| | | Nine mind-bending short films from the creators of The Matrix|9 Short Films Exploring the Incredible World of The Matrix. Features: DVD, Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 2.35:1, Dolby Digital (5.1), English, French, Spanish, Subtitled Welcome to The Animatrix, a visionary fusion of CG-animation and Japanese anime from the world's most revered anime directors. Experience the prequel to The Matrix and learn about the last cities of mankind, the war with the machines and humanity's ultimate downfall. Witness the Final Flight of the Osiris, which sets the stage for The Matrix Reloaded movie and Enter the Matrix video game. Grasp a more complete understanding of The Matrix available nowhere else. Expand your mind even further as you unlock a dazzling arsenal of Bonus Materials. It's time to plug in.The films: Final Flight of the Osiris, The Second Renaissance Parts I & II, Kid's Story, Program, World Record, Beyond, A Detective Story, and Matriculated. "...offers enough delights to spark interest in even the most anti-anime viewer." Anthony Nield, DVD Times "The animation is consistently excellent and those who care will appreciate the way this collection informs the mainstream trilogy." Robert Strohmeyer, FilmCritic.com
 Editor's Note
 ANIMATRIX: Taking the characters and premise from the groundbreaking science-fiction film THE MATRIX, this ambitious project compiles nine short films directed by animation specialists from Japan, Korea, and America. The action is rapid-paced, and combines different styles of animation from CGI to anime to more traditional animation, producing a unique and varied look even more stunning than its predecessor. A sampling of the talent includes MATRIX creators Larry and Andy Wachowski, Yoshiaki Kawajiri (NINJA SCROLL), Peter Chung (AEON FLUX), and Shinchiro Watanabe (COWBOY BEBOP).
| Features | English and Japanese audio tracks |  | English, French, Spanish subtitles |  | "Enter the Matrix" videogame trailer |  | Dolby Digital 5.1 Audio |  | Widescreen Format (16x9 2.35:1) |  | "Scrolls to Screen: The History and Culture of Anime" documentary |  | 7 making-of featurettes go behind-the-scenes with interviews and director profiles |  | 4 audio commentaries |
| Technical Info
| Release Information
|  | Studio: Warner |
 | Release Date: 2/14/2006 |
 | Running Time: 210 minutes |
 | Original Release Date: 2003 |  | Catalog ID: 37316 |  | UPC: 00085393731625 |  | Number of Discs: 1 | Audio & Video
|  | Original Language: English |  | Available Audio Tracks: English |  | Available Subtitles: English, French, Spanish |  | Video: Color | Aspect Ratio |  | Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1 |
| Cast & Crew | Jack Fletcher - Casting and Voice Direction |  | Steve Richards - Co-Producer |  | Andy Wachowski - Director |  | Larry Wachowski - Director |  | Peter Chung - Director |  | Shinichiro Watanabe - Director |  | Yoshiaki Kawajiri - Director |  | Joel Silver - Executive Producer |  | Don Davis - Music Composed By |  | Larry and Andy Wachowski - Produced By |  | Michael Arias - Producer |  | Micheal Arias, Hiroaki Takeuchi, Eiko Tanaka - Segment Producers |
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| | Professional Reviews | Entertainment Weekly "...THE ANIMATRIX definitely feels like a cohesive part of the Wachowskis' universe..." 06/06/2003 p.62Total Film "...No doubt about it, MATRIX mastergeeks Larry and Andy Wachowski -- and their chosen writers/directors -- have certainly put the effort in here..." 07/01/2003 p.114 The Onion A.V. Club 8 of 10 Originally conceived as something between a tie-in product and a full-length advertisement for the Matrix movie trilogy, the animated-shorts anthology The Animatrix quickly took on a life of its own, thanks to the increasingly high profile of Japanese animation in America and the top talents Matrix writer-directors Andy and Larry Wachowski enlisted for the project. The Wachowskis scripted half of The Animatrix's nine installments, which flesh out the backstory and milieu of their Matrix world...While the actual Matrix movies have embraced a dark-but-shiny comic-book good-over-evil aesthetic, The Animatrix is virtually all grimmer and grittier. Its characters are peripheral to the Matrix trilogy, and there's no guarantee that they'll survive, let alone triumph. But by establishing the lethality and bleakness of the Wachowskis' world outside the radius of their central heroes' reach, The Animatrix raises the stakes on The Matrix, and gives it a bit of the depth it lacks. To some degree, The Animatrix is a logical extension of the Wachowskis' vision: Like their main project, this sideline is more style than substance, but also more style than its competitors can bring to the table. The Animatrix lacks some of the Matrix movies' punch, but none of their panache. - Tasha Robinson
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