Beyond

This is the sixth part of 'The Animatrix', a collection of animated short movies that tell us a little more about the world of 'The Matrix'. In this short we see some kind of flaw in the matrix. There is a house where things can not break and it seems that there is no gravity there. There is not much action and may be that is why I didn't like it as much as the other shorts. It was still a nice fantasy story so I was still entertained.

Coming in at about 13 minutes, this, the seventh of the Animatrix short is the longest of them all. The pacing is mostly good, and in spite of sometimes being laid-back, it's never boring. The animation is great, a nice mix of 2D Animé style and gorgeous 3D CGI elements. The many surreal visuals are beautifully realized. The writer and director behind this has a vivid imagination, however, this is not for everyone. It deals with the idea of glitches in the programming, and how they are perceived or treated by those who discover them. The themes explored aren't bad. The concept doesn't go as far as it arguably could, but I understand that the Wachowski's requested that it go no further than it does. The sounds and music are well-done. Voice acting has fine performances. The characters are credibly written and portrayed. This doesn't directly relate to the films, other than taking place in the same world as they do. It has a making of, on the DVD, which runs at about nine minutes, and is interesting and worth watching. I recommend this to fans of the Matrix universe and/or science fiction. 7/10

This short is in many ways the opposite of "World Record". Where that film is based on an clever concept and idea, and totally wasted its potential, "Beyond" is based on a simple concept, and takes it, well, beyond what I expected (pardon the pun). World Record uses cold and surreal animation to tell a fairly real story. Beyond uses warm and traditional animation to tell a somewhat surreal and bizarre story.

In short, it is a work of contradictions. The story - and there isn't all that much of it, to be honest - is about a group of kids who find a haunted house (a glitch in the matrix) and accept it as perfectly natural part of their world, they enjoy the enchanted surroundings with the childhood innocence that they still possess.

I can only recommend this short movie - after "Kid's Story" it is perhaps the best of the Animatrix quickies. Fun, and enchanting.

It is interesting that no one mentions that this part is actually connecting the matrix universe to the Stalker movie from Tarkovsky. There are visual references and the whole idea of the zone of strange things makes sure for me that the creators kept that movie in mind. Maybe the reason is that the two audiences are quite different: Matrix-buffs and fans of classic russian movies do not overlap. However, this background information makes the part more interesting, and not necessarily as a backstory of the Matrix-universe (where all interpretations are aimed). This is my favorite, technically it is beautiful, and compositionally it is very oeconomical.

I'm not a rabid fan of The Matrix (too many logistical flaws), though I have seen the two live action movies and plan on seeing the third (though I have to wonder why it is that so many movies lately are transition movies--Star Wars Episode 2, Matrix 2, X-2, etc).

My main reason for purchasing the Animatrix was that I am an animation lover, and not just of Disney or anime. I love Looney tunes, peanuts, Max Fleisher, Watership Down, Ralph Bakshi, Fantastic Planet, Wallace and Gromitt, Rocky and Bullwinkle, The Simpsons, etc. You get the picture. Of these nine stories, I can only say I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Not only is it beautifully animated, it has an imagination that rivals Miyazaki's. "Beyond" adds to the matrix mythology the essential element that it has been missing from the beginning: humanity in concrete terms. Unlike most of the rest, including the live action movies, it doesn't *talk* about what it's like to be human, because the characters are too busy being humans. It isn't about the mumbo jumbo of freeing one's mind to escape this seeming prison; instead, it shows someone, raised to believe the prison is not a prison, and she reacts realistically to it. Unlike the movies, it creates the sense that the people aren't automatons and are worth saving. (Not to take it too seriously, but just think of how many people they waste in all those shooting sprees--what, are they not worthy? Just because they don't buy into Morpheus' truth? Shouldn't they, ethically, knowing how these people will react to them, try to avoid conflicts with the caged humans, or at least attempt to use less-than lethal force? After all, is someone still a hero if they have to become the villain to save the world?).

The only real problem with Beyond is that it depicts animals as being as real as the humans (they're not, remember the deja-vu scene). But then, with the ending of Matrix Reloaded, perhaps there will be answers to this in Matrix Revolutions.

9/10. Seriously. You should see this even if you hate the matrix.