Originally Reviewed on Letterboxd As a kid I too enjoyed fucking with the laws of physics with my friends and boy we would get into SO much trouble in the process of doing so. Those were good times.... nowadays you would be shot in the street if you were to even acknowledge any glitch that happens around you. Saying that the original Matrix was a fantastic film that definitely earns its place in film history would be an understatement especially with how much it has been talked about over the years but it is just THAT good of a film and watching it for the first time made me realize how good it really was. It wasnt anything too creative by todays standards in terms of the story and the acting and writing leaved a lot to be desired but it was all still carried heavily by the way this story was told to the audience the great characters we follow throughout the whole thing the incredible action sequences that have become so iconic after the films release and the effects that while looking dated by todays standards look incredible for a film released in 1999 and mustve looked amazing to viewers watching it on the big screen back then. Not only that but the film was incredibly successful too which led to Warner Bros. and The Wachowskis naturally wanting to continue raking in that cash to the point where 2003 was a HUGE year for The Matrix in general getting three whole movies in that one year alone along with several other pieces of media just to make sure they can get as much of this franchise out there that they can. Out of the three films that were released that year though the one that I wanted to check out more then any of the others was undeniably the most unique film in the entire series and one that most general audiences probably dont know about The Animatrix. Unlike the original Matrix movie and the ones that came after it which were these big blockbuster action and effect focused events that were meant to pull in audiences everywhere with the crazy shit that it does this movie was a bit of a different story when it came to what it did for the franchise. Rather then being one big standalone film to add right alongside the other movies in this franchise this is actually an anthology film that consists of 9 different animated shorts all being animated by a bunch of different Japanese animation studios and all focusing on smaller stories that tie into and expand the universe of The Matrix. I always love it whenever a series like this expands into other mediums like this allowing for many different ways to tell stories in this universe and get people interested in it through different means and seeing as there are 9 shorts here rather then it just being one continuous story it does offer plenty of variety for viewers to where they will most likely always find something to love about the film over others. And thankfully that was the case with me because as a whole I found this collection of short films to be pretty damn good doing a great job at further expanding The Matrix universe and delivering some wonderfully animated shorts on top of that to enjoy that cover many different animation styles even if not all of it is as solid as it could be. Out of all of the shorts here that the film gives us to watch my personal favorites out of the bunch had to be The Second Renaissance Parts 1 and 2 Beyond and A Detective Story all of which I liked for many different reasons. For starters The Second Renaissance I loved a lot primarily due to how it properly expanded The Matrix universe in such a big way detailing what this world was like before it all went to shit how it all went to shit and what could potentially happen in this universe leading down the road as a result of what the people in this world had done to it beforehand. It is a little generic in terms of plot but like with the original Matrix movie it does a great job at telling this story both in terms of the visuals that are show and the animation in general that you cant help but get sucked into it regardless. Then theres A Detective Story which I love purely based on the visuals alone over anything else. The art style is done entirely in the style of an old detective comic and it works wonderfully for giving the proper vibe that a story like this needs while also not removing itself from what it needs to be especially with how the story does involve Trinity which was nice to see. And then there was Beyond which is probably my favorite short out of the bunch primarily because it doesnt feel like its part of The Matrix at all.... I know that sounds weird but hear me out on this for a second. The short consists of this girl trying to find her cat to try to feed it and she ends up finding this group of kids playing around in this area where theres a glitch in The Matrix allowing them to fuck with the laws of physics and have a good time in general before the authorities come and ruin it all for them. Yeah there are obvious sequences put in there to remind you that this is still part of The Matrix universe but if you were to watch it completely on its own without even knowing it was part of this series you could still enjoy it all the same and there is a lot to love about it too. The animation the simple yet enjoyable characters the charming voice acting all of it works perfectly in harmony together to make such a wonderful short in general. As for the rest of the shorts though I wouldnt say any of them are bad at all but they dont necessarily ever reach the same heights as those last four that I previously mentioned. First off there is Program a short that consists of these two fighting each other in a samurai duel in a simulation with one of them trying to convince the other to go back to The Matrix with them. Its a fine enough short with some great animation and sweet action on top of that but it doesnt really do that much or feel that impactful to make me really remember it alongside the others. The same can also be said about World Record which is very interesting to watch play out seeing how one can break out of The Matrix like this but aside from that one concept everything else about it from the visuals to the general plot doesnt really do that much to win me over. And then theres Matriculated which is just..... weird man. It starts off pretty basic and has some pretty cool moments but then it devolves into this simulation sequence which takes up most of the short and while it is all very visually impressive for the time and has a lot of neat moments it feels like it is banking off of those weird elements and visuals more so then actually telling a proper story which works well enough for a short but I dunno.... didnt really feel all that memorable to me. But then we get to what I would consider to be the two worst shorts of the entire film which I must reiterate are not bad by any means but they just dont quite reach the same level of quality as that of the previous shorts I just mentioned. First off theres Final Flight of the Osiris which has many different things holding it back from being great what with its lackluster and generic story compared to everything else alongside its HIDEOUS animation that does look pretty good for the time but nowadays it just looks like a cutscene that would play out in a game on my PS2 and not in a good way. Although that in itself may have been intentional as apparently this short is meant to be the prologue for the video game Enter the Matrix which was also released in 2003 which is a neat little bonus for those that did play that game but on its own it just seems pretty generic for the most part and nothing that is worth remembering happens in it to make me like it anymore then I already do. It also doesnt help that this film STARTS with this short which I guess makes sense as they want to save the best stuff for later but still weird way to start things out. And then theres Kids Story which again isnt a bad short at all but it is one that is pretty generic and whatever amidst all the others. It pretty much just consists of this random kid who gets in contact with a hacker that will take him out of The Matrix similarly to that of what Neo went through in the original movie and of course Agent Smith and his guys go after him to where he tries to escape from them. On one hand I do really like the visuals of this short as it is all done with rotoscoped animation which looks wonderful for the time it came out and makes this one of the most distinctive looking shorts of the bunch but on the other hand its just not a very exciting short in general. It just mainly consists of this kid running away from the authorities through his school..... whoopee. Nothing that interesting happens beyond that and again it all just feels very similar to that of what happened in the original Matrix film to a degree but just in rotoscoped animation. Not much more to say about it. Overall though despite how some of the shorts dont match up the quality of the others in this film this is still a really good collection of animated shorts that we have here that fit wonderfully right alongside the original Matrix film and it is one that I really enjoyed all the way through what with how it expands the universe of The Matrix just enough to give people a better understanding of what happened and whats currently happening in this universe while being supported with some simple yet very enjoyable stories and fantastic animation that can be seen throughout most of the whole thing. I would definitely recommend it for those who loved the original Matrix film as well as those who are a big fan of more niche projects like this that are meant to be part of a much bigger franchise because while it may not even come close to the level of quality as the original film in several aspects it is still a really nice bonus addon to this franchise that Im sure anyone would be able to enjoy whether or not they are watching the whole thing or even just a few specific shorts out of the bunch. Before I go though I do wanna quickly mention that I found out one of the shorts in this film Matriculated was half animated by DNA Productions..... you know the guys that made Jimmy Neutron?......... that was a very weird fact for me to learn today.