautifully animated fight sequences between two sparring partners we have ever seen. Although unlike the other shorts this one fails to really expand on the myth, it is definitely a bang up way to start off the disc. Beautiful, just right in length and poingant describes this.
Next we have the first of the two part Second Renaissance which has a dark Japanese animation look to the picture. This two parter better than any of the rest of the animations helps explain for once just how the Matrix came to be in control of the humans. Clearly a very important piece for fans, the two 9 minute sequences make this disc well worth the money.
The fourth feature The Kid is likely my favorite since it introduces a character that is barely shown on the Matrix Reloaded screen and tells just why he is so important. Without giving too much away, let's just say that the "Kid" has it going on!
The fifth piece Program is another japanese insipired fight scene that does little to further the mythos but certainly entertains. Piece six World Record is an often weird yet exhilarating story about someone pushing themselves to such limits that they discover the truth about their reality.
Feature seven, aptly named Beyond, is the story of a young woman who while searching for her missing cat finds children at play in a deserted building and courtyard that seems to possess strange properties. Th eighth feature A Detective Story is the best looking as it is clearly a homage to film noir.
The final segment, called Matriculated, is a story about members of the human resistance psychologically conditioning machines to identify with and to accept people instead of hunting them down and destroying them.
In all The Animatrix is well worth your hard earned dollar unless you just totally hate the feature films it is based upon. I had a wonderful time exploring further into the mythos behind these films.
The Disc:
The films' aspect ratios of 2.35:1 are presented in anamorphic video giving each of the beautifully sculpted animation sequences such vivid life. This is animation at its finest folks and the transfer comes screaming across so perfect. Warner Brothers has done a superb job here.
Equally impressive is the discs' English Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track. Surround effects are extremely active, immersing the viewer in sounds that will greatly benefit from EX decoding. Many directional cues may be heard from various locations that originate from within a full 360 degrees around the theater.
As for the goodies that have been included within the disc, well let's just say there are far more than we expected. Things begin with four full-length commentaries by the director and/or producer: Program, World Record, and both parts of The Second Renaissance. The audio is in Japanese with English captions activated by default.
Next up is Scrolls to the Screen: The History and Culture of Anime. A wonderful piece that could easily have ended up on any great collection of animation, this 22 minute piece delves deep into the history and culture of anime.
Creators offers brief personal glimpses in text into the careers of seven directors and three producers. Executions are little making of featurettes for seven of the segments. Everything here is pretty enjoyable.
bottom line:
A highly entertaining companion to the films, this piece should not be missed by any fan of the movies. Very good idea Warner Brothers!
4 out of 5
By - Brian Gray
