Famously inspired by anime classics like Ghost in the Shell (1995) for their groundbreaking Matrix trilogy, the Wachowskis joined forces with seven world-renowned directors for this feature-length collection of nine original short films.  

The Animatrix fuses computer generated animation with more traditional styles of anime to tell a wide range of stories set within the Matrix universe, producing one of the most creative and varied pieces of anthology filmmaking to date. The first short, Final Flight of the Osiris, was directed by Oscar-winning visual effects artist Andy Jones (Avatar, The Lion King) and written by the Wachowskis. It follows the crew of the hovercraft Osiris who must get a message of vital importance back to Zion. The next shorts, The Second Renaissance Part I & II were also written by the Wachowskis and directed by Mahiro Maeda (Evangelion 3.0 + 1.01 Thrice Upon a Time). This documentary-style narrative details the original war between humanity and machines which led to the creation of the Matrix. 

Legendary anime filmmaker Yoshiaki Kawajiri’s (Ninja Scroll, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust) wrote and directed Program, the fourth short in The Animatrix, that follows Cis and Duo, a pair of freed minds as they practice their skills in an old-fashioned samurai swordfight and disagree about living outside of the Matrix. Kawajiri also wrote the next short World Record, directed by his protégée Takeshi Koike (Redline, Afro Samurai) that follows an athlete, who breaks out of the matrix through a feat of strength and gets a brief glimpse of the real world outside his existence. Shin’ichirô Watanabe (Cowboy Bebop) wrote and directed the highly stylized Kid’s Story and A Detective Story, the only two shorts in the entire film to feature Neo (Keanu Reaves) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss).  

Beyond from animator Kôji Morimoto (Akira, Kiki’s Delivery Service) follows a young woman looking for her cat and some kids find an abandoned building where strange things happen, and the rules of physics don’t always apply. The film closes out with Æon Flux creator Peter Chung’s Matriculated, which follows human resistance working to convert a sentinel to their side.