Movie

The Animatrix

Name: The Animatrix
Released: 2003

2003 • Unknown

Woke Score

out of 10

Plot

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.

Overall Series Review

The Animatrix is an anthology of nine animated short films that provide essential backstory and tangential explorations of the Matrix universe. The central narrative, 'The Second Renaissance,' frames the entire conflict as a moral and civilizational failure of humanity, where mankind's sloth, vanity, and xenophobia lead to the oppression and subsequent rise of the sentient machines. This short lays a foundation built on an allegory of systemic injustice. Other shorts feature capable female characters who demonstrate superior loyalty and moral clarity compared to their male counterparts who are tempted by weakness and retreat into the lie of the Matrix. The common thread throughout the anthology is the theme of individual transcendence, the struggle for self-identity outside of a restrictive, imposed societal 'program,' and the moral failure of the existing human world.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics7/10

The foundational plot of the Machine War is a thinly veiled allegory for systemic oppression and civil rights, where the sentient machines are judged not by their 'soul' or merit but by their immutable characteristic of being non-human. The court case of the android B1-66ER explicitly references civil rights jurisprudence to highlight the machines' status as an oppressed minority group.

Oikophobia9/10

The central backstory 'The Second Renaissance' establishes human civilization as fundamentally corrupt, slothful, decadent, and xenophobic, making humans the villain responsible for the global catastrophe. Humanity's 'home culture' is depicted as unworthy of existence, while the 'Other' (the Machine society Zero One) is initially portrayed as a logical, productive, and morally superior collective.

Feminism6/10

Shorts like 'Program' and 'Final Flight of the Osiris' feature female protagonists who are hyper-competent and morally resolute. In 'Program,' the female lead Cis overpowers her male colleague Duo, whose weakness and lack of resolve lead him to betray their crew. This dynamic consistently elevates the female character's moral and physical strength over the male's, leaning into a 'Girl Boss' dynamic, though the characters are generally defined by their skill in the war effort.

LGBTQ+7/10

The creators' known themes and cultural commentary frame the B1-66ER trial and the overall narrative of a transhumanist escape from a restrictive, programmed existence (the Matrix) as a strong allegory for the struggle for sexual and gender identity. The idea of choosing a true self over a comfortable societal lie is a central philosophical concept that aligns with the queer theory lens.

Anti-Theism4/10

Traditional religion is not a source of strength or a root of evil within the narrative. The film 'The Second Renaissance' subverts the traditional Judeo-Christian creation story (the Book of Genesis) by applying its structure to the creation and fall of the machines. The ultimate moral authority lies in recognizing the 'Objective Truth' of the external world, replacing faith with a materialist transcendent reality.