Rubbish? I think not! (The Animatrix (DVD))

Member Name: chaobreeder16

Product:	The Animatrix (DVD)
Date:	10/02/09 (169 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: beautiful animation, imagery lots of extras

Disadvantages: some people just arent interested

Background

When most people think of the matrix now they think "oh no not that" as the second two movies of the trilogy were pretty abominable however you cannot condemn the first movie along with these. The first movie really did bring a whole new dimension to the evolution of technology and artificial intelligence, and the animatrix really expands upon the background of the movies.

I was reading other peoples reviews on dooyoo who were complaining about how "bad" the animation was in the animatrix but I really doubt they could make anything that could compare to the style of artists who contributed to the first 9 short stories. For instance Kid's Story and a Detective story were directed by Shinichiro Watanabe whom in his lifetime has participated/directed over seven anime(Japanese animated TV programs) including cowboy bebop and samurai champloo, five short series and four movies including macross plus. So I say don't condemn what you can't even begin to understand. There have been rumours that there were other animatrix stories produced but maybe this was pending on the success of the last matrix movies which pretty much flopped as they were produced to quickly after the first.

Episodes1-9

1. Final Flight of the Osiris
Reference to this ship the Osiris is given in the second movie when it is being attacked and goes down. This is a short film with computer generated graphics portraying the last 15 or so minutes of the crew's lives it lasts 16mins43s. The animation is really impressive and we get to see all three platforms of the matrix world, the training centre, the real world and the simulated real world which is a big squeeze for such a short movie. Produced and animated in the US.I think the voice acting could have been better though and this is one of my least favourite of the first 9 so I would maybe only give it 3.5/5

2. The second Renascence part1

The first of the historical files on the matrix and probably one of my favourite 16mins25s comprises of both computer generated animation as well as tradition style produced and animated in Tokyo Japan. The story depicts a realistic future of how man may become dependent on machines and technology in the future and how he abuses his resources be them natural or manmade in the way of machines with artificial intelligence. In short it's about slavery all over again and how mans fear of the new and lack of responsibility will create his downfall as he tries to become God. The first part is about the computers raise to artificial intelligence yet despite their efforts the UN will not accept them as an equal. As stated before I do like this one as it is a possible scenario. 4/5

3. The Second Renascence Part2

Again it has combined Computer Generated graphics and traditional animation styling's. It was also produced in Tokyo and is 16mins33s long. Part 2 generally describes world war 3 when the machines rise up against humans and take over the world resulting in the future portrayed in the Matrix movies. Humanity stupidly tries to nuke the robot colonies which fail miserably and this then provokes aggression among the machines. Humanity falls and the planet becomes a hive of human battery plants. This movie is a bit more graphic possibly disturbing and gory 4/5 both parts 1 and 2 feature a narration from a head computer as opposed to having proper voice actors but I think it gives them a more interesting feel. The mecha or machine design for this movie is really quite impressive and unique also its very smooth and realistic looking.

4. Kid's Story 16mins49s

Directed by Shinichiro Watanabe and also animated in Tokyo Japan this story is about a boy living in our current world today who believes that the matrix is real. It features real voice acting from some of the original cast of the Matrix including Keanu Reaves. The animation for this short story seems quite shaky and scribbly and almost unsure of itself which represents the protagonists grip on mortality and reality which is quite a big them in some of Watanabe's other productions. I do really like the animation in this one its very unique and the different angles it animates from must have been difficult to complete. It is quite a sombre story and I am pretty sure that this movie could be based on a real life event about a kid who took the story of the matrix too seriously and tried to cross over to the other side by committing suicide. I did particularly like the soundtrack for this one too it was really distorted and suited the movies theme.4/5.The stylings of this movie really reminded me of the anime serial experiments lain or ergo proxy so if you liked this short movie you should check out these series too.

5. Program 14mins30s

Another more traditionally designed Japanese produced movie. The animation for this movie looks really different and unique almost along the lines of something like afro samurai if you have seen that. The first part is where another group of crew members are playing a game based on the Japanese fairy tale on the demon of Rashomon where a prince is caught up in a love triangle between a princess and a demon, or at least that was the way I interpreted it. This lasts for most of the movie so I won't spoil the ending. This crew seems to have it relatively easy compared to that of the Osiris. 3.5/5 This movie didn't overly interest me though the animation was really beautiful.

6. World Record15mins55s

This one was also produced in Japan and is about an Olympic runner who accidently pushes the boundaries of his body so far that he nearly breaks free of the machines hold and awakes. The animation for this movie also looks very similar to that of afro samurai in terms of the amount and shading of colours used for the characters. There seems to be a very basic scale of dark colours used, the detail paid to the important characters is a really great quality seen in this movie which makes it really pleasant to watch and stay focused.4/5

7. Beyond 20mins 04

I don't know why but this one is by far my favourite out of the original nine it has a mixture of computer generated graphics and more traditional style graphics which dominate. This episode is almost like a filler episode and isn't too serious. It really begins when a young woman loses her cat in her search for it she finds a group of kids who say they may know where she is. They take her to an abandoned building where absolutely everything has lost its sense of reality, the kids belly flop off the roof of this building but stop before they hit the tarmac, birds sit suspended in mid air and one room in this building is filled with nothingness and voices from the past. It turns out to be a breach in the Matrix but before long agents close it down. I maybe just like this one the best because traditional animation dominates and it is innocently eerie without any violence or objectionable stuff, it's also really colourful and shows some really nice scenes of the urban areas of Japan. It did give me the creeps 5/5. It looks a little like ghost in the shell stand alone complex in way of animation except brighter and prettier to look at.

8. A detective Story 17mins00s

Directed by Shinichiro Watanabe and it does kind of remind me of a scene from the anime cowboy bebop or big0 for some reason. It is almost all in black and white and plays out like all those really old detective movies where the protagonist lights a cigarette and narrates all the vital information. It is however typical for Shinichiro Watanabe to throw a western spin on animation he participates in however and it makes for a pretty interesting watch. Despite the lack of colour in this movie it is really quite a beautiful and intriguing setting. Our protagonist detective gets mixed up with the hackers and agents in the end but won't reveal anything more in case you havn't seen it and wish to. 4/5

9. Matriculated 23mins10s

This movie generally has a lot of evident computer generated animation to it so I have a general dislike of it from the beginning but it's not bad on the whole I suppose or maybe it's the fact that it's such a long movie in comparison to the rest. This movie is about some of the human survivors on the surface trying to capture some of the runner robots with artificial intelligence little do they know that the runner has already sent for back up. I won't spoil the ending for those of you who haven't seen it. Admittedly the animation mecha and character movements are really amazing and smooth, the environment and backgrounds are really expertly done also. I just don't like it, however even so it does deserve a 4/5

Overall I would say a 4/5 is a good total score for all 9 movies combined.

Extras

There are director commentaries on The Second Renaissance parts1 and 2 by Mahiro Maeda, Program by Yoshiaka Kawajira and world record by Takeshi Koike, which I found interesting if you want to know more on these specific sections of the animatrix. However I was slightly disappointed that there wasn't one for Kids story or A Detective story as I am a big fan of Shinichiro Watanabe in case you haven't already guessed as much.

There is however a making of for each film and a pretty long documentary on the history and culture of anime over the years which I appreciated almost more than the animatrix movies themselves.There is also a section where you can look at the biographical profiles of the animators and directors and the disc comes with stuff you can download and access through your computer such as advertisements.

Overall including special features the disc itself deserves a4.5-5/5 rating as it is jam packed with features.

Once again I apologise for random and incoherent ramblings as I am pretty bogged down with severe tonsillitis still and have a bit of a temperature.

Summary: The animation and plots arent perfect but the extras make up for that