What is the AniMatrix?

September 5, 2002 2:25 PM

What is the AniMatrix? A direct-to-video release of 9 animated shorts (comic book style, pure CGI, etc) by 7 directors looks at possible visions of the world pre-Matrix. Looks like it could be an interesting collection.
posted by mathowie (27 comments total)

More info here. Looks like the almost dead Square Pictures is involved, along with Akira/Robot Carnival animator Koji Morimoto, Madhouse, Macross Plus director Shinichiro Watanbe and Gonzo man Mahiro Maeda. They got the big guns for this sucker. Anime geeks rejoice.
posted by ed at 2:53 PM on September 5, 2002

Oh, so this has nothing to do with The Matwix?
posted by Fofer at 2:54 PM on September 5, 2002

chung
chung
chung
chung
chung
chung
chung!

hooray :)
posted by kliuless at 3:03 PM on September 5, 2002

OT: That Matwix cartoon has to have the most horrible bugs bunny voice I have ever heard.
posted by Stan Chin at 3:04 PM on September 5, 2002

It ain't on Netflix yet, curses.
posted by Shadowkeeper at 3:10 PM on September 5, 2002

//trying desperately to not drag thread off-topic, but needing to say something about the Matwix// Great, now I'm going to have nightmares about bright blue electric toothbrushes dripping foam rabidly for a year.

Why do I think Chuck Jones would have loved "Bugs Bunny Bullet Time"?

//back ot//
posted by redshoes3 at 3:11 PM on September 5, 2002

Looks like they are going for the brand (What is) The Matrix. If they can keep at on at least the level of part 1, i don't mind. ;)
posted by roel at 3:15 PM on September 5, 2002

Matrix is all style and no substance. Who would accept a plot where human beings are used as batteries with a kind of 'fusion' (there's the writer's loophole) to create a reproduction of 20th century L.A.?

Great martial arts, special effects and leather pants, though.
posted by disgruntled at 3:24 PM on September 5, 2002

yes, the leather pants were quite something.
posted by delmoi at 3:29 PM on September 5, 2002

"the Matrix" the movie always seemed to be a small part of a larger story. Glad to see it's been opened up for others to explore and expand upon.
posted by jazon at 3:29 PM on September 5, 2002

but actualy it looked more like NYC, seattle or some other more 'dense' city then LA. It was filmed in Australia.

Most movies do look like they are set in LA, and it's really kind of annoying.
posted by delmoi at 3:30 PM on September 5, 2002

YEAH! Ditto that enthusiasm, kliuless. For those of you who don't recognize the name, Peter Chung was the artist behind AEon Flux.

Mr. Chung's segment should be very cool.
posted by El_Gray at 3:31 PM on September 5, 2002

re: expansion -- there are already a ton of comic stories (some by relatively big names in the field) up on the official site, and they are all set "in the world of the matrix".

a "philosophy and the matrix" section will also be launching soon, with essays from colin mcginn, kevin warwick, hubert dreyfus, david chalmers, and others.
posted by chrisgrau at 3:35 PM on September 5, 2002

I think it's supposed to be Los Angeles, I may be wrong but if memory serves me correctly, I remember one of the agents saying it was L.A., the height of human civilization.

I would have liked the flick more if the Matrix looked (and felt) like Copenhagen.
posted by disgruntled at 3:42 PM on September 5, 2002

Who would accept a plot where human beings are used as batteries with a kind of 'fusion' (there's the writer's loophole) to create a reproduction of 20th century L.A.?


There's a great deal of logic behind all that, disgruntled - y'see, the machines are like really energy efficient, enough where human foibles like having a sense of smell wouldn't create a performance lag. The machines could therefore use very little power to keep themselves going...and since they hate humans sooo much, they decide to get their revenge by using homo sapiens as their own personal version of a potato clock...

...Wait a minute...that almost sounded plausable. Never mind...
posted by Smart Dalek at 3:49 PM on September 5, 2002

Actually, delmoi, my film teachers explained to me that most films are actually shot in Montreal and made to look like New York. They actually construct buildings that follow the stlye of NYC architecture to accomodate the high film funds the city gets from U.S. studios.

(Speaking of constructing cities to feed off people's energy...)
posted by XQUZYPHYR at 4:17 PM on September 5, 2002

Humans weren't being used to recreate the the 20th century. The 20th century was recreated so that humans could be used to provide power for the machines. I'll admit "The Matrix" isn't brilliant science fiction, and it's easy to dislike Keanu Reeves, but the film is a lot of fun. The animated stories look very interesting.
posted by UnReality at 4:40 PM on September 5, 2002

I remember one of the agents saying it was L.A., the height of human civilization.

I seem to remember that it was never explicitly placed in any specific city, but I do know that all the street names they used are from Chicago.
posted by kindall at 5:29 PM on September 5, 2002

i'm pleased to see more films starting to do this sort of thing, there are many times that i've enjoyed a movie and wanted to see more from that 'universe'. Not necessarily using the same characters or even following the same plot, but just making use of the same rules and technology.

This was obviously done very well with both the Star Wars and Star Trek universes, and to a lesser extent (through comics and videogames) Predator and the Aliens franchises.

Now if i can only convince some aspiring director that we need to further explore the Evil Dead universe, everything will be perfect.
posted by quin at 6:36 PM on September 5, 2002

The city isn't named. At least, not in the final version of the script.
posted by blissbat at 6:39 PM on September 5, 2002

If you've ever seen FLCL, you'll know that the 'bullet time' effect looks awesome when it's emulated in cell animation, though I would assume it's labour intensive to do (while it's trivial in CG). They showed a little in the trailer, I hope there's plenty of it in the Animatrix.
posted by bobo123 at 6:52 PM on September 5, 2002

kindall: I seem to remember that it was never explicitly placed in any specific city, but I do know that all the street names they used are from Chicago.

Yeah, they're all Chicago streets and intersections and a lot of the conceptual art included Chicago landmarks, Chicago train stops, etc. The Wachowski brothers are Chicagoans. They probably went for a non-descript city because the end result doesn't look a lot like Chicago considering the movie was shot in Sydney. Why spend millions more in CGI and remote shoots just for geographic realism?
posted by skallas at 8:08 PM on September 5, 2002

Macross Plus director Shinichiro Watanbe

he also directed a little show/movie called cowboy bebop...
posted by lotsofno at 10:31 PM on September 5, 2002

you'll know that the 'bullet time' effect looks awesome when it's emulated in cell animation, though I would assume it's labour intensive to do (while it's trivial in CG)

not to say that this is the case with either flcl or animatrix, but cg can be cel shaded pretty convincingly nowadays.

too lazy to dig up links, but iron giant comes to mind, disney's atlantis too.
posted by juv3nal at 12:03 AM on September 6, 2002

Most movies do look like they are set in LA, and it's really kind of annoying.

After living in LA for 3yrs, I keep seeing movies and going "Oh look, I was there Tuesday"
posted by owillis at 1:46 AM on September 6, 2002

Agh. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the Matrix, and I will likely enjoy this, but its half-assed, sci-fi lite world isn't worthy of the people who made Aeon Flux, Macross Plus and Robot Carnival. Do something original, guys! You could come up with better ideas in your sleep!

Who would accept a plot where human beings are used as batteries with a kind of 'fusion' (there's the writer's loophole) to create a reproduction of 20th century L.A.?

You know, I was fine with this, but if the machines were aware of the monkeys escaping from their tubes, why not just remove their hands and feet, paralyse them or give them lobotomies?
posted by picea at 7:32 AM on September 6, 2002

The Matwix was a really weird web Looney Tune -- the tone seemed anti-corporate.
posted by uftheory at 8:46 AM on September 6, 2002