The Animatrix: Kid's Story

Kid's story is a good short that sadly doesn't have a lot going for it. It's completely fine in its own married and an interesting idea in terms of exploring themes, but it doesn't really have more than that. Top that off with a pretty weird art style, and you overall have a short that speaks to me on some levels and not on others.

A kid is trying to find out what's wrong with his dreams. A mysterious person called Neo is alluring him.

I don't know if I like the animation here. The way people look and move here dosn´t look good to me. It's a bit too wild. At the same time, the drawn feel of the short is interesting, but it clashes with the backgrounds too much. The mixture of art styles once again affect my enjoyment of the Animatrx shorts.

This is a great short about mental health and I guess a hit against Matrix extremist. The short follows a kid that clearly has some issues and are looking for a way out or some sort of higher reason in a meaningless world. I wish the short used more time on the kid and his backstory to really make the story stronger. Course, there isn't a lot going on here. Except for a cool action sequence towards the end, not much happens here.

While it can feel a bit eventless and the art style did not land with me, Kid's story is still a great short with some great subjects and a grim yet uplifting finale depending on how you read it.

The Animatrix is a very entertaining, very interesting experience. But of all the short movies, this is simply the best.

What makes it so obviously superior? Is it the swishy-swooshy animation that is incredibly alive and dynamic? Is it the constant mood of bewilderment that seeps through the entire movie? Is it the subtle, yet suitable score? Or is it the story about the most exceptional character in the matrix universe so far?

Yup, thats what the story is about - in my eyes. It's not about Neo or Morpheus or Trinity or any of the other cool people we already know (though Neo and Trinity cameo) - it's about the least likely character, the annoying side kick from Reloaded who made some of the Zion scenes so awkward. Watch "Reloaded" without seeing this first, and you may not like his character, or his very presence in the movie, one little bit (I did not). Yet this touching short movie shows a totally different side to him, and hints quite strongly at a powerful relevance for the matrix universe - even if that is not capitalized upon in Reloaded or Revolutions, this character and his unique story have the potential of an own spin-off. Why? Well I won't spoil it, but the ending of the short is quite powerful, creating the ideal finale for a perfect short animated movie.

Stunning, absolutely stunning, and easily the best matrix-related merchandise you are likely to see this year!

10/10

A teenager has dreams of falling that feel more real than his actual life. He turns to the internet for answers and receives some cryptic replies via his PC. In school his mobile phone rings despite being turned off, he answers to be told by Neo that `they know you know and are coming for you'. The kid looks out the window to see men in dark suits coming for him and immediately flees on his skateboard.

In Reloaded there is a scene where Neo and Trinty return to Zion and are greeted by an eager kid who offers to carry Neo's stuff because Neo `saved his life'. I didn't understand who this was when I saw the film and it add to the appearance of a film with lots of loose ends it doesn't tie up. Only later did I see this short and realise that the `loose end' was actually a connection to this short. This is an interesting way to build a wider world around a film but when watching Reloaded I only felt it weakened the actual film. Anyway – the short.

The film is stylish and interesting. Plot wise it is similar to the discovery of Neo in the first film but it is done on miniature here. The main attraction is the visual design. The skateboard escape is all blurs and speed while the falling is nicely done and beautifully animated. It may not win any points for having a gripping plot but visually it worked for me.

The novelty of having Reeves and Moss supply the voices to their characters is just that – a novelty, they only have a few lines and I wouldn't have known it was them but for the cast list.

Overall this is an stylish if wafer thin short that is interesting because it supports the Matrix Reloaded. Before I saw this I had taken this strand of the story to be another area left unanswered by the film, having seen this I understand what it was about and am only left in doubt about the wisdom of doing it this way.

This is the ninth and last part of 'The Animatrix', a collection of animated short movies that tell us a little more about the world of 'The Matrix'. In this part a kid knows there is something out there like Neo knew in 'The Matrix'. During a class he is contacted by Neo (Keanu Reeves) and tries to run from the agents who arrive at the school building. This short is a nice ending for 'The Animatrix' with the first and therefor only appearance by Neo.

The fourth of the Animatrix shorts, this is one of those of them that ties closely into the trilogy, specifically, the sequels. This provides the background for The Kid, seen in the second two movies, and he's genuinely not irritating in this(no, seriously). The concept is highly interesting, although, for obvious reasons, this should not be seen by anyone too likely to imitate it, anyone whose behavior is that easily influenced. The animation is well-done and quite interesting, with a style of limited motion in the drawings, and the camera being responsible for a lot of the movement, in a way that feels reminiscent of regular, live-action films. The atmosphere is impeccable, and the pace is spot-on throughout. The voice acting is great, Watson does well with what few lines he has, as do Anne-Moss and Reeves. The idea and execution of this are excellent, and this is a remarkable addition to the overall universe. This has a making of, shared with Detective Story, which is well-done and informative. It's 9 and a half minutes, same as the short itself. This has one disturbing aspect, nothing objectionable beyond that. I recommend this to any fan of The Matrix franchise and/or science fiction in general. 7/10