Cartoons explain many loopholes of 'The Matrix'

"The Animatrix" is a collection of nine cartoons expanding on the world of "The Matrix." Those out there who are big enough geeks (myself included), might have known four of the cartoons had been previously released on the internet and a fifth, "The Final Flight of the Osiris," played before the movie, "Dreamcatcher." The DVD includes those five along with four new animated featurettes.\nIn the recently released "The Matrix Reloaded," several things mentioned were unclear that "The Animatrix" sheds light on. The kid obsessed with Neo has his back-story told through the cartoon "Kid's Story." The beginning discussions of the Osiris transmission are also identified. While "Final Flight of the Osiris" is visually the best cartoon (directed by Andy Jones: the animation director of Square's "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within"), the best story is "The Second Renaissance." This is broken into two cartoons that tell the history of the human/machine war, from the first machine rising against its master to the birth of the Matrix itself. \nAs the Wachowski Brothers were heavily influenced by Japanese animation in creating "The Matrix," they bring in some of the best animé artists and directors for these cartoons. "Matriculated," an interesting paradox where humans put machines in a type of Matrix, is directed by Peter Chung, who has MTV's "Aeon Flux," "Transformers" and even "Rugrats" on his résumé. Shinichirô Watanabe of "Cowboy Bebop" fame directs two cartoons including "Kid's Story" and "A Detective Story."\nThe main attraction of "The Animatrix" is its cartoons but there are several nice features including a history of animé and some commentary (in Japanese with English subtitles) that explain what much of the imagery used means. As a series of animè cartoons, "The Animatrix" is good in its own right, but for fans of "The Matrix" movies it should not be missed.