Techtite DVD Reviews

The Film: Admittedly, I didn't review this DVD when first released. I had felt it was such a foregone conclusion that "everyone" would buy it, I never considered the need to review it. Then the movies were released, and quite frankly, they weren't very good. Is it possible some people just concluded this would be disappointing as well, and never saw it? That would be a shame, because where the films failed, Animatrix succeeds.

I should begin by saying that, much like anything based on another film, this DVD means little if you haven't seen The Matrix. You did see The Matrix, didn't you...? I won't go into the back story too much presuming you did, because there's little point to this DVD if you did not. In a nutshell: virtual world, almost everyone thinks their world is "real," when a few human rebels know the truth and are trying to escape into the really real world. The good news: these rebels can bend this faux world to their whims, knowing that none of it is real. That's about the gist of it.

That said, this disc is basically a collection of animated film shorts based on the Matrix premise. Some animation is anime, some resembles new-age cartoon styles (MTV's Aeon Flux in the 1990's comes to mind), with a computer animated short opening the film. This is the sort of animated frenzy that's intended for people who like a smorgasbord of animation.

It's the opening animated story --"The Final Flight of Osiris"-- which is the most striking. This story begins with a pair of human agents aboard the Osiris practicing their fighting skills, much like Laurence Fishbourne and Keanu Reeves in the first film. These two characters, however, are a man and a woman, and they are in love. The ballet of flirtatious fighting moves they engage in is so well done, you would swear this scene is live-action at first glance. The CGI is that realistic. "Matrix," eat your heart out!

I won't delve into every single story in this disc; that's not the point. The point is that there are a lot of different animators with a love for the original film, and they illustrate their own stories based on the film, in their own ways. I loved the variety here. I loved how each animator's approach to an animated Matrix film short was totally different. This is a nice DVD for lovers of either the Matrix, animation, or both.

Flaws? Nothing worth reporting. The only flaw I can think of, if you can call it that, is that the animators were unable to consider new venues and new concepts. While each animation style is different, at no point do we see anything within their stories that are as vastly different. Any one of these stories could've been told within the films, very easily. I wished I could've seen an array of stories as vastly different as the animation styles were to each other, but I'll take what I can get. In truth; this is actually a DVD better suited for fans of new-age animation, than fans of the Matrix. The diverse animation techniques animation fans will get to see is astounding. Matrix fans will get more of the same.

It deserves mentioning that one of my complaints about Matrix Revolutions was how sadly they ended the trilogy. However, no matter how many of these stories end either slightly or totally sad, I was left with a sense of respect for the subject matter. In my opinion, these animators had a love for their craft, a love for The Matrix, and a love for fans of either one. I did not leave theaters feeling the same about Matrix Revolutions. If you feel similar, you owe it to yourself to see this disc. It's perhaps the best "sequel" fans of the original film are ever going to get.

The DVD: Considering this is a direct-to-video deal, the extras offered are pretty impressive. There's a documentary type featurette titled ."Scrolls to Screen: The History and Culture of Anime" which is pretty self-explanatory, plus over half a dozen featurettes with interviews and behind-the-scenes footage, for each of the film shorts offered. 4 audio commentaries are also offered, along with a trailer for the video game Enter the Matrix. Again; these are nice extras for a direct-to-DVD disc.

	Final Rating : Large Crater. Better than the sequels were, and quite frankly, this is what the sequels should have been like: inspired and fun.
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Animatrix

A Techtite Review