The Animatrix
Movie, 2003, The Animatrix, Set in The machine war onward
The Animatrix is #3 of 5 in release order and #1 of 5 in chronological order in the The Matrix.
The story
Straight from the creators of the groundbreaking Matrix trilogy, this collection of short animated films from the world's leading anime directors fuses computer graphics and Japanese anime to provide the background of the Matrix universe and the conflict between man and machines. The shorts include Final Flight of the Osiris, The Second Renaissance, Kid's Story, Program, World Record, Beyond, A Detective Story and Matriculated.
The Animatrix recap
The Animatrix is a collection of nine animated short films by different directors. Final Flight of the Osiris shows a ship's crew discovering the machine army drilling toward Zion and dying to send a warning, which leads into Reloaded. The Second Renaissance, in two parts, tells the history of the war: a robot kills its owner, robots win equal rights and build their own nation, humans attack them and block out the sun, and the machines win and turn people into an energy source. Kid's Story shows a teenager who escapes the Matrix on his own by jumping from his school roof. Program has a rebel fighting her partner in a samurai training simulation after he asks her to betray the others and return to the Matrix with him. World Record follows a sprinter who briefly breaks free of the Matrix by running so fast. Beyond follows a girl through a haunted house that is really a glitch in the Matrix. A Detective Story has a private detective hired to find Trinity. Matriculated has rebels trying to convert a captured machine to their side.
The Animatrix ending explained
The collection has no single ending. Each short tells its own small story, some inside the Matrix and some in the real world, and several feature characters who briefly glimpse that their world is not real. The shorts that matter most for the films are Final Flight of the Osiris, which sets up Reloaded, and The Second Renaissance, which explains how the war began.
Post-credits scenes
No. There is no post-credits scene.
Where to watch The Animatrix
The Animatrix isn't on a US streaming service right now. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 7.0/10, Rotten Tomatoes 88%
Where it fits
- Release order: after The Matrix Reloaded, before The Matrix Revolutions.
- Chronological order: first, before The Matrix.
What to watch before The Animatrix
In release order, the essentials before The Animatrix (2003) are The Matrix (1999) and The Matrix Reloaded (2003). The Animatrix itself is optional in the The Matrix order.
Cast
- Keanu Reeves as Neo ("Kid's Story") (voice)
- Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity ("Kid's Story" and "A Detective Story") (voice)
- Clayton Watson as The Kid ("Kid's Story") (voice)
- Pamela Adlon as Jue ("Final Flight of the Osiris") / Manabu ("Beyond") (voice)
- Melinda Clarke as Alexa ("Matriculated") (voice)
- John DiMaggio as Crew Man ("Final Flight of the Osiris") / Kaiser ("Program") (voice)
- Kevin Michael Richardson as Thadeus ("Final Flight of Osiris") / Cop ("Kid's Story") / Agent #2 ("World Record")
- Tom Kenny as Operator ("Final Flight of Osiris")
- Rick Gomez as Pilot ("Final Flight of Osiris")
- Tara Strong as Crew Woman ("Final Flight of Osiris") / Nurse ("World Record") / Misha ("Beyond")
- Bette Ford as Old Woman ("Final Flight of Osiris")
- Julia Fletcher as The Instructor ("The Second Renaissance Part I & II") / Narrator ("World Record")
Directed by Kōji Morimoto, Peter Chung, Shinichiro Watanabe, Mahiro Maeda, Yoshiaki Kawajiri, Takeshi Koike, Andrew R. Jones.