2003 is going to be remembered as the year of the Matrix glut, with two movies, A multi-platform computer game and DVD releases across the year. Rumours are that there is even another game coming out, although this one may not hit until 2004. For now, in between Matrix Reloaded and Matrix Revolutions theatrical releases is the release of the companion DVD, Animatrix.

Featuring nine short movies drawn by various Japanese animation houses, the Animatrix DVD expands on the limited universe depicted in the two movies so far, and gives a look into different aspects of the Matrix concept, such as the history of Earth.

This includes the excellent two-part The Second Renaissance that portrays the rise of the robots, the downfall of man and creation of the early Matrix. The brilliant The Final Flight of the Osiris sets the scene up for the computer game Enter the Matrix and movie Matrix Reloaded. Other films show what can happen when there's a bug in the Matrix rendering, how users can burst free from the matrix and various forms of resistance to the dominating machines.

Watching the films it's hard to tell whether the Animatrix comprises more homage to the Matrix universe or to Japanime. Each animation has a distinct style to it, from animation techniques to storylines and is directed by the top animators including Square (Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within), Peter Cheung (Aeon Flux) and Shinichiro Watanabe (Cowboy Bebop). Four of the films have scripts written by the Wachowski brothers, but each short film has its own distinct flavour and feel.

The video transfer to DVD is seamless with the films being created digitally, and the 5.1 Dolby Digital audio is superb.
With a few extras on animation in general, plus featurettes on the creation of each short movie, the Animatrix is not exploding with bonus features but there's enough to digest. One downside is that I hardly think throwing in a few Web links really constitutes proper DVD-ROM 'content'.