It has been talked about for a long time, an anime based on Matrix. However, there has been very few official details published about this until recently.

The Animatrix will be released as nine original short films based on the works of Wachowski Brothers. These 9 episodes will each feature a different feel and taste, since they will all be directed by different directors. Those being the following.

• Yoshiaki Kawajiri (writer/director of the anime classics Ninja Scroll and Vampire Hunter D)

• Shinchiro Watanabe (writer/director of the anime feature Cowboy Bebop)

• Koji Morimoto (animation supervisor of the seminal anime film Akira)

• Mahiro Maeda (director of the sci-fi anime series Blue Submarine No. 6)

• Takeshi Koike (lead animator on several of director Yoshiaki Kawajiri’s films, including Wicked City)

• Peter Chung (creator and director of the popular MTV series Aeon Flux)

• Andy Jones (animation director for the stunning CG film Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within)

Fans of The Maxtrix will be happy to know that two of the episodes will feature voices by Keanu Reeves (Neo) and Carrie-Anne Moss (Trinity).  And that its sound track will feature eclectic techno music supervised by DJ/producer/remixer Jason Bentley. Wait there’s more, the original score for this is provided by Don Davis, who was behind the music in The Matrix, and currently working on the rest of the trilogy.

Still not impressed? Well you will be once you discover that one complete 9 minute episode from The Animatrix, titled The Final Flight of the Osiris. Will be seen with the worldwide release of Dreamcatcher in theatres. 

Expect to see The Animatrix on DVD June 3, making it between the release The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions. The price for the DVD has already been set at $24.98.

THE ANIMATRIX DVD FEATURES

• Scrolls to Screen – The History and Culture of Anime

• Seven “making-of” features including director profiles featuring interviews and  behind-the-scenes looks at each film

• Four audio commentaries (featured on the films The Second Renaissance Pt. 1 & 2, Program and World Record) – all with Japanese audio and English subtitles

• Enter the Matrix Game Trailer – exclusive look into the creation of the “Enter The Matrix” video game, featuring interviews from some of the film’s stars including Jada Pinkett and Carrie-Anne Moss

THE ANIMATRIX FILM SYNOPSES

The Final Flight of the Osiris 

Written by Andy and Larry Wachowski; Directed by Andy Jones

Animation and production design by Square USA, Inc.

The crew of the hovercraft Osiris must get a message back to Zion, a message of vital importance. Easy to do, but for the armada of Sentinels between them and Zion.

The Second Renaissance – Parts 1 and 2

Written by Andy and Larry Wachowski; Directed by Mahiro Maeda

Animation and production design by Studio4°C, Tokyo

The Genesis of the Matrix:  the last cities of mankind, the war with the machines, and humanity’s ultimate downfall.  An epic guided tour of the Zion archives and the history of the Matrix.

Kid’s Story

Written by Andy and Larry Wachowski; Directed by Shinichiro Watanabe

Animation and production design by Studio4°C, Tokyo

Sitting in his high school classroom, THE KID gets a personalized invitation from Neo (voiced by Keanu Reeves) to escape the Matrix.  But finding an exit proves more difficult than he ever imagined.

Program

Written and directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri

Animation and production design by Madhouse Studios, Tokyo

In the simulated world of a Samurai training program, CIS, a soldier of Zion, is forced to choose between love and her comrades in the real world.

World Record

Written by Yoshiaki Kawajiri; Directed by Takeshi Koike

Animation and production design by Madhouse Studios, Tokyo

Through an incredible combination of will power and physical strength, DAN, a world-record-holding sprinter, breaks out of the Matrix and gets an all-too-brief glimpse of the real world beyond.

Beyond

Written and directed by Koji Morimoto

Animation and production design by Studio4°C, Tokyo

In a quiet town where all is not as it seems, YOKO finds a bug in the system:  an abandoned mansion in which anything seems possible.  And then the exterminators arrive to “de-bug”.

Detective Story

Written and directed by Shinichiro Watanabe

Animation and production design by Studio4°C, Tokyo

Hard-boiled private investigator ASH tracks cyber-criminal TRINITY (voiced by Carrie-Anne Moss) through the looking glass…

Matriculated
Written and directed by Peter Chung

Animation and production design by DNA, Seoul

A small group of rebels have captured a sentient robot and proceed to program it to act as an ally for their cause.  They succeed too well in teaching the robot to prefer their “human Matrix” to machine reality.  And the robot’s appetite for the “human Matrix” may exceed the humans’ ability to supply it.

BASICS

• DVD SRP $24.98/$19.95 MAP

• VHS SRP $19.98/$13.95 MAP

• Street Date: June 3, 2003

• Languages: ENG (5.1), JAP (5.1)

• Subtitles: ENG, FR, SPAN

• Program Running Time: Approx 90 mins.

• DVD Running Time:  Approx 180 mins.

• Rating:  Not Rated

• Dolby/Digital [CC]

-- Eddie Hicks, Otaku Aniverse